Pew pew pew!
to date, the agency is making extra sure that the craft, which is currently under construction, makes it back in one piece.The tests took place at NASA's Remote Hypervelocity Test Laboratory, located at their White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico. Scientists chose the remote location because getting these tiny bullets to go as ridiculously fast as possible is actually pretty dangerous.
The first stage uses traditional gunpowder to set a projectile in motion. Compressed hydrogen gas is then pushed into the tube to make that projectile go exponentially faster. "That is why we hung out in the bunker during the test," said NASA engineer Bruno Sarti, who leads the team developing the anti-meteorite shields, in a statement.While the researchers didn't get their tiny bullets to go as fast as an actual micrometeorite, they did get fairly close: five miles per second.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
NASA fires micro-bullets at Mars sample-return orbiter's meteoroid shieldSpacecraft in orbit are constantly bombarded by debris and rock fragments.
Read more »
NASA detects the most powerful cosmic gamma-ray burst ever discoveredOn Sunday, October 9th, astronomers around the world were privy to an unusually bright and long-lasting pulse of high-energy radiation that swept over Earth. The source of the event was a gamma-ray burst (GRB)
Read more »
Here's how NASA will drop off a sample of an asteroid | Digital TrendsNASA has shared details on how exactly the OSIRISREx spacecraft will deliver its sample of asteroid Bennu to Earth.
Read more »
TESS has Resumed Normal OperationsNASA has announced that TESS is back online and resumed normal operations!
Read more »
NASA’s Mars Sample Return Mission Shields Up for TestsA potential hazard for any space mission, including NASA’s Mars Sample Return, is micrometeorites. These tiny rocks can travel up to 50 miles per second (180,000 mph). At these extreme speeds, 'even dust could cause damage to a spacecraft,' said Bruno Sarli, NASA engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Fli
Read more »