NASA just put its new propulsion system to the test, powering a 3D-printed rotating detonation rocket engine for a sustained burn that lasted three times as long as the first test. Gizmodo’s Top Five Gadgets of 2023 The Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine, or RDRE, produced more than 5,800 pounds of thrust for a total of … Read more
Left: Pioneer 10’s view of Jupiter in March 1973. Right: Webb Telescope’s view of Jupiter in July 2022. Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, Jupiter ERS Team; image processing by Judy Schmidt For centuries, astronomers were limited to ground-based observations of the planets, but now we use spacecraft to capture close-up views of our neighboring worlds. Excitingly, … Read more
NASA is considering alternative ways to bring back samples from Mars after its budget and schedule for the sample return mission was deemed unrealistic in a recent report by an independent review board. China’s Plan to Land Astronauts on the Moon During a meeting of the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group held earlier this week, … Read more
A pair of spacecraft is undergoing final testing before a roughly 230 million mile journey to explore the Red Planet. First Full-Color Images From Webb Space Telescope This week, Rocket Lab announced that the two spacecraft it is building for NASA’s EscaPADE mission have gone into the system integration phase in preparation for launch in … Read more