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A meteorite discovered in north-west Africa in 2023 didn’t come from a large asteroid or any of the known planets of the solar system – but it might have formed on a planet that was destroyed long ago

NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 members pose together for a portrait inside the vestibule between the International Space Station and the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft.

NASA/Nick Hague

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, and Suni Williams, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov – the members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission – smile at the camera in this Feb. 19, 2025, photo. While aboard the International Space Station, Hague, Williams, and Wilmore completed more than 900 hours of research between more than 150 unique scientific experiments and technology demonstrations during their stay aboard the orbiting laboratory.

Wilmore, Hague, Williams, and Gorbunov are set to return to Earth on Tuesday, March 18, with splashdown set for approximately 5:57 p.m. EDT.

Watch NASA’s Crew-9 return coverage at 4:45 p.m. EDT Tuesday on NASA+.

Image credit: NASA/Nick Hague

As part of NASA’s Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations flight tests in November 2024, Overwatch Aero flies a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft in Watsonville, California.Credit: NASA

NASA will conduct a live flight test of aircraft performing simulated wildland fire response operations using a newly developed airspace management system at 9 a.m. PDT on Tuesday, March 25, in Salinas, California.

NASA’s new portable airspace management system, part of the agency’s Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) project, aims to significantly expand the window of time crews have to respond to wildland fires. The system provides the air traffic awareness needed to safely send aircraft – including drones and remotely piloted helicopters – into wildland fire operations, even during low-visibility conditions. Current aerial firefighting operations are limited to times when pilots have clear visibility, which lowers the risk of flying into the surrounding terrain or colliding with other aircraft. This restriction grounds most aircraft at night and during periods of heavy smoke.

During this inaugural flight test, researchers will use the airspace management system to coordinate the flight operations of two small drones, an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, and a remotely piloted aircraft that will have a backup pilot aboard. The drones and aircraft will execute examples of critical tasks for wildland fire management, including weather data sharing, simulated aerial ignition flights, and communications relay.

Media interested in viewing the ACERO flight testing must RSVP by 4 p.m. Friday, March 21, to the NASA Ames Office of Communications by email at: arc-dl-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov or by phone at 650-604-4789. NASA will release additional details, including address and arrival logistics, to media credentialed for the event. A copy of NASA’s media accreditation policy is online.

NASA’s ACERO researchers will use data from the flight test to refine the airspace management system. The project aims to eventually provide this technology to wildland fire crews for use in the field, helping to save lives and property. This project is managed at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.

For more information on ACERO, visit:

https://go.nasa.gov/4bYEzsD

-end-

Rob Margetta
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
robert.j.margetta@nasa.gov

Hillary Smith
Ames Research Center, Silicon Valley
650-604-4789
hillary.smith@nasa.gov

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Details Last Updated Mar 18, 2025 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms

• Ames Research Center
• Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations
• Aeronautics
• Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate
• Flight Innovation

NASA astronaut Don Pettit captured this stunning long-exposure view of Earth and stars from space at night from the International Space Station.

Speedy new chargers from Chinese automaker BYD take just 5 minutes to restore 400 kilometres of an electric car’s range, but will they be widely used?

Speedy new chargers from Chinese automaker BYD take just 5 minutes to restore 400 kilometres of an electric car’s range, but will they be widely used?

Speedy new chargers from Chinese automaker BYD take just 5 minutes to restore 400 kilometres of an electric car’s range

Speedy new chargers from Chinese automaker BYD take just 5 minutes to restore 400 kilometres of an electric car’s range

The search for life has become one of the holy grails of science. With the increasing number of exoplanet discoveries, astronomers are hunting for a chemical that can only be present in the atmosphere of a planet with life! A new paper suggests that methyl halides, which contain one carbon and three hydrogen atoms, may just do the trick. Here on Earth they are produced by bacteria, algae, fungi and some plants but not by any abiotic processes (non biological.) There is a hitch, detecting these chemicals is beyond the reach of current telescopes.

