Many scientists believe there’s another planet like Earth somewhere in the universe, and the search to find it is about to begin.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will be more powerful than its predecessors and will be able to see further into space to discover distant planets in far-off galaxies. It will even give us the tools to search for indications of an atmosphere that could sustain life. It’s currently scheduled to launch into space on March 30, 2021.

There are certainly larger Earth-bound telescopes, but as its name implies, the JWST will roam above the atmosphere, providing more powerful unobstructed views of the heavens than even the historic Hubble Space Telescope could offer. Funded by NASA in conjunction with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the infrared Webb telescope weighs 6 metric tons and will orbit 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. It boasts many new technological advances, including a deployable sunshield and a folding segmented mirror.

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📸: Chris Gunn, #NASA

Being stuck at home can be challenging. When I lived on the International Space Station for nearly a year, it wasn’t easy. When I went to sleep, I was at work. When I woke up, I was still at work. Flying in space is probably the only job you absolutely cannot quit.

But I learned some things during my time up there that I’d like to share — because they are about to come in handy again, as we all confine ourselves at home to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Here are a few tips on living in isolation, from someone who has been there.

Read Astronaut Scott Kelly’s suggestions.

📸: Bill Ingalls, NASA

Media are invited to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to watch the arrival of the Orion spacecraft for Artemis I. The crew and service module stack will be offloaded from NASA’s Super Guppy aircraft after its return flight home from NASA’s Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio. The offloading activity will happen the morning of March 24 at the Launch and Landing Facility at Kennedy, operated by Space Florida. Arrival and offloading are dependent on favorable weather conditions and are subject to change.

Read the full article here.

At NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, four people lived and worked inside one windowless capsule for 45 days in the Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) to simulate a long-duration mission to Mars’ moon, Phobos. Brian Dykas of Ohio, Carrie Harris of Washington, Daniel Monlux of Utah and Osama Alian of Michigan entered the mock spacecraft on Jan. 24 and emerged on March 9 to their waiting families and friends. Researchers use HERA missions to gather data about how teams work together in close quarters for long periods. What researchers are learning is helping NASA prepare for Artemis missions to the Moon and, eventually, to Mars.

See original article on this HERA mission here.

Mars has captured our imagination for decades and decades. Sending rovers across the fourth planet from the sun hasn’t dulled that enthusiasm. It’s still as mysterious as ever, even as we learn new details from the science happening there.

This new image will only fuel that fire. NASA’s Curiosity rover has sent back a 1.8-billion pixel image of the Martian landscape. It’s the highest-resolution panorama of the Mar’s surface to date, and it’s stunning.

See the full article on the new image from Mars here.

Edgecombe Community College was the only community college in the nation to participate in a celebration of Space Grant’s 30th anniversary in Washington, DC.

Held February 25, instructors Rebecca Stamilio-Ehret and Trey Cherry attended along with four students: Emily Brake, Emilee Moore, Garrett Parker, and Harry Snell. ECC President Dr. Greg McLeod also was present.

ECC’s display highlighted the College’s success with the High Altitude Balloon Team Competition and undergraduate research program and the successes balloon team members have attained through SkillsUSA.

Read more about the Edgecombe Community College team here.

The next NASA rover headed to Mars, up to now blandly referred to as Mars 2020, is to receive its proper name on Thursday.

The selection of the winning moniker is the culmination of NASA’s “Name the Rover” essay contest, which began last summer. Volunteer judges sifted through 28,000 entries from children ranging from kindergartners to high schoolers and selected 155 semifinalists.

In January, NASA announced the final nine: Clarity, Courage, Endurance, Fortitude, Ingenuity, Perseverance, Promise, Tenacity and Vision.

Read more about the Mars 2020 Rover.

📸: New York Times – Getty Images

ASHLAND, Neb. — Over 800 K-12 Nebraska students, team leaders and math and science teachers will gather at the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum, Saturday, February 22, 2020 for the Nebraska Robotics Expo.

This extraordinary robotics event brings together two robotics competitions, the CEENBoT Robotics Showcase and FIRST LEGO League, and the Creative Visual Arts Expo for a day of robotics inspiration in a historical venue, according to the museum.

“The Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum continues to fulfill its mission of education in technology and engineering fields for Nebraska and Western Iowa,’ says Jeff Cannon, Executive Director of the Museum. “Having the Nebraska Robotics Expo at the Museum allows us to provide the backdrop and context of innovations in technology to inspire future generations and helps to highlight the advancements our region is making in critical technical fields.”

Read more about the Robotics competition here.