NASA Asks for Help in Bringing Back Mars Samples After Mission Becomes Too Expensive
NASA is calling on industry players to come up with an alternative plan to return rocky samples from Mars at a lower cost and an earlier date. Wagner Moura on…
NASA Finally Opened the Asteroid Container and Holy Crap That’s a Lot of Asteroid
The aluminum canister containing bits of an ancient space rock has finally been opened, revealing the bulk of the asteroid Bennu sample in all its glory. Alex Winter on His…
NASA Finally Cracks Open the Asteroid Sample Container
After months of fidgeting with a canister that contained rocky samples from an ancient asteroid, NASA engineers have finally removed two stubborn fasteners that appeared to be preventing the space…
NASA Finally Cracks Open Asteroid Sample Container
After months of fidgeting with a canister that contained rocky samples from an ancient asteroid, NASA engineers have finally removed two stubborn fasteners that appeared to be preventing the space…
Layoffs Loom at NASA After Termination of Over 100 Contractors Amid Mars Budget Constraints
NASA is scaling back on its ambitious Mars Sample Return (MSR) program, fearing federal budget cuts to the space agency’s plan to bring back rock and dust from the Red…
It’s Been 2 Months. Why Can’t NASA Open the Asteroid Sample Container?
In September, fragments of a near-Earth asteroid were carefully dropped off in the Utah desert. The space rocks hold clues to the origin of the solar system and can possibly…
NASA Discovers Root Cause of Parachute Glitch in Asteroid Sample Landing
Inconsistent labels in the OSIRIS-REx landing plans are what caused the out-of-order parachute deployment during the return capsule’s descent to Earth on September 24, NASA stated in a release yesterday.…
NASA’s Dragonfly Mission to Titan Faces Further Delays Amid Budget Uncertainties
NASA has announced a delay in its ambitious Dragonfly mission to Saturn’s moon Titan, moving the launch date to July 2028. This decision, driven by budget uncertainties, comes despite the…
California Legislators Slam ‘Rash’ NASA Cuts to Marquee Mars Mission
Six California lawmakers wrote to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson last week to oppose the agency’s recent cuts to the Mars Sample Return mission, which aims to bring samples collected by…
Bennu Asteroid Samples Expected to ‘Fundamentally’ Shift Our Perspective on Cosmic Life
We’ve all been there: You’re getting some peanut butter, or looking to nosh a nice pickle, when you find your wrist strength is insufficient to get at the jar’s delicious…