July 31, 2017July 29, 2017 News Lunar crater testbed. (Credits: NASA/Uland Wong)

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. (NASA PR) Things look different on the Moon. Literally.

Because the Moon isnt big enough to hold a significant atmosphere, there is no air and there are no particles in the air to reflect and scatter sunlight. On Earth, shadows in otherwise bright environments are dimly lit with indirect light from these tiny reflections. That lighting provides enough detail that we get an idea of shapes, holes and other features that could be obstacles to someone or some robot trying to maneuver in shadow.

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PASADENA, Calif. (NASA PR) NASA scientists are excited about the upcoming close flyby of a small asteroid and plan to use its upcoming October close approach to Earth as an opportunity not only for science, but to test NASAs network of observatories and scientists who work with planetary defense.

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WASHINGTON, DC (NASA PR) Through exploration, NASA is broadening horizons, enhancing knowledge, and improving our way of life. Our efforts to explore and discover the universe are increasing in both scope and duration. The Space Launch System (SLS), the most powerful rocket in the world, soon will launch the Orion spacecraft and its crew deeper into space than ever before. Expanding humanitys presence farther into the solar system also requires advancements in the development of habitats and the systems to keep astronauts safe as they live and work in deep space for long periods of time.

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HOUSTON (NASA PR) After a six-hour spaceflight, NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik, Sergey Ryazanskiy of Roscosmos and Paolo Nespoli of ESA (European Space Agency) arrived at the International Space Station at 5:54 p.m. EDT Friday to continue important scientific research in the orbiting laboratory.

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By Douglas Messier Managing Editor

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a modest cut to NASAs budget for fiscal year 2018 (FY 2018) that splits the difference between the cut requested by the Trump Administration and the increase approved by House appropriators.

The $19.53 billion provided is $ below the agencys current budget but above the $19 billion the administration wants to spend. The House Appropriations Committee has approved $19.87 billion for the space agency.

Senate appropriators rejected efforts by the Administration to significantly cut NASAs Earth Science budget and to end the agencys Education program. The House has made an even deeper cut in Earth Science than the administration proposed but also has rejected ending the Education program.

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SYDNEY (Freelance.com PR) Freelancer.com and NASAs Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation (CoECI), through the NASA Tournament Lab (NTL), have released the latest in a series of challenges to crowdsource solutions for new capabilities for space exploration.

NASA has called on professionals from anywhere in the world to submit entries to three challenges including:

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Boeing would conduct the first orbital test of its CST-100 Starliner spacecraft in June 2018 in the latest Commercial Crew Program schedule unveiled by NASA this week.

The automated flight test to the International Space Station (ISS) would be followed by a crewed flight test to ISS in August 2018. If all goes well, CST-100 Starliner would be certified by NASA to carry crews to the orbiting outpost in October 2018.

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Leonardo DiCaprio is teaming with National Geographic for a reboot of Tom Wolfes The Right Stuff.

The cabler is teaming with the actors Appian Way Productions banner and Warner Horizon Scripted Television to develop a scripted adaptation of Tom Wolfes best-seller The Right Stuff, with the goal of having a multiple-season drama series.

Will Staples will pen the script and executive produce the project that is set in 1958 and explores astronauts and their families as they move from the Mojave Desert to the edges of space, tracking their instant celebrity and, at some point in subsequent seasons, the moon landing.

DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson of Appian Way will exec produce alongside Staples and Michael Hampton, who shepherded the drama. The potential series will use Wolfes book as a starting point.

Read the full story.

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The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies today approved a $53.4 billion spending bill that includes a decrease in NASAs budget.

The $19.5 billion budget for the space agency is $124 million below the FY2017 enacted level and $437 million above the amount requested by the Trump Administration. Earlier this month, the House Appropriations Committee approved $19.88 billion for NASA.

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SpaceX plans to conduct an automated flight test of its Dragon 2 crew spacecraft to the International Space Station in February 2018 , followed by a similar test with a crew four months later in June

That is the latest schedule presented to the NASA Advisory Council this week by agency officials. If the schedule holds and the tests go well, the Dragon 2 will be certified to carry astronauts to the station in September of next year.

In addition to the two flight tests, SpaceX will need to validate Dragon 2s propulsion module, certify the parachute system, and conduct an in-flight abort test before it receives certification for the vehicle.

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My recent report on NASA decision not to release a public summary of its investigation into the Falcon 9 failure that destroyed a Dragon cargo ship has attracted some attention on various other websites. Ive gotten some criticism there and also here for not understanding that the results of NASAs investigations on commercial crew are confidential.

Fair enough. However, I was never told this by NASA in my multiple communications with the agency when I inquired about the summary last fall. In fact, they represented exactly the opposite.

Just so there is no confusion on this point, Im reproducing the email responses I received from NASA when I inquired about this issue last fall as well as the one I received earlier in July.

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The sharp eye of NASAs Hubble Space Telescope has captured the tiny moon Phobos during its orbital trek around Mars. Because the moon is so small, it appears star-like in the Hubble pictures.

GREENBELT, Md. (NASA PR) Over the course of 22 minutes, Hubble took 13 separate exposures, allowing astronomers to create a time-lapse video showing the diminutive moons orbital path. The Hubble observations were intended to photograph Mars, and the moons cameo appearance was a bonus.

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HOUSTON (NanoRacks PR) The NanoRacks Airlock Module design continues to mature as NASAs Johnson Space Center successfully ran testing on a NASA-built full-scale mockup of the Airlock in their Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL).

The tests confirmed that spacewalking astronauts will be able to successfully maneuver around the Airlock structure and mounted external payloads. Astronauts will be able to do this with the assistance of handrails, which have been strategically placed by the NanoRacks design team.

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., July 20, 2017 (Lockheed Martin PR) Refurbishing a shuttle-era cargo container used to transfer cargo to the International Space Station, Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is prototyping a deep space habitat for NASA at Kennedy Space Center. This prototype will integrate evolving technologies to keep astronauts safe while onboard and operate the spacecraft autonomously when unoccupied.

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During an appearance at the International Space Station Research & Development Conference on Wednesday, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said plans for propulsive crew Dragon landings and Red Dragon missions to Mars had been scrapped, downplayed the probability that the first Falcon Heavy launch will succeed, and even had a good word to say about the moon.

Here are notes from the talk.

State of Space Exploration

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