Earth planning date: Friday, May 17, 2024 During the night of May 10, Earth experienced a fantastic display of aurorae (Northern and Southern Lights) which extended all the way to tropical latitudes, courtesy of the strongest geomagnetic storm since 2003. The enormous solar active region 3664, which produced the X-class flares and powerful coronal mass […]
The largest geomagnetic storm in 21 years lit up the sky last weekend, and NASA’s volunteers were ready. Between May 10th and 12th 2024, NASA’s Aurorasaurus project received an unprecedented number of reports from around the world. It also helped eager aurora chasers get a better view.
NASA, on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has selected BAE Systems (formerly known as Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation) of Boulder, Colorado, to develop an instrument to analyze ocean data as part of NOAA’s Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) satellite program. This cost-plus-award-fee contract is valued at approximately $450 million. It includes […]
The march to the first Moon landing took a giant leap forward in May 1969 with the successful completion of Apollo 10, essentially a dress rehearsal for the landing mission. During their eight-day flight, the all-veteran Apollo 10 crew of Thomas P. Stafford, John W. Young, and Eugene A. Cernan rehearsed nearly every aspect of […]
As part of NASA’s efforts to expand commercial resupply in low Earth orbit, Sierra Space’s uncrewed spaceplane arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of its first flight to the International Space Station. The Dream Chaser spaceplane, named Tenacity, arrived at Kennedy on May 18 inside a climate-controlled transportation container from NASA’s Neil Armstrong […]
Science in Space: May 2024 Future missions to the Moon and Mars must address many challenges, including preventing loss of bone and muscle tissue in astronauts. Research on the International Space Station is helping to address this challenge. Without Earth’s gravity, both bone and muscle atrophy, or become smaller and weaker. Early on, scientists realized […]
Anima Patil-Sabale has been shooting for the stars since she was a little girl growing up in India. Inspired by books about the Apollo-era space program, Patil-Sabale decided she would be an astronaut one day. For the first step on her journey to space, Patil-Sabale hoped to become a fighter pilot, but India did not […]
The Apollo 10 spacecraft stands, illuminated by launch pad spotlights, at Kennedy Space Center in Florida in this photo from May 4, 1969. It launched on May 18, 1969, with astronauts Thomas P. Stafford, Eugene A. Cernan, and John W. Young aboard. The Apollo 10 mission encompassed all aspects of an actual crewed lunar landing, […]
For spacewalks to even be possible, spacesuits need insulation and temperature controls to withstand temperature swings between 250 and minus 250 degrees Fahrenheit. This extreme environment made NASA innovators look beyond everyday materials to find something unique to keep explorers comfortable and safe. In the 1980s, NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston entered into a […]
New data analysis indicates that NASA and its partners could have more cost-effective methods for dealing with the growing issue of orbital debris than previously thought. A new report from NASA’s Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy provides agency leadership with new insight about how to measure the risks presented by orbital debris. “Growing activity […]
The virus has killed tens of millions of birds and infected hundreds of species of animals, including dairy cattle in the United States. Here’s what you should know about it
When Lulu Hunt Peters brought Americans a new method for weighing their dinner options, she launched a century of diet fads that left us hungry for a better way to keep our bodies strong and healthy
Camouflaged by the sand, these threatened shorebirds aim to hide from predators. Now conservationists are trying to give their breeding efforts a boost
On February 7, 1984, astronaut Bruce McCandless ventured out into space and away from shuttle Challenger using only a nitrogen-propelled, hand-controlled backpack
After scientists documented the flying mammals in the Piusa Sand Caves, dug by miners a century ago, conservationists strove to protect the vital habitat
Driven by a childhood marked by war and environmental devastation, marine scientist Dyhia Belhabib developed an innovative technology to combat illegal fishing
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's method of detecting methane leaks at landfills is flawed, and emissions of this powerful heat-trapping gas are likely much higher than what is being reported, according to a new study analyzing landfills in Illinois and seven other states.
