News Archive / Space Centers

• InSight team creates Martian rock garden, lander begins work

  Jim SharkeyDecember 22nd, 2018

  Using tools ranging from rakes and shovels to augmented reality headsets, engineers with NASA's Mars InSight mission have built a Martian rock garden which recreates the lander's new home on Mars. This allows engineers to practice placing science instrument on the surface using InSight's Earth-bound twin - ForeSight.

• Opportunity: All’s quiet on the Martian front…

  Jim SharkeyDecember 4th, 2018

  While the Martian skies have cleared of the dust that enveloped much of the Red Planet, NASA's Opportunity rover remains silent in Perseverance Valley. The rover was last heard from on June 10, 2018. As of November 27, the mission team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) had sent 359 recovery commands in a effort to wake the rover.

• Antares not the only thing grounded by recent nor’easter

  Jason RhianNovember 19th, 2018

  The planned Nov. 15 flight of the NG-10 mission to the ISS was delayed two days while NASA waited for a powerful storm to pass. The mission wasn't the only thing held back by bad weather however.

• Once used for Shuttle landings, iconic runway cleared for horizontal launches

  Jim SharkeyNovember 10th, 2018

  KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — With the close of the Space Shuttle program in 2011, the future of the facilities that supported the program was in doubt. The mantra of Kennedy Space Center becoming a "multi-user spaceport" was drummed out at every event where the center's future was discussed. With every passing day, that mantra appears to becoming a reality.

• Final ASPIRE test certifies Mars 2020 parachute

  Heather SmithNovember 6th, 2018

  NASA's Mars 2020 rover is one step closer to exploring the dusty plains of the Red Planet. A recent test has not only demonstrated the viability of a key system - it has also made history.

• Sites and snapshots: Focus on Mars increasing with Mars 2020 and MarCO missions

  Jim SharkeyOctober 24th, 2018

  NASA's Mars 2020 rover and InSight's companion, Mars Cube One, continue to blaze a path to the flash-frozen world as word of a new possible location for Martian life emerges.

• Rocket Lab announces new launch site at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility

  Jason RhianOctober 18th, 2018

  California-based Rocket Lab has announced a new site from which it plans to fly its Electron rocket from - one based in the United States.

• Opportunity spotted as dust settles on Mars

  Jim SharkeySeptember 27th, 2018

  NASA's Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, has been seen from high on orbit - but the rover still isn't responding.

• NASA Administrator Bridenstine says NASA Glenn critical for return to Moon

  Michael ColeSeptember 22nd, 2018

  CLEVELAND, Ohio — NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine paid a visit to the space agency's Glenn Research Center earlier this week, as well as its associated testing facility, Plum Brook Station in nearby Sandusky.

• What goes out, must come back: NASA moves Mobile Launcher to VAB for year of work leading to EM-1

  Curt GodwinSeptember 9th, 2018

  KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- After journeying out to Launch Pad 39B for several days of fit checks and tests, NASA has rolled the 11-million pound (4.99-million kilogram) Mobile Launcher (ML) back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) for further work.

• Mobile Launcher test drive inches SLS one step closer to Exploration Mission-1

  Curt GodwinSeptember 1st, 2018

  A Chinese proverb roughly states: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." While this adage rings true for those undertaking Earthly ventures, it is also fitting for the launch of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS).

• JPL unveils efforts to explore Mars to NASA Administrator

  Jason RhianAugust 27th, 2018

  PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine paid a visit to the space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory today, Monday Aug. 27, 2018 and was provided a review of NASA's efforts to explore the Red Planet.

• Lockheed Martin, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex launch new Astronaut Training Experience

  Jason RhianAugust 17th, 2018

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Lockheed Martin and the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex "launched" the new Astronaut Training Experience (ATX) on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018. The event was conducted with pomp, leading members of the space community and those who stand to benefit from this new attraction.

• NASA Administrator discusses NASA’s future during stop at Kennedy

  Jason RhianAugust 8th, 2018

  KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine paid his first visit to NASA's Kennedy Space Center on a two-day stop that began on Monday, Aug. 6 and concluded today (Aug. 7). The visit comes just days before one of the most important NASA missions of the year is poised to get underway.

• NASA Administrator visits Langley Research Center

  Steve HammerAugust 1st, 2018

  LANGLEY, Va. -- NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine made his second stop on a tour of NASA research facilities Tuesday, July 31 at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

• It keeps going and going: Stirling Engine test sets long-duration record at NASA Glenn

  Michael ColeJuly 30th, 2018

  GLENN RESEARCH CENTER, Ohio -- If you are wanting to perform some science at Neptune, or Pluto, or beyond in the dark depths of the outer solar system, your spacecraft is going to need power for a very long time. Engineers at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, are working to make that happen and have, been at it for a very long time.

• Benefits for KSC firefighters in jeopardy, with pay cuts potentially on the horizon

  Jason RhianJuly 28th, 2018

  KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Accusations that the contractor that manages NASA / KSC's fire department has decided to cut pay and benefits for its firefighters - have caused representatives with the Transport Workers Union to picket outside of the Space Center's Gate 3 by State Road 405.

• NASA Ames hosts event focusing on research and innovations

  Jim SharkeyJuly 20th, 2018

  MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. — NASA's Ames Research Center recently hosted a public event, titled "Silicon Valley Innovations: From the Earth to the moon and Mars," that focused on the center's research contributions to the space agency's exploration missions.

• Canaveral’s Delta II launch site demolished, paving the way for Moon Express

  Jason RhianJuly 12th, 2018

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A piece of the Cape's launch history came to an end on Thursday, July 12, with the demolition of Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 17. The site where NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers began their epic voyage to the Red Planet have been reduced to rubble - paving the way for use by Moon Express.

• Animation depicts upward movement of water from Europa’s subsurface ocean

  Laurel KornfeldJuly 11th, 2018

  Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have created an animation simulating the possible upward movement of water from Europa's subsurface ocean to its surface, by applying a numerical model used to study movement in Earth's crust.