Milestones
NASA’s next Mars rover has a new name – Perseverance. The name was announced on March 5, 2020 by Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate, during a celebration at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Virginia. Zurbuchen was at the school to congratulate seventh grader Alexander Mather, who submitted the winning entry […]
As part of its celebration of Black History Month, NASA honored retired Air Force Col. Charles McGee at a ceremony Wednesday, February 5, in the James Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters. McGee, who served as a pilot with the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II – known at the time as the “Red Tails” – […]
NASA has assigned astronaut Shannon Walker to the first operational crewed flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft on a mission to the International Space Station.Walker will join NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins and Victor Glover, Jr., as well as Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), for a six-month expedition aboard the unique […]
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine named Marla Pérez-Davis director of the agency’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Pérez-Davis has been serving as the acting director of Glenn since Oct. 1, 2019. “I appreciate both the scope of responsibility Marla has taken on and the estimable abilities she brings to the table as a longtime member of […]
NASA has selected four Discovery Program investigations to develop concept studies for new missions. Although they’re not official missions yet and some ultimately may not be chosen to move forward, the selections focus on compelling targets and science that are not covered by NASA’s active missions or recent selections. Final selections will be made next […]
Each award has a four-year performance period and a maximum value of $760,000 for fiscal year 2020. NASA has awarded more than $39.8 million through the agency’s National Space Grant College and Fellowship Project to increase student and faculty engagement in STEM at community colleges, technical schools and universities across the nation. NASA awarded funds […]
The payloads, which include instruments to assess the composition of the lunar surface, test precision landing technologies, and evaluate the radiation on the Moon, are being delivered under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative as part of the agency’s Artemis program. NASA has selected Masten Space Systems of Mojave, California, to deliver and operate eight payloads […]
NASA has selected SpaceX of Hawthorne, California, to provide launch services for the agency’s Psyche mission. The Psyche mission currently is targeted to launch in July 2022 on a Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The total cost for NASA to launch Psyche and the secondary […]
NASA has selected SpaceX of Hawthorne, California, as the first U.S. commercial provider under the Gateway Logistics Services contract to deliver cargo, experiments and other supplies to the agency’s Gateway in lunar orbit. The award is a significant step forward for NASA’s Artemis program that will land the first woman and next man on the […]
Among the selections are 16 new concepts and seven studies that previously received at least one NIAC award. A full list of the 2020 Phase I, II and III selections can be found here. “NIAC is an innovative program that encourages researchers – and the agency – to think outside of the box for solutions […]
NASA has selected proposals for four missions that would study cosmic explosions and the debris they leave behind, as well as monitor how nearby stellar flares may affect the atmospheres of orbiting planets. Following detailed evaluations, the agency intends to select two proposals in 2021 to be the next astrophysics missions under the Explorers Program. […]
NASA has selected Rocket Lab of Huntington Beach, California, to provide launch services for the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) CubeSat. Rocket Lab, a commercial launch provider licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration, will launch the 55-pound CubeSat aboard an Electron rocket from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. […]
As NASA marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission – which has become known as “a successful failure” that saw the safe return of its crew in spite of a catastrophic explosion – the agency is sharing a variety of resources, recognizing the triumph of the mission control team and the astronauts, and looking […]
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, under a grant from the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts program, is running a public challenge to develop an obstacle avoidance sensor for a possible future Venus rover. The “Exploring Hell: Avoiding Obstacles on a Clockwork Rover” challenge is seeking the public’s designs for a sensor that could be incorporated into […]
More than 12,000 people have applied to join NASA’s next class of astronauts, demonstrating strong national interest to take part in America’s plans to explore the Moon and take humanity’s next giant leap – human missions to Mars. Applications were received from every U.S. state, the District of Columbia, and four U.S. territories. However, the […]
Course on building effective teams covers team culture, diversity, bias, and inclusivity Imagine a team of scientific experts representing 15 distinct institutions, all highly regarded in their fields with a support team of at least 350. Now imagine that team working on a finely tuned mission to space, an exploration like nothing before, a trip to study […]
NASA’s newest podcast is taking listeners on an adventure to explore the wonders of Earth and help unravel the mysteries of the universe. NASA’s Curious Universe explores the wild and wonderful places on our home planet and beyond. Host Padi Boyd transports listeners into the world of NASA’s missions, projects and people. Each episode is an […]
As NASA pushes the frontiers of science and human exploration, the agency also advances technology to modernize life on Earth, including drones, self-driving cars and other innovations. NASA’s diverse missions spur the creation and improvement of thousands of new products that make life better for people around the world. Dozens of the latest examples are […]