World · Business · Science · Culture
The Meridian · 13 stories
Space, climate, research and technology, explained through original source material.
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When Rice University student Malvika Bhardwaj asked her mentor Daniel Cohen, a Guidance, Navigation & Control (GN&C) engineer at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, whether he had time to keep teaching interns with his busy workload, he answered, “You decide what’s important.” In honor of National Mentoring Day on Oct. 27, Bhardwaj reflects on how Cohen’s […]
Official-source brief
The Antarctic iceberg made a relatively quick exit from the Weddell Sea, only to slow at the edge of a remote island’s underwater shelf.
Official-source brief
NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory has ended its science mission now that the spacecraft is orbiting less than 171 miles (275 kilometers) above Earth’s surface. The greater atmospheric drag at this height prevents the satellite’s telescopes from steadily gazing at their astronomical targets. Swift conducted its final observation on Oct. 20. It is expected to […]
Official-source brief
NASA is helping to foster long-term energy security in Virginia. NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, is partnering with the Virginia Department of Energy to support informed decisions for effective energy generation, delivery and use by providing solar, meteorological, and future weather risk datasets for energy system modeling and planning purposes. Under a new […]
Official-source brief
As NASA returns humans to the lunar surface and establishes a long-term presence on our closest celestial neighbor, the agency and commercial human landing system providers Blue Origin and SpaceX have streamlined the designs and changed both concepts of operations for its future crewed landers. Since NASA established initial contracts with Blue Origin and SpaceX […]
Official-source brief
Before astronauts return to the lunar surface, NASA will first conduct one of the most ambitious and complex test missions in the agency’s history. Launching in 2027, Artemis III will send NASA astronauts Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio, Andre Douglas, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Luca Parmitano aboard the Orion spacecraft into low Earth orbit […]
Official-source brief
Members of the media are invited to join NASA at the 2026 von Braun Space Exploration Symposium from Monday, Oct. 26, to Wednesday, Oct. 28, at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. This year’s symposium is focused on humanity’s return to the Moon, sustainable lunar infrastructure, advanced space propulsion, and the evolving space workforce. Panels […]
Official-source brief
NASA Science wants to deliver science faster, so we’re changing how we compete and select missions. On Monday, October 26, we will host a virtual NASA Science Town Hall.
Official-source brief
This observation is one of many gravitational lensing images taken by Hubble in preparation for science with the new Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.
Official-source brief
Emissions on both sides of the island are unusually high as human-set fires spread in a landscape parched by drought.
Earth observation · Atlantic
Terra’s MODIS instrument recorded the storm on 21 October; NASA published the image the following day.
Technology · International security
The UN research institute plans a new channel for organisations to contribute to AI-governance discussions.
Science · Space
The spacecraft carries a European rover and aims to return samples from Phobos.
