As NASA’s Cassini spacecraft prepares to shoot the narrow gap between Saturn and its rings for the second time in its Grand Finale, Cassini engineers are delighted, while ring scientists are puzzled, that the region appears to be relatively dust-free. This assessment is based on data Cassini collected during its first dive through the region on April 26. Continue reading
The life of a star is brilliant, furious and explosive. Although the countless twinkles in the sky may look one and the same, their journeys vary considerably depending on their mass. Today we will recount the various paths of these stars from birth until death. Continue reading
Scientists just got their first glimpse into the space between Saturn and its rings. And it’s pretty stunning. On Wednesday, the NASA space probe Cassini performed the first of 22 planned dives through the rings around the planet. Continue reading
The Cassini spacecraft is headed to its death in Saturn’s atmosphere. But first, it will do some more of the groundbreaking and important science work that it has been doing for the last decade it has spent flying around the planet. Continue reading
NASA’s Cassini probe is doomed. The nuclear-powered robot — part of a $3.26 billion, three-decade-long effort — has orbited Saturn for nearly 13 years. But it’s running dangerously low on fuel. Continue reading
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft sped by the moon Titan on Saturday, using the hazy world’s gravity to slingshot the probe on a trailblazing trajectory to explore the region between Saturn’s hydrogen-helium atmosphere and the planet’s famous rings for the first time. Continue reading
A Long March 7 rocket lifted off Thursday with Tianzhou 1, an unpiloted refueling freighter heading for China’s Tiangong 2 mini-space station to conduct several months of robotic demonstrations, practicing for the assembly and maintenance of a future permanently-staffed orbital research complex. Continue reading
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