SPACE AGENCY

Mar 14 2025SCIENCE

Mars and Deimos: A Spacecraft's Close Encounter

A spacecraft on an asteroid-chasing mission recently had a close encounter with Mars. It was a Wednesday when the European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft flew past the Red Planet. During this flyby, the spacecraft captured hundreds of stunning images of Mars and several detailed shots of Deimos, one of Mars' two small moons. The scientists and engineers at the Europ...

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Mar 10 2025POLITICS

Space Jobs in Jeopardy: The Impact of Federal Cuts

The federal government has been making big changes to trim down the number of employees and cut spending. This has left many wondering how these changes will affect space-related jobs. Tracking these changes is tricky because space jobs are spread out across many different departments. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has around 18, 0...

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Feb 27 2025SCIENCE

Asteroid 2024 YR4: Why the Odds of Impact Keep Changing

In the vast expanse of space, scientists are keeping a close eye on asteroid 2024 YR4. This space rock, first spotted in December 2024, has been a hot topic due to its potential to hit Earth in 2032. The European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA have been tracking 2024 YR4 closely. Initially, they estimated a 2. 6% chance of impact. But then, things got a bit mor...

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Feb 25 2025SCIENCE

Asteroid 2024 YR4: From Scary to Safe

A space rock named 2024 YR4 was first seen on December 27, 2024. It was really big, about 131 to 295 feet wide, like a large building. At first, scientists thought it might hit Earth in 2032. But now, they say there's almost no chance of that happening. NASA and the European Space Agency both agree that the odds are super low, around 0. 0017% and 0. 002% respectively...

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Feb 10 2025POLITICS

Shake-Up at Roscosmos: New Boss Takes Steps in Space

Russia recently got a new director for its main space organization, Roscosmos. The current President of Russia has told Borisov you\ have to go. With Dmitry Bakanov has taken over the role once served by Yuri Borisov. This change follows a series of setbacks, losses of satellites, and corruption scandals that happened earlier. Minutes after taking over Mikhail Rogo...

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Feb 08 2025SCIENCE

A New Asteroid on the Radar: Should We Worry?

Did you hear about the new asteroid that astronomers just found? Hard to believe, but it’s named 2023 YR4. Okay, to keep it real, asteroid with a 2. 2% chance of hitting Earth on December 22, 2032. This number just popped up because of new observations. So, how did this happen? As we get more details about the space rock, it leads to changes in how we think...

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Oct 06 2024SCIENCE

What's Up With That Asteroid Crash?

So, you know how NASA smashed into an asteroid in 2022 to see if we could change its path? Yeah, that was a real thing! Now, the European Space Agency (ESA) is sending a probe named Hera to check out the damage. This isn't some boring science stuff—it’s like a space detective story! The asteroid, Dimorphos, was never going to hit Earth, but scientists wanted to test...

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Sep 26 2024SCIENCE

A Crash Course in Space Debris: The Daring DRACO Mission

The European Space Agency (ESA) is about to embark on a groundbreaking mission to study the destructive reentry of a satellite into Earth's atmosphere. Meet the Destructive Reentry Assessment Container Object (DRACO), a 440-pound spacecraft designed to crash and burn, gathering valuable data as it goes. This mission is crucial for understanding how to reduce the amou...

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Sep 23 2024SCIENCE

Space Travelers Touch Down on Earth

In a thrilling moment, a Soyuz capsule carrying two Russian astronauts and an American space traveler safely landed on the Kazakh steppe, marking the end of a record-breaking 374-day stay for the Russian duo. Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub, who blasted off on September 15, 2023, had set a new benchmark for the longest continuous mission on the International Space St...

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