The mission was designed to test whether a probe could knock a hazardous space rock away from a crash course with Earth. https://media.wired.com/photos/63324d5ac9bb1af7ef2498cd/master/pass/Dimorphos-Science.jpg
Tag: Spacecraft
NASA successfully smacked its DART spacecraft into an asteroid
After nearly a year in transit, NASA's experimental Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which sought to answer the questions, "Could you potentially shove a asteroid off its planet-killing trajectory by hitting it with a specially designed satellite? How about several?" has successfully collided with the Dimorphos asteroid. Results and data from the collision are […]
How to watch NASA slam a spacecraft into an asteroid tomorrow
NOTE: NASA is offering two feeds of the event — read on for more details. NASA is about to deliberately crash a spacecraft into a distant asteroid in a first-of-its-kind planetary defense test. The hope is that by slamming a spacecraft into an asteroid at a speed of around 15,000 mph, we can alter its […]
Juno spacecraft to go screaming by Jupiter’s moon Europa in close approach
NASA’s spacecraft Juno is best known for the gorgeous images of Jupiter it has captured over its decade-long mission so far and the discoveries it has enabled about Jupiter’s bizarre weather phenomena. But it has also been busy studying Jupiter’s moons, including capturing images of Io and Europa and capturing not only the sights but also […]
NASA’s DART spacecraft gets its first glimpse of target asteroid
NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft has caught its first glimpse of the asteroid that it’s set to slam into on September 26. The Dimorphos asteroid poses no threat to Earth, but NASA wants to find out if it can change an asteroid’s flight path by crashing a spacecraft into it so that it […]
Soyuz spacecraft launch fails, astronauts set for emergency landing
NASA is reporting that there has been an “issue with the booster” on the Soyuz craft that’s currently taking astronauts Nick Hague of NASA and cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin to the International Space Station (ISS). Details are sparse at the moment, but it appears that the capsule is making a “ballistic descent,” descending at a high […]
Progress cargo spacecraft makes fastest-ever trip to space station (VIDEOS)
A Russian Progress cargo spacecraft on a Soyuz booster carrying supplies for the International Space Station crew has successfully completed its record-breaking two-orbit trip in less than four hours. The Progress MS-09 blasted off atop a Soyuz-2.1a rocket at 21:51 GMT Monday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Some 1.5 hours and several thruster firings […]
The Physics of Accelerating Spacecraft in *The Expanse*
There are no pew-pew lasers or faster-than-light space travel here—just serious science. https://media.wired.com/photos/5b05e1a80d7c92682f661ef5/master/pass/expanse.jpg
NASA’s planet-hunting TESS spacecraft snaps its first photo
TESS, NASA’s new exoplanet-hunting spacecraft, has captured its first image ever, giving us a glimpse of what its powerful “eyes” can see. The spacecraft’s science team used one of its four cameras to snap a two-second test exposure as part of their preparations now that TESS is only a month away from officially starting its […]
NASA’s Orion spacecraft getting closer to finally flying again
Enlarge / NASA’s Orion spacecraft and its launch abort system shown in this rendering of the Ascent Abort-2 test flight. (credit: NASA) It’s been a long three-and-a-half years since the Orion spacecraft first launched into space in December 2014, making a successful shake-out flight. But now, NASA’s program aimed at building a large, deep-space capsule […]
