NASA's Ingenuity helicopter is carrying a small piece of aviation history. Underneath the helicopter's solar panel is a stamp-sized piece of fabric. It was a part of the wing covering on the Wright brothers’ aircraft that took the first powered, controlled flight on Earth on Dec. 17, 1903.

Source | #Mars2020
@EverythingScience

🚀 SN11 will be attempting a launch today (UPDATE: Launch scrubbed for today)

Earlier today SN11 preformed a successful static fire and we have received official confirmation from SpaceX that they're targeting later today.

SpaceX personnel are still on the pad but the village has already been evacuated so we expect a launch in the next few hours.

⚠️ Update: Launch Scrubbed for today.

@EverythingScience @SpaceX

A spacesuit floated away from the International Space Station 15 years ago, but no investigation was conducted.

Everyone knew that it was pushed by the space station crew. Dubbed Suitsat-1, the unneeded Russian Orlan spacesuit filled mostly with old clothes was fitted with a faint radio transmitter and released to orbit the Earth. The suit circled the Earth twice before its radio signal became unexpectedly weak. Suitsat-1 continued to orbit every 90 minutes until it burned up in the Earth's atmosphere after a few weeks. Pictured, the lifeless spacesuit was photographed in 2006 just as it drifted away from space station.

Photo (APOD)
@EverythingScience

NASA’s Future Telescopes Will Float at the Edge of Space

NASA wants a new type of space telescope. A team of scientists and engineers at NASA are developing ways to send ultra cold and ultra large balloon telescopes to the edge of space, which could open up a brand new way of seeing the cosmos.

You can do more science in a single balloon flight than you could do from years and years of observing from any of these existing observatories. You can take technology risks on a balloon that would never be able to take on a space mission. So, you can do all kinds of crazy things.

Video (Seeker) | Stream on Youtube
@EverythingScience

Mars Helicopter Prepares for Takeoff

Beginning April 2021, the window opens for the first flight of NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter. It will be history’s first attempt at powered, controlled flight on another planet. Ingenuity arrived at Mars on February 18, 2021, riding along with NASA’s Perseverance rover. The duration of Ingenuity’s mission is 30 days, where one or more test flights will be attempted.

As a technology demonstration, Ingenuity is testing a new capability for the first time: showing controlled flight is possible in the very thin Martian atmosphere. If successful, Ingenuity could lead to an aerial dimension to space exploration, aiding both robots and humans in the future.

Video (NASA) | Stream on YouTube
@EverythingScience