China Launches 1st Lunar Probe

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, NASA included, suffers from “limited public interest in space activity.” More»

About 30 companies vying for Google's big prize

(NEWSER) - The space shuttle is gone, but worry not. Private industry is coming to the rescue, and fast. Inspired by a $30 million prize put up by Google, 29 entrepreneur/engineer teams are out to prove they have what it takes to win the kitty and become the first private enterprise to land on the moon by December 2015. The New York Times checks in on some of the contestants, whose aspirations are fittingly extraterrestrial in the grandiosity of their scope. More»

(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 project—in tandem with the European Space Agency—still needs funding, and it won't launch until 2020. Oh, and the trip takes six years. More»

Cash-strapped space agency aims to send a man to the moon by 2025

(NEWSER) - Russia has announced a plan to put a man (or woman) on the moon by 2025, reports ABC. The cash-strapped Russian space agency also plans a permanent moon base and a Mars mission. "The Russians have some big ideas, but their space program is coming up slowly from being in a position (of) bankruptcy," says one former astronaut. More»

Beijing unveils new goals for space exploration

(NEWSER) - Might China soon be the new king of space? With NASA cooling its jets and Russia misfiring repeatedly on rockets and satellites, Beijing is steadily working toward filling the void. It unveiled a five-year plan yesterday to launch a space lab, collect samples from the moon on an unmanned mission, and build a more powerful spaceship for its astronauts by 2016, reports the New York Times . More»