Kevin Wilcox

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.

The Soyuz MS-24 crew ship is pictured docked to the International Space Station’s Rassvet module. NASA is making plans to deorbit the ISS into a remote ocean location sometime after 2030. Credit: NASA

NASA Selects Deorbit Vehicle for the ISS

July 29, 2024 // by Kevin Wilcox

Powerful new spacecraft under development will guide the venerable station through Earth’s atmosphere to a remote ocean site, sometime after 2030.

Researchers have discovered that growing crystals aboard the International Space Station allows for slower growth and higher quality crystals. This high-quality crystallization enables them to identify the structures of disease-causing proteins and to develop new medications and treatments. Credit: JAXA

NASA Highlights Breakthrough Cancer Research Aboard ISS

July 26, 2024 // by Kevin Wilcox

Unique properties of microgravity lead to more effective drugs.

Apollo 11 CapCom Charles M. Duke, Jr., left, with astronauts James A. Lovell, Jr., center, and Fred W. Haise, Jr. during the first human lunar landing on July 20, 1969. Photo Credit: NASA

This Month in NASA History: CapCom for Apollo 11

July 9, 2024 // by Kevin Wilcox

Duke talks Armstrong and Aldrin through communications issues, alarms, and a dwindling fuel supply to help them reach the lunar surface.

This image, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, shows the aftermath of DART’s collision with the asteroid Dimorphos at 13,000 miles per hour, blasting more than 2 million pounds of dust and rock off the asteroid, and changing its orbit. Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, and Jian-Yang Li (PSI); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

Exercise Focuses on Asteroid Response

June 26, 2024 // by Kevin Wilcox

Representatives from NASA, FEMA, federal agencies and international partners discuss real challenges posed by hypothetical scenario.

The first image taken this year with Hubble’s one-gyroscope pointing method is of NGC 1546, a nearby galaxy in the constellation Dorado. The galaxy’s orientation provides a good view of dust lanes from slightly above and backlit by the galaxy’s core. Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, David Thilker (JHU)

Hubble Team Moves to Extend Gyroscopes

June 21, 2024 // by Kevin Wilcox

Pointing method developed decades ago uses full complement of instruments to focus on targets with precision.

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