Orions

Orion’s Twin Rogue Planets Inexplicably Blaze with Intense Radio WavesResearchers don’t know how this pair of free-floating planets formed or why it radiates so brightlyBy Joseph HowlettPart of the Orion Nebula shown in infrared. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA/Science leads and image processing: M. McCaughrean, S. Pearson (CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)Strange, twirling duos of roughly Jupiter-size celestial bodies in the Orion Nebula have had astronomers scratching their heads since the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) photographed them in…

A milestone for <span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt" data-cmtooltip="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>NASA</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>Established in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government that succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). It is responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. Its vision is…

The most commonly known celestial bodies are stars, and they serve as the essential components of galaxies. But how many of these shining objects are there? According to studies conducted, as many as 200 billion trillion stars illuminate our universe. Our Milky Way Galaxy has at least 100 billion stars alone, and there are over 100 billion galaxies in the universe. Sometimes, stars group together to form a particular shape in the sky which resembles objects on Earth. Known as constellations, they are named after objects,…

NASA engineers inspecting Orion’s heat shield shortly after the Artemis 1 mission. Photo: NASAOrion set several records during the Artemis 1 mission to the Moon, in addition to surviving 5,000-degree Fahrenheit temperatures during atmospheric reentry. The spacecraft’s innovative heat shield made this possible, but NASA’s follow-up analysis of the protective layer has revealed levels of wear and tear that weren’t predicted by models.“Orion exceeded all performance expectations,” Howard Hu, manager of the Orion program,…

A sample of the Orion spacecraft’s heat shield material undergoes testing in the Laser-Enhanced Arc Jet Facility at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley on April 19, 2021. Orion’s thermal protection materials underwent more than 1,000 arc jet tests, during which extremely hot and fast-moving gases passed over the test material, approximating the heating a spacecraft experiences when entering the atmosphere. The test results helped certify the heat shield for the Artemis I mission. Credit: NASA/Ames…

Orion gazes back at the Moon, on December 7, 2022.Photo: NASAAll good things come to an end, including NASA’s wildly successful Artemis 1 mission to the Moon and back. At least, it’s been successful so far, as Orion must still perform a harrowing reentry through Earth’s atmosphere. You can follow the action live right here.NASA’s coverage of this event is scheduled to begin on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. (all times Eastern), with the live broadcast available on NASA TV, YouTube and at the live stream below. The coverage will…

Orion just made its final pass around the moon on its way to Earth, and NASA has released some of the spacecraft's best photos so far. Taken by a high-resolution camera (actually a heavily modified GoPro Hero 4) mounted on the tip of Orion's solar arrays, they show the spacecraft rounding the Moon then getting a closeup shot of the far side.  The photos Orion snapped on its first near pass to the Moon were rather grainy and blown out, likely because they were captured with Orion's Optical Navigation Camera rather than the…

Orion’s first flight is coming to an end soon, and its return to Earth is an exciting moment for space fans. But what might be most intriguing about this mission is that NASA didn’t test one of the most important systems the Orion will need to have if it plans to actually take humans to the Moon and beyond: the life support system. Not testing the life support system on Orion’s first flight might seem like a misstep, but NASA actually had a lot of other things to take into account on this expedition, which…

NASA’s Orion spacecraft has traveled nearly 270,000 miles away from Earth on its distant orbit of the moon, and soon it will be heading back toward Earth. But before it splashes down on Earth it has to make a return flyby of the moon, scheduled for Monday, December 5. NASA’s Artemis I Mission Return Trip Lunar Flyby Coverage of Orion’s return flyby will be livestreamed by NASA if you’d like to follow along at home. For details on how to watch the return flyby, check out our guide below. What to expect from the flyby…

Orion captured this view of Earth rising above the darkened Moon shortly after its recent flyby. Gif: NASA/GizmodoWe’re into the eighth day of the 25-day Artemis 1 mission to the Moon, and the incoming imagery has been as spectacular and intriguing as expected.The inaugural Artemis mission is underway, as NASA charts a new path to the Moon. The space agency has big plans for the coming years, but it all starts with Artemis 1 and the first major test of its Orion capsule. Orion captured this view of Earth rising above…