NASA announced Friday that it would be increasing operational testing on its Ingenuity helicopter following four successful test flights off the surface of Mars.
Climate and health policies rely on scientific expertise. But the federal science workforce has been shaped by decades of political interference, underfunding and race and gender bias.
Four astronauts are set to launch to the space station Friday. When they arrive, the new crew of 11 will be the largest since the shuttle program, and there aren't enough sleeping pods for them all.
The tiny helicopter took off and hovered briefly — the first such flight on another planet. The Perseverance rover kept tabs on the mission from a viewing point about 60 yards away.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory project manager MiMi Aung gave an enthusiastic two thumbs-up and then clenched fists before a roomful of engineers erupted in applause.
The successful deployment of Ingenuity brings NASA one step closer to its first attempt at testing the possibility of powered, controlled flight on another planet.
Lunney, who played an integral role in the agency's Apollo program, died Friday. He was credited for his quick decision-making during the race to save the lives of the Apollo 13 astronauts.
The NASA rover traversed some 21 feet of terrain this week, in its first test drive since landing on the red planet. It also captured photos of its touchdown site and the wheel tracks it left behind.
The supply ship is named for Katherine Johnson, a Black NASA mathematician portrayed in the 2016 film. It's bringing some 8,000 pounds supplies and hardware to the International Space Station.
Following a 300 million-mile voyage through space and a dangerous drop to the surface, Perseverance will be put through its paces before getting to a search for ancient Martian life.
Perseverance, set to land on the Red Planet on Thursday, is carrying the most sophisticated robotic biology lab ever launched and a drone meant to make the first-ever powered flight on another world.
The test was for NASA's Space Launch System, a successor to the retired Space Shuttle program. It takes eight minutes to generate the power needed to get to space, and ultimately to the moon.