In late 2017, a mysterious object tore through our solar system at breakneck speed. Astronomers scrambled to observe the fast-moving body using the world's most powerful telescopes. It was found to be one quarter mile (400m) ...
Astronomy
Apr 15, 2025
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21
NASA's Lucy spacecraft is six days and less than 50 million miles (80 million km) away from its second close encounter with an asteroid; this time, the small main belt asteroid Donaldjohanson.
Planetary Sciences
Apr 14, 2025
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Data received from NASA's Juno mission indicates the solar-powered spacecraft went into safe mode twice on April 4 while the spacecraft was flying by Jupiter. Safe mode is a precautionary status that a spacecraft enters when ...
Space Exploration
Apr 10, 2025
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13
Turns out, it's as tough to drop inward into the inner solar system, as it is to head outward. The problem stems from losing momentum from a launch starting point on Earth. It can take missions several years and planetary ...
Space Exploration
Apr 4, 2025
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8
The European Space Agency (ESA) has powered down its Gaia spacecraft after more than a decade spent gathering data that are now being used to unravel the secrets of our home galaxy.
Astronomy
Mar 30, 2025
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82
The instrument enclosure of NASA's Near-Earth Object Surveyor was prepared for critical environmental tests inside the historic Chamber A at the Space Environment Simulation Laboratory at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston ...
Space Exploration
Mar 27, 2025
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0
Aside from sunlight, the sun sends out a gusty stream of particles called the solar wind. The ESA-led Solar Orbiter mission is the first to capture on camera this wind flying out from the sun in a twisting, whirling motion. ...
Astronomy
Mar 27, 2025
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1
A NASA spacecraft will make another close brush with the sun, the second of three planned encounters through the sizzling solar atmosphere.
Planetary Sciences
Mar 21, 2025
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115
Powering spacecraft with solar energy may not seem like a challenge, given how intense the sun's light can feel on Earth. Spacecraft near the Earth use large solar panels to harness the sun for the electricity needed to run ...
Space Exploration
Mar 17, 2025
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1
On the way to investigate the scene of a historic asteroid collision, a European spacecraft swung by Mars and captured rare images of the red planet's mysterious small moon Deimos, the European Space Agency (ESA) said Thursday.
Planetary Sciences
Mar 13, 2025
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24
A spacecraft is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. On a sub-orbital spaceflight, a spacecraft enters space then returns to the Earth. For an orbital spaceflight, a spacecraft enters a closed orbit around the planetary body. Spacecraft used for human spaceflight carry people on board as crew or passengers. Spacecraft used for robotic space missions operate either autonomously or telerobotically. Robotic spacecraft that leave the vicinity of the planetary body are space probes. Robotic spacecraft that remain in orbit around the planetary body are artificial satellites. Starships, which are built for interstellar travel, are so far a theoretical concept only (aside from a handful of interstellar probes such as Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager, and New Horizons).
Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and space tourism. Spacecraft and space travel are common themes in works of science fiction.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA
