MARCIA DUNN Aerospace Writer, Author at The Rapid City Post

Interstellar comet swinging past Mars as a fleet of spacecraft looks on

October 2, 2025

A comet from another star system is swinging by Mars as a fleet of spacecraft trains its sights on the interstellar visitor. The comet will hurtle within 18 million miles of the red planet on Friday. Both of the European Space Agency’s satellites around Mars are already aiming their cameras at the speeding comet. NASA’s satellite and rovers at Mars are also available to assist in the observations. It’s only the third interstellar object known to have passed our way. Discovered in July, the comet poses no threat to Earth or neighboring planets.

This image provided by NASA/JPL-Caltech on Aug. 23, 2025, NISAR imaged land adjacent to northeastern North Dakota’s Forest River, light-colored wetlands and forests line the river’s banks, while circular and rectangular plots throughout the image appear in shades that indicate the land may be pasture or cropland with corn or soy. (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)

First radar images from new Earth-mapping satellite showcase Maine coast and North Dakota farmland

September 25, 2025

NASA has released the first radar images from a new Earth-mapping satellite showing the Maine coast and North Dakota farmland in incredible detail. The pictures are from a spacecraft that rocketed into orbit from India two months ago. The joint U.S.-Indian mission will survey virtually all of the world’s land and ice masses multiple times. By tracking even the slightest shifts in land and ice, the satellite will give forecasters and first responders a leg up in dealing with natural disasters. NASA says the pictures released Thursday are a preview of what’s to come once science operations begin in November.

NASA introduces its newest astronauts: 10 chosen from more than 8,000 applicants

September 22, 2025

NASA has 10 new astronauts chosen from more than 8,000 applicants. The space agency introduced its 2025 astronaut class Monday. The six women and four men will undergo two years of training before becoming eligible for spaceflight, including trips to the moon and possibly Mars. It’s the 24th astronaut class for NASA since the original Mercury Seven made their debut in 1959. The previous class was in 2021. Only 370 people have been selected by NASA as astronauts, making it an extraordinarily small and elite group.

This image provided by NASA shows Northrop Grumman's newly arrived cargo capsule at the International Space Station on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (NASA via AP)

Northrop Grumman cargo ship reaches the International Space Station a day late after engine issue

September 18, 2025

A supply ship has arrived at the International Space Station after a day’s delay due to a premature engine shutdown. Astronauts used the space station’s robot arm to pluck Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus capsule from orbit Thursday as they soared over Africa. The 11,000-pound shipment should have reached the space station Wednesday, three days after blasting off from Florida. But when the capsule tried to climb higher, its main engine shut down too soon. Engineers traced the problem to an overly conservative software setting.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on a mission to bring supplies to the International Space Station lifts off from complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Engine trouble forces Northrop Grumman to delay supply delivery to International Space Station

September 17, 2025

A newly launched supply ship has run into engine trouble that is preventing it from reaching the International Space Station. Northrop Grumman’s capsule rocketed into orbit Sunday from Florida aboard SpaceX. But less than two days later, the capsule’s main engine shut down prematurely while trying to boost its orbit. The Cygnus capsule was supposed to dock Wednesday. But NASA says everything is on hold while flight controllers consider an alternate plan. The capsule holds 11,000 pounds of cargo for the seven space station residents.

FILE - A view of a partial solar eclipse over St. Petersburg, Russia, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, file)

Partial solar eclipse at the bottom of the world closes out the year’s sun and moon spectacles

September 16, 2025

The bottom of the world is set to be front and center for a partial solar eclipse. Antarctica, New Zealand and a sliver of Australia are in prime position as the moon slips between the sun and Earth, obscuring a good portion of our star. The action unfolds on Monday local time Down Under, two weeks after a total lunar eclipse wowed Asia. The sun will put on even better shows in 2026, hitting both polar regions. A “ring of fire” eclipse will cut across Antarctica in February, with a total solar eclipse over the Arctic in August, as well as Greenland, Iceland and Spain.

This image provided by the European Southern Observatory shows a powerful explosion, orange dot at the center of the image, that repeated several times over the course of a day, The image, taken with ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT), allowed astronomers to determine that the explosion didn't take place in the Milky Way but in another galaxy. (European Southern Observatory via AP)

Scientists are baffled by a powerful and long-lasting gamma ray explosion outside our galaxy

September 9, 2025

Scientists have discovered a gamma ray explosion outside our galaxy that’s not only exceptionally powerful, but also long-lasting. Telescopes on Earth and in space — including Hubble — have teamed up to study the explosion of high-energy radiation first observed in July. Scientists said Tuesday that repeated bursts of gamma rays were detected over the course of a day. That’s highly unusual since these kinds of bursts normally last just minutes or even milliseconds as dying stars collapse or are torn apart by black holes. Scientists say such a long and recurrent gamma ray burst has never been seen before.

This image provided by NASA/European Space Agency shows an image captured by Hubble of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS on July 21, 2025, when the comet was 277 million miles from Earth. (NASA/European Space Agency via AP)

Hubble Space Telescope takes best picture yet of the comet visiting from another solar system

August 7, 2025

The Hubble Space Telescope has captured the best picture yet of a high-speed comet visiting our solar system from another star. NASA and the European Space Agency released the latest photos Thursday. The interstellar comet was discovered last month by a telescope in Chile. Astronomers originally estimated the size of its icy core at several miles across, but Hubble’s observations have narrowed it down to no more than 3.5 miles. It’s only the third known object from another solar system to pass our way. It poses no threat to Earth.

