Missions
How Would We Do Surgery in Space?
Any mission to Mars requires deeper planning than missions to the ISS or the Moon. Based purely on the length…
That’s So Metal. NASA’s Psyche Mission is Now Under Construction
In August of 2022, NASA will send a robotic spacecraft to the Main Asteroid Belt to explore a truly unique…
Although InSight’s Mole is Completely Buried, it Might be Stuck Again
You've gotta hand it to NASA, and to the German Aerospace Center (DLR.) They've been struggling for over a year…
China’s Mars Rover Launches in Late July
In July there's another launch window to Mars. It looks like China is ready to take advantage of it, by…
Rovers Will be Starting to Make Their Own Decisions About Where to Search for Life
We all know how exploration by rover works. The rover is directed to a location and told to take a…
If You Could See in X-rays, This is What the Universe Would Look Like
X-ray astronomy helps scientists study neutron stars, binary star systems, and supernova remnants, and even helps detect black holes. But…
NASA Thinks it’s Time to Return to Neptune With its Trident Mission
Is it time to head back to Neptune and its moon Triton? It might be. After all, we have some…
Rocks on Bennu are Cracking Because of the Constant Day/Night Cycling
Asteroid Bennu is blanketed by rocks and huge boulders. And now that the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is taking a close look…
Finally! Mars InSight’s Mole is Now Underground
It looks like the InSight Lander's Mole instrument is making some progress. After months of perseverance, the team operating the…
OSIRIS-REx Will Collect a Sample from Bennu on October 20th
The date is finally set for OSIRIS-REx's sampling maneuver. The spacecraft has been at asteroid Bennu since the end of…