"Unlocking the Mysteries of Space, and Exploring the Universe with NASA"

NIAC ( NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts) Program nurtures visionary ideas from America's innovators and entrepreneurs that could transform Future NASA missions with the creation of radically better or entirely new aerospace concepts. NIAC projects study innovative, technically credible, advanced concepts to turn Science Fiction to Science Fact.

The Psyche spacecraft is traveling to a unique metal-rich asteroid with the same name, orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. By August 2029 the spacecraft will begin exploring the asteroid that scientists think – because of its high metal content – may be the partial core of a planetesimal, a building block of an early planet. TYPE: Orbiter LAUNCH: Oct. 13, 2023 TARGET: Asteroid Psyche OBJECTIVE: Visit an unexplored type of world – a metal-rich asteroid called Psyche. Psyche’s main computer, flight software, fault-protection systems, and most of the telecommunications systems come from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California. A Palo Alto, California, division of Colorado-based Maxar Technologies provided the main body of the spacecraft and most of its engineering hardware systems. The spacecraft also includes a technology demonstration. Attached to Psyche is the Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC), a NASA experiment that will test optical, or laser, communications beyond the Moon.

The "Ring of Fire" is not an annual solar eclipse, but rather a specific type of solar eclipse called an "annular solar eclipse." Let me explain it in easy words: A solar eclipse happens when the moon comes between the Earth and the sun, blocking out the sun's light. During a total solar eclipse, the moon completely covers the sun, making it look like a dark circle in the sky. But during an annular solar eclipse, the moon doesn't completely cover the sun. In an annular solar eclipse, the moon is a bit farther from Earth, so it appears smaller in the sky. When it moves in front of the sun, it doesn't cover the sun completely. Instead, there is a ring of sunlight that surrounds the dark disk of the moon. This ring of sunlight is what people call the "Ring of Fire." So, during an annular solar eclipse, you see a "Ring of Fire" in the sky because the moon doesn't block the sun entirely, leaving a bright circle around the dark moon. It's a spectacular and unique astronomical event to witness.

A new long-duration Spaceflight Record at NASA is created on September 15, 2023. NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission is back home; and now their Asteroid sample return mission is on target.

NASA Astronaut FRANK RUBIO returned to Earth this year in Fall. He has set the record for the longest single spaceflight by USA Astronaut. He arrived at the International Space Station on September 21, 2022 _ and returned back home within 371 days exploring in Space. Isn't it just WOW!! ✌️