Kevin Wilcox

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of an X9.0 solar flare – as seen in the bright flash in the center – on Oct. 03, 2024. The current solar cycle has reached its maximum. Credit: NASA/SDO

October 30, 2024 // by Kevin Wilcox

Powerful geomagnetic solar storms mark new phase of 11-year cycle, as Parker Solar Probe comes ever closer to the Sun’s surface.

This view of a valley where water flowed billions of years ago was captured by NASA’s Perseverance rover using the Mastcam-Z instrument. A puzzling rock named “Cheyava Falls” is about 361 feet in front of the rover here and left of center. Credit: NASA

The Long Journey to Understand Mars

October 28, 2024 // by Kevin Wilcox

New research adds clues in the quest to learn what happened to ancient water on the planet and if it ever supported microbial life.

In January 1961, engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center prepared the massive first stage of the Saturn I rocket for checkout. The booster was designed with eight clustered H-1 engines capable of producing as much as 1.5 million pounds of thrust. Credit: NASA

This Month in NASA History: The First Saturn Rocket Launch

October 16, 2024 // by Kevin Wilcox

Saturn I-A was the bold first step in a giant technological leap.

Although astronomers have been observing Jupiter for hundreds of years, there’s still a lot to learn about this mysterious world, where swirling storms roil the already turbulent atmosphere. Jupiter and its largest moons will come into sharper focus in the early 2030s, with the arrival of two new spacecraft. Credits: NASA, ESA, A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center), and M.H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley)

Focus on the Galilean Moons in the 2030s

September 27, 2024 // by Kevin Wilcox

New spacecraft to gather data on complex Jovian system and three icy moons that could contain vast oceans.

Technicians inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida prepare to rotate the Europa Clipper to a vertical position on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, as part of prelaunch processing. Photo Credit: NASA

NASA Prepares Spacecraft for Long Journey to Europa

September 20, 2024 // by Kevin Wilcox

By examining Jupiter’s icy ocean moon, scientists hope to determine if conditions are right to support life.

NASA’s GRAIL mission measured the Doppler shifts of twin spacecraft to identify the Moon’s gravitational anomalies and internal structure. Artist Rendering Credit: NASA/JPL

This Month in NASA History: GRAIL Mission Maps Moon’s Gravity

September 12, 2024 // by Kevin Wilcox

Twin spacecraft reveal the Moon’s complex interior and history.

The Dream Chaser spacecraft glides to a landing at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California, following a successful free flight demonstration in 2017. Photo Credit: NASA

Work Continues at KSC on New Spaceplane

August 29, 2024 // by Kevin Wilcox

Dream Chaser, with roots in a NASA project from the 1990s, will take lifting body design to new heights.

PIXL, the white instrument mounted on the robotic arm of NASA’s Perseverance Rover, uses a form of artificial intelligence known as adaptive sampling to examine rocks on the surface of Mars. Photo Credit: NASA

Using AI to Advance NASA Missions

August 22, 2024 // by Kevin Wilcox

Teams are creating AI tools to find new craters on Mars, forecast algae blooms, estimate hurricane intensity, improve weather and climate models, and track the smoke from wildfires.

The surface of the Moon captured by Lunar Orbiter 3. The Lunar Orbiter program took more than 3,000 images of the Moon, which helped NASA program managers, scientists, and mission managers identify the landing sites for Apollo lunar landings. Credit: NASA

This Month in NASA History: The Lunar Orbiter Missions

August 8, 2024 // by Kevin Wilcox

A young geologist catalogs thousands of photos of the lunar surface and helps to identify key landing zones for the Apollo program.

INSIGHT

Subscribe to INSIGHT