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NASA and Boom Supersonic released an incredible photo capturing the shock waves of the supersonic XB-1 aircraft while it traveled in front of the sun during a Feb. 10 test flight.

Microplastics can cut a plant’s ability to photosynthesize by up to 12 percent, new research shows

In a recent paper, Adam Hibberd and Marshall Eubanks explore the feasibility of sending a mission to rendezvous with YR4, the asteroid that may pose a hazard to Earth someday.

On March 6, 1985, NASA’s newest space shuttle, Atlantis, made its public debut during a rollout ceremony at the Rockwell International manufacturing plant in Palmdale, California. Under construction for three years, Atlantis joined NASA’s other three space-worthy orbiters, Columbia, Challenger, and Discovery, and atmospheric test vehicle Enterprise. Officials from NASA, Rockwell, and other organizations attended the rollout ceremony. By the time NASA retired Atlantis in 2011, it had flown 33 missions in a career spanning 26 years and flying many types of missions envisioned for the space shuttle. The Visitor Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida has Atlantis on display. 

Space shuttle Atlantis under construction at Rockwell International’s Palmdale, California, plant in 1984. Credit/NASA. Atlantis during the rollout ceremony in Palmdale. Credit/NASA. Workers truck Atlantis from Palmdale to NASA’s Dryden, now Armstrong, Flight Research Center. Credit/NASA.

On Jan. 25, 1979, NASA announced the names of the first four space-worthy orbiters – Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, and Atlantis. Like the other vehicles, NASA named Atlantis after an historical vessel of discovery and exploration – the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute’s two-masted research ship Atlantis that operated from 1930 to 1966. On Jan. 29, NASA signed the contract with Rockwell International of Downey, California, to build and deliver Atlantis. Construction began in March 1980 and finished in April 1984. Nearly identical to Discovery but with the addition of hardware to support the cryogenic Centaur upper stage then planned to deploy planetary spacecraft in 1986, plans shelved following the Challenger accident. After a year of testing, workers prepared Atlantis for its public debut. 

Atlantis arrives at NASA’s Dryden, now Armstrong, Flight Research Center to prepare for its cross-country ferry flight. Credit/NASA. Atlantis during an overnight stop at Ellington Air Force Base, now Ellington Field, in Houston. Credit/NASA. Atlantis arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Credit/NASA.

Three days after the rollout ceremony, workers trucked Atlantis 36 miles overland to NASA’s Dryden, now Armstrong, Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California’s Mojave Desert, for final preparations for its cross-country ferry flight. In the Mate Demate Device, workers placed Atlantis atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, a modified Boeing 747, to begin the ferry flight. The duo left Edwards on April 12, the fourth anniversary of the first space shuttle flight. Following an overnight stop at Houston’s Ellington Air Force Base, now Ellington Field, Atlantis arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 13. 

Atlantis following its first rollout to Launch Pad 39A. Credit/NASA. The flight readiness firing of Atlantis’ three main engines.Credit/NASA. Liftoff of Atlantis on its first mission, STS-51J. Credit/NASA.

Four months later, on Aug. 12, workers towed Atlantis from the processing facility to the assembly building and mated it to an external tank and twin solid rocket boosters. The entire stack rolled out to Launch Pad 39A on Aug. 30 in preparation for the planned Oct. 3 launch of the STS-51J mission. As with any new orbiter, on Sept. 13 NASA conducted a 20-second Flight Readiness Firing of Atlantis’ three main engines. On Sept. 16, the five-person crew participated in a countdown demonstration test, leading to an on time Oct. 3 launch. Atlantis had joined the shuttle fleet and begun its first mission to space. 

Space shuttle Atlantis in the Visitor Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit/NASA.

Over the course of its 33 missions spanning more than 26 years, Atlantis flew virtually every type of mission envisioned for the space shuttle, including government and commercial satellite deployments, deploying spacecraft to visit interplanetary destinations, supporting scientific missions, launching and servicing scientific observatories such as the Hubble Space Telescope, performing crew rotations and resupplying the Mir space station, and assembling and maintaining the International Space Station. Atlantis flew the final mission of the shuttle program, STS-135,  in July 2011. The following year, NASA transported Atlantis to the Kennedy Visitor Center for public display.  

Explore More 7 min read 40 Years Ago: Space Shuttle Discovery Makes its Public Debut Article 1 year ago 14 min read 40 Years Ago: STS-4, Columbia’s Final Orbital Flight Test Article 3 years ago 6 min read 45 Years Ago: Space Shuttle Enterprise Makes its Public Debut Article 3 years ago

The total lunar eclipse on March 13-14 will plunge moon missions into darkness. What will happen to the lunar spacecraft?

NASA will close several offices and reduce its workforce to comply with an anti-DEI executive order from President Trump.

NASA's Dawn spacecraft took this image of Ceres' south polar region on May 17, 2017, from an altitude of about 26,400 miles (42,500 kilometers).

