Boeing's Starliner rolls out to pad for astronaut launch
China's Chang'e 6 probe to land on far side of the moon | Boeing's Starliner rolls out to pad for astronaut launch | Japan loses contact with Akatsuki probe at Venus
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China's Chang'e 6 moon mission is studying landing sites on the lunar far side for accessibility ahead of a planned touchdown attempt this weekend. The probe will touch down to collect rare samples of the far side of the moon, near the lunar south pole.
Boeing's Starliner capsule is back at the launch pad. Starliner and its rocket ride, a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V, rolled out to the pad at Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on May 30 ahead of a planned Saturday, June 1 liftoff. That launch, at 12:25 p.m. EDT (1625 GMT), will kick off Crew Flight Test, the first-ever astronaut mission for Starliner and the venerable Atlas V.
The Japanese space agency said it has lost contact with its intrepid Venus spacecraft Akatsuki. Akatsuki is Japan's mission dedicated to studying the climate of Venus and currently the only active spacecraft in orbit around the second planet from the sun. The $300 million spacecraft launched in 2010 and had a less than stellar start to its mission, failing to enter orbit around Venus due to a failure of its main engine. However, the mission team managed to contrive a second opportunity in 2015 after five years of orbiting the sun, successfully entering orbit.
The newly emerged sunspot region AR3697 is already making its presence known, firing off another powerful X-class solar flare as it creeps around from behind the sun's southeastern limb. The solar flare eruption caused shortwave radio blackouts across Western Europe and the Eastern United States. But this isn't the first time we've encountered the hyperactive behemoth.
Rocket Lab will launch the second of two cubesats for NASA's PREFIRE climate change mission tonight (May 31), and you can watch the action live. An Electron rocket topped with the tiny satellite is scheduled to lift off from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site tonight at 11:00 p.m. EDT (0300 GMT and 3:00 p.m. New Zealand time on June 1). Rocket Lab will livestream the liftoff, beginning about 30 minutes before launch. Space.com will carry the feed if, as expected, Rocket Lab makes it available.
(NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Brant Robertson (UC Santa Cruz), Ben Johnson (CfA), Sandro Tacchella (Cambridge), Phill Cargile (CfA))
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has discovered not one but two of the earliest and most distant galaxies ever seen, continuing to break the records it previously set. The furthest galaxy, JADES-GS-z14-0, is seen as it was around 300 million years after the Big Bang, existing at least 100 million years earlier than the previous record holder. That means that the light the JWST saw from this primordial galaxy has been traveling for 13.5 billion years on its way to reach us.
NASA's new X-59 supersonic jet has successfully completed its Flight Readiness Review, marking a pivotal step towards its first flight. The review, conducted by independent experts from across NASA, evaluated the project team's approach to safety for the public and staff during ground and flight testing, as well as the team's analysis of hazards that may arise.
Happily toting a nostalgic '90s-era filmmaking vibe, "Atlas" starring Jennifer Lopez harkens back to bolder times in Tinseltown, when action-adventure flicks reigned supreme with solid plotlines and focused themes, crafted by fearless filmmakers with a taste for this flavor of crowd-pleasing product that's perfect for a summer movie season kickoff.
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