NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) announced hundreds of layoffs, calling the move “painful but necessary.” The news came via a workforce statement and memo to JPL employees.
JPL has been on the forefront of space exploration for decades. It was a camera, engineered by the space agency, on Voyager 1 that was...Read more...
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory confirmed engineers are still working to resolve a data issue on Voyager 1. Back in December, NASA reported it was working to resolve an issue that is preventing the spacecraft’s flight data system (FDS) from properly communicating with one of the probe’s subsystems, called the...Read more...
NASA is currently tracking five bus and airplane-sized asteroids that are expected to make close approaches to Earth this week. The near-Earth events come just ahead of the space agency's Psyche mission, which will launch next month and explore the metal-rich asteroid Bennu.
The five asteroids hurtling through...Read more...
New case studies indicate that scientists can detect an infection in cabernet sauvignon grapevines before showing any symptoms of the costly disease. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California says it can accurately spot signs of the grape disease that inflicts billions of dollars in annual crop damage by...Read more...
An asteroid roughly the size of a house will be making a nearby flyby of Earth tonight. Asteroid 2023 MU2 will be able to be viewed zipping by our home planet via a live feed later today.
2023 MU2 was actually only discovered on June 21, 2023, and announced the next day. The near-Earth asteroid is estimated to be...Read more...
After deciding to delay a mission to send a spacecraft to asteroid Psyche last summer, an independently appointed review board has given NASA and the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) the green light to carry on. NASA and JPL convened the board last summer following the mission team's request to delay the...Read more...
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory shared details about five asteroids that will make close approaches to Earth during the month of May. Asteroid 2023 JD will make the closest approach to Earth, at a distance of 821,000 miles (1,320,000 kilometers).
It is no secret that there are asteroids zipping around in outer...Read more...
NASA's Ingenuity helicopter captured a breathtaking image of the Mars landscape, and had a fellow Martian spacecraft photobomb the picture. During Ingenuity's 51st flight over the Belva crater, NASA's Perseverance rover can be spotted way off in the distance.
The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter completed its historic...Read more...
NASA celebrates Earth Day by sharing information about how our home planet is changing. The agency does not simply collect much of the data that is used to study the impact humanity is having on Earth's environment, it is also acting on the data it provides.
The space agency known mainly for its exploration of what...Read more...
NASA's Mars Perseverance rover continues its exploration of the Red Planet, as it begins a new science campaign. The rover took its first core sample of the new campaign at the top of Jezero Crater's delta on March 30, 2023.
Since launching back in July 2020, NASA's Perseverance rover has been surveying and probing...Read more...
NASA's Perseverance rover recently began exploring an area on Mars with the potential of finding organics and biosignatures. The rover is currently in Yori Pass, an area said to be rich in sandstone.
There has been no shortage of exciting events this year in terms of exploring all that lies beyond our home planet...Read more...
This weekend will provide avid astronomers with a parade of asteroids zipping past Earth. In fact, there will be a total of five airplane-sized asteroids joining the procession between Saturday and Monday.
Just last month, a bus-sized asteroid made its way past Earth on Asteroid Day, the anniversary of the 1908...Read more...
A new image taken by NASA's Juno spacecraft reveals a stunning view of vortices near Jupiter's north pole. The image above of the hurricane-like spirals was shared by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and edited by citizen scientist Brian Swift.
Jupiter is known for its Great Red Spot, an anticyclone large enough for...Read more...
NASA has plans to retrieve samples the Perseverance rover has collected from the surface of Mars and bring them back to Earth to be studied. These unsterilized samples have some pandemic weary people worried, however, about exactly what might be brought back.
The Perseverance rover has been busy since landing on...Read more...
The Mars Perseverance rover team at NASA found an unexpected piece of extraterrestrial trash as it roamed the Red Planet recently. But the litter is not as "alien" as one might think.
When something is found on Mars that is not part of its natural environment, the first inclination is to be very excited. But as the...Read more...
The tau Hercluid meteor shower could provide an epic display in the late night sky at the close of May this year. If predictions come to fruition, the nights of May 30-31st may provide for a rare meteor outburst, or there may simply be nothing at all.
The comet responsible for all the hype is...Read more...
NASA's Voyager 1 has engineers baffled as they attempt to solve an issue with the spacecraft. While it continues to send data and operate normally, there is a problem with its attitude articulation and control system (AACS).
Voyager 1 launched in 1977 and has since been traversing through space. Currently the...Read more...
NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter gathered footage recently of an 'otherworldly' wreckage site. The wreckage is actually the remains of the parachute and the cone-shaped backshell that helped Perseverance land safely on the Martian surface.
The Perseverance rover landed intact on Mars back on February 18, 2021...Read more...