SpaceX's Dragon cargo spacecraft has successfully returned to Earth from the International Space Station carrying a variety of scientific investigations that were conducted in space. The capsule splashed down near the California coast on Tuesday, according to SpaceX, which says its ship transported dozens of US National Laboratory scientific research projects.
An executive order paving the way to mining the Moon, Mars, and more has been signed by US President Trump, dismissing once again concerns by some that space resources should be considered a "global commons" worthy of special considerations. The order, signed on April 6, highlights the potential value of water ice and minerals in space, which could be used to support crewed missions like Artemis to Mars and beyond.
An asteroid will pass by the Earth on April 29 that's called 1998 OR2. The asteroid is very large, with NASA estimating that it's between 1.1 miles and 2.5 miles wide. That certainly large enough to wreak havoc on the Earth if the asteroid was to collide with the planet. However, there is no chance of a collision with 1998 OR2.
NASA has announced that as part of its final assembly of the Perseverance rover, its team has installed the parachute, off-road wheels, and air brakes. The wheels are machined from flight-grade aluminum, according to NASA, which used titanium for the spokes. The parachute, meanwhile, will be used to slow down the rover on its descent to the Red Planet's surface when it arrives early next year.
NASA is planning to send astronauts to the surface of the moon by 2024. If the mission carries on as planned, it will be the first time since the '60s humans have walked on the surface of another planetary body. Before humans can go to the moon in 2024, infrastructure to support a long-term sustainable presence has to be put in place. The Artemis program will allow mankind to explore for the moon like never before and help to prepare for a future crewed mission to Mars.
Next month when NASA and SpaceX conduct the first crewed test flight of the private space company's Crew Dragon spacecraft, the Falcon 9 rocket that launches the team will feature NASA's retro 'worm' logo. The space agency announced its plans to revive this iconic, but dated, logo for its new round of manned space activity, pointing back through its history and the place this logo has had in modern spaceflight.
NASA's talking about a mission called the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope or WFIRST. The mission is designed to search for planets outside our solar system where the majority of stars are. Studying the properties of these distant planets will help scientists to understand planetary systems throughout the galaxy and how planets form and evolve. Data gathered from WFIRST will be combined with data from Kepler and TESS missions to complete the first planet census that is sensitive to a wide range of planet masses and orbits.
NASA ran the "Send Your Name to Mars" campaign inviting people from around the world to submit their names to hitch a ride to Mars aboard the new Perseverance Rover. Nearly 11 million people submitted their names, and all the names were stenciled by an electron beam onto a trio of fingernail-sized silicon chips. Also stenciled on the chips were essays from 155 finalists in NASA's "Name the Rover" contest.
NASA has teamed up with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's National Drought Mitigation Center to distribute maps showing the current and projected state of groundwater and soil moisture around the world. This marks an important expansion of the maps from covering just the US to the entire world, shedding light on remote and rural regions where droughts and other water issues may not be as readily discovered.
More than 12,000 individuals applied for the job of astronaut in NASA's 2020 call for interest in the Artemis Generation. Those chosen for the program will be involved in Artemis missions to our Moon and beyond. "We've entered a bold new era of space exploration with the Artemis program," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. "We are thrilled to see so many incredible Americans apply to join us."
Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have found the best evidence so far for an elusive type of black hole known as an "intermediate-mass" black hole. The existence of the elusive kind of black hole was discovered after it tore apart a star that passed too close. Scientists say that the intermediate-mass black hole is about 50,000 times the mass of our Sun.
NASA recently tested the mirror array of the James Webb Space Telescope by fully deploying the primary mirror into the same configuration that it will have when in space. The telescope is currently set for liftoff in 2021. Technicians and engineers are working diligently to complete a long list of final tests before the observatory can launch.