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America’s First Asteroid Sampling Mission OSIRIS-REx Arrives at Florida Launch Base

Artist’s conception of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft at Bennu. Credits: NASA/GSFC

America’s first ever mission ever designed to retrieve samples from the surface of an asteroid and return them to Earth – OSIRIS-Rex – has arrived at its Florida launch base for processing to get ready for blastoff barely three and one half months from today.

NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource…

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#Asteroid Bennu #Bennu #KSC #NASA #OSIRIS-REx

Massive 400 Ft. Tsunamis On Ancient Mars

About 3.4 billion years ago, (according to a new study) when the Late Heavy Bombardment had ended, and the first cells resembling prokaryotes were appearing on Earth, two enormous meteoroids slammed into the ancient, frigid ocean on Mars. These impacts generated massive 400 ft. high tsunamis that reshaped the shoreline of the Martian ocean, leaving behind fields of sediments and boulders.

It was…

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#ancient oceans #Featured #geology #Mars #tsunamis

Weekly Space Hangout – May 20, 2016: Mike Brown and Konstantin Batygin

Host: Fraser Cain (@fcain)

Special Guests: Mike Brown is the Richard and Barbara Rosenberg Professor of Planetary Astronomy at CalTech. Konstantin Batygin is Assistant Professor of Planetary Science at CalTech. They’ll be here discussing their discovery of Planet 9 and what’s been happening since that amazing announcement.

Guests: Morgan Rehnberg (MorganRehnberg.com / @MorganRehnberg) Kimberly…

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#Boeing #Boyajian&039;s Star #exoplanets #kuiper belt objects #NASA #Planet 9

SpaceX Calls In The Lawyers For 2018 Mars Shot

A manned mission to Mars is a hot topic in space, and has been for a long time. Most of the talk around it has centred on the required technology, astronaut durability, and the overall feasibility of the mission. But now, some of the talk is focussing on the legal framework behind such a mission.

In April 2016, SpaceX announced their plans for a 2018 mission to Mars. Though astronauts will not be…

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#Featured #law #Mars #mars mission #Outer Space Treaty #space law #SpaceX

Hubble Telescope Zooms In On Mars

On May 12, the Hubble Space Telescope took this photo of Mars. Some prominent features of the planet are clearly visible: the ancient and inactive shield volcano Syrtis Major (far right and partly covered by clouds); the heavily eroded Arabia Terra in the center of the image; the dark features of Sinus Sabaeous and Sinus Meridiani below center and the small north polar cap (top).

We’re in store…

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#Featured #Hubble Space Telescope #Mars #opposition #rust #Syrtis Major

Orbital ATK Proposes Manned Lunar-Orbit Outpost by 2020 for Link Up with NASA’s Orion

Artist rendering of Orbital ATK concept for an initial lunar habitat outpost, as it would appear with NASA’s Orion spacecraft in 2021. Credit: Orbital ATK

Orbital ATK has unveiled a practical new proposal to build a near term manned outpost in lunar orbit that could launch by 2020 and be operational in time for a lunar link-up with NASA’s Orion crew module during its maiden mission, when American…

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#Atlas V rocket #cislunar habitat #cislunar space #Cygnus #EM-1 #International Space Station (ISS)#ISS #Journey to Mars #lunar habitat #Moon #NASA #Orbital ATK #Orion crew module #Orion EM-2 #SLS #Space Launch System (SLS)#ULA

New Horizons Sends Back First Science On Distant Kuiper Belt Object

Even the most curmudgeonly anti-space troll has to admit that the New Horizons mission to Pluto has been an overwhelming success.

It’s not like New Horizons discovered life or anything, but it did bring an otherwise cold, distant lump to life for humanity. Vivid images and detailed scientific data revealed Pluto as a dynamic, changing world, with an active surface and an atmosphere. And we…

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#Featured #kuiper belt #NASA #New Horizons #Science #Space Exploration

NASA's Orion EM-1 Crew Module Passes Critical Pressure Tests

NASA’s Orion EM-1 Crew Module Passes Critical Pressure Tests

Lockheed Martin engineers and technicians prepare the Orion pressure vessel for a series of tests inside the proof pressure cell in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

The next Orion crew module in line to launch to space on NASA’s Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1) has passed a critical series of proof pressure…

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#KSC #NASA #Orion Capsule #Orion EM-1 #SLS

30 km Wide Asteroid Impacted Australia 3.4 Billion Years Ago

New evidence found in northwestern Australia suggests that a massive asteroid, 20 to 30 kilometres in diameter, struck Earth about 3.5 billion years ago. This impact would have dwarfed anything experienced by humans, and dinosaurs, releasing as much energy as millions of nuclear weapons. Impacts this large can trigger earthquakes and tsunamis, and change the geological history of Earth.

