NASA: News About the Space Exploration Agency - Page 50

Dec 12, 2008 4:29 PM CST

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

Dec 5, 2008 5:55 PM CST

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

Dec 4, 2008 3:57 PM CST

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.

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,...

Endeavour Heads Home

Nov 28, 2008 2:30 PM CST

Endeavour Heads Home

After a successful mission, shuttle returns to Earth

(Newser) - The space shuttle Endeavour separated from the International Space Station today and headed back to earth. Having completed a 12-day mission that upgraded the station’s living quarters, Endeavour’s seven-person crew began the 2-day trip back to the Kennedy Space Center, Florida Today reports. "Thanks for the incredible...

Saturn's Moon
Hints at Water

Nov 26, 2008 4:44 PM CST

Saturn's Moon Hints at Water

High speeds strongly hint at liquid water's presence

(Newser) - Plumes of gas and dust firing off one of Saturn's moons are moving at speeds “hard to do without liquids,” astronomers say, strongly suggesting the presence of water and raising the possibility of the moon supporting life. As Enceladus continues “helpfully spewing out its innards,” evidence...

Missing Tool Bag
Spotted in Space

Nov 25, 2008 4:42 PM CST

Missing Tool Bag Spotted in Space

Watchers with telescopes in NJ, Ontario spot gear lost during spacewalk

(Newser) - Look, in the sky: It's a bird, it's a plane, it's … the tool bag that floated away during a spacewalk last week. A few backyard astronomers have spotted the shiny bag that drifted away from an astronaut outside the International Space Station. The $100,000 toolkit will be visible...

Astronauts Wrap Up
Second Spacewalk
(No Lost Tools)

Nov 20, 2008 8:49 PM CST

Astronauts Wrap Up Second Spacewalk (No Lost Tools)

(Newser) - Spacewalking astronauts performed more repair work on a jammed joint at the International Space Station today, keeping a tight grip on all their tools so nothing would get away this time. The spacewalk—the second of four planned for shuttle Endeavour's visit— went smoothly and fell on the 10th anniversary...

Oops! Tools Lost in Space

Nov 19, 2008 3:10 AM CST

Oops! Tools Lost in Space

Astronaut slips up on spacewalk

(Newser) - A shuttle astronaut performing repairs during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station yesterday faced a slippery dilemma when a grease gun spurted lubricant inside her tool bag. As Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper cleaned the lubricant from her gloves, her bag full of tools floated away, boldly going where no tools have...

Mars Lander Falls Silent

Nov 10, 2008 5:11 PM CST

Mars Lander Falls Silent

Phoenix lacks the solar power to continue its mission

(Newser) - The Martian autumn has cut power to NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander, ending its mission of scientific discovery, NASA reports. As anticipated, shorter days and increasingly overcast skies are preventing sufficient solar energy from reaching the lander’s power cells. It has already collected data for 2 months longer than...

Space: The Final Voting Frontier

Nov 4, 2008 5:10 PM CST

Space: The Final Voting Frontier

Two astronauts vote from space station

(Newser) - Two US astronauts on the International Space Station did their civic duty from afar yesterday, casting absentee ballots from space using laptops with secure connections. Commander E. Michael Fincke and flight engineer Greg Chamitoff are the only voters who could actually see all those red and blue states, reports Bloomberg....

Space Junk
to Hit Earth
Tomorrow

Nov 1, 2008 3:07 AM CDT

Space Junk to Hit Earth Tomorrow

Ammonia tank chucked from ISS expected to break up in atmosphere

(Newser) - NASA is tracking a fridge-sized chunk of space trash expected to plunge to Earth tomorrow night, Space.com reports. The ammonia tank was thrown overboard from the International Space Station over a year ago and has been slowly descending since. NASA says it's highly unlikely that anybody will impacted by...

Hubble's Back in Action

Oct 30, 2008 7:15 PM CDT

Hubble's Back in Action

(Newser) - The Hubble has perfect vision again. NASA today released the first photos taken by the space telescope since an instrumental glitch put it out of commission last month, Space.com reports. Engineers fixed the problem this week, then got photos of a pair of galaxies about 400 million light-years from...

Lava Spotted on Mercury

Oct 30, 2008 2:39 AM CDT

Lava Spotted on Mercury

NASA flybys uncover planet's secrets

(Newser) - A spacecraft studying the planet Mercury has discovered evidence of enormous volcanic eruptions. The scale of the volcanic activity has astonished scientists, according to the National Geographic News. Images from the Messenger spacecraft reveal 3,600 cubic miles of solid lava inside a single crater—enough to drown the entire...

Troubled Hubble Gets a Fix

Oct 24, 2008 10:06 AM CDT

Troubled Hubble Gets a Fix

Tech issues shut down telescope for 3 weeks

(Newser) - The malfunctioning Hubble Space Telescope could resume its space photography tomorrow, the Los Angeles Times reports. NASA scientists have reconfigured software that shut down the telescope last week. “There does not appear to be any permanent damage,” said a Hubble manager. “We're ready to resume recovery.”...

Time to Ditch the Shuttle

OPINION

Oct 16, 2008 11:24 AM CDT

Time to Ditch the Shuttle

Let the Russians fly us; shuttle is too dangerous

(Newser) - It’s past time to put the US space shuttle fleet out to pasture, according to John Logsdon, a member of the 2003 Columbia Accident Investigation Board. That panel recommended the US “replace the shuttle as soon as possible,” and Logsdon stands by that assessment, even though it...

NASA Scrambles
to Fix Ailing Hubble

Oct 15, 2008 2:34 AM CDT

NASA Scrambles to Fix Ailing Hubble

Engineers will reboot dormant systems

(Newser) - NASA engineers will work around the clock in a bid to revive the ailing Hubble Telescope by activating a back-up system that has lain dormant for 20 years, reports Space. com. The mammoth telescope has been unable to send images to earth for weeks since a relay system malfunctioned. If...

It's Snowing on Mars

Sep 30, 2008 4:27 AM CDT

It's Snowing on Mars

Phoenix lander can't tell whether wet stuff is reaching ground

(Newser) - Snow has been falling nightly in the Mars atmosphere for about a month now, giving scientists more reason to believe that life may have once existed in the red planet's polar regions. Lasers onboard the Phoenix lander have tracked icy snow falling for a mile from clouds drifting 2.5...

Hubble Glitch Delays
NASA Repair Mission

Sep 29, 2008 5:13 PM CDT

Hubble Glitch Delays NASA Repair Mission

Telescope malfunction will require retraining of crew, delay launch

(Newser) - A repair mission to the Hubble Space Telescope has been delayed after the apparatus stopped transmitting data Friday, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Shuttle crews will be retrained to deal with the new problem, and the launch rescheduled so NASA can have a second shuttle ready in case a rescue mission...

Private Firms Hope to Haul NASA's Space Cargo

Sep 25, 2008 1:10 PM CDT