
Phobos Gets a Close-up
• Sky & TelescopeToday scientists working with NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter released an awesome color view of Phobos, which at just over 16 miles long is only a little bigger than Manhattan Island.
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Today scientists working with NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter released an awesome color view of Phobos, which at just over 16 miles long is only a little bigger than Manhattan Island.
Europe's first space freighter, the unmanned cargo ship Jules Verne, made its docking debut at the International Space Station with a graceful arrival. [This is actually a huge accomplishment for the European Space Agency or anyone.]
British scientists have deciphered a mysterious ancient clay tablet and believe they have solved a riddle over a giant asteroid impact more than 5,000 years ago.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) conducted the first three-engine firing of its Falcon 9 medium to heavy lift rocket at its Texas Test Facility. At full power the engines generated over 270,000 pounds of force, and consumed 1,050 lbs of
A sniff test of water vapor spewing from Saturn's moon Enceladus shows it is gushing with organic molecules, increasing the possibility of life existing somewhere in the Saturn system.
The commercial space company Xcor Aerospace is expected to unveil a model of the Lynx, a two-seat suborbital spaceship that is smaller than a business jet.
Newfound glowing spots on Jupiter seem unexpectedly to come from electron beams whipping around the giant planet's volcanic moon Io. Io causes glowing spots hundreds of miles across on its mother planet that are similar to the aurora borealis or
Three years after gigantic geysers were spied on an icy Saturn moon, the international Cassini spacecraft is poised to plunge through the fringes of the mysterious plumes to learn how they formed. Wednesday's flyby will take Cassini within 30 mil
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) captured the images that suggest the debris-strewn Holden Crater once held a calm body of water that could have harbored life.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) announced today that it has completed the qualification testing program of its Merlin 1C next generation liquid fueled rocket booster engine for use in the Falcon 1 rocket.
Astronomers have discovered a pair of planets around a star 5,000 light-years away that resemble smaller versions of Jupiter and Saturn, hinting that solar systems like ours may be unexpectedly common.
The Pentagon, under orders from President Bush, is planning to shoot down a broken spy satellite expected to hit the Earth in early March. The option preferred by the administration will be to fire a missile from a U.S. Navy cruiser, and shoot down t
Saturn's smoggy moon Titan has hundreds of times more natural gas and other liquid hydrocarbons than all the known oil and natural gas reserves on Earth, scientists said today. The hydrocarbons rain from the sky on the moon that form lakes and
"Greg" Chung was arrested yesterday for spying. He was expected to appear in court today.
Bigelow Aerospace officials said Feb. 1 they are making progress in their negotiations with United Launch Alliance for six initial launches for their planned commercial space station, starting around 2011. Subsequently the company hopes to conduct as
In 2003, NASA deliberately directed its still-functioning Galileo spacecraft to make a 108,000 mph suicidal plunge into Jupiter’s atmosphere. Thus ended the successful eight-year NASA Galileo mission in a literal, most fitting “blaze of glory.”
[FEAR] The military is developing contingency plans to deal with the possibility that a large spy satellite's fall to Earth in late February or early March could hit North America. Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, who heads of U.S. Northern Command,
Virgin Galactic unveils designs for new spacecraft Plans for a new commercial suborbital spacecraft were presented this week by Virgin Galactic, the space tourism arm of Virgin Atlantic, and Scaled Composites, maker of the first privately funded mann
A large U.S. spy satellite has lost power and could hit the Earth in late February or early March, government officials said. The satellite, which no longer can be controlled, could contain hazardous materials [plutonium?], and it is unknown where on
(More stuff you didn't know??? - Now why would the media do endless stories on delayed Shuttle launches but nothing on what is happening in the private sector? I'll bet you don't know anything about 2 private space stations in orbit NOW!
As soon as a year from now the first Space Airline will start. (Didn't you know?)
Burt Rutan, the creator of SpaceShipOne, unveiled detailed models of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo and its carrier airplane, WhiteKnightTwo.
Russia says it's ahead in a new, 2008-style space race. Russia says it's only 16 years away from putting a man on Mars. "We have something of a head start in this race as we have the most experience in piloted space flight,
The farthest reaches of our solar system remain the most mysterious areas around the sun. Solving the mysteries of the outer solar system could shed light on how the whole thing emerged — as well as how life on Earth was born.
A "universe in a test tube" that could be used to assess theories of everything has been created by physicists.
Scientists have come up with the radical suggestion that the universe's end may come not with a bang but a standstill - that time could be literally running out and could, one day, stop altogether.
Researchers are considering the implications of "one of the most significant" mission discoveries to date: silica-rich deposits uncovered in May by Spirit's lame front wheel that provide new evidence for a once-habitable environment in
An innovative propulsion system that could significantly shorten round trips from Earth to Mars (from two years to only six months!) and enable our spaceships to reach Jupiter after one year of space traveling. The system is an optimization of the 19
John Lenard Walson has given the world a fascinating, compelling and intriguing glimpse at what may well be the biggest secret program of all.
Many meteor showers tend to disappoint, but the annual Geminid shower is relatively reliable. And this year's version, which peaks tonight, is expected to be a great one. Meteors could start showing up anytime after dark this evening, Dec. 13,