Engineering
The New Mars Landing Approach: How We’ll Land Large Payloads on the Red Planet
Back in 2007, I talked with Rob Manning, engineer extraordinaire at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and he told me something…
Researchers Mimic Extracting Energy From Black Holes in the Lab
As black holes spin, they drag space-time along with them, and scientists have proposed that this could be a source…
A New Way to Survive the Harsh Lunar Night
The Moon is a tough place to survive, and not just for humans. The wild temperature extremes between day and…
Watch a Satellite Reaction Wheel Melt in a Simulated Orbital Re-Entry
Most satellites share the same fate at the end of their lives. Their orbits decay, and eventually, they plunge through…
NASA Gives a Detailed Analysis of all the Landing Debris Perseverance Has Found on Mars
A recent blog by Dr. Justin Maki, Imaging Scientist and the Deputy Principal Investigator on the Perseverance rover Mastcam-Z camera,…
Remembering NASA Engineer Jerry Woodfill, the Inspiration Behind “13 Things That Saved Apollo 13”
Jerry Woodfill, an engineer who worked diligently behind the scenes during NASA’s Apollo program, has passed away at age 79.…
Here’s Why Webb Doesn’t Have Cameras on Board to Livestream its Deployment
As the James Webb Space Telescope unfolds and makes its way to its final destination in space, NASA and ESA…
Neil Armstrong: Why The World Needs ‘Nerdy Engineers’ (In Animated Form)
Combine the gravitas of humanity's first moon visitor with the whimsy of animation, and the result is pure fun. Here,…
NASA Engineer Answers 4-Year-Old’s Questions With a Personal Video
Like many kids his age, 4-year-old Lucas Whiteley is fascinated about space and astronauts and has a lot of questions…
1,000 mph Land Speed Record Car Fires Up Its Engines
Caption: The BloodhoundSSC. Image Credit: Curventa and Siemens. 29 years ago today Richard Noble in Thrust2 broke the land speed…