NASA

Read the latest NASA news today on Newser.com

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Space Station Shield Lost During Spacewalk

US astronauts 'MacGyvered' a solution

(Newser) - In space, nobody can hear you scream, "Oh no, there goes the shielding"—apart from Mission Control. American astronauts Peggy Whitson and Shane Kimbrough suffered a frustrating setback during a spacewalk Thursday when one of the four fabric shields they were installing on the exterior of the International...

NASA Finds Long-Lost Lunar Probe Still in Orbit

Ground radar spotted Chandrayaan-1

(Newser) - Almost eight years after it stopped communicating with ground stations, NASA has rediscovered India's Chandrayaan-1 lunar probe. The long-lost spacecraft didn't crash into the lunar surface in 2009, as some had suspected, but continued circling the moon in a slightly different orbit. NASA says it detected the small...

Matt Damon Was Right: Potatoes Can Grow on Mars
Matt Damon Was Right:
Potatoes Can Grow on Mars
new study
Mar 9, 2017 10:12 AM CST

Matt Damon Was Right: Potatoes Can Grow on Mars

Which could also have implications for our changing climate

(Newser) - If you've seen The Martian, you might think it's totally possible to grow potatoes on Mars. You just might be right. In the film, Matt Damon plays fictional NASA astronaut Mark Watney, a stranded botanist who survives on the Red Planet by growing the hardy tubers. Now, real-life...

Space Station Is About to Get Much, Much Cooler

Cold Atom Lab is coming in August

(Newser) - You're about to feel much kinder toward Earth's chilly winter months. This summer, the International Space Station will become host to the coldest spot in the universe when NASA delivers a chamber that is more than 100 million times colder than deep space, which is itself far chillier...

Scientists Want to Build an Inflatable Shield Around Mars

To keep out solar wind and radiation, rebuild planet's atmosphere

(Newser) - Mars isn't particularly habitable to humans at the moment, but NASA's latest brainstorm could one day bring back the planet's beaches—or at least some of its oceans, Engadget reports. At a workshop in DC last week, scientists from the agency's Planetary Science Division presented the...

A Sally Ride Lego Figure? Yep, and She's Not Alone

Maia Weinstock's 'Women of NASA' prototype has been given green light

(Newser) - Mathematician Katherine Johnson was one of the women of NASA depicted in the Oscar-nominated film Hidden Figures, and now she's about to get her own Lego figure. Per MIT News , Johnson and four other women involved with the space agency over the years—Margaret Hamilton (computer scientist), Mae Jemison...

NASA Loses Fight Over Priceless Bag of Moon Dust

Illinois woman official owner of Apollo 11 space bag

(Newser) - At first glance, the round, white bag looks unremarkable, even a little battered, with a lengthy tear on the bottom, reports the Houston Chronicle . But it's now the official gem of Nancy Lee Carlson's collection of space memorabilia. After a yearlong legal battle , a judge ruled that the...

NASA: 7 Earth-esque Planets Could Potentially Hold Life
NASA Finds 7
Earth-Size Planets
Feb 22, 2017 12:25 PM CST

NASA Finds 7 Earth-Size Planets

40 light-years away, orbiting dwarf star Trappist-1

(Newser) - For the first time, astronomers have discovered seven Earth-size planets orbiting a nearby star—and these new worlds could hold life, reports the AP . NASA and the Belgian-led research team announced the news Wednesday. This cluster of planets is 40 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius. They circle tightly around...

SpaceX Cargo Ship Turned Away From ISS Landing

GPS snag has moved docking attempt to Thursday

(Newser) - Sometimes GPS leads drivers into bodies of water ; other times it keeps cargo ships from docking with the International Space Station. Reuters reports the latter happened Wednesday, with SpaceX calling off the rendezvous of its Dragon spacecraft with the ISS, saying there was a glitch with the capsule's navigational...

