NASA

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Think July Temps Were Brutal? Here's Proof

It was hottest in recorded history

(Newser) - Earth just broiled to its hottest month in recorded history, according to NASA, which calculated that July 2016 was 1.51 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 1950-1980 global average. July was also about 0.18 degrees warmer than the previous record of July 2011 and July 2015, months that were...

Priceless Space Artifact Accidentally Sold at Government Auction

It's now the center of a legal fight

(Newser) - A priceless bag used during the first moon walk was accidentally sold at a government auction, and is now the center of a legal dispute, the AP reports. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin tucked moon rocks into the white sack they took with them during the Apollo 11 mission in...

NASA to Chase Asteroid That Has Slight Chance of Hitting Earth

But even if Bennu does strike in 170 years, it won't be end times

(Newser) - There's an asteroid out there that might slam into Earth in about 170 years, but contrary to some recent scary-sounding headlines, it won't wipe out Earthlings if it does, reports Space.com . "We're not talking about an asteroid that could destroy the Earth," says Dante...

Traveling in Deep Space Is Bad for Your Heart

Apollo astronauts are much more likely to die of cardiovascular disease

(Newser) - Planning a trip to the moon? You might want to think about heart health first. According to a study published in Scientific Reports , travel in deep space dramatically raises the risk of cardiovascular disease. Florida State University researchers looked at America's Apollo astronauts, who are the only people ever...

SpaceX's Latest Launch Scores 2 Wins

Booster's vertical touchdown is the cherry on the sundae

(Newser) - SpaceX successfully launched a critical space station docking port for astronauts early Monday, along with a DNA decoder for high-flying genetic research. As an extra treat, the company brought its leftover first-stage booster back to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for a vertical touchdown—only the second such land landing...

We've Got Our First Look at Jupiter From NASA Craft

High-resolution images to follow from Juno

(Newser) - The NASA spacecraft that entered Jupiter's orbit earlier this month has sent back its first image of the planet. Think of it as a test shot, with the better, high-resolution photos to come next month. Still, the image released by NASA shows Jupiter, its famous red spot, and three...

&#39;Juno, Welcome to Jupiter&#39;
 'Juno, Welcome to Jupiter' 
UPDATED
Jul 5, 2016 6:24 AM CDT

'Juno, Welcome to Jupiter'

Probe slips into orbit after 5-year journey

(Newser) - After spending five years traveling to Jupiter , NASA's Juno probe entered the gas giant's orbit Monday night by executing a make-or-break maneuver that was accurate within a second. Team members at the California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Laboratory cheered as they received confirmation that the spacecraft...

Humanity Is About to Get Its Closest Ever Look at Jupiter

Juno probe scheduled to enter Jupiter's orbit July 4

(Newser) - Three Lego figures are about to get closer to Jupiter than humanity has ever been. The Legos—representations of Galileo and the Roman gods Jupiter and Juno made out of "spacecraft-grade" aluminum—are aboard NASA's Juno probe, which is scheduled to enter Jupiter's orbit July 4, the...

NASA Just Lit a Big Fire in Space

The biggest one ever intentionally lit, as a matter of fact—all in the name of safety

(Newser) - NASA just started the biggest fire in outer space ever intentionally set—all in the name of safety, Space.com reports. The Spacecraft Fire Experiment , aka Saffire-1, took place Tuesday inside an unmanned Cygnus cargo vessel after it left the International Space Station, with what a press release describes as...

Ex-NASA Astronaut Faces Murder Charges

2 young girls killed in car wreck involving James Halsell Jr.

(Newser) - A retired NASA astronaut who flew on five space shuttle missions has been charged with murder after an early-morning car crash in Alabama took the lives of two young half-sisters, per AL.com . A 2015 Chrysler allegedly being driven by James Halsell Jr., 59, smashed into a Ford Fiesta at...

Huge Space Shuttle Fuel Tank Squeezes Down LA Streets

It was expected to take up to 18 hours to move the tank 16 miles

(Newser) - A massive space shuttle fuel tank squeezed through the streets of Los Angeles and loomed over vehicles on a busy freeway Saturday to join the retired orbiter Endeavour on display at the California Science Center, the AP reports. The 33-ton, 154-foot-long external propellant tank began moving a few minutes after...

The World Has a New Lightning Capital

Sorry, Congo Basin

(Newser) - Like watching lightning? Book your next vacation for Venezuela. NASA has determined that country's Lake Maracaibo is the new lightning capital of the world. Using 16 years of data from the satellite-based Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS), scientists determined Lake Maracaibo averages about 233 lightning flashes per square kilometer every...

Moon Once Looked Different From Earth

Planetary scientists believe its axis shifted 6 degrees over a billion years

(Newser) - "We tend to think that objects in the sky have always been the way we view them," says planetary scientist Matt Siegler. But that most viewable of objects—our moon—hasn't always looked as it does today, according to Siegler and his colleagues. They believe that some...

Grandpa to Break Scott Kelly's Space Record

Jeff Williams will have spent 534 days in space by September

(Newser) - It's a good thing Scott Kelly nabbed two records during his year in space because one will soon be broken. NASA astronaut Jeff Williams—who is rocketing into space on Friday with Russian cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka—will become America's most experienced space traveler during a...

Astronaut Scott Kelly Grew 2 Inches in Space

But the effect is temporary

(Newser) - NASA will be studying how Scott Kelly's body reacted to almost a year in space, using his twin brother Mark Kelly, who stayed on Earth, as a control. One big difference to note right away: The brothers will no longer be the same height, as they were before Scott...

What Astronaut Scott Kelly Will Do as Soon as He Lands

His record-breaking trip was amazing

(Newser) - Scott Kelly has been hurtling through the cosmos on the International Space Station for nearly a year (340 days to be exact—a record), but on Tuesday, the NASA astronaut and his partner, Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, will finally head home. ScienceAlert has the emotional video of Kelly handing the...

NASA Scientist: I Can Get Humans to Mars in a Month

'No known reason why we cannot do this'

(Newser) - A century ago, the first transatlantic flight took about 23 days. Soon, we could reach Mars in about as long. The key: perfecting laser technology. NASA scientist Philip Lubin says that by swapping out the current fuel-based rocket propulsion system with one relying on photons would significantly boost our space...

NASA Releases 'Weird Music' From Dark Side of the Moon

Audio from Apollo 10 reveals astronauts' conversation about mystery sounds

(Newser) - Sorry, Pink Floyd, you no longer hold the sole claim to sounds from the dark side. In an upcoming episode of the Science Channel's NASA's Unexplained Files , audio from Apollo 10—which flew to the far side of the moon in 1969, two months before Apollo 11's...

More Americans Than Ever Just Applied to Be Astronauts

But less than 1% will actually get the chance

(Newser) - More Americans than ever before believe they have the right stuff to become astronauts, ABC News reports. According to NASA , it received more than 18,300 applications for the astronaut class of 2017 over the past two months. That's almost three times more than for the last class in...

Asteroid Could Come Within 11K Miles of Earth Next Month

But NASA says there's no reason to panic

(Newser) - An asteroid could pass very close—cosmically speaking—to the Earth next month. Asteroid 2013 TX68 is scheduled to pass us by on March 5, coming as close as 11,000 miles (or a little more than the distance between Seattle and South Africa), CBS News reports. However it could...

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