Can NASA astronauts endorse US presidential candidates? | Parker Solar Probe to glimpse Venus' surface today | Satellites can now spot plastic trash from space (photo)
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Yes, NASA astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) or on other spaceflight missions have voted in U.S. elections throughout the agency's history, and this year is no exception. The four NASA astronauts currently on the ISS have either voted early or are able to vote through casting special absentee ballots using NASA's Near Space Network network of satellites and ground stations. And because most NASA astronauts live in Texas near the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas passed a law in 1997 officially allowing astronauts to vote from space, according to NASA.
On Wednesday (Nov. 6), NASA's Parker Solar Probe will complete its seventh swing past Venus - the spacecraft's final maneuver around the amber planet that will nudge it onto a trajectory that will take it within 3.8 million miles of the sun's surface. That will be the closest that any human-built object has come to our star.
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Plastic littered across the world's beaches can now be detected from space. Researchers from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in Australia developed a new satellite imaging technique that can spot plastics on beaches by measuring differences in reflected light from the debris compared to the surrounding sand, water or vegetation, according to a statement from the university.
(ESO/ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/A. Prieto et al./Fornax Deep Survey)
Astronomers have spotted thousands of young stars huddled around the center of an ancient galaxy, all of which formed nearly simultaneously 4 million years ago. This observation marks the first time such synchronized star formation has been spotted in an old galaxy, and challenges the idea that star formation declines as galaxies age.
The space station received a new shipment of supplies this morning (Nov. 5). A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft laden with 6,000 pounds (2,700 kilograms) of food, equipment and experiments completed docking with the International Space Station (ISS) at 10:04 a.m. EST (1404 GMT), about 11 minutes ahead of schedule.
This new spaceflight tech has a very retro feel. The world's first wooden satellite, a tiny Japanese spacecraft called LignoSat, arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) today (Nov. 5) aboard a SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule. LignoSat measures just 4 inches (10 centimeters) on each side, but it could end up having a big impact on spaceflight and exploration down the road.
"The Man Who Loved UFOs" is a satirical foreign film that just landed on Netflix and hailing from Argentina that takes a nostalgic approach to the subject of flying saucers and the hysteria, fear, and misinformation these sightings spawn. It might not be on your immediate radar, but it demands a viewing for its semi-comedic examination of the nature of hype, media fabrications, and the need to believe.
