NASA

Read the latest NASA news today on Newser.com

Stories 961 - 980 | << Prev   Next >>

Feds: Florida Prof Scammed NASA for $3.4M

Research cash blown on cars, condos, charge court filings

(Newser) - Federal agents have seized the property of a University of Florida professor accused of shuttling millions in NASA grants into his family's bank accounts, the Houston Chronicle reports. Nuclear scientist Samim Anghaie, who has worked on developing fuels for future Mars missions, submitted "multiple fraudulent certified contract proposals to...

Crash Ends Mission to Track Global Warming

Rocket carrying satellite ends up in ocean, sinking $280M project

(Newser) - A rocket carrying a NASA satellite crashed near Antarctica after a failed launch early yesterday, ending a $280 million mission to track global warming from space. The rocket carrying the Orbiting Carbon Observatory blasted off just before 2am from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base. But minutes later a cover protecting...

Rare Comet Streaks Into View
 Rare Comet Streaks Into View 
Feb 22, 2009 5:44 PM CST

Rare Comet Streaks Into View

The Lulin comet travels past Saturn starting tomorrow

(Newser) - Comet Lulin will travel into sight tomorrow, says Wired. The rare chance for a glimpse comes as the comet passes 38 million miles from Earth, traveling south-southwest of Saturn and visible to the naked eye at night. NASA astronomers, tracking the comet with the Swift Gamma-Ray Explorer satellite, report that...

NASA Plans Jupiter Mission
 NASA Plans Jupiter Mission  
Feb 18, 2009 9:03 PM CST

NASA Plans Jupiter Mission

(Newser) - NASA plans to send an orbiter to study the mysteries of one of Jupiter's moons, the Washington Post reports. Scientists suspect Europa has a massive ocean—possibly bigger than all of the Earth's oceans combined—beneath its ice-covered surface, the Post notes. Don't look up just yet: The $3 billion...

Alien Life 'Inevitable': Astronomer

Countless Earth-like planets likely in universe

(Newser) - Scientists now believe there could be as many habitable planets in the cosmos as there are stars, and that makes life’s existence elsewhere “inevitable” over billions of years, says one. “It is sort of like running an experiment in your refrigerator—turn it off and something will...

NASA Aims to Stifle the Sonic Boom

Researchers experiment with quieter ways to smash the sound barrier

(Newser) - NASA scientists are trying to mute the ear-splitting boom caused by supersonic flight into more of a sonic rumble, Wired reports. Researchers using modified F-15 jets have been experimenting with different wing shapes to spread out shock waves from breaking the sound barrier so they sound more like thunder than...

If Another Earth Is Out There, Kepler Will Find it

NASA telescope designed to look for life-sustaining planets

(Newser) - If there's truly no place like home, then NASA's new Kepler mission will help scientists prove it. The space telescope, set to launch March 5, will scan the skies for planets with the approximate size and temperature range of Earth. Matches could be candidates for extraterrestrial life; if Kepler finds...

Astronaut Slams NASA Bureaucracy in Video

(Newser) - NASA is abuzz over a satirical video posted on YouTube that takes on the space agency’s innovation-stifling bureaucracy, reports NPR. Written, shot, and edited by astronaut Andrew Thomas and starring NASA employees and contractors, the video tells the fictional story of a young engineer’s frustrating attempts to propose...

NASA Rover on Strike
 NASA Rover on Strike 
Jan 29, 2009 3:49 AM CST

NASA Rover on Strike

Mars Spirit fails to report for work

(Newser) - NASA engineers are perplexed by a rebellious streak that has developed in its Martian roving robot, Spirit. It was expected to last just 90 days when it landed on Mars five years ago, but the robot has continued to send back data. This past weekend, however, Spirit failed to report...

Leave Space to Robots
 Leave Space to Robots
OPINION
Jan 24, 2009 2:58 AM CST

Leave Space to Robots

President Obama would be well-served by removing costly manned exploration goals

(Newser) - Barack Obama is poised to chart a new direction for America’s exploration of the final frontier, writes the Economist. While George W. Bush supported continuing manned space exploration in the tradition of the previous century, Obama is considering scrapping some of NASA’s planned upgrades to the space shuttle...

