NASA: News About the Space Exploration Agency - Page 51

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

Private Firms Hope to Haul NASA's Space Cargo

And US agency wants their help

(Newser) - Hauling crew and equipment between earth and the international space station is expensive work, and NASA is looking to private entrepreneurs to pick up some of the slack, the Washington Post reports. Among the front-runners is Elon Musk, a founder of Paypal, who has seen his three prototype shuttles crash...

Rubber Duckies
Tracking Glacier

Sep 22, 2008 2:46 AM CDT

Rubber Duckies Tracking Glacier

Bathtub toys to reveal glacier's flow

(Newser) - A key experiment that may help unlock more secrets of global warming involves planting 90 rubber duckies into one of Greenland's fastest moving glaciers, Reuters reports. US scientists are hoping some of the ducks will be found as they emerge into Baffin Bay to help track rate and movement of...

Experiment Raises Hope
of Solar Power From Space

Sep 13, 2008 10:19 AM CDT

Experiment Raises Hope of Solar Power From Space

Successful test opens the possibility of humanity getting its energy from space

(Newser) - An experiment in beaming solar power has raised hopes that humanity can harness huge amounts of solar energy from satellites, Space.com reports. Researchers sent the energy about 90 miles between two Hawaiian islands via radio waves. The transmission of energy a hundred times further than earlier experiments proves the...

Mission Accomplished on Mars

ANALYSIS

Aug 29, 2008 5:32 PM CDT

Mission Accomplished on Mars

Time is up, but Phoenix keeps digging

(Newser) - Time's almost up for NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander: With its 90-day mission complete, the $480 million project will continue testing soil samples until the punishing winter puts it out of commission. Wired recaps Phoenix triumphs with an interactive timeline, from its flawless landing at Mars' north pole to its groundbreaking...

NASA Briefs White House
on Possible Martian Life

Aug 2, 2008 3:23 PM CDT

NASA Briefs White House on Possible Martian Life

Red planet could support greenery, reports show

(Newser) - NASA has briefed the White House on its plan to announce a new finding on the "potential for life" on Mars, Aviation Week reports. NASA has no evidence that the red planet has harbored life, but new Phoenix lander discoveries suggest it is possible—a finding that Phoenix officials...

NASA Lander Confirms
Water on Mars

Jul 31, 2008 8:50 PM CDT

NASA Lander Confirms Water on Mars

'We've now finally touched and tasted it'

(Newser) - The Phoenix spacecraft has tasted Martian water for the first time. By melting icy soil in one of its lab instruments, the robot confirmed the presence of frozen water lurking below the Martian permafrost. Until now, evidence of ice in Mars' north pole region has been largely circumstantial. Scientists popped...

Sticky Soil Foils Mars Work

Jul 28, 2008 8:19 AM CDT

Sticky Soil Foils Mars Work

Dirt is sticking to lander's arm, so NASA revising its methods

(Newser) - NASA is revising its soil-harvesting method because the Phoenix Mars lander is having trouble with its icy finds, Space.com reports. The lander’s attempts to analyze the soil have been troubled because the soil is sticking to its scoop, stubbornly refusing to fall into the tiny oven designed to...

Astronaut Reports Alien Visits

Jul 25, 2008 3:44 AM CDT

Astronaut Reports Alien Visits

Apollo Moon walker Mitchell says US covered up close encounters

(Newser) - Astronaut Edgar Mitchell, who walked on the moon during the Apollo 14 mission, says aliens have visited Earth but the information has been covered up by the government. The 77-year-old astronaut told a radio interviewer he was "privileged enough to be in on the fact that we've been visited,...

Discoveries
Boost Hope
for Alien Life

Jul 20, 2008 12:47 PM CDT

Discoveries Boost Hope for Alien Life

New forms of extreme bacteria fuel hope for extraterrestrial life

(Newser) - Humans have always wondered about the possibility of alien life somewhere out there. And while scientists seem to agree that the discovery of extraterrestrials will not happen soon, growing numbers are convinced it will happen. The search is being fueled in part by recent discoveries of strange new life forms...

Scientists Hatch Round-Trip
Mission to Mars

Jul 14, 2008 9:05 AM CDT

Scientists Hatch Round-Trip Mission to Mars

Unmanned spacecraft would bring back rocks and possibly microscopic life

(Newser) - Before scientists can put a man on Mars, they first need to figure out how to get a mission back to Earth, reports the Guardian. An international team is doing just that—developing an $8 billion mission to travel to Mars and return with rock samples and possibly microscopic life....

Water Found in Moon Rock

Jul 10, 2008 5:00 AM CDT

Water Found in Moon Rock

Discovery stuns lunar experts

(Newser) - Water has been detected in moon rock brought to Earth by Apollo astronauts, reports Space.com. A team used a new super-sensitive technique to discover the water in volcanic glass beads in the rock. The stunning find, detailed in the journal Nature, is forcing scientists to rethink theories about the...

There's a New
Space Race,
and US Is Losing

Jul 9, 2008 2:19 PM CDT

There's a New Space Race, and US Is Losing

Rest of the world collaborates while fearful US falls behind

(Newser) - While the rest of the world cooperates incessantly on all matters extraterrestrial, the US, hampered by self-imposed regulations meant to keep weapons out of enemies' hands, is swiftly losing dominance of the final frontier, the Washington Post reports. The US’ military space program is still gargantuan, but the civil program,...

Upgrade Will Boost
Hubble Vision

Jul 7, 2008 2:10 AM CDT

Upgrade Will Boost Hubble Vision

Upgrade will create spectacular images

(Newser) - Spectacular images from the Hubble telescope are about to get even more awe-inspiring, thanks to a $900-million upgrade during an upcoming space shuttle mission—the fifth and last mission to the orbiting observatory. Two new high-tech instruments and a series of repairs will make Hubble able to probe even deeper...

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