FILE - Astronaut Butch Wilmore is interviewed at Johnson Space Center on March 31, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, file)

Stuck astronaut Butch Wilmore retires from NASA less than 5 months after extended spaceflight

August 6, 2025

One of NASA’s two previously stuck astronauts has retired. NASA announced Butch Wilmore’s departure from the space agency on Wednesday. Wilmore and Suni Williams launched last summer as test pilots on Boeing’s first astronaut flight. What should have been a weeklong trip to the International Space Station turned into a stay of more than nine months because of Boeing’s malfunctioning Starliner. Starliner came back empty. Wilmore and Williams returned to Earth in March with SpaceX. The 62-year-old Wilmore had already retired from the Navy. Williams, also a retired Navy captain, is still with NASA.

This diagram provided by NASA/JPL-Caltech shows the trajectory of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it passes through the solar system. (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)

New interstellar comet will keep a safe distance from Earth, NASA says

July 3, 2025

NASA has discovered an interstellar comet that’s wandered into our backyard. The space agency spotted the object with the Atlas telescope in Chile earlier this week, and has confirmed it was a comet from another star system. It’s only the third known interstellar object to pass through our solar system. This newest visitor is 416 million miles from the sun, out near Jupiter. The quick-moving comet will make its closest approach to the sun in late October, venturing no closer than Mars and posing no threat to Earth. Astronomers around the world are monitoring the comet to determine its size and shape.

FILE - The Milky Way is seen over the Haleakala Observatory and the lights of Kahului, at right, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024 at the summit of Haleakala National Park near Kula, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)

Astronomers track object that may have originated outside the solar system

July 2, 2025

Astronomers are monitoring an object headed our way that may have wandered over from another star system. The European Space Agency said Wednesday that scientists have discovered what might be only the third known interstellar object to pass through our solar system. Telescopes around the world are observing the harmless object, currently near Jupiter and moving toward Mars and the rest of the inner solar system. Its closest approach to the sun is predicted for fall. More observations are needed to confirm the object’s origins. The first confirmed interstellar visitor was in 2017.

This image provided by NASA shows an annotation indicating the impact site for ispace's Resilience lunar lander, seen by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera on June 11, 2025. (NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University via AP)

NASA spacecraft around the moon photographs the crash site of a Japanese company’s lunar lander

June 20, 2025

A NASA spacecraft around the moon has photographed the crash site of a Japanese company’s lunar lander. NASA released the pictures Friday, two weeks after ispace’s lander slammed into the moon. The images show a dark smudge where the lander, named Resilience, crashed into a volcanic region in the moon’s far north. A faint halo around the area was created by the lunar dirt kicked up by the impact. NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured the aftermath of the crash — the second failure in two years for ispace.

This handout provided by the European Southern Observatory shows a detailed, thousand-colour image of the Sculptor Galaxy captured with the MUSE instrument at ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT). (ESO via AP)

This photo of the nearby Sculptor galaxy spans 65,000 light years

June 18, 2025

Astronomers have revealed a nearby spiral galaxy in all its brilliant glory, shining in thousands of colors. The dazzling panoramic shot released Wednesday of the Sculptor galaxy is so detailed that it’s already serving as a star-packed map. Scientists used a telescope in Chile to observe the galaxy for more than 50 hours, stitching together multiple exposures to create the picture. The galaxy is 11 million light-years away in the Southern Hemisphere’s sky. A light-year is 5.8 trillion miles.

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon capsule stands ready for launch on pad 39A for a mission to the International Space Station at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

Space station leak concerns will delay visit by astronauts from India, Poland and Hungary

June 12, 2025

A chartered spaceflight for India, Poland and Hungary’s first astronauts in decades has been delayed indefinitely because of leak concerns at the International Space Station. NASA said Thursday that it wants to monitor the cabin pressure on the Russian side of the orbiting lab, before accepting visitors. SpaceX was supposed to launch four private astronauts this week on a two-week space station mission. Bad weather and SpaceX rocket trouble delayed the flight. Then the space station leak issue cropped up. The Russian Space Agency has long been dealing with a cabin pressure leak at the station. Recent repairs resulted in what NASA calls “a new pressure signature.”

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship makes a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

FAA demands an accident investigation into SpaceX’s latest out-of-control Starship flight

May 30, 2025

The Federal Aviation Administration is demanding an accident investigation into the out-of-control Starship flight by SpaceX. The world’s biggest and most powerful rocket blasted off from Texas on Tuesday. The test flight lasted longer than the previous two failed demos, which ended in flames over the Atlantic. This latest spacecraft made it halfway around the world to the Indian Ocean, but not before going into a spin and breaking apart. The FAA said Friday no injuries or public damage were reported. The agency will oversee SpaceX’s investigation, which is required before another Starship can launch.

This undated photo released by the European Space Agency shows the 35 meter-diameter deep-space dish antenna, DSA-2, in Cebreros, Spain, receiving the first signals from Venus Express. (ESA via AP)

Strauss’ ‘Blue Danube’ waltz is launching into space to mark his 200th birthday

May 25, 2025

Strauss’ “Blue Danube” waltz is heading into space this month to mark the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth. The European Space Agency’s big dish antenna in Spain will beam the waltz into the cosmos as it’s performed by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. The celestial send-off on May 31 will also celebrate the space agency’s founding 50 years ago. The radio signals will hurtle away at the speed of light. Within 23 hours, the signals will be as far from Earth as NASA’s Voyager 1, the world’s most distant spacecraft some 15 billion miles away.

MARCIA DUNN Aerospace Writer.