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Tag: NASA
Perseverance Rover Starts Two-Year Mission on Mars
NASA’s rover, Perseverance, landed on Mars on Feb. 18 and begins a two-year search for signs of ancient life.
Stunning New Colour-Enhanced Pictures of Jupiter
NASA recently released new pictures of Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. The photos were taken by the Juno spacecraft. Many of the black-and-white images, sent back to Earth by Juno, have been colourized by people to better show the clouds swirling around the planet. The Juno spacecraft was launched in 2011. Its mission was “to examine Jupiter’s chemistry, atmosphere, interior structure and magnetosophere,” according to a NASA website. Juno arrived at Jupiter in 2016, looking for “clues to its origin and evolution.” Since that time, it has been orbiting (flying around) Jupiter, taking pictures and sending them digitally back to Earth.
Cassini Spacecraft Begins Last Stage Of 20-Year Mission
In October 1997, a spacecraft called the Cassini orbiter was launched on a mission to explore Saturn and its moons.
Now, after nearly 20 years in space, Cassini’s mission is coming to an end. Cassini is running out of fuel. Scientists expect it to burn up in Saturn’s atmosphere in September.
But before that happens, the spacecraft will make a series of dives between Saturn and its rings, sending photographs and other information back to Earth.
Space Probe Will Fetch Asteroid Sample
A NASA mission to bring samples from an asteroid’s surface back to Earth could help scientists better understand how our solar system began. The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Sept. 8. The unmanned probe is on a […]
Time For A Change As NASA Upgrades Its Launch Clock
There are some pretty famous clocks in the world: London’s Big Ben, and the clock on the Peace Tower in Ottawa, to name just two.
But the most watched clock in the world may be NASA’s launch clock.
Volunteers Preparing For Life On Mars
Six people are about to find out what it would be like to live on Mars – without ever leaving the Earth.
Three men and three women will spend eight months
The Latest In Martian Fashion
NASA has unveiled the design of its Mars space suit.
The “Comet Of The Century” Set To Put On A Show
Comet ISON is about to put on a show.
Scientists around the world are watching as ISON streaks, ever-faster, towards the sun.
NASA has been studying ISON since December, when it was more than 800 million kilometres away.
Experts are calling Comet ISON as “the comet of the century.”
What is a comet? Here’s how astrophysicist Julie Abraham describes a comet: “It’s basically a big ball of dirty ice in orbit around the sun that gradually melts or burns up, spewing out debris and water in a plume blown out behind it.”
MAVEN Spacecraft Takes Off For Mars
This week, a “robotic explorer” left Earth on its way to Mars.
It should get there next September. Mars is more than 700 million kilometres away.
The explorer is going to Mars to try to solve some of the planet’s mysteries.
For instance, why is Mars now a cold, dry planet when it started out warm and wet?
The Associated Press reports that “the early Martian atmosphere was thick enough to hold water and possibly support microbial life.”
Scientists at NASA want to know what happened to change that.
