January 6 – January 12, 2020 | Colorado Space News

NASA’s Newest Astronauts Ready For Space Station, Moon And Mars Missions

NASA’s new class of astronauts – the first to graduate since the agency announced its Artemis program – appear on stage during their graduation ceremony at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on January 10, 2020. The class includes 11 NASA astronauts, as well as two Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronauts, selected in 2017. Pictured from left are: Kayla Barron of NASA, Zena Cardman of NASA, Raja Chari of NASA, Matthew Dominick of NASA, Bob Hines of NASA, Warren Hoburg of NASA, Jonny Kim of NASA, Joshua Kutryk of CSA, Jasmin Moghbeli of NASA, Loral O’Hara of NASA, Jessica Watkins of NASA, Jennifer Sidey-Gibbons of CSA, and Frank Rubio of NASA. Image Credit: NASA

January 12, 2020 – NASA welcomed 11 new astronauts to its ranks Friday, increasing the number of those eligible for spaceflight assignments that will expand humanity’s horizons in space for generations to come. The new astronauts successfully completed more than two years of required basic training and are the first to graduate since the agency announced its Artemis program. Read More

SwRI-Led Lucy Mission Now Has A New Destination

This artist’s concept shows one of now eight objects NASA’s Lucy spacecraft will fly by during its 12-year, 4-billion-mile journey. The SwRI-led mission recently discovered that one of the Trojan asteroids orbiting in tandem with Jupiter has a small satellite. Image Credit: NASA/SwRI

January 9, 2020 – Less than two years before launch, scientists associated with NASA’s Lucy mission, led by Southwest Research Institute, have discovered an additional small asteroid that will be visited by the Lucy spacecraft. Set to launch in 2021, its 12-year journey of almost 4 billion miles will explore the Trojan asteroids, a population of ancient small bodies that share an orbit with Jupiter. Read More

New Technique May Give NASA’s Webb Telescope A Way To Quickly Identify Planets With Oxygen

Conceptual image of water-bearing (left) and dry (right) exoplanets with oxygen-rich atmospheres. Crescents are other planets in the system, and the red sphere is the M-dwarf star around which the exoplanets orbit. The dry exoplanet is closer to the star, so the star appears larger. Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/Friedlander-Griswold

January 8, 2020 – Researchers may have found a way that NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope can quickly identify nearby planets that could be promising for our search for life, as well as worlds that are uninhabitable because their oceans have vaporized. Read More

NASA’s Astronaut Candidates With Ties To Colorado To Graduate With Eye On Artemis Missions

NASA will honor the first class of astronaut candidates to graduate under the Artemis program at 8:30 a.m. MST Friday, January 10, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The ceremony will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

January 8, 2020 – Four astronaut candidates with ties to Colorado, including two that call Colorado home, will be honored as part of the first class of astronaut candidates to graduate under the Artemis program Friday, January 10, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Read More