Tag Archives: Thomas Zurbuchen

NASA has decommissioned its Lockheed Martin-built Spitzer Space Telescope after over 16 years of observatory operations.

A NASA-established review board has made recommendations on preventing inter-contamination between Earth and other planets within the solar system. The space agency said Friday that its Planetary Protection Independent Review Board produced 43 recommendations and 34 findings that are included in a recent NASA report.

Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science at NASA, said the space agency plans to build a space-based telescope to identify and track near-Earth objects that could pose potential threats to the planet, GeekWire reported Monday.

NASA will use an imaging tool to conduct studies of coastal waters from space to sustain coastal ecosystems and optimize resource management functions. Developed by a team from the University of New Hampshire, the Geosynchronous Littoral Imaging and Monitoring Radiometer is a hyperspectral ocean color radiometer will observe ocean chemistry, biology and ecology in the southeastern U.S. coastline, Gulf of Mexico and Amazon River, the agency said Friday. 

NASA is preparing for two missions to support research into heliophysics or how the sun impacts planetary phenomena. The agency said Friday that the first initiative, known as the “Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere” mission, will use real-time imaging technology and small satellites to study the generation of solar winds by the sun’s corona or outer atmosphere.

NASA's advisory council is recommending the space agency to review existing policies on preventing extraplanetary matter from contaminating earth and Earth-based spacecraft from contaminating foreign planets, Space News reported Friday. Following a two-day meeting, the council advises NASA to establish a committee to conduct this review on planetary protection and formulate policies that balance exchanges between Earth and other planetary bodies.

NASA will land its Mars 2020 Rover on the red planet's Jezero Crater for a mission to search for past microbial life and gather rock and soil samples. The space agency said Tuesday it evaluated over 60 potential landing spots before selecting the Jezero Crater, a former location of an ancient river delta.

NASA has decommissioned the Kepler space telescope, now out of fuel, after nine years of detecting planets beyond the solar system. The space agency said Wednesday it deactivated Kepler in a safe orbit, concluding the spacecraft's discovery record of over 2.6K distant planets.

NASA has released a new policy that seeks to streamline management and development processes for research teams that seek to offer investigation proposals for high-risk space projects that cost less than $150 million. The agency said Friday the new policy for Class D missions will take effect on Jan. 1, …

NASA will conduct an independent review on the status of the James Webb Space Telescope program ahead of a planned launch in the first half of 2019, Space News reported Thursday. The space agency will release an updated launch date for the future space telescope following the independent review despite …