After 6 Years, NASA's Historic Launchpad Back in Business

SpaceX rocket takes off from 39A pad that launched first man on the moon

(Newser) - NASA's historic moonshot pad is back in business, reports the AP , after a SpaceX Falcon rocket blasted off Sunday morning from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A. It's carrying a load of supplies for the International Space Station. The launchpad is steeped in history, notes Gizmodo , as...

NASA Is Sending a Drug-Resistant Superbug Into Space

And that's hopefully less scary than it sounds

(Newser) - NASA and a biomedicine company are sending a drug-resistant superbug into outer space, where it will be researched aboard the International Space Station. And while Gizmodo notes the plan sounds like "Elon Musk's idea for a science fiction spec he's working on," it will—hopefully—have...

Dollar-Store Solution to NASA's Poop Problem Wins $15K

It might just help save lives

(Newser) - When Thatcher Cardon considered NASA's Space Poop Challenge —seeking a solution that would allow astronauts to relieve themselves while wearing a space suit for up to six days—he thought about how doctors can "replace heart valves now through catheters in an artery" and concluded that a...

50 Years Ago Today, 4 Awful Words: 'Fire in the Cockpit!'

3 NASA astronauts perished during testing for an Apollo 1 moon mission

(Newser) - "We have a fire in the cockpit!" were words no one expected during a routine test for what was to be a momentous space mission. But that was what horrified NASA personnel heard on Jan. 27, 1967, as three astronauts prepping for a flight to the moon...

New Satellite Sends Back 'Jaw-Dropping' Images of Earth

GOES-16 lifted off from Cape Canaveral last November

(Newser) - GOES-16, the fancy new satellite developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is sending its first photos back to Earth since it lifted off from Cape Canaveral on Nov. 19, and the high-res results are causing astronomers and meteorologists to squeal with delight. One developer compared it to seeing...

Scientists Blame People for 3rd 'Hottest Year' in a Row

Human impact 'no longer subtle' on global warming that made 2016 hottest year ever

(Newser) - Everyone kind of knew this was coming , but many are still sweating at the news. Data for 2016 has been released, and it's official that last year was the hottest year on record, following 2014 and 2015 in holding this status, the Guardian reports. NASA and NOAA released their...

Last Astronaut on the Moon Dead at 82

Gene Cernan spent 3 days on the moon in 1972

(Newser) - Former astronaut Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, has died at age 82, the AP reports. NASA announced that Cernan died Monday surrounded by his family. Cernan and Apollo 17 crewmate Harrison Schmitt spent three days on the moon in December 1972. As he followed Schmitt...

Space Station Gets a Christmas Delivery

Thanks, Kounotori

(Newser) - Christmas gifts have arrived at the International Space Station, courtesy of Japan. A Japanese cargo ship pulled up at the orbiting lab Tuesday, four days after launching. The capsule—called Kounotori, or white stork—contains nearly 5 tons of food, water, batteries and other supplies, reports the AP . NASA says...

NASA Wants You to Help Astronauts Poop

Space diapers just won't cut it

(Newser) - Pooping in space "isn't glamorous, but it is necessary for survival," an astronaut explains—yet it's presenting quite a challenge for NASA. See, while the International Space Station has a pretty fancy toilet , an astronaut must wear a diaper during launch and landing activities or while...

NASA, FEMA Simulated Asteroid Strike on Los Angeles

In their scenario, city had 4-year warning

(Newser) - A 330-foot asteroid on a collision course with downtown Los Angeles. Four years to try to stop it—or carry out mass evacuations ahead of certain devastation. That's not the plot of an unoriginal new movie, but the scenario behind a recent NASA-FEMA exercise, the New York Times reports....

Lone American Not on Planet Earth Has Voted

NASA encourages astronauts to 'vote while you float'

(Newser) - The lone American off the planet has cast his vote from space, keeping with NASA's motto of "Vote while you float," the AP reports. NASA said Monday that astronaut Shane Kimbrough filed his ballot in Tuesday's presidential election from the International Space Station sometime over the...

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