Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook

'Serpent Pastor' Dies of Snake Bite Mack Wolford believed faith compelled him to face the risk »

Colonize the Moon? NASA to Scope It Out

By Harry Kimball, Newser Staff

Posted Jun 13, 2009 2:14 PM CDT

(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... Read full story »

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

You need to Log in to Newser to comment. Don't have an account yet? Sign up now!

35 comments

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

What's Popular Now on Facebook

'Serpent Pastor' Dies of Snake Bite

Miami Face-Eater Identified

Los Angeles Times (Source Grid »)

Science

NASA • space travel • moon colonization • Lunar Crater and Observation Sensing Satellite • Obama administration • outer space

More Newser Stories

Radiation Threatens Deep-Space Sex: NASA

Protons could kill embryo's eggs, cut sperm count

(NEWSER) - Propagating the human race far away from home could be tough: Powerful radiation in space would likely sterilize female embryos conceived there, NASA finds, and it could shrink sperm counts, too. At the moment, we don’t have the technology required to create spacecraft shielding to block the radiation, the Telegraph reports. “The present shielding capabilities would probably preclude having a pregnancy transited to Mars,” notes a scientist. More»

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. The trip would launch between 2018 and 2023 and would require the expertise and financial backing of NASA, the European Space Agency, and other space programs. More