"How it started/how it's going," space edition:

On March 17, 2013 a flash appeared on the Moon. It was bright enough to see with the naked eye.

Now we can see the result: a new 18-meter-wide crater, blasted out by a watermelon-size meteoroid.

https://www.lroc.asu.edu/featured_sites/40 #science #space #NASA #astronomy #Moon

After years of searching, astronomers have finally detected an atmosphere on a rocky planet around another star.

But what a strange planet it is! 55 Cancri e seems to be blanketed in carbon dioxide gas bubbling out of a global ocean of lava. Like an image out of Dante's Inferno.

https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2024/news-2024-102 #space #science #nasa #astronomy

"The sun produced its biggest flare in nearly two decades Tuesday, just days after severe solar storms pummeled Earth and created dazzling northern lights in unaccustomed places."

AP reports: "The good news is that Earth should be out of the line of fire this time because the flare erupted on a part of the sun rotating away from Earth."

https://flip.it/Qpr8WJ

#Sun #SolarFlare #Space #NorthernLights #NOAA #NASA

Sun shoots out biggest solar flare in almost two decades

The sun isn't done yet. That's the message from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as the biggest flare in nearly two decades erupted on the sun Tuesday.

^{MARCIA DUNN (AP News)}

https://blogs.nasa.gov/voyager/2024/04/22/nasas-voyager-1-resumes-sending-engineering-updates-to-earth/

NASA’s Voyager 1 Resumes Sending Engineering Updates to Earth

"So they devised a plan to divide the affected code into sections and store those sections in different places in the FDS." -- #NaomiHartono

#nasa #software #voyager

NASA’s Voyager 1 Resumes Sending Engineering Updates to Earth - Voyager

For the first time since November, NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft is returning usable data about the health and status of its onboard engineering systems. The

^{Naomi Hartono (Empty Test)}

Career goals. Absolute programming badasses.

#NASA #programming #Voyager

2.6 tons of batteries and the pallet they were mounted on were supposed to burn up in the atmosphere. Not all of it did, and Alejandro Otero's house was hit with a 0.7 kg nickel-chromium cylinder from space.

https://www.space.com/object-crash-florida-home-iss-space-junk-nasa-confirms

#space #nasa #iss #SpaceJunk

Object that slammed into Florida home was indeed space junk from ISS, NASA confirms

It was part of a pallet jettisoned along with 5,800 pounds of aging batteries back in March 2021.

^{Mike Wall (Space)}

I'm in central Florida and was gonna be on the beach at 10:30 to watch NASA launch the newest spacecraft for carrying humans, the Boeing (eeek!) Starliner. I made sure to check the website before heading out. I do like that the NASA site gave me this immediate info front and center. I find it funny that they state officially that the launch is "scrubbed" — my friend had never heard that word used in this context. It is odd, isn't it? Kinda only used for rocket launches?

#nasa

Suni Williams is now in the capsule as well.

#boeing #nasa #starliner #space

If all goes well on Monday, two #NASA astronauts will blast off into space on #Boeing’s #Starliner spacecraft.

And it’s a big deal – this long-delayed mission will represent the vehicle’s first crewed launch. If successful, it will give NASA – and in the future, space tourists – more options for getting to low Earth orbit.

https://theconversation.com/boeings-starliner-is-about-to-launch-if-successful-the-test-represents-an-important-milestone-for-commercial-spaceflight-228862
#space #News

Boeing’s Starliner is about to launch − if successful, the test represents an important milestone for commercial spaceflight

The Starliner has had delays and issues. The May 2024 launch will put its capacity to carry crew to the International Space Station to the test.

^{The Conversation}