Space

NASA Seeking to Purchase Lunar Soil Samples from Private Companies

By Jackson Chung September 11, 2020

Photo credit: Astrobotic via The Verge
NASA is seeking to purchase lunar soil samples from private companies. These companies are not limited to just those in the United States, but from around the world, and the lunar samples requested range from 1.8 ounces to 18 ounces by 2024. The space agency will pay between $15,000 to $25,000 for them, but with one catch, you’ll get the 80% remainder of the money once the soil is delivered. Companies only get 10% after signing the contract and another 10% once the spacecraft launches.

Space

NASA’s Mars Pathfinder Mission Captured This Breathtaking Image of the Red Planet’s Twin Peaks

By Jackson Chung September 3, 2020

NASA’s Mars Pathfinder mission arrived July 4, 1997 on the Red Planet. Its small rover, named Sojourner after abolitionist Sojourner Truth, spent 83 days of an initially planned 7-day mission, exploring the Martian terrain. A multitude of images were captured, while also taking chemical, atmospheric and other measurements. The final data transmission was received from Pathfinder at 6:23 am EST on September 27, 1997.

Space

Toyota and JAXA are Building a Moon Rover That Will be Used During NASA Artemis Missions

By Bill Smith July 17, 2020

NASA’s Artemis mission will send humans back to the moon by 2024 and the crew won’t be staying in a base or inflatable tent, but rather a pressurized RV rover. The space agency recently joined Toyota and Japan’s Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to design a six-wheeled, self-driving rover capable of accommodating two astronauts for up to 14 days. They’ll be able to live and work inside while traveling across lunar surface.

Space

NASA-Designed Eau de Space Perfume Receives Over $330,000 in Funding

By Jackson Chung July 6, 2020

Have you ever wanted to smell like outer space? If so, you’re not alone. People have already pledged over $330,000 to bring a NASA-designed fragrance that smells like outer space to the masses. It was developed by chemist Steve Pearce of Omega Ingredients who originally developed this scent over a decade ago for use by NASA during astronaut field training.

Space

European Space Agency Captures Incredible Flyover of Frozen Korolev Crater on Mars

By Jackson Chung July 4, 2020

The European Space Agency has created a short film of the Korolev crater using an image mosaic made from single orbit observations from the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on Mars Express. These images combines data from the HRSC nadir and color channels, with the former aligned perpendicular to the surface of Mars, as if looking straight down. Next, the mosaic was combined with topography information from the stereo channels of HRSC to generate a three-dimensional landscape.