The Soyuz crew ship undocked from the station at 7:32 p.m. EDT today and will return to Earth at 10:55 p.m. with NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner of Roscosmos. Read more… go.nasa.gov/31su0Lm.
Category: space – Page 698
Former space shuttle commander Pam Melroy to space station and diversity in ‘Virtual Astronaut’ webinar
Tune in to “The Virtual Astronaut” talk with Melroy on Oct. 24!
One of the greatest legacies of the International Space Station is the diversity it brought to the astronaut corps, former space shuttle commander Pam Melroy will discuss with a virtual audience Saturday (Oct. 24).
Melroy, a three-time retired spaceflyer and former U.S. Air Force test pilot, will speak about her experiences in space as part of the Virtual Astronaut series, and you can buy tickets here.
NASA’s First Asteroid Sample Collection Attempt
We came. We saw. And we tagged. 👉 ☄️ Watch as OSIRISREx briefly touches the surface of asteroid Bennu during NASA’s first asteroid sample collection attempt. More: https://go.nasa.gov/2Hn0Giz # ToBennuAndBack.
NASA Just Successfully Touched Down on an Asteroid
NASA just landed a spacecraft on an asteroid and, if everything went as planned, sucked up a sample of dust and rock from the surface.
From 200 million miles away, NASA and its engineering partner, Lockheed Martin, instructed the spacecraft to descend to the surface of a space rock called Bennu.
In just 5 to 10 seconds, the probe should have collected samples from the asteroid’s surface. It’s set to bring these pieces of Bennu back to Earth later.
Expedition 63 Change of Command Ceremony
NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy handed over station command today to Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhikov. Cassidy will return to Earth on Wednesday with two Expedition 63 crewmates. https://go.nasa.gov/2SWS3Ob.
Touchdown! NASA makes touchdown on asteroid Bennu to collect samples
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has made a historic touchdown on the asteroid Bennu, dodging boulders the size of buildings to collect samples from the surface for several seconds before safely backing away Tuesday evening.
The meticulous descent took 4.5 hours and by 6.12pm the spacecraft made touchdown where its 11-foot robotic arm acted like a pogo stick and bounced on the asteroid’s surface to collect dirt and dust before the craft launched back into space.
The crucial minutes in the mission started around 5.38pm when the spacecraft extended its arm and cameras toward the asteroid’s surface. By 6pm OSIRIS-REx made matchpoint burn, the spacecraft’s key final maneuver performed by firing its thrusters to match Bennu’s spin to center itself exactly over the landing spot.
NASA DuAxel Rover
Unveiled by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab this week, this is the brand new DuAxel Rover 🚀 🙌
U.S. space mining policies may trigger regulatory ‘race to the bottom,’
In a newly published policy paper, a pair of Canadian scientists warn that the United States is angling to establish itself as the de facto gatekeeper of the moon and other celestial bodies.
Earlier this year, NASA published a new set of rules for lunar mining and other space activities, dubbing the voluntary guidelines the “Artemis Accords.”
Aaron Boley and Michael Byers, authors of the new Science paper, argue that the Artemis Accords are part of a concerted effort by the U.S. and NASA to set a legal precedent for space-based resource extraction.
How Astronauts Weigh Themselves In Space
This is how they measure an astronaut’s weight in space.
Astronaut David Saint-Jacques shows us how the ISS crew weigh themselves in space 👨🚀 👏