discovery program
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We Finally Know Why a Solar Array on NASA’s Asteroid Probe Failed to Open
In space now for more than three months, the Lucy asteroid explorer is operating normally, save for a solar panel that failed to fully unfurl shortly after launch. Experts with the mission say they’ve identified the problem, but whether they’ll be able to fix it remains an open question.
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NASA’S Lucy Spacecraft Will Carry a Time Capsule for Future Earthlings
NASA engineers installed a time capsule on the Lucy spacecraft late last week, intended for future astro-archaeologists to retrieve and interpret. The time capsule is a plaque that includes messages from Nobel Laureates and musicians, among others, as well as a depiction of the solar system’s configuration on October 16, 2021, the date the spacecraft…
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Covered in Martian Muck, NASA’s InSight Lander Tries to Tidy Itself Up
The dust piled up everywhere. Pushed around by the Martian winds, it stifled the InSight lander, whose solar panels — the source of its power — have been coated in red grime. Now, NASA has announced a step in the right direction for the sedentary probe: By commanding it to drop dirt on top of…