In 2021, the U.S. space agency NASA launched a spacecraft toward a pair of asteroids more than 11 million kilometers away. The target? The smaller of the two asteroids, just 170 meters wide. The success of the $300 million, seven-year project demanded careful coordination of scientists, engineers, and project managers across different national space agencies. It also required strong leadership from NASA's head of science, Thomas Zurbuchen. He shares his path to an executive role at NASA, his management philosophies, and how he oversees trailblazing space missions with high risk of failure.

By PRNewswire-USNewswire This year, NASA will celebrate Earth Day, April 22, with a variety of live and online activities Thursday and Friday, April 20-21, to engage the public in the agency’s mission to better understand and protect our home planet. … Continue reading →

This excellent infographic created by lovethegarden.com is based on The NASA Clean Air Study of 1989. While researching ways to clean air in space stations, it was determined that these air-filtering houseplants significantly eliminate benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene from the … Continue reading →

Imagination is our Window into the Future. Your Oasis in Space There’s no place like home. Warm, wet and with an atmosphere that’s just right, Earth is the only place we know of with life – and lots of it. … Continue reading →

Did life once exist on Mars, and if so, where will we find it? This is what a recent study published in AGU Advances hopes to address as a team of several

The International Space Station (ISS) has been a beacon of scientific and medical research ever since the station’s first module was launched in 1999

A team of scientists has used data obtained from a suborbital rocket used in the NASA Endurance mission a to reveal an electric field that is as widespread

How can microgravity help advance cancer research? This is what an upcoming grant-awarded project sponsored by the International Space Station (ISS) Nation

Jupiter’s moon, Io, is the most volcanically active planetary body in the entire solar system as it boasts hundreds of active volcanoes. This number

A team of scientists has used data obtained from a suborbital rocket used in the NASA Endurance mission a to reveal an electric field that is as widespread

How can microgravity help advance cancer research? This is what an upcoming grant-awarded project sponsored by the International Space Station (ISS) Nation

Jupiter’s moon, Io, is the most volcanically active planetary body in the entire solar system as it boasts hundreds of active volcanoes. This number

How can microgravity help advance cancer research? This is what an upcoming grant-awarded project sponsored by the International Space Station (ISS) Nation

Jupiter’s moon, Io, is the most volcanically active planetary body in the entire solar system as it boasts hundreds of active volcanoes. This number

It's hoped that TRACERS will help scientists better understand how the Sun influences our planet.

It's been a while since Uranus was probed up close, but old data is proving to be quite valuable in solving a few decades old oddities. The last spacecraft that flew by Uranus was NASA’s Voyager 2 in 1986. NASA’s Voyager 1 and 2 are the only spacecraft ever to operate outside the heliosphere, or the protective bubble of particles and magnetic

If hybrid cars can cut CO2 emissions on the road, can hybrid-electric planes do the same in the air? 

NASA is exploring that possibility, announcing this week two contracts to aviation startup Electra. The company claims it can meet NASA’s goal of reducing airliner fuel use by 60% to 80% by 2035 with a hybrid design that features generators powering motors to drive a large number of propellers. While this may sound like a convoluted way to power an airliner, the company claims it ultimately requires far less fuel than a traditional plane. 

Electra is already flying a two-seat test plane with this kind of system and will debut a nine-seater with a 380-mile range this week. It’s now partnering with American Airlines, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, MIT, and the University of Michigan to guide the design and scale up the tech to airliners.

Electra’s grants, totaling about $3.5 million, are part of the $11.5 million, to four companies and one university for the first phase of its Advanced Aircraft for Sustainable Aviation (AACES) 2050 program. First announced in August 2023, AACES challenges companies to propose aircraft concepts that could help bring passenger and cargo plane emissions to zero by 2050.

The aviation industry has long touted zero-emission fuels (for example, jet fuel made from biomass, or hydrogen produced with green electricity) as the ultimate climate solution. It’s easier to make enough of these fuels if new planes need a lot less of them—hence NASA’s challenge to Electra and the other winners to develop radically more-efficient designs.

The case for electric-powered planes

A number of companies are developing electric airplanes, but most are for short-range air taxi services. Toyota-backed Joby Aviation, for example, promises to put a four-passenger plane into service as soon as 2025. Powered 100% by heavy batteries, packing about 1/40th as much energy per pound as jet fuel, Joby’s plane can fly 100 miles per charge.

Electra stands out as one of the few companies, alongside Sweden’s Heart Aerospace and Ampaire and Whisper Aero out of the U.S., testing different hybrid concepts to dramatically extend range. (NASA has also been testing hybrid tech with other companies.) Electra and its allies’ initial concept for NASA is a 114-seat airliner that can fly nearly 3,300 miles, says Electra’s vice president and general manager, JP Stewart. But he says the tech can scale to NASA’s largest target: carrying about 300 people up to around 8,600 miles.

Electra’s take on hybrid technology is called a “series hybrid.” On a traditional plane, each propeller (or jet engine) requires a big, expensive turbine that burns jet fuel. By using turbines to power generators instead, Electra can run more props using lightweight electric motors. Electra’s initial sketch has five propellers across each wing (plus three in the tail), which the company says can improve airflow and boost the wing’s ability to lift the plane—tech that’s already working on its two-seat prototype. For its NASA proposal, Electra envisions an airliner that uses this hybrid tech and a new design of the fuselage (the tube carrying passengers) to take off with smaller wings, which will produce less drag and save fuel in flight.

Another benefit of hooking a turbine to a generator, says Stewart, is that the turbine can run at its most-efficient speed throughout the flight. Airplane engines have to be very flexible, gunning it on takeoff and landing and running less intensely when the plane is cruising in the air. Turbines that power the propellers directly don’t have the flexibility to do both tasks efficiently; electric motors do. Finally, by adding batteries to the mix, the plane can use a smaller turbine that needs to produce just enough power for cruising, says Electra. For takeoff and landing, battery packs join in to provide the extra oomph only when needed.

