Hundreds of employees at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) will be affected by budget constraints looming over the space agency for the current year, with Congress still behind on issuing the final budget for 2024 and its final decision regarding Mars Sample Return (MSR).
After months of frustration, NASA finally got the Bennu asteroid sample container open in January, revealing the large amounts of asteroid scooped up by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.
NASA / SwRI / MSSS / Jackie Branc
NASA’s current batch of ISS spacesuits are getting long in the tooth, having been in service for over four decades. The space agency is keen to acquire spacesuits fit for the 21st century, and recent zero-gravity tests performed by Collins Aerospace are a step in the right direction.
Asteroid 99942 Apophis is fast approaching our home planet for an uncomfortably close encounter in 2029. In order to prepare for the rare event, NASA is calling for ideas for low cost missions to rendezvous with Apophis, but the space agency already has a pair of asteroid probes ready to take on the task.
ANDRZEJ WOJCICKI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images
REUTERS/Alexander Demianchuk
It’s been a week since NASA announced the end of its Mars helicopter mission, and we’re still not over losing our beloved Ginny. But apparently, neither is NASA, as the space agency is still trying to figure out what happened during Ingenuity’s last flight on Mars.
Starlab Space’s forthcoming space station is so big and heavy that only the formidable SpaceX Starship megarocket can launch it into orbit, but the one-time delivery option comes with distinct benefits.
We knew 2024 was going to be a landmark year in spaceflight, and judging by the wide range of developments in just the first month, we’re in for an extraordinary ride throughout the rest of the year.
