Space Archives - Page 15 of 31

This composite image made available by NASA shows the Kuiper Belt object nicknamed Ultima Thule indicated by the crosshairs at center, with stars surrounding it on Aug. 16, 2018, made by the New Horizons spacecraft. The brightness of the stars was subtracted from the final image using a separate photo from September 2017, before the object itself could be detected. (NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute via AP)

NASA spacecraft opens new year 4 billion miles from Earth

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has survived the most distant exploration of another world, a tiny, icy object 4 billion miles away that looks to be shaped like a peanut.

6 years ago

An artist's impression of NASA's New Horizons spacecraft encountering Ultima Thule, a Kuiper Belt object that orbits 1 billion miles (1.6 billion kilometers) beyond Pluto, on Jan. 1, 2019. (JPL/NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/Steve Gribben)

NPR

Science

Way beyond Pluto, an icy world is ready for its close-up

About a billion miles beyond Pluto, a spacecraft is closing in on an icy minor planet — a mysterious little place that's only about 20 miles across.

6 years ago

Skytalk

Science

Going, Going, Gone

Enjoy them while you can, because according to a new analysis of data from the Keck 10 meter telescope at Mauna Kea, Saturn’s rings ...

Air Date: December 26, 2018

Listen 08:27

Vice President Mike Pence announced the revival of the U.S. Space Command, saying on Tuesday that it will oversee more than 18,000 military and civilian personnel who currently work

NPR

Politics & Policy

U.S. Space Command revived as Pence unveils plan in Florida

"A new era of American national security in space begins today," Pence said.

6 years ago

Artist's concept of NASA's Voyager spacecraft. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Skytalk

Science

Adieu to Voyager 2

41 years since it left Earth in the rear view mirror, NASA’s Voyager 2 bids adieu to our solar system. Earlier this week, engineers ...

Air Date: December 13, 2018

Skytalk

Science

Shedding Light on the Dark Side of the Moon

China’s next lunar visitor Chang’e 4 is due to touch down on the far side of the moon on December 31st. If it succeeds in th ...

Air Date: December 10, 2018

Listen 06:42

NASA astronaut Anne McClain (from left), Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko and David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency successfully blasted into space on Monday morning. It is the first mission since an aborted launch in October.

NPR

Science

Soyuz rocket launches, docks successfully to relief of NASA, Russia space agency

Nearly two months after a rocket malfunction forced NASA and the Russian space agency Roscosmos to abort the launch of a Soyuz mission, a new crew blasted off on Monday

6 years ago