Photo Credit: United Launch Alliance Photo Credit: United Launch Alliance Photo Credit: United Launch Alliance Photo Credit: NASA/Skip Williams

NASA received the upper stage for the agency’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket on Mar. 9 supplied by Boeing and United Launch Alliance (ULA). Known as the interim cryogenic propulsion stage, it arrived at the Multi Payload Processing Facility (MPPF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The upper stage traveled to the spaceport from ULA’s Delta Operations Center at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

While at the MPPF, technicians will fuel the SLS upper stage with hydrazine for its reaction control system before transporting it to the center’s Vehicle Assembly Building for integration with SLS rocket elements atop mobile launcher 1. The rocket’s solid rocket booster segments are already assembled for launch and the core stage soon will be integrated, as will the launch vehicle stage adapter. The upper stage will be mated to the adapter.

The four-story propulsion system is powered by an RL10 engine, which will provide Orion with the boost it needs to orbit Earth twice before venturing toward the Moon.

Photo Credit: United Launch Alliance and NASA/Skip Williams

NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft took this image of Ceres’ south polar region on May 17, 2017. Launched on Sept. 27, 2007, Dawn was NASA’s first truly interplanetary spaceship. The mission featured extended stays at two extraterrestrial bodies:  giant asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, both in the debris-strewn main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

The spacecraft’s name was meant to present a simple view of the mission’s purpose: to provide information on the dawn of the solar system. The three principal scientific drivers for the mission were to capture the earliest moments in the origin of the solar system, determine the nature of the building blocks from which the terrestrial planets formed, and contrast the formation and evolution of two small planets that followed very different evolutionary paths.

Dawn completed the first order exploration of the inner solar system, addressed NASA’s goal of understanding the origin and evolution of the solar system, and complemented investigations of Mercury, Earth, and Mars. Dawn’s mission ended on Nov. 1, 2018, after two extended missions.

Follow Dawn’s journey from Earth to deep space through the words of mission director and chief engineer, Dr. Marc Rayman.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

The moshing galaxies of Arp 105 dazzle in the Space Image of the Day Monday (March 10), which comes courtesy of Hubble.

Two very different movies based on a very similar premise, but with wildly different approaches.

The NASA Ames Science Directorate recognizes the outstanding contributions of (pictured left to right) Jessica Kong, Josh Alwood, and Sam Kim. Their commitment to the NASA mission represents the entrepreneurial spirit, technical expertise, and collaborative disposition needed to explore this world and beyond.

Space Science and Astrobiology Star: Jessica Kong

Jessica Kong is serving as the Facility Service Manager (FSM) for the Astrobiology and Life Science Lab building for the Exobiology Branch while the FSM is away on parental leave. She has applied her expertise as a chemist to connect seamlessly and effectively with N239 staff, and safety, and facility personnel, as well as to coordinate repairs and building shutdowns while minimizing disruption to laboratory research.

Space Biosciences Star: Josh Alwood

Josh Alwood is a researcher for the Space Biosciences Research Branch, focusing on bone biology and biomechanics, reproductive biology, and the nervous system. His pioneering research on molecular mechanisms of skeletal adaptation during spaceflight has advanced the development of countermeasures to protect astronaut health on long-duration missions.

Earth Science Star: Sam Kim

Sam Kim, a systems administrator and deputy project manager with the Earth Science Project Office (ESPO), serves many roles and excels in each one of them. During the 2024 ASIA-AQ field mission, Sam deployed for over two months as a key member of the advanced staging team at each of the mission’s four overseas field sites, ensuring that the facilities were ready for the arrival of the ASIA-AQ science and instrument team, while still performing his mission-critical role as systems administrator.

Despite having recently officially ended its science operations in January, Gaia, one of the most prolific star explorers ever, is still providing new scientific insights. A recent paper pre-published on arXiv (which has not been peer-reviewed but was submitted to the Astrophysical Journal) took another look at some Gaia data to try to find a unique type of astronomical entity - white dwarf stars that are paired up in a binary with a main sequence one. By applying a machine learning technique called a "self-organizing map," they found 801 new white dwarf-main sequence (WDMS) binaries, increasing the total number ever found by over 20%.

Strange events at the heart of the Milky Way could point toward a new dark suspect that annihilates to influence the chemistry of the cosmos.

If you're looking for a streaming deal, this is a must as you can get a huge discount on Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN Plus, now 72% off.

When downed trees are attacked by beetles, the wood becomes more flammable, demonstrating another way insects can alter the risk of wildfires

When downed trees are attacked by beetles, the wood becomes more flammable, demonstrating another way insects can alter the risk of wildfires

For the second time in two years, a commercial lunar lander built and operated by Intuitive Machines has fallen over on the moon

Ask almost any physicist what the most frustrating problem is in modern-day physics, and they will likely say the discrepancy between general relativity and quantum mechanics. That discrepancy has been a thorn in the side of the physics community for decades. While there has been some progress on potential theories that could rectify the two, there has been scant experimental evidence to support those theories. That is where a new NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts grantee comes in - Selim Shahriar from Northwestern University, Evanston, was recently funded to work on a concept called the Space-borne Ultra-Precise Measurement of the Equivalent Principle Signature of Quantum Gravity (SUPREME-GQ), which he hopes will help collect some accurate experimental data on the subject once and for all.

Quantum fridges, batteries and clocks are brilliant inventions but still limited in power. Now physicist Nicole Yunger Halpern is charting a path to take them to the next level