The prospects of a robotic manufacturing base operating off Earth is not as far-fetched as it used to be according to a study published by a team of NASA researchers led by a Kennedy Space Center physicist.
Measurements taken by NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission as it delivered the Curiosity rover to Mars in 2012 are providing NASA the information it needs to design systems to protect human explorers from radiation exposure on deep-space expeditions in the future.
It was written in the stars all along, but we've just found out: a whopping 70% of stars in a widely-studied cluster die before reaching old age which, for stars, is the most productive stage of their lives.
The physics behind some of the most extraordinary stellar objects in the Universe just became even more puzzling. A group of astronomers using NASA's Swift satellite have discovered a new kind of glitch in the cosmos, specifically in the rotation of a neutron star.
The DNA Ark Project is organised to preserve the human heritage even in case of a universal catastrophe. The DNA Ark is a holder containing DNA samples, as well as graphic and written messages to extraterrestrial civilizations on the hull.
How much light has been emitted by all galaxies since the cosmos began? After all, almost every photon from ultraviolet to far infrared wavelengths ever radiated by all galaxies that ever existed throughout cosmic history is still speeding through the Universe today. If we could carefully measure the number and energy (wavelength) of all those photons we might learn important secrets about the nature and evolution of the Universe.
The Ring Nebula's distinctive shape makes it a popular illustration for astronomy books. But new observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope of the glowing gas shroud around an old, dying, sun-like star reveal a new twist.
Magnetars - the dense remains of dead stars that erupt sporadically with bursts of high-energy radiation - are some of the most extreme objects known in the Universe. A major campaign using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and several other satellites shows magnetars may be more diverse and common - than previously thought.
NASA is looking for far-out ideas. NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program is seeking Phase II proposals for continuation of promising studies selected during the first phase of the visionary program.