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LDSD project manager Mark Adler (left) and LDSD principal investigator Ian Clark (right) examine the LDSD test vehicle. Photo Credit: NASA
LDSD Test Advances Understanding for Future Mars Landings

On the journey to Mars, small steps can be as valuable as giant leaps forward. The recent Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) test is a prime example.

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This image portrays the Pluto system as understood today: four smaller moons orbit the binary planet of Pluto and Charon. Image Credit: NASA/STScl/Showalter
Hubble Helps New Horizons Fly Safely By Pluto

Findings from the Hubble Space Telescope reveal a chaotic environment around Pluto that could endanger the upcoming New Horizons flyby.

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The vivid green dot in the upper left portion of this image, captured by NEOWISE in 2013, is a potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroid known as 1998 KN3. The asteroid is nearly three-quarters of a mile in diameter. Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA Asteroid Hunter Protects Earth, Advances ARM

In 2013, NASA repurposed a non-operational spacecraft as an asteroid hunter. That mission now helps protect Earth—while contributing to the journey toward Mars.

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Artist’s concept of a water vapor plume shooting from Europa’s surface. Recently selected science instruments for the Europa mission include a “plume hunter” that will help determine the location, activity, and contents of Europa’s mysterious plumes. Image Credit: NASA/ESA/K. Retherford/SWRI
Important Step Forward in the Search for Life on Europa

State-of-the-art science instruments have been selected to help the Europa mission answer the big question: Are we alone in the universe?

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The 2015 draft Space Technology Roadmaps address the agency’s technology needs across 15 areas. Image Credit: NASA
Agency Pinpoints Technologies Needed for Mission Success

NASA recently released the draft 2015 Space Technology Roadmaps, which identify promising new technologies that could advance agency missions.

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This visual highlights the different elements that support NASA’s journey to Mars. Image Credit: NASA
NASA Highlights Approach for Getting Humans to Mars

At a recent summit meeting, Charles Bolden discussed NASA’s plan to reach Mars. “This plan is clear. This plan is affordable. And this plan is sustainable,” he said.

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After a successful splashdown in the Atlantic, Alan Shepard is lifted aboard a U.S. Marine helicopter. The Mercury Freedom 7 capsule, below, was water tight and in good enough shape to be reused. Photo Credit: NASA
This Month in NASA History: The First American Soared through Space

Mercury-Redstone 3, the first American manned mission to space, engaged the world—and cleared a path to the moon.

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Artist’s impression of the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite, one of the major projects assessed by the GAO. SMAP launched successfully during the assessment period. Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Government Brief: NASA Maintains Positive Trend for Large-Scale Projects

A recent GAO report confirmed that cost and schedule growth among NASA’s major acquisition projects remains low compared with previous years.

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Author Don Cohen (left), Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 project manager Ralph Basilio (center), and APPEL instructor Anthony Luscher (right) were among the speakers at Knowledge 2020 2.0.
The Value of Mistakes

What do some of the greatest engineering innovations have in common? They started with a mistake.

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