Kevin Wilcox | APPEL Knowledge Services

The surface of Venus is marked by hundreds of large volcanoes such as Maat Mons, shown here in this computer-generated three-dimensional image. Credit: NASA

NASA Missions to Shine New Light on Venus

January 21, 2022 // by Kevin Wilcox

The closest planet to Earth has proven elusive to understand.

The Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF), after nearly six years orbiting Earth, is retrieved during space shuttle mission STS-32. LDEF gathered data about how high-performance spacecraft materials withstand long-term exposure to solar radiation, space debris, and the extreme temperatures of Low Earth Orbit. This information helped engineers select the best materials to build the International Space Station, Mars rovers, and other spacecraft. Credit: NASA

This Month in NASA History: Recovering LDEF

January 11, 2022 // by Kevin Wilcox

NASA’s Long Duration Exposure Facility reveals hazards of Low Earth Orbit.

This artist’s illustration shows NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration relaying a laser communication signal to a ground station on Earth. Optical communications systems promise dramatic increases in data transfer rates. Credit: NASA

Demonstration Mission to Test Laser Communications

December 27, 2021 // by Kevin Wilcox

Bidirectional system offers significant increase in data transfer rates.

This spiral galaxy, M51, also known as the Whirlpool Galaxy, has come into much sharper focus as centuries of innovation in telescopes has revealed increasing levels of detail. Credit: NASA

Flagship Telescopes Reveal the Unexpected

December 13, 2021 // by Kevin Wilcox

Astronomers will use Webb to continue the long search for early galaxies.

Thirteen tons of telescopes and support equipment occupy the payload bay of the Space Shuttle Columbia for mission STS-35, the first shuttle mission dedicated entirely to astronomy. Credit: NASA

This Month in NASA History: 13 Tons of Telescopes

December 6, 2021 // by Kevin Wilcox

STS-35 was the first mission devoted exclusively to astronomy.

The sunshield on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, shown here stacked and expanded in a cleanroom in the Northrop Grumman facility in Redondo Beach, California, will be folded up during launch and deploy in space. Credit: NASA

Webb’s Deployments Most Complex Ever Attempted

November 24, 2021 // by Kevin Wilcox

Observatory will unfold massive sunshield, mirror in space.

With the Orion spacecraft secured atop the powerful Space Launch System, NASA has finished stacking and integrating the components of the Artemis I mission inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center. Credit: NASA

Artemis I Undergoing Final Rounds of Testing

November 15, 2021 // by Kevin Wilcox

Team preparing massive rocket for wet dress rehearsal.

At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers tow the space shuttle orbiter Columbia from the Orbiter Processing Facility to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Credit: NASA

This Month in NASA History: Columbia Returns to Space

November 8, 2021 // by Kevin Wilcox

Crew of STS-2 works through the night on shortened mission.

This artist’s illustration depicts the Lucy spacecraft passing one of the Jupiter Trojan Asteroids. Lucy will travel 4 billion miles in 12 years, passing by seven of these asteroids, believed to be remnants from the formation of the planets. Credit: Southwest Research Institute

Pioneering Spacecraft Bound for Jupiter Trojan Asteroids

October 26, 2021 // by Kevin Wilcox

Lucy will travel ambitious trajectory to examine remnants from the early solar system.

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