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In another first, NASA’s Perseverance rover generates oxygen on Mars

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This view from the Perseverance rover’s navigation cameras shows the “Mars 2020” and “Perseverance” name plates on the vehicle’s robotic arm. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech In another first, an instrument inside NASA’s Perseverance rover has made oxygen out of carbon dioxide sucked in from the atmosphere of Mars, officials said Wednesday. The technology could help future astronauts …

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SLS core ready for shipment to Florida; NASA still hopes for late 2021 launch

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Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi hoist the Space Launch System core stage out of the B-2 test stand April 19 after a hot fire test March 18. Credit: NASA Teams at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi removed the core of NASA’s first Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket from a test stand earlier …

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Boeing crew capsule test flight now scheduled for late summer

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Boeing’s second spaceflight-rated CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is weighed before flight in this photo from January. Credit: Boeing/John Proferes A second unpiloted test flight of Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule — ordered after an initial demonstration mission fell short of reaching the International Space Station — is now scheduled for launch from Cape Canaveral in August or …

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Photos: Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon roll out to pad 39A

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A Falcon 9 rocket with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft rolls up the ramp to pad 39A Friday. Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft rolled out to pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Friday. Hydraulics raised the 215-foot-tall (65-meter) rocket vertical on the historic launch pad in …

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Arianespace announces competition for free nanosatellite launch

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Spectators in Kourou, French Guiana, watch as an Ariane 5 rocket launches three commercial satellites from the Guiana Space Center in August 2020. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – S. Martin Arianespace announced this week it is organizing a contest open to startups, labs, and universities for a free launch of a …

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Astrobotic selects SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy to launch robotic lunar lander

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A Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off in April 2019 with the Arabsat 6A commercial communications satellite. Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now A commercial lunar lander built by Astrobotic will launch from the Kennedy Space Center on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in late 2023 to deliver a water-hunting NASA rover to the moon’s …

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China launches experimental Shiyan satellite

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A Long March 4B rocket takes off from the Taiyuan space base with a Shiyan 6 satellite. Credit: Xinhua China launched the third in a series of experimental Shiyan 6 satellites April 8 aboard a Long March 4B rocket, beginning a mission to test new space technologies, including a new super-black coating to absorb stray …

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Mars helicopter needs a software update before attempting first flight

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NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter unlocked its rotor blades, allowing them to spin freely, on April 7. They had been held in place since before launch, and the unlocking is one of several milestones that must be met before the helicopter can attempt the first powered, controlled flight on another planet. This image was captured by the …

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Musk says methane leak doomed latest Starship test flight

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File photo of the Starship SN8 prototype, which flew last year, with three Raptor engines. Credit: Elon Musk/SpaceX SpaceX founder Elon Musk said Monday that a “relatively small” methane leak caused the explosion of the company’s latest Starship test rocket last week on an experimental flight over South Texas. The 164-foot-tall (50-meter) Starship test vehicle, …

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Perseverance rover’s zoomable camera checks out on Red Planet

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The Perseverance rover’s Mastcam-Z instrument took this picture of the Martian horizon Tuesday, March 30. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS Scientists have confirmed the first zoomable camera on Mars is in top-top shape since arriving aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover in February, adding a long-distance survey capability to the robot’s scientific toolkit. The zoomable imaging instrument, which is actually …

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