The clearest and most precise images yet of the universe’s infancy from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope show the first steps toward the first stars and galaxies.

The finest ever map of the cosmic microwave background - the faint evidence of the universe's early form - has yielded precise confirmation of the age of the cosmos and its rate of expansion. But for some scientists, the findings offer a frustrating lack of clues to major cosmological mysteries

The finest ever map of the cosmic microwave background - the faint evidence of the universe's early form - has yielded precise confirmation of the age of the cosmos and its rate of expansion. But for some scientists, the findings offer a frustrating lack of clues to major cosmological mysteries

Paramount celebrates with a USS Enterprise bridge photo and new Season 3 character posters

RFK, Jr. fought mercury pollution for years, but he is now in an administration that wants to make it easier for industries to dump it into the air and water

Money is a deeply emotive subject, our attitudes to it vary wildly and we are reluctant to bring it up in conversation. Could new research help us to be less weird about it?

Money is a deeply emotive subject, our attitudes to it vary wildly and we are reluctant to bring it up in conversation. Could new research help us to be less weird about it?

The China Space Station Telescope, scheduled for a 2027 launch, will offer astronomers a fresh view on the cosmos. Though somewhat smaller than Hubble, it features a much wider field of view, giving a wide-field surveys that will map gravitational lensing, galaxy clusters, and cosmic voids. Scientists anticipate it will measure dark energy with 1% precision, differentiate between cold and dark matter models, and evaluate gravitational theories.

3 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

Media are invited to meet leaders in the space community during the 62nd annual Goddard Space Science Symposium, taking place from Wednesday, March 19, to Friday, March 21, at Martin’s Crosswinds in Greenbelt, Maryland. The symposium will also be streamed online.

Hosted by the American Astronautical Society (AAS) in conjunction with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, the symposium examines the current state and future of space science and space exploration at large by convening leading minds across NASA, other government agencies, policy, academia, and industry – collectively navigating a path forward by identifying the opportunities and challenges ahead.

This year’s theme, “Pathways and Partnerships for U.S. Leadership in Earth and Space Science,” highlights the evolving collaborative landscape between the public and private sectors, as well as how it is helping the United States remain and grow as a leading space power. 

“Earth and space science are complex by nature, with a growing list of public and private enterprises carving out their space,” said Christa Peters-Lidard, co-chair of the symposium planning committee and Goddard’s director of sciences and exploration. “It’s an exciting time as we work to determine the future trajectory of space exploration in this new era, and the Goddard Space Science Symposium is an instrumental tool for gathering the insights of leading experts across a broad spectrum.”

AAS President Ron Birk and Goddard Deputy Center Director Cynthia Simmons will deliver the symposium’s opening remarks on March 19, followed by panels on enabling science and exploration from the Moon to Mars and navigating space science and exploration policy. Greg Autry, associate provost for space commercialization and strategy at the University of Central Florida, will deliver the keynote address. The first day will conclude with an industry night reception.

The second day of the symposium on Thursday, March 20, will feature panels on enhancing U.S. economic leadership through science, the Habitable Worlds Observatory, and the confluence of public science and the private sector. Gillian Bussey, deputy chief science officer for the U.S. Space Force, will serve as the luncheon speaker.

Panels on the third and final day, March 21, will discuss integrating multi-sector data to advance Earth and space science, the Heliophysics Decadal Survey, and the space weather enterprise. Mark Clampin, acting deputy associate administrator for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, will provide the luncheon address.

Media interested in arranging interviews with NASA speakers should contact Jacob Richmond, Goddard acting news chief.

For more information on the Goddard Space Science Symposium and the updated program, or to register as a media representative, visit https://astronautical.org/events/goddard.

For more information on NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, visit https://www.nasa.gov/goddard.

Media Contact:
Jacob Richmond
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

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Details Last Updated Mar 18, 2025 EditorJamie AdkinsLocationNASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms

• Goddard Space Flight Center

There are a couple potential explanations for distinctive markings found on a Martian rock, but new evidence suggests they are most likely to be related to microbial activity