A materials scientist at the University of California has developed a new way to cool objects without using electricity or fuels. Aaswath Raman and colleagues created a special film that can reduce the temperature of any surface through radiative cooling on a molecular level … and it relies on sending heat to space.

October 10, 2020: Crew-1 launch date has slipped to likely after election day. Three Americans who planned to vote in space will likely still be on Earth. Astronaut Kate Rubins lifts off on October 14 before the election. Original story below.

Voters across the country will head to the polls on November 3 to vote in the 2020 election, and this year four Americans will call the International Space Station their local polling station. NASA astronauts who will soon leave Earth for the ISS some 200 miles above the planet have opted to vote from space in the upcoming election.

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft left Earth on August 12, 2005, on a mission to study the atmosphere of Mars, and it showed us some incredible pictures of the Red Planet. To celebrate 15 years since the launch of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, NASA today shared stunning photos of Mars viewed from above.

The Perseid meteor shower is one of the most anticipated in 2020, and you can watch it reach its peak brightness during the early hours of Wednesday, August 12. If you want to find it in the sky, read on as we explain the best way to observe the Perseids meteor shower.

SpaceX wants to transform the Boca Chica Village in Texas into a modern spaceport, according to a new job listing for “Resort Development Manager” posted this week. Spotted by CNBC reporter Michael Sheetz, the job description states that “SpaceX is committed to developing this town into a 21st century Spaceport.”

Boca Chica is the small area near Brownsville, Texas, where SpaceX already conducts tests with the Starship project — which aims to deliver new spacecrafts designed to take passengers beyond low Earth orbit.

This month NASA shared the closest images ever of the Sun’s surface obtained by a mission in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA). The Solar Orbiter probe, which was sent into space on February 10, 2020, captured phenomena unprecedented in the Sun. The photos revealed “omnipresent miniature solar flames” near the surface of the star at the center of our solar system.

Have you spotted this comet that’s been making headlines this month? If you’re in the northern hemisphere and want to catch the photogenic comet in the night sky before it disappears, read on as we explain the best way to hunt down NEOWISE with your iPhone.

The United Arab Emirates is about to capture an important picture of Mars during the Emirates Mars Mission, which will send a probe to the Red Planet this month. The launch was scheduled for this Tuesday, July 14, but it was delayed a few days by weather conditions.

NASA will live broadcast astronauts Chris Cassidy and Bob Behnken on spacewalks this month as part of the International Space Station’s power system upgrades. The repairs are scheduled to go live on Thursday, July 16 and Tuesday, July 21.

NASA is upgrading one of the antennas of its interplanetary switchboard located in Australia, known as the Deep Space Network. Deep Space Station 43 (DSS-43) is one of the largest antennas in the project that allows constant communication with NASA’s robotic spacecraft.

NASA is progressing toward an upcoming mission dedicated to exploring a unique asteroid called Psyche. The metal-rock asteroid orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter and could give us answers on how Earth was formed. The spacecraft that will be used for NASA’s Psyche mission is graduating from a design phase to manufacturing ahead of a planned launch in 2022.

Update July 2: Rocket Lab is pushing the launch back two days to July 5 in hopes of better launch weather conditions.

Update July 3: Now the launch is set for July 4! Watch live below:

Update 3: July 4: Rocket Lab reports a loss of vehicle and payload during the mission. More details to come.

Rocket Lab will be ready for its next launch just three weeks after Saturday’s mission “Don’t Stop Me Now,” reinforcing the increasingly fast launch capabilities of the small satellite launch company.

The new mission is named “Pics Or It Didn’t Happen” after the number of Earth imaging satellites being deployed in space. The next Electron launch is scheduled to take place from Launch Complex 1 Pad A at the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand on July 3.

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NASA announced today that 409 proposals were selected for its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program. Phase One of the project is expected to provide $51 million for 312 small businesses in the United States.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to watch the Sun every day for 10 years? That’s what NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory has been doing for the past decade.

If you’re curious about the result of this mission, NASA published an epic timelapse video called “A Decade of Sun” that shows the last 10 years of the Sun in just one hour.

The result is totally mesmerizing, and the imperfections in the footage just make it all the more real.

NASA signed a contract this month with the company that will design its Gateway housing module. The lunar orbiting outpost is intended to be used in NASA’s Artemis program. The Orbital Science Corporation, a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Space, was awarded a $187 million contract to work on the project. 

The Gateway is an advanced lunar outpost that will be essential to the Artemis program in the future. The program aims to send the first woman and the next man to the Moon by 2024. NASA’s agreement with Orbital Science Corporation foresees that the Gateway’s preliminary design will be presented and revised by the end of this year.

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Kathy Sullivan was the first American female astronaut to walk in space back in 1984. More recently, the history maker achieved a new accomplishment within the depths of the Earth.

This week Sullivan, now 68, reached the Challenger Deep, which is not only the deepest point of the South Pacific, but also of our entire planet.

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