SpaceX Releases a Recap Video of their SN8 Making its Hop Test!
SpaceX just released a recap video of their SN8 making its first-ever high-altitude hop test. Soon enough, the SN9 will be doing the same!
SpaceX just released a recap video of their SN8 making its first-ever high-altitude hop test. Soon enough, the SN9 will be doing the same!
That’s the kind of headline that can leave us scratching our heads. How can you see tree shadows on other worlds, when those planets are tens or hundreds of light years—or even further—away. As it turns out, there might be a way to do it. One team of researchers thinks that the idea could potentially …
SpaceX recently announced that they are looking for a Resort Development Manager to help them turn Boca Chica into a bona fide spaceport
We love flyover videos from other worlds. These stunning videos, created from imagery gathered by orbiting spacecraft, can give us a sense of what it would be like to fly in an airplane on another planet. This latest flyover video from the European Space Agency’s Mars Express spacecraft, provides a stunning view of one of …
Continue reading “Take a Flight Over Korolev Crater on Mars”
Asteroid Bennu is blanketed by rocks and huge boulders. And now that the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is taking a close look at those rocks, researchers are able to see something surprising for an airless body: the rocks have tiny cracks and fissures. The cause?
Flying low over the surface of Mars. Don’t tell me you haven’t dreamed about it, especially with some of the ‘Mars flyover’ videos that have been produced over the years using data from the orbital missions. And if all goes well – global pandemic not withstanding — a helicopter will be on its way to …
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is getting ready for its big moment. OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer) is at asteroid Bennu, preparing to collect a sample of ancient rock. And collecting that sample means taking step after meticulous step.
NASA and the University of Arizona have released a stunning new global map of asteroid Bennu. At 2 inches (5 cm) per pixel, this is the highest-resolution global map of any planetary body. This hi-res map will help guide the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to the surface of the asteroid to collect a sample, currently scheduled for …
Continue reading “Highest Resolution Mosaic Image of the Surface of Bennu”
Meet OSIRIS-REx’s “Guide Boulders.” When the NASA spacecraft first arrived at asteroid Bennu over a year ago, the surface of the asteroid was much different than expected. Instead of a surface with large, smooth areas, nearly the entire surface is covered in boulders. That meant that NASA had to do a re-think of the sampling …
Late last summer, NASA and the International Astronomical Union’s Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (a.k.a WGPSN) approved the naming convention for features on Bennu, the asteroid currently being orbited and studied by the OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft. The naming theme chosen was “birds and bird-like creatures in mythology.” The first twelve features thusly named have now …
Continue reading “Asteroid Bennu is Getting Some Official Names for its Surface Features”