NASA Announces Artemis Concept Awards for Nuclear Power on Moon
NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy are working together to advance space nuclear technologies. The agencies have selected three design concept proposals for a fission surface power system design that could be ready to launch by the end of the decade for a demonstration on the Moon.
NASA’s Chandra Catches Pulsar in X-ray Speed Trap
A young pulsar is blazing through the Milky Way at a speed of over a million miles per hour. This stellar speedster, witnessed by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, is one of the fastest objects of its kind ever seen. This result teaches astronomers more about how some of the bigger stars end their lives.
NASA’s InSight Gets a Few Extra Weeks of Mars Science
As the power available to NASA’s InSight Mars lander diminishes by the day, the spacecraft’s team has revised the mission’s timeline in order to maximize the science they can conduct. The team now plans to program the lander so that its seismometer can operate longer, perhaps until the end of August or into early September.
NASA Spacecraft Observes Asteroid Bennu’s Boulder ‘Body Armor’
Asteroid Bennu’s boulder-covered surface gives it protection against small meteoroid impacts, according to observations of craters by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Bennu is a “rubble-pile” asteroid, meaning that it formed from the debris of a much larger asteroid that was destroyed by an ancient impact.
NASA App Welcomes Space Launch System Augmented Reality Model
Before NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket launches the agency’s Artemis I mission to the Moon, it will debut on your mobile device! SLS has joined an array of augmented reality virtual 3D models in the NASA app, available for download free of charge.
For more information or to learn about other happenings at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, visit NASA Marshall. For past issues of the ICYMI newsletter, click here.