The authors of a major study on the critically endangered Arabian leopard say that the release of captive bred animals carefully selected for their genes can make a significant contribution to the successful recovery of the dwindling wild population and avert the prospect of extinction.
For Wendy Hood and Geoffrey Hill in Biological Sciences, Andreas Kavazis in Kinesiology, and their team, Emma Rhodes, Paulo Mesquita, and Jeff Yap, traveling the country to unlock the mystery of mitochondria in migrating aviary species has allowed them to make a significant contribution to research in an area that has not been investigated before.
Since 2015, the Amazon has been slower to recover from increasing drought events, but, overall, the rainforest still shows a remarkable resilience. New international research led by KU Leuven Earth and environmental scientists shows that forest degradation due to drought has been most pronounced in the southern Amazon, where human impact is greatest.
A team of researchers from The University of Queensland has found employees experience more stress at work when interrupted with requests for unnecessary or unreasonable tasks.
New data analysis indicates that NASA and its partners could have more cost-effective methods for dealing with the growing issue of orbital debris than previously thought.
Future missions to the moon and Mars must address many challenges, including preventing loss of bone and muscle tissue in astronauts. Research on the International Space Station is helping to address this challenge.
An Oregon State University study has found evidence that Indigenous groups in the Pacific Northwest were intentionally harvesting edible camas bulbs at optimal stages of the plant's maturation as far back as 3,500 years ago.
Few things in nature are as predictable as ocean tides. Driven by the moon's and sun's gravitational pull, these persistent, short-period, and large-magnitude phenomena are apparent in nearly all types of oceanographic and satellite observations. They also directly impact the rhythm of life for millions of people and countless ecosystems.
A research team collaborated to identify the principle of an eco-friendly energy-based soft mechanoluminescent complex that emits light without batteries. It is expected to be applied in various fields, such as optical sensors, artificial skin, and displays. The team includes Dr. Jeong Soon-moon, Dr. Lim Sung-jun (Division of Nanotechnology) and Prof. Kim Young-hoon (Department of Applied Chemistry, Kookmin University).
More than 150 years ago, some 15,000 Chinese workers arrived in the U.S. to help construct the country's first transcontinental railroad, which connected the West Coast with the East Coast's rail network.
Micelles assemble in water from amphiphilic molecules, composed of hydrophilic and hydrophobic frameworks. They can be found all around us, for example in soaps, detergents, and shampoos. Their main application is the water-solubilization of insoluble molecules through encapsulation into hydrophobic cavities.
New research has uncovered a social world full of cheating, cooperation, and other intrigues, suggesting that viruses make sense only as members of a community.
A trial vaccine has succeeded in generating low levels of antibodies needed to target HIV. It’s a first but much-needed step toward preventing infection.
Users receiving weekly injections saw their weight fall, plateau, and stabilize over the course of a four-year trial—but it’s still unclear how long these effects last after stopping taking the drug.
The preliminary results of a clinical trial of using heat exposure to combat depression are in—and are fueling cautious optimism that sauna practice could become an accepted treatment.
Loaded with ever more renewables, the grid will need to store a whole lot of energy. Enter: a new kind of magic school bus—one that can both charge and give power back.
The outer layers of the sun’s atmosphere are a blistering million degrees hotter than its surface. NASA sent a probe to find out why—by getting closer to the star than ever before.
Three bursts of charged particles ejected from the sun have merged into a wave that could lead to brilliant auroras being visible from Moscow to Oklahoma City.
Two cicada broods, XIX and XIII, are emerging in sync for the first time in 221 years. They’re bringing the banquet of a lifetime for birds, trees, and humans alike.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had both a brain parasite and mercury poisoning at the same time. Just how rare is each condition?
Seven years behind schedule, this month Starliner will send two astronauts to space on a mission for NASA. The troubled company still has lots of catching up to do.
