Juno’s arrival is getting closer

Juno’s arrival is getting closer

On the fourth of July, many Americans will be looking skyward in celebration of their nation’s independence. On the same date, NASA, and astronomers worldwide will also look skyward in celebration of another great achievement – Juno’s arrival to…

Juno spacecraft just a few weeks away from Jupiter

Juno spacecraft just a few weeks away from Jupiter

NASA's Juno mission, launched August 5, 2011, is now just a few weeks and about 17.8 million km (11.1 million miles) away from Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. Its mission team is using these last weeks to evaluate and re-evaluate every portion…

The highest quality Pluto close-up mosaic from the New Horizons mission

The highest quality Pluto close-up mosaic from the New Horizons mission

NASA's scientists have produced a mosaic of all the highest-resolution images of Pluto collected by the New Horizons spacecraft. The collection of images with a resolution of about 80 m (260 feet) per pixel now extends across the planet's hemisphere that…

Organic molecules crucial for life found in Rosetta’s comet

Organic molecules crucial for life found in Rosetta’s comet

Scientists analyzing data acquired by ESA's comet chaser Rosetta while orbiting comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko have discovered organic molecules regarded as crucial for the origin of life on Earth. The ingredients include the amino acid glycine (C2H5NO2),…

Interstellar spacecraft within a human reach

Interstellar spacecraft within a human reach

Yuri Milner, a billionaire from Russia, announced his proposal on developing a lightweight spacecraft capable of journeying about 40 trillion km through space toward Alpha Centauri, our nearest star and it's planets, at a conference held in New York City on…

New Mars’ gravity map released

New Mars’ gravity map released

A new map of Mars' gravity was released this month, providing a glimpse into the hidden interior of the planet. The map, most detailed to date, was derived using Doppler and range tracking data collected by NASA's Deep Space Network from three NASA…

Colossal ‘super spiral’ galaxies discovered

Colossal ‘super spiral’ galaxies discovered

Scientists using archived NASA data have discovered a strange new kind of galactic beast in the cosmic wilderness. Dubbed "super spirals," these unprecedented galaxies dwarf our own spiral galaxy, the Milky Way, and compete in size and brightness with the…

ESA and Roscosmos launch ExoMars mission

ESA and Roscosmos launch ExoMars mission

In a joint space exploration effort, ESA and Roscosmos have successfully launched their ExoMars 2016 mission to planet Mars. The spacecraft was launched aboard Russian Proton-M rocket from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 09:31 UTC on March 14, 2016. It will…

10 years of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

10 years of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) arrived at Mars on March 10, 2006. During the next six months, MRO used hundreds of dips into the top of the Martian atmosphere to gradually adjust the size of the orbit and stabilize at nearly circular orbit at 250 to…