Methane Hints at Life on Mars
 Methane Hints at Life on Mars 
Jan 15, 2009 4:38 PM CST

Methane Hints at Life on Mars

Gas released in high concentrations could be from bacteria

(Newser) - The discovery of high methane concentrations on Mars may hint that underground life exists on the red planet, the Houston Chronicle reports. Scientists funded by NASA and other institutions, using Earth-based telescopes, have found plumes of methane in such high concentrations they believe bacteria, which can also produce the gas...

Built for 90 Days, Mars Rovers Mark 5 Years

Spirit, Opportunity brave adversity, and they're not done yet

(Newser) - NASA’s twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity are celebrating their fifth birthdays on Mars after surviving more than 20 times their expected lifespan, Space.com reports. The two probes were each built for a 90-day trek across the Red Planet but have survived computer glitches and blistering weather conditions. “...

Columbia Crew Had No Chance to Survive

Report says astronauts couldn't have survived shuttle's disintegration

(Newser) - The seven astronauts aboard the space shuttle Columbia lost consciousness quickly and did not suffer when the craft broke up during its descent to Earth in 2003, a  NASA report says. While the crew had zero chance of survival, the report found fault with the astronauts' safety equipment and recommended...

NASA Launching First Satellite to Map CO2

(Newser) - NASA will soon launch a satellite that can measure carbon dioxide concentrations near the surface of the Earth, giving scientists an accurate picture of where the gas is produced and absorbed, the BBC reports. "This is NASA's first spacecraft specifically dedicated to mapping carbon dioxide," said a project...

For Sale: Space Shuttle, $42M
 For Sale: Space Shuttle, $42M 
Dec 18, 2008 2:58 AM CST

For Sale: Space Shuttle, $42M

NASA seeking museums to purchase spacecraft after retirement

(Newser) - NASA is taking the unprecedented step of offering to sell the three space shuttles to museums when the workhorse vehicles are retired some time after 2010, reports the Orlando Sentinel. The space agency is seeking at least $42 million—including $6 million for shipping and handling, and the cost of...

Obama Will Face Shuttle Dilemma

NASA to transition team: We have a problem

(Newser) - America's aging space shuttle fleet will pose some tough questions for Barack Obama, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Bush administration has recommended the shuttle be mothballed by 2010. To avoid leaving a potentially crippling 5-year gap in America's manned space flight program, Obama's NASA team will need to decide...

Moon Will Appear Extra Bright Tonight

Tonight's sky will seem 30 percent brighter than usual, NASA says

(Newser) - If tonight’s full moon looks bigger and brighter than normal, that’s because it is, Space.com reports. The satellite reaches its perigree today, making its position the closest of the year to Earth—though still some 222,000 miles away. The moon's irregular orbit causes the distance to...

British Satellites May Provide Cell Phone Service on Moon

Program would give lunar residents cell phone service

(Newser) - The UK’s space agency is reviewing the feasibility of a mission to put satellites in orbit around the moon, CNET reports. The MoonLITE study plans to send four “penetrator darts” containing geophysical instruments into the moon’s crust, monitoring their findings with four accompanying satellites. The resulting data...

New Rover Won't Hit Mars Until 2011

(Newser) - NASA is delaying the launch of its next Mars rover, which is significantly larger and more complex than previous models, until 2011, Space.com reports. The Mars Science Laboratory was set to arrive on the red planet next year, but problems with crucial mechanical components mean it will miss its...

Rerouted Shuttle Lands in Calif.
 Rerouted Shuttle Lands
in Calif. 
UPDATED
Nov 30, 2008 4:03 PM CST

Rerouted Shuttle Lands in Calif.

Wind in Florida could force a California landing

(Newser) - Space shuttle Endeavour touched down at Edwards Air Force Base in California today, after dangerously high wind prevented the crew from landing at its home base in Florida, and NASA ordered the astronauts to take a detour and head for the Left Coast. Endeavour touched down at 4:25pm EST,...

Stories 961 - 980 | << Prev   Next >>