If the human race is to survive in the long-run, we will probably have to colonise other planets. Whether we make the Earth uninhabitable ourselves or it simply reaches the natural end of its ability to support life, one ...
Space Exploration
Feb 26, 2016
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Devising a way to one day land astronauts on Mars is a complex problem and NASA scientists think something as simple as a child's toy design may help solve the problem. Safely landing a large spacecraft on the Red Planet ...
Space Exploration
Jan 3, 2015
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New video recorded during the return of NASA's Orion through Earth's atmosphere this month provides a taste of the intense conditions the spacecraft and the astronauts it carries will endure when they return from deep space ...
Space Exploration
Dec 21, 2014
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With the imminent debut of its Orion spacecraft, NASA is on a high not felt since the space shuttle days.
Space Exploration
Dec 3, 2014
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(Phys.org) —NASA and Lockheed Martin engineers have installed the largest heat shield ever constructed on the crew module of the agency's Orion spacecraft. The work marks a major milestone on the path toward the spacecraft's ...
Space Exploration
Jun 6, 2014
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(Phys.org) —In a bit of cosmic irony, planets orbiting cooler stars may be more likely to remain ice-free than planets around hotter stars. This is due to the interaction of a star's light with ice and snow on the planet's ...
Astronomy
Jul 19, 2013
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(Phys.org) —NASA engineer Acey Herrera recently checked out copper test wires inside the thermal shield of the Mid-Infrared Instrument, known as MIRI, that will fly aboard NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. The shield is ...
Space Exploration
May 9, 2013
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(Phys.org) —Hardware from a spacecraft that the Soviet Union landed on Mars in 1971 might appear in images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Space Exploration
Apr 11, 2013
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Electric rocket engines known as Hall thrusters, which use a super high-velocity stream of ions to propel a spacecraft in space, have been used successfully onboard many missions for half a century. Erosion of the discharge ...
General Physics
Feb 13, 2013
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A NASA top official wrestled with what he thought was a hypothetical question: What should you tell the astronauts of a doomed space shuttle Columbia?
Space Exploration
Feb 1, 2013
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