The…

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#Asteroids #australia #Earth #Featured #geology

Friendly Giants Have Cozy Habitable Zones Too

It is an well-known fact that all stars have a lifespan. This begins with their formation, then continues through their Main Sequence phase (which constitutes the majority of their life) before ending in death. In most cases, stars will swell up to several hundred times their normal size as they exit the Main Sequence phase of their life, during which time they will likely consume any planets…

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#asympotic giant branch #Eris #exoplanet #Featured #Frost Line #habitable zone #Haumea #kuiper belt #main sequence #makemake #Pluto #red giant star #red-giant-branch phase #the sun

2 By Sea, 1 By Land, 3rd Recovered Booster Joins SpaceX Siblings: Up Close Gallery

Composite image of first stage booster from SpaceX JCSAT-14 launch was transported horizontally to SpaceX hangar at pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida on May 16, 2016. Credit: Jeff Seibert/AmericaSpace. Inset: Trio of SpaceX boosters inside pad 39A hangar. Credit: SpaceX. Composite: Ken Kremer

Rolling rolling rolling! Yee-haw!

2 By Sea, 1 By Land. The 3rd recovered Falcon 9 boosterh…

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#cape canaveral #Elon Musk #falcon 9 recovery #falcon 9 reusable #Falcon 9 rocket #JCSAT 14 #KSC #Launch Complex 39A #pad 39A #SpaceX

Haumean Moons Deepen The Dwarf Planet Mystery

The dwarf planets in our Solar System are some of the most interesting objects around. Of course, all of the Solar System objects–and anything in nature, really–are fascinating when you really focus on them. Now, a new study puts the focus squarely on the dwarf planet Haumea, and deepens the mystery surrounding its origins.

Dwarf planets Pluto and Haumea are considered cousins. Both of them, and…

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#dwarf planets #Featured #Haumea #moons #Solar System

Carnival of Space #457

This week’s Carnival of Space is hosted by Gadi Eidelheit at his The Venus Transit blog.

Click here to read Carnival of Space #457. (more…)

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#Carnival of Space

Super Bright Fireball Spotted Across U.S. Northeast

It came from outer space—literally! On Tuesday, May 17, 2016, the early morning sky briefly lit up with the brilliant flash of a fireball—that is, an extremely bright meteor—over much of eastern New England states and even parts of southeastern Canada.

The event, which occurred around 12:50 a.m. EDT (04:50 UTC), was reported by witnesses from Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island,…

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#Featured #Fireball #Maine #Massachusetts #meteor #meteorite #New Hampshire #northeast #Rhode Island #sky #webcam

ESA Regrets Not Buying Windshield Insurance

It is known as the Cupola, an observation and work area that was installed aboard the International Space Stationin 2010. In addition to giving the crew ample visibility to support the control of the Station’s robotic arms, it is also the best seat in the house when it comes to viewing Earth, celestial objects and visiting vehicles. Little wonder then why sp many breathtaking pictures have been…

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#Cupola #esa #ISS #micrometeroid #NASA #Orbital Debris #space junk #space junk impact

A May Full 'Blue Moon' on Tap For This Weekend?

A May Full ‘Blue Moon’ on Tap For This Weekend?

Brace yourselves. You are about to hear talk this week of an astronomical non-occurrence of the utmost in obscurity. We’re talking about this weekend’s Blue Moon. (more…)

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#2016 Moons #Blue Moon #Blue Moon history #Featured #Flower Moon #may blue moon #types of blue moons

Upgraded Antares Rolls Out to Virginia Launch Pad, High Stakes Engine Test Looms

Orbital ATK’s Antares first stage with the new engines is rolled from NASA Wallops Flight Facility’s Horizontal Integration Facility to Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad-0A on May 12, 2016, in preparation for the upcoming stage test in the next few weeks. Credit: NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility/Allison Stancil

An upgraded version of Orbital ATK’s commercially developed Antares…

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#Antares rocket #Commercial Space #Cygnus cargo vessel #hot fire engine test #ISS #NASA #NASA Wallops #OA-5 #Orbital ATK

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