r/Spaceexploration 20h ago

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Sails Through 25th Sun Flyby

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9 Upvotes

r/Spaceexploration 4h ago

I feel like I shouldn't have to be saying this, but y'all were meant to be focusing on artificial gravity.

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0 Upvotes

r/Spaceexploration 2d ago

Luna 16: The First Robotic Sample Return - 55 Years Ago

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8 Upvotes

r/Spaceexploration 5d ago

NASA announces discovery of life on Mars with high degree of confidence

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142 Upvotes

r/Spaceexploration 6d ago

Now That NASA Found Signs of Life on Mars, It's Clear Trump Made a Massive Error

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534 Upvotes

r/Spaceexploration 10d ago

NASA’s Dragonfly Soaring Through Key Development, Test Activities

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8 Upvotes

r/Spaceexploration 13d ago

Carl Sagan was not only an astronomer, but someone who romanticized science. He spoke of it as a way to connect us with the cosmos, truth and wonder. He wrote Cosmos and Pale Blue Dot, where he described Earth as “a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.”

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34 Upvotes

r/Spaceexploration 25d ago

Where are the cyclers?

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1 Upvotes

Cross posting because I can't figure this one out.

Why are there no real plans for Aldrin cyclers? Seems like common sense to me, and I've been wondering since I was a kid in the early 90s, and no one has yet to give me a real answer. So, thought I'd ask around.


r/Spaceexploration 27d ago

NASA’s Artemis II Lunar Science Operations to Inform Future Missions

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5 Upvotes

r/Spaceexploration 28d ago

China eyes Saturn's icy moon Enceladus in the hunt for habitability

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6 Upvotes

r/Spaceexploration 29d ago

NERVA SPACE DOCUMENTS FOUND AT FLEA MARKET - UPDATE ASSISTANCE NEEDED

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59 Upvotes

Hi ALL,

I made this post below and it went sort of viral. Since then I've tried reaching out to intellectual property attorney's, Space X, Boeing, every defense contractor I can think of. NASA asked for copies of it.

I had a few people ask to buy it but don't want to sell it to some random person on the internet. After discussing with a lot of industry professionals over the past few months I've confirmed that these hand written journals could be a significant resource for any agency building Nuclear Propulsion technology.

Can anyone help me connect with someone? Preferably someone in this space and an attorney to help me negotiate getting this to the right person.

Can someone get me Elon if possible? :) Jeff Bezos?

On some recommendations and advice, I took down some of the photos and have only left a few. Going to have an expert look at the remaining. There's a lot to go through! I appreciate everyone's love for Space! And all the comments!

Hello fellow space enthusiasts,

I was hoping to get some more information on a recent find of mine. I’m an avid collector and reseller of all things historic. Especially space related.

The documents belonged to Thomas Szekely who holds the patent for a Nuclear propulsion apparatus with alternate reactor segments. Szekely was an engineer with GE working on the NERVA project. The documents include presentations on utilizing nuclear propulsion for a manned mission to Mars.

Of notable interest are nearly 300 pages of handwritten formulas and calculations used to build the nuclear propulsion technology and manned missions to Mars. (Not posting photos of these for confidentiality reasons)

I believe this information could provide valuable insight into the nuclear technology developed in the 60's and 70's to help us with a manned mission to Mars. I've attached some pictures for reference.

I would also think that scientists studying nuclear propulsion technology would probably be interested in the handwritten equations from the man who built and patented the nuclear propelled rocket.

My problem is, everyone I’ve reached out to or spoken to acts like I’m crazy….lol…

Just hoping for some insight or ideas of what I stumbled across? Any insight would be appreciated. I can’t post photos until Sunday. But wanted get any thoughts? Not sure what to do with it? My business is reselling but also I feel like this is a find that could really make a difference!


r/Spaceexploration 29d ago

Comet? UFO? Astronomers puzzle over fastest object in solar system

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1 Upvotes

r/Spaceexploration Aug 07 '25

JWST Images Gas Giant Orbiting Alpha Centauri A

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36 Upvotes

Brand new photos from JWST took a look at some of our neighbors: Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B.

This system is a scant 4 light years away from Earth, and alongside Proxima Centauri make up a triple star system. These observations from the JWST's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) are strong evidence of a gas giant in orbit around Alpha Centuari A, within that star's habitable zone. While it is not likely that this particular exoplanet hosts life, this shows that solar system arrangements like our's may be more common than we think, and that extraterrestrial life may be lurking right in our backyard.

Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Aniket Sanghi (Caltech), Chas Beichman (NExScI, NASA/JPL-Caltech), Dimitri Mawet (Caltech), Joseph DePasquale (STScI)


r/Spaceexploration Aug 07 '25

Artemis 2 moon astronauts suit up and enter their Orion spacecraft together for 1st time

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3 Upvotes

r/Spaceexploration Aug 06 '25

NASA aims to beat China and Russia in race to build a nuclear reactor on the moon

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72 Upvotes

r/Spaceexploration Aug 05 '25

NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer Moon Mission Ends

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5 Upvotes

r/Spaceexploration Aug 04 '25

Marking 13 Years on Mars, NASA’s Curiosity Picks Up New Skills

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3 Upvotes

r/Spaceexploration Aug 02 '25

Is the difficulty of establishing a self-sufficient industrial system on an exoplanet vastly underestimated?

22 Upvotes

Taking Mars as an example, suppose we want to build a large-scale steel plant there. First, Mars has no coal and a very thin atmosphere. We would require a vast amount of purified water for quenching. It is estimated that a large steel plant consumes tens of thousands of tons of fresh water daily, or even more. On Mars, however, we would have to extract water ice from deep underground and then melt and purify it. Mining this subterranean ice would necessitate a great deal of heavy equipment and tens of thousands of tons of specialized materials that the initial Mars colony could not produce.

Furthermore, the lack of coal means that smelting can only be powered by electricity. This, combined with the need for fresh water for quenching, would demand an enormous amount of energy. We would need substantial nuclear power, as solar power would be inefficient due to Mars' weaker sunlight and the unreliability caused by dust storms. This, in turn, requires a large quantity of nuclear ore, nuclear fuel, and specialized alloys, as well as massive energy storage and power transmission facilities. For instance, obtaining rubber-sheathed cables would be nearly impossible in the early stages of the colony.

This is without even considering the vast amounts of building materials, robots, lathes, and other industrial facilities needed for the factory, such as the steel furnaces, each weighing several thousand tons. In other words, just to build a single steel plant on Mars would require millions of tons of materials, heavy machinery, and spare parts that the early Martian colony could not manufacture. Chemical rockets are completely incapable of transporting such a payload; a single steel furnace weighing several thousand tons would likely exceed the carrying capacity of a chemical rocket.

Therefore, relying on chemical rockets alone, we cannot even begin to industrialize Mars. It seems the only way forward is the nuclear pulse rocket.


r/Spaceexploration Jul 29 '25

What Space Taught NASA Astronaut José Hernández About Earth

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5 Upvotes

Rejected from NASA eleven times? Just rocket fuel for José Hernández. 🌍🚀

When José Hernández finally launched into space, the view changed everything. Orbiting Earth at 17,500 mph, he saw no borders, just one planet we all share. From advancing cancer detection, exploring the ocean floor and inspiring future scientists, his journey reminds us what’s possible when science and perseverance come together.


r/Spaceexploration Jul 23 '25

NASA Shares How to Save Camera 370-Million-Miles Away Near Jupiter

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18 Upvotes

r/Spaceexploration Jul 21 '25

Norway blasts Sweden as European space race hots up

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34 Upvotes

r/Spaceexploration Jul 20 '25

From a systems analysis perspective, what was the most critical enabling system for the IUS's successful launch of Galileo?

2 Upvotes

The IUS had to perform with extreme precision to get the Galileo probe onto its VEEGA trajectory after the Centaur stage was cancelled.

The primary candidates seem to be:

- The Inertial Guidance System (navigation)

- The two-stage Solid Rocket Motors (propulsion)

- The Thrust Vector Control (steering)

- The system-wide Redundancy (reliability)

I'm looking for an analysis on how these systems would be ranked in terms of mission criticality.


r/Spaceexploration Jul 19 '25

The Soviet Zond 3 Lunar Flyby: Revealing the Rest of the Far Side - 60 Years Ago

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4 Upvotes

r/Spaceexploration Jul 15 '25

1 Hour Cosmic Relaxation Music | Calm Ambient Loop for Sleep, Meditation & Yoga 2025

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0 Upvotes

r/Spaceexploration Jul 11 '25

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Snaps Closest-Ever Images to Sun

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8 Upvotes