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NASA Initiates New Strategy for Mars Sample Return Mission

NASA Initiates New Strategy for Mars Sample Return Mission

NASA is launching a new initiative called the Perseverance Sample Retrieval Architecture (PSRA) to re-evaluate and establish a fresh strategy for bringing Martian samples back to Earth. This move signifies a renewed focus on the long-standing goal of robotically collecting and returning specimens from the Red Planet. The PSRA aims to develop impartial recommendations for retrieving the samples that have been collected by the Perseverance rover. This strategic re-evaluation is crucial for optimizing the complex engineering and scientific challenges associated with such a mission, ensuring the most effective and efficient pathway for bringing these invaluable Martian materials to terrestrial laboratories for in-depth study. The initiative underscores NASA's commitment to advancing planetary science and understanding the potential for past or present life on Mars.

Marquette Alumna Elise Rimsa Commands Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Cameras from JPL

Marquette Alumna Elise Rimsa Commands Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Cameras from JPL

Elise Rimsa, a Marquette University alumna (Arts '18), is working as an instrument operator and data operations engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Her responsibilities include commanding the engineering cameras aboard the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, which is approximately 140 million miles away on Mars. The imaging system is crucial for the rover's operations, including navigation, hazard avoidance, and sample collection on the Martian surface. The images captured by Rimsa and her team provide vital information for rover planners and scientists to determine the rover's next actions. The mission's primary goal is to search for signs of ancient life on Mars and collect rock and soil samples for potential return to Earth for detailed study. Rimsa emphasizes that space exploration is a collaborative effort involving hundreds of people at JPL.

SpaceX's next Starship launch could last a day, and you can watch it all

SpaceX's next Starship launch could last a day, and you can watch it all

SpaceX's next Starship test, flight 15, is expected to last nearly a full day. Here's how you can watch it all live.

Hubble Reveals 'Cat's Tail' Dust Cloud Around Beta Pictoris, Offering Insights into Early Solar Systems

Hubble Reveals 'Cat's Tail' Dust Cloud Around Beta Pictoris, Offering Insights into Early Solar Systems

New observations from the Hubble Space Telescope have provided a clearer picture of the 'Cat's Tail,' a trail of soot-dark dust around the young star Beta Pictoris, located 63 light-years away. The study, led by University of Arizona doctoral student Arin Avsar, indicates that this dust structure lies mostly flat against the sky from Earth's perspective and is composed almost entirely of porous, carbon-rich grains. These grains are believed to have formed from a collision between two Pluto-sized bodies. The Cat's Tail was initially discovered in 2024 by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, which detected it in mid-infrared light. Hubble's visible-light images, combined with Webb's infrared data and computer modeling, helped reconstruct the tail's three-dimensional arrangement, revealing its flat orientation and fluffy, carbon-rich composition.

Calgary Writer John Larsen Chronicles Canadian Astronaut Jeremy Hansen's Journey in New Book

Calgary Writer John Larsen Chronicles Canadian Astronaut Jeremy Hansen's Journey in New Book

Calgary-based writer John Larsen has authored 'Earthrise: A Canadian Astronaut's Journey Into Deep Space,' a new book detailing Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen's path to the Artemis II mission. The book, credited to John Larsen with Jeremy Hansen, is told through Hansen's first-person narration and covers his humble beginnings in rural Ontario, his lifelong dream of becoming an astronaut, and the rigorous training and sacrifices involved in his journey. Larsen was inspired to write the book after watching Hansen and the Artemis II crew on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' on April 5, 2023. The crew, including Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Christina Hammock Koch, discussed the importance of the mission and its potential to lead to human missions to Mars. Hansen's selection for the Artemis II mission marks him as the first Canadian to go on a lunar mission, alongside the first woman and first person of color on such a mission. Larsen, a former senior military public affairs officer, conducted numerous...

