Scientists Prototype Moon House

Wants to go boldly into future with 'grandiose' space vision

(NEWSER) - A stellar idea or just lunacy? Either way, Newt Gingrich wants an American colony on the moon by the end of his second term, reports Politico . Speaking in Florida, home to much of NASA, Gingrich called his moon proposal a "Northwest Ordinance for space," and "grandiose," comparing it to visions by Abraham Lincoln, the Wright brothers, and John F. Kennedy. "I accept the charge that I am grandiose and that Americans are instinctively grandiose,” Gingrich said. “Does that mean I’m visionary? You betcha.” More»

New crater will be blasted into surface as NASA hunts for buried ice

(NEWSER) - If there's ice under the moon's surface, NASA aims to find it tomorrow. A rocket will smash into a crater near the moon's south pole, kicking up hundreds of thousands of pounds of lunar dirt. The dirt will be analyzed for traces of ice or water by a satellite following close behind, which will crash into the moon itself 4 minutes later. NASA will show the crashes—scheduled for 7:31am EDT—live on its website. More»

(NEWSER) - NASA will launch a mission Wednesday to gather information about how humans might someday colonize the moon, the Los Angeles Times reports. A robotic orbiter will provide detailed maps of the topography and first-of-their kind peeks inside craters where ice might be hiding. “We're going to provide NASA with what is needed to get human beings back to the moon and to stay there for an extended duration,” said one mission official. More»

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 moon's origin 4.5 billion years ago. More»

The shuttle's replacement, due in 2015, will be a utilitarian craft

(NEWSER) - Engineers are busy at work building America's next spacecraft, the long overdue replacement of the 33-year-old shuttle, and NASA has this advice for those who can't wait to see the finished product: Think minivan, not Ferrari. Fast Company explores the work at Lockheed and finds the Orion to be utilitarian and reliable, with engineers embracing solutions of the past over razzle-dazzle sci-fi innovation. More»