This illustration shows NASA’s Cassini spacecraft about to make one of its dives between Saturn and its innermost rings as part of the mission’s grand finale. Cassini will make 22 orbits that swoop between the rings and the planet before ending its mission on Sept. 15, 2017, with a final plunge into Saturn.
Tag: NASA
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University Research Teams to Study Potential Aeronautical Innovations
Imagine an aircraft structure that can change its shape in flight to reduce the sonic boom noise produced by supersonics airplanes. Or imagine an airliner that can take-off and fly with a quiet and energy efficient electric propulsion system.
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NASA’s Cassini Mission Prepares for 'Grand Finale' at Saturn
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, in orbit around Saturn since 2004, is about to begin the final chapter of its remarkable story. On Wednesday, April 26, the spacecraft will make the first in a series of dives through the 1,500-mile-wide (2,400-kilometer) gap between Saturn and its rings as part of the mission’s grand finale.
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Space Station View of Auroras
Expedition 50 Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency (ESA) photographed brightly glowing auroras from his vantage point aboard the International Space Station on March 27, 2017. Pesquet wrote, “The view at night recently has been simply magnificent: few clouds, intense auroras. I can’t look away from the windows.”
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Sliver of Saturn
Although only a sliver of Saturn’s sunlit face is visible in this view, the mighty gas giant planet still dominates the view.
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Dr. Nancy Grace Roman, Astronomer
Dr. Nancy Grace Roman is shown with a model of the Orbiting Solar Observatory (OSO) in 1962. She was the first Chief of Astronomy in the Office of Space Science at NASA Headquarters and the first woman to hold an executive position at NASA. She had oversight for the planning and development of programs including the Hubble Space Telescope.
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NASA's MAVEN Reveals Most of Mars' Atmosphere Was Lost to Space
Solar wind and radiation are responsible for stripping the Martian atmosphere, transforming Mars from a planet that could have supported life billions of years ago into a frigid desert world, according to new results from NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft.
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Robotics Work on Space Station Set Up Thursday Spacewalk
The Pressurized Mating Adapter-3 (PMA-3) is in the grip of the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm during its relocation and attachment to the station’s Harmony module on March 26,2017. A spacewalk by NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Peggy Whitson, which began at 7:29 a.m., will finalize the PMA-3 cable connections on Harmony.
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NASA to Preview ‘Grand Finale’ of Cassini Saturn Mission
NASA will hold a news conference at 3 p.m. EDT Tuesday, April 4, at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, to preview the beginning of Cassini’s final mission segment, known as the Grand Finale, which begins in late April. The briefing will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
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The Splitting of the Dunes
The mound in the center of this Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image appears to have blocked the path of the dunes as they marched south (north is to the left in this image) across the scene. Smaller dunes run perpendicular to some of the larger-scale dunes, probably indicating a shift in wind directions in this area.
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Expedition 50 Spacewalks Prepare Station for Arrival of Commercial Crew Spacecraft
Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet of ESA is seen floating outside the International Space Station during a spacewalk. Pesquet and Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough of NASA conducted the six-hour-and-34-minute spacewalk on March 24, 2017. A second spacewalk, by Kimbrough and NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, is scheduled for Thursday, March 30.
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Dark Spot and Jovian ‘Galaxy’
This enhanced-color image of a mysterious dark spot on Jupiter seems to reveal a Jovian “galaxy” of swirling storms.
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NASA Selects Mission to Study Churning Chaos in our Milky Way and Beyond
NASA has selected a science mission that will measure emissions from the interstellar medium, which is the cosmic material found between stars.