SpaceX aims for first double catch of Starship in its most ambitious test flight yet

SpaceX aims for first double catch of Starship in its most ambitious test flight yet

SpaceX is launching Starship into orbit on its boldest test yet, a 22-hour flight that aims to recapture the entire rocket at the Texas pad

SpaceX Aims for Full Starship Reusability with Ambitious Orbital Test Flight

SpaceX Aims for Full Starship Reusability with Ambitious Orbital Test Flight

SpaceX is preparing for its most ambitious Starship test flight to date, aiming to achieve full reusability of both the Starship upper stage and the Super Heavy booster. The flight, potentially launching as early as November 13, 2026, will attempt to launch Starship into Earth orbit, deploy 26 Starlink V3 satellites, and then land both stages back at Starbase, Texas. The Super Heavy booster is designed to return to the launch pad for a safe landing, a maneuver successfully demonstrated three times previously. For the first time, the Starship upper stage is also planned to return to Starbase for a soft landing on a separate pad. This mission follows the 14th flight in September, which experienced engine problems and did not complete a full orbit, despite reaching an orbital trajectory. If successful, this 15th flight would mark the first fully orbital flight for Starship and a significant step towards SpaceX's goal of dramatically lowering space launch costs through rapid reusability.

NASA's Pandora Mission Begins Exoplanet Observations with RTX-Supplied Technology

NASA's Pandora Mission Begins Exoplanet Observations with RTX-Supplied Technology

NASA has announced that the Pandora mission has commenced its observations, utilizing technology supplied by RTX. The Pandora spacecraft, integrated and tested at Blue Canyon in Lafayette, Colorado, is designed to differentiate signals from exoplanet atmospheres from changes in their host stars. The mission, which completed its environmental campaign in 2025, combines a 45-centimeter diameter telescope with visible and infrared light observations. This setup allows the science team to separate the contributions of the star and its transiting planet to the measured spectrum. Blue Canyon's platform is crucial for supporting the extended pointing and operational requirements of the observing program. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory provided project management and engineering, while NASA centers and universities contributed scientific and technical capabilities, linking industrial suppliers with scientific institutions.

SpaceX targets 'Holy Grail of rocketry' with Starship flight 15

SpaceX targets 'Holy Grail of rocketry' with Starship flight 15

SpaceX plans to catch both stages of its Starship rocket in a significant first during the next launch, known as flight 15, in South Texas.

NASA Initiates New Strategy for Mars Sample Return Program Amid Cost and Timeline Concerns

NASA Initiates New Strategy for Mars Sample Return Program Amid Cost and Timeline Concerns

NASA has launched a new initiative, the Perseverance Sample Retrieval Architecture (PSRA), to re-evaluate and establish a fresh strategy for its Mars Sample Return (MSR) program. This move comes as the MSR program has faced significant challenges, including an estimated cost of $11 billion and a projected return date of 2040, which NASA deemed too expensive and too distant. Tiffany Morgan, director of the NASA Mars Exploration Program (MEP), announced the PSRA initiative on November 9 during a virtual meeting of the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG). The PSRA strategy aims to develop impartial recommendations for retrieving Martian samples collected by the Perseverance rover and delivering them to Earth, assess mission requirements, review past lessons learned, and evaluate current capabilities and acquisition options. The PSRA strategy team is scheduled to kick off in January 2027, with a final report expected in winter 2027-2028.

NASA's ESCAPADE Mission Twin Spacecraft Successfully Achieve Trans-Mars Injection

NASA's ESCAPADE Mission Twin Spacecraft Successfully Achieve Trans-Mars Injection

The twin spacecraft of NASA's ESCAPADE Mission, named Blue and Gold, have successfully completed their Trans-Mars Injection (TMI). Designed and built by Rocket Lab for NASA and the University of California Berkeley's Space Science Laboratory, these spacecraft executed powered Earth gravity assists before firing their main engines for 9.5 minutes. This maneuver propelled them past Earth at over 10 kilometers per second, initiating their interplanetary cruise phase towards Mars. The spacecraft are scheduled to arrive at the Red Planet in September 2027, where their primary mission will be to study the Martian atmosphere. A Trans-Mars Injection is a critical propulsive maneuver that places a spacecraft on a trajectory, or Mars transfer orbit, to reach Mars with the lowest possible energy requirements, typically utilizing transfer windows that open every two years.

SpaceX’s attempt for a Starship double catch is thwarted when the booster ends up in Gulf of Mexico

SpaceX’s attempt for a Starship double catch is thwarted when the booster ends up in Gulf of Mexico

SpaceX’s attempt to recover its entire Starship rocket back at its Texas launch pad has been thwarted