Stellary Starry Universe

Research by NASA and international scientists concludes giant asteroids, similar or larger than the one believed to have killed the dinosaurs, hit Earth billions of years ago with more frequency than previously thought.

On April 17, 2012, NASA conducted a test of the Orion crew vehicle’s entry, descent and landing parachutes high above the Arizona desert in preparation for the vehicle’s orbital flight test, Exploration Flight Test-1. The primary objectives were to determine how the entire system would respond if one of the three main parachutes inflated too quickly and to validate the drogue parachute design by testing at a high dynamic pressure that closely mimicked the environments expected for Exploration Flight Test-1. Image Credit: NASA

A new NASA outreach project will enlist the help of amateur astronomers to discover near-Earth objects (NEOs) and study their characteristics.

Space shuttles Enterprise, left, and Discovery meet nose-to-nose at the beginning of a transfer ceremony at the Smithsonian’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Thursday, April 19, 2012, in Chantilly, Va. Space shuttle Discovery–the first orbiter retired from NASA’s shuttle fleet, completed 39 missions, spent 365 days in space, orbited the Earth 5,830 times, and traveled 148,221,675 miles–will take the place of Enterprise at the center to commemorate past achievements in space and to educate and inspire future generations of explorers at the center. image Credit: NASA/Smithsonian Institution/Carolyn Russo

The first stage of Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Antares rocket stands in launch position during pathfinder operations at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. Orbital’s Antares launch vehicle will be conducting missions for NASA under its Commercial Orbital Transportation Service Program and Cargo Resupply Services contract. Image Credit: NASA/P.Black