Space Exploration, features and articles | Educational Science

Jun 30, 2022

See the deepest image ever taken of our universe, captured by James Webb Telescope

The first full-color image from the James Webb Space Telescope has been unveiled by NASA and President Joe Biden, and it's the deepest and and most detailed image of the universe to ever be captured. Named Webb's First Deep Field, the spectacular and mind-bending photo shows our universe only a...

Jun 30, 2022

NASA's gargantuan Mega Moon Rocket could head to space as soon as Aug. 29

NASA's Artemis mission — which will ultimately return humans to the moon's surface for the first time in 50 years, including the first woman and person of color to set foot there — could launch as soon as late August, agency officials said in a news briefing on Wednesday (July...

Jun 30, 2022

James Webb Space Telescope: Origins, design and mission objectives

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which launched Dec. 25, 2021 at 7:20 a.m. ET (12:20 p.m. GMT) from the Guiana Space Centre (also known as Europe's Spaceport) in French Guiana, is on a mission to observe some of the faintest, oldest objects in the universe, from a vantage point...

Feb 28, 2022

Fact check: Russian space agency head didn't threaten to strand American astronaut

This week, news outlets reported that the head of Russia's Space Agency threatened to leave American astronaut Mark Vande Hei — the record-holder for the longest spaceflight — aboard the International Space Station (ISS) rather than allowing him to return to Earth on a Russian spacecraft. It turns out that...

Feb 28, 2022

Satellite images show fires and rubble in Mariupol after devastating Russian attack

New satellite images of Ukraine have revealed shocking scenes of death and destruction in the southern port city of Mariupol. The images, taken by the U.S. private satellite company Maxar on Saturday (March 12) morning, reveal a hellish landscape of smoldering apartment blocks; parks pockmarked by shell fire; and grocery...

Dec 31, 2021

James Webb Space Telescope completes tricky sunshield deployment

The James Webb Space Telescope has successfully deployed all five layers of its tennis-court-sized sunshield, a prerequisite for the telescope's science operations and the most nerve-wracking part of its risky deployment. The challenging procedure, which required careful tensioning of each of the five hair-thin layers of the elaborate sunshield structure...

Dec 31, 2021

Webb Telescope is now orbiting 1 million miles from Earth

The most powerful space telescope ever launched just fired its thrusters to reach its permanent cosmic address. With this final course adjustment complete, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is now orbiting around the sun at a distance of nearly 1 million miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth. Around 2...

Mar 31, 2023

How to watch Europe launch its alien-hunting JUICE satellite live on Thursday

On Thursday (April 13), the European Space Agency (ESA) is launching an exciting new mission to study whether the moons of Jupiter have the potential to host alien life: the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, also known as JUICE. And you can watch the launch happen, thanks to ESA's live coverage,...

Mar 31, 2023

Disastrous SpaceX launch under federal investigation after raining potentially hazardous debris on homes and beaches

SpaceX's Starship has been grounded by the U.S. government following claims that the rocket's explosive first launch spread plumes of potentially hazardous debris over homes and the habitats of endangered animals. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) — the U.S. civil aviation regulator — has stopped SpaceX from conducting any further...

Feb 28, 2023

Space junk: Why is debris from rockets and satellites orbiting Earth a problem?

There's a floating garbage dump orbiting Earth, and it's getting fuller every year. Space debris — known colloquially as space junk — is the name that scientists give to the thousands of pieces of broken satellites and spacecraft that clog Earth's orbit. Space junk can be as small as a...

Dec 31, 2022

The James Webb Telescope detected the coldest ice in the known universe – and it contains the building blocks of life

Scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have observed and measured the coldest ice in the deepest reaches of an interstellar molecular cloud to date. The frozen molecules measured minus 440 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 263 degrees Celsius), according to new research published Jan. 23 in the journal Nature Astronomy....

Aug 28, 2023

India's 1st mission to study the sun launches Sept. 2

India is gearing up for its first-ever mission to study the sun. The mission's observatory, called Aditya-L1 (Aditya means sun in Sanskrit), has arrived at its launch site on the island of Sriharikota, on India's east coast, and is due to launch on Sept. 2, according to the Indian Space...

Sep 4, 2023

15 jaw-dropping spacewalk images

Astronauts are some of the most adventurous explorers among us. In this thrilling gallery, American and international astronauts undertake various spacewalks for research and repair against the stunning backdrop of Earth. 1. Helping Hubble Astronaut Steven L. Smith moves along the Hubble Space Telescope while docked in the space shuttle...

Sep 6, 2023

SpaceX launches record-breaking 62nd orbital mission of the year

SpaceX has set a new launch record. The company sent 21 of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit on Sept. 3 atop a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 10:47 p.m. EDT (0247 GMT on Sept. 4). It was SpaceX's 62nd orbital mission of 2023,...

Sep 7, 2023

Perseverance rover spots a shark fin and crab claw on Mars

It looks like something fishy is happening on Mars. NASA's Perseverance Rover recently spotted a shark-fin-looking outcrop and an accompanying crab-claw-like boulder on the Red Planet. Since arriving on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021, the rolling robot has been exploring the Jezero Crater on Mars while hunting for signs of...