Nancy Atkinson
This is an Actual Picture of Space Debris
Space debris is a growing problem, so companies are working on ways to mitigate it. A new satellite called ADRAS-J…
How Knot Theory Can Help Spacecraft Can Change Orbits Without Using Fuel
When a spacecraft arrives at its destination, it settles into an orbit for science operations. But after the primary mission…
Uh oh. Hubble's Having Gyro Problems Again
The Hubble Space Telescope has gone through its share of gyroscopes in its 34-year history in space. Astronauts replaced the…
Purple Bacteria — Not Green Plants — Might Be the Strongest Indication of Life
Astrobiologists continue to work towards determining which biosignatures might be best to look for when searching for life on other…
Juno Reveals a Giant Lava Lake on Io
NASA's Juno spacecraft came within 1,500 km (930 miles) of the surface of Jupiter’s moon Io in two recent flybys.…
Someone Just Found SOHO's 5,000th Comet
The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) was designed to examine the Sun, but as a side benefit, it has been…
NASA Reveals its Planetary Science Goals for Artemis III
If all goes well, NASA's Artemis III mission will bring humans back to the Moon as early as 2026, the…
Gaia Finds Ancient Streams of Stars That Formed the Milky Way
Using ESA’s Gaia spacecraft, astronomers have tracked down two streams of stars that likely formed the foundation of the Milky…
The Mars Science Helicopter Could be an Airborne Geologist on Mars
After over 70 successful flights, a broken rotor ended the remarkable and groundbreaking Ingenuity helicopter mission on Mars. Now, NASA…
Improving a 1960s Plan to Explore the Giant Planets
In the 1960s, NASA engineers developed a series of small lifting-body aircraft that could be dropped into the atmosphere of…