Universe Today

On March 26th, the ESA’s Solar Orbiter made its closest approach to the Sun so far. It ventured inside Mercury’s orbit and was about one-third the distance from Earth to the Sun. It was hot but worth it. The Solar Orbiter’s primary mission is to understand the connection between the Sun and its heliosphere, and … Continue reading "Solar Orbiter’s Pictures of the Sun are Every Bit as Dramatic as You Were Hoping" The post Solar Orbiter’s Pictures of the Sun are Every Bit as Dramatic as You Were Hoping appeared first on Universe Today....

If skies are clear, be sure to watch for a potential meteor outburst early next Tuesday morning. The post Update on the Potential May 31st tau Herculid Meteor Storm appeared first on Universe Today....

Everyone loves looking at the Moon, especially through a telescope. To see those dark and light patches scattered across its surface brings about a sense of awe and wonder to anyone who looks up at the night sky. While our Moon might be geologically dead today, it was much more active billions of years ago … Continue reading "The Moon’s Ancient Volcanoes Could Have Created Ice Sheets Dozens of Meters Thick" The post The Moon’s Ancient Volcanoes Could Have Created Ice Sheets Dozens of Meters Thick appeared first on Universe Today....

NASA’s spacesuits are getting old. The extra-vehicular mobility units – EMUs for short – were designed and built for spacewalks outside NASA’s space shuttles, which flew for the last time in 2011. Nowadays, the EMUs are an integral part of maintaining and upgrading the International Space Station (ISS) exterior, providing the crew with the ability … Continue reading "Spacesuits are Leaking Water and NASA is Holding off any Spacewalks Until They can Solve the Problem" The post Spacesuits are Leaking Water and NASA is Holding off any Spacewalks Until They can Solve the Problem appeared first on Universe Today....

Boeing's CST-100 Starliner successfully launched and rendezvoused with the ISS, a crucial step towards performing commercial crew and payload services! The post Starliner Launches Successfully, but Two of its Thrusters Failed appeared first on Universe Today....

NASA is planning a mission to demonstrate the ability to repair and upgrade satellites in Earth orbit. The mission, called OSAM-1 (On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing-1), will send a robotic spacecraft equipped with robotic arms and all the tools and equipment needed to fix, refuel or extend satellites’ lifespans, even if those satellites were not … Continue reading "NASA is Building a Mission That Will Refuel and Repair Satellites in Orbit" The post NASA is Building a Mission That Will Refuel and Repair Satellites in Orbit appeared first on Universe Today....

Remember all the fuss about the “doorway on Mars” from just last week? Well, this week, NASA issued some more information about the rock mound where the Curiosity rover snapped a pic showing a fracture hole in the rock. It looks like a door, but it’s not. This discovery came as Curiosity was investigating an … Continue reading "The “Doorway on Mars” is More Like a Dog Door" The post The “Doorway on Mars” is More Like a Dog Door appeared first on Universe Today....

Ever wonder what it would be like to fly through the Orion Nebula with all its newborn stars? Or buzz through the California Nebula? Of course, we’ve seen simulated “fly-throughs” of nebulae in sci-fi TV and movies and on planetarium domes. But, what if we had a warp-speed spaceship and could chart a path through … Continue reading "Thanks to Gaia, Astronomers are Able to Map Out Nebulae in 3D" The post Thanks to Gaia, Astronomers are Able to Map Out Nebulae in 3D appeared first on Universe Today....

It might be hard to fathom now, but the human exploration of the solar system isn’t going to stop at the Moon and Mars. Eventually, our descendants will spread throughout the solar system – for those interested in space exploration, the question is only of when rather than if. Answering that question is the focus … Continue reading "Forget About Mars, When Will Humans be Flying to Saturn?" The post Forget About Mars, When Will Humans be Flying to Saturn? appeared first on Universe Today....