Electra’s concept is just one of several ideas NASA has given the green light to. Another contract winner, JetZero, has proposed a liquid hydrogen-powered, “blended wing body” concept for a jetliner or cargo plane that ditches the traditional design of a metal tube with wings and a tail. Instead, it has a tail-less, triangular shape that looks a bit like a B2 Stealth Bomber and promises major fuel savings. 

Other winners include Georgia Institute of Technology, Pratt & Whitney (part of the RTX conglomerate), and Boeing-owned Aurora Flight Sciences, which are working on several engine and body technologies. (Aurora founder John Langford went on to found Electra in 2020.)

The task now for Electra, JetZero, and other winners is to produce a final airplane design in 18 months. Getting real planes in the air will take many more years.

NASA-developed Technology Supports Ocean Wind Speed Measurements from Commercial Satellite  Science@NASA

The mission includes studies of solar wind, a radiation-tolerant moss, spacecraft materials, and a cold-welding experiment for space applications.

Read more: SETU researchers contribute to NASA space mission

The project was described by judges as a 'creative and inspiring submission that will spark curiosity in space exploration'.

Read more: ‘Runtime Terror’ wins Dublin’s NASA Space Apps Challenge

NASA enjoys high ratings from the public and its employees. Its approach to having astronauts stuck at the Space Station bolsters that confidence.

The post NASA shows how federal work is often life in a fishbowl first appeared on Federal News Network.

A public letter writing campaign from vendors detailing concerns about the lack of clarity of the SEWP VI solicitation pushed NASA's decision.

The post Industry pressure forces NASA to press pause on SEWP VI first appeared on Federal News Network.

Federal authorities say a North Korean military intelligence operative has been indicted in a conspiracy to hack into American medical centers, military bases and even NASA. The grand jury indictment announced Thursday in Kansas City accuses Rim Jong Hyok of ransomware attacks and other hacks on targets in the U.S., China, Taiwan and South Korea. It says he laundered ransom money and used it to fund more cyber attacks on defense, technology and government entities around the world. A $10 million reward is offered for information leading to him or any other foreign operative who attacks critical U.S. infrastructure.

The post North Korean charged in cyberattacks on US hospitals, NASA and military bases first appeared on Federal News Network.

NASA and ESA to test nudging asteroids off collision course with Earth

The ISS flipped 540 degrees in last week's Nauka thruster incident. NASA said it was only 45

NASA Artemis Moon landing delayed by 'several years' as costs go 'underreported'

NASA is launching the DART spacecraft to crash into an asteroid. Could it save us from armageddon?

The Interstellar Probe mission is designed to take humanity farther than anyone has gone before, no technological breakthroughs required.

NASA has just launched a mission to investigate a far-off world that’s full of water. It’s going to Europa, a moon of Jupiter that's made of lots of ice that covers a huge ocean.

NASA's Europa Clipper mission launched Monday, beginning its years-long journey to the distant icy moon it's named after. This mission is designed to tell scientists more about the structure, the interior and the habitability of Europa, one of the four large moons of Jupiter. Host Regina G. Barber talks with astrobiologist and friend of the show Mike Wong about why their mutual love for this fascinating moon and what it means for the search for life outside of Earth. Plus, they talk about other icy moons that may also have the trifecta of ingredients needed to sustain life: liquid water, specific elements and an energy source.

Want to hear more space science? Let your voice be heard by emailing shortwave@npr.org!

Also, if you liked this episode, check out our episodes on NASA's future missions to Uranus and our episode on whether Dune could really exist!

NASA has just launched a mission to Jupiter's icy moon Europa. A NASA scientist answers kid's questions about the mission and its goals.

Three NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut splashed down off the Florida coast early Friday, capping a nearly eight-month science and research mission to the International Space Station.

The Most Difficult Climb Yet For Nasa’s Curiosity Rover On Mars.

Space Station Assignments Out For Nasa’s Spacex Crew 8 Mission

Nasa Mengeksplorasi Lautan

Aging infrastructure, short-term thinking and ambitions that far exceed its funding are among the problems facing NASA, according to a new report.

NASA JPL's Europa Clipper spacecraft, the largest planetary probe ever built, will launch as early as Friday to explore Jupiter's icy ocean moon.

NASA probe launches aboard SpaceX rocket to search for the building blocks of life on Europa, Jupiter's icy ocean moon.

A new three-year NASA field expedition gets underway this year to survey more of the world’s coral reefs, with Dr Eric Hochberg from the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences set to be involved in the study. NASA said, “Coral reefs, sometimes called the rainforests of the sea, are home to a quarter of all ocean […]

If passed, it would be the first standalone NASA authorization since 2017.

An analysis of the U.S. Senate's FY 2025 budget request for NASA.

A single 3.5 billion-year-old rock shows signs of all the conditions life needs to thrive.

With all the advances in private space exploration, why do taxpayers still pay for space science missions?

Weeks before the new fiscal year, Congress still hasn't finalized NASA's 2025 budget.

NASA astronaut Suni Williams says her weight is stable aboard the International Space Station, rebutting tabloid claims that her orbital stay has made her emaciated.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA's chief center for planetary exploration, is conducting its second round of layoffs in 2024, reducing its workforce by another 5%.

As the first-ever “full-scale planetary defense test” to deflect a space rock, the DART mission aims to show that protecting Earth from a hazardous asteroid is possible.

NASA scientists used a neural network called ExoMiner to examine data from Kepler, increasing the total tally of confirmed exoplanets in the universe.