in spaceflight
-
Chinese Astronauts Performed Emergency Space Station Repairs Following Debris Impact
China’s space station crew carried out two spacewalks this past winter to repair the solar wings attached to the core module, which had been damaged by space debris. The Tiangong space station’s core module, Tianhe, suffered a partial loss of power due to the impact, leading China to dispatch its astronauts on a pair of…
-
NASA Tests Lunar Lighthouse With the Help of Private Odie Lander
Landing on the Moon is one thing, but not getting lost on its gray, dusty surface presents an entirely different challenge. The Apollo astronauts eyeballed their way across the lunar terrain, but NASA is hoping to develop a better navigation system for future astronauts exploring the Moon. In late February, NASA tested an autonomous navigation…
-
NASA Is Still Fighting to Save Its Historic Voyager 1 Spacecraft
For more than 45 years, the Voyager 1 spacecraft has been cruising through the cosmos, crossing the boundary of our solar system to become the first human-made object to venture to interstellar space. Iconic in every regard, Voyager 1 has delivered groundbreaking data on Jupiter and Saturn, and captured the loneliest image of Earth. But…
-
Toppled Lunar Landers and More of February’s Best Space Images
It was a topsy-turvy month in spaceflight, with yet another lunar lander falling over and an upsetting new view showing NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter missing a rotor blade, among other memorable moments. February is the shortest month of the year, but it often packs a punch and feels a helluva lot longer than it should. Such…