The moon is back in the spotlight, with new efforts pushing for regular exploration and discovery. These missions, driven by private companies, are all about landing safely and delivering important scientific tools. The goal is to answer big questions about our lunar neighbor. These missions are part of a broader push to make space exploration more affordable and acc...
Students from Woodland Park are in for a treat. They will get to chat with a local astronaut. Nichole Ayers will be answering questions about science and engineering. She will be doing this from the International Space Station. This is a big deal. It shows students that big dreams can come from small towns. Nichole Ayers is a perfect example of this. She grew up...
The Blue Ghost lander, a spacecraft from Firefly Aerospace, captured a stunning image of a solar eclipse from the Moon's surface. The photo showcases a unique ring effect, where the Earth almost entirely blocks the Sun. This phenomenon is known as the diamond ring effect, and it's a sight to behold. The image was taken around 1:30 AM ET on a Friday morning, during a ...
In the vast expanse of space, Earth is constantly at risk from rogue asteroids. These space rocks have caused massive destruction in the past. The dinosaurs, for instance, were wiped out by a massive asteroid impact around 66 million years ago. This event, known as the Chicxulub impact, caused an "impact winter" that blocked out the sun and led to a drastic cooling o...
On Monday night, California's Vandenberg Space Force Base will be buzzing with excitement. This is where two big NASA missions are set to blast off on a single rocket. The main attraction is SPHEREx, a fancy space telescope. It will snap pictures of the entire sky in over a hundred colors that our eyes can't see. Think of it as a super-powered camera that can reveal ...
A woman from Woodland Park is about to make history and fulfill a lifelong dream. She will be piloting a rocket to the International Space Station. This is not just any rocket, but a joint mission between NASA and SpaceX. The launch is scheduled for March 12 at 5:48 MT from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The pilot, Nichole Ayers, has had an impressive journ...
The latest lunar mission faced an unexpected challenge. A privately owned spacecraft, Athena, recently attempted to land on the moon. It was carrying a drill, a drone, and rovers for NASA and other customers. The landing seemed to go smoothly at first, but things quickly took a turn for the worse. There was a glitch with the laser navigation system during the final a...
Imagine a robot named Athena, standing tall at 15 feet. Its mission is to touch down on the moon's surface. This isn't just any landing. It's a big deal because if Athena succeeds, it will be the second private US company to do so this week. The landing is scheduled for 11:32 a. m. CT (12:32 p. m. ET) on Thursday. Athena will be making its way to a spot call...
The moon just got a little bit more familiar. A private spacecraft, Blue Ghost, touched down near a lonely peak called Mons Latreille. This spot is in a huge crater named Mare Crisium, which is in the northeast part of the moon's near side. The landing happened on a Sunday, March 2nd. The spacecraft didn't waste any time. It started up its science tools and snapped ...
Imagine a spacecraft gently touching down on the moon. This is exactly what Intuitive Machines is planning to do with its second lunar lander, Athena. This mission, called IM-2, is scheduled to launch on February 26th from Florida's Space Coast. The launch will be broadcast live, so everyone can watch the excitement unfold. Athena is packed with scientific t...