Canadian Space Agency – Spaceflight Now

NASA set to announce crew of Artemis 2 moon mission

April 2, 2023 Stephen Clark

NASA will unveil the four crew members Monday who will fly around the moon on the first piloted flight of the agency’s Orion deep space capsule on the Artemis 2 mission as soon as late next year.

Webb telescope sees the prelude to a supernova

March 21, 2023 Stephen Clark

A new image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows a rare glimpse of a massive star 15,000 light-years away shedding a halo of gas and dust, seeding the cosmos with elements necessary for forming other stars, planets, and the building blocks of life.

Canadian astronaut to join NASA’s first crewed Artemis mission around the moon

December 21, 2020 Stephen Clark

A Canadian space flier will join three NASA crew members on the first piloted flight of the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft around the moon, becoming the first non-U.S. astronaut on a lunar voyage, officials announced last week.

Scientists release new view from OSIRIS-REx’s asteroid smash and grab

November 2, 2020 Stephen Clark

Scientists say the touch and go landing by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on an asteroid last month revealed fresh insights into the structure of loose rocks that may cover the surfaces of many small planetary bodies — material that is more akin to a playground ball pit than solid bedrock.

International Space Station offers ‘blueprint’ for exploration, first crew says

November 1, 2020 Stephen Clark

Bill Shepherd, a former Navy SEAL-turned astronaut who arrived at the International Space Station 20 years ago Monday to begin the continuous occupancy of the orbiting research outpost, says the experience gained by NASA and its global partners over the last two decades provides a blueprint for missions to the moon, Mars, and beyond.

Asteroid samples sealed in OSIRIS-REx return capsule

October 29, 2020 Stephen Clark

A collection chamber that could contain more than 2 pounds of samples gathered from an asteroid in deep space last week has been sealed inside of a return capsule on NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to bring the extraterrestrial specimens back to Earth in 2023, officials announced Thursday.

OSIRIS-REx begins stowing asteroid sample into return capsule

October 28, 2020 Stephen Clark

Working under close supervision from ground controllers more than 200 million miles away, the robotic arm on NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has begun placing specimens collected from an asteroid last week into a return capsule to bring the material back to Earth in 2023, officials said Wednesday.

OSIRIS-REx overflows with asteroid samples after bagging bounty from Bennu

October 23, 2020 Stephen Clark

The sampling mechanism on NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is stuffed with specimens captured from asteroid Bennu earlier this week — so full that some of the rocks are floating out into space. Officials said Friday they will stow the samples inside the mission’s Earth return capsule sooner than planned to minimize the loss of asteroid material.

Scientists thrilled with first look at asteroid sampler in action

October 21, 2020 Stephen Clark

The first images beamed back to Earth by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft after it briefly landed an asteroid buoyed expectations Wednesday that the probe collected enough samples to meet the mission’s minimum requirement for return to Earth.

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft lands on asteroid in bid to collect samples

October 20, 2020 Stephen Clark

A robotic arm extended from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft briefly contacted the rugged surface of asteroid Bennu Tuesday to gobble up pristine samples, a climactic moment in the $1 billion mission to bring asteroid material back to Earth in 2023.