Tag: Asteroids
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Weather delays launch of NASA’s billion-dollar Psyche mission to Friday
Update 6:35 p.m. EDT: NASA delays launch to Friday due to weather. The eighth Falcon Heavy to fly was raised to launch configuration overnight on Wednesday as it prepares to send the Psyche spacecraft off to the asteroid of the same name as early as Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023. Image: Adam Bernstein Original story: With…
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Simple settings tweak should save Psyche asteroid mission from overheating thrusters
An artist’s conception of the Psyche spacecraft orbiting near the surface of the Psyche asteroid. Image: Maxar/ASU/Peter Rubin. NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, now scheduled for launch on Oct. 12, will dial down the power of its maneuvering system after engineers discovered its thrusters were in danger of overheating during its eight-year expedition to explore a metallic…
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Launch of asteroid deflection demonstrator slips to November
NASA’s DART spacecraft is prepared for thermal testing in February. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman The launch of a NASA spacecraft designed to smash into an asteroid to try out a technique that could protect Earth from threatening space rocks has slipped from July until November, at the earliest, after development delays partially caused by…
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Scientists thrilled with asteroid treasure returned by Japanese spacecraft
Japanese scientists found black material from asteroid Ryugu inside one of the Hayabusa 2 mission’s collection chambers (color corrected by Spaceflight Now). Credit: JAXA Japanese space agency officials said Tuesday they found a “large number” of pitch black rock and dust particles after opening a capsule returned to Earth earlier this month by the Hayabusa…
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Japanese asteroid sampling mission on course for return to Earth
Artist’s concept of the Hayabusa 2 spacecraft releasing its sample return capsule. Credit: JAXA/Akihiro Ikeshita Six years after departing Earth, Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft released a spinning capsule Saturday containing pristine asteroid material for a scorching re-entry and landing in the remote Australian outback, where teams are standing by to retrieve the specimens for analysis.…
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Japanese capsule carrying asteroid rocks lands in Australia after six-year mission
Artist’s concept of the Hayabusa spacecraft releasing it sample return capsule. Credit: JAXA An armored re-entry capsule carrying pristine specimens from an asteroid streaked into Earth’s atmosphere and parachuted to a landing in the Australian outback Saturday, bringing home extraterrestrial rocks that could hold clues to the origin of life on Earth. The Hayabusa 2…
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Live coverage: Hayabusa 2 asteroid sample return capsule lands in Australia
Live coverage of the return of Japan’s Hayabusa 2 mission to Earth carrying samples collected from asteroid Ryugu. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. [tabby title=”Video of sample capsule landing”] [tabby title=”Video of sample capsule separation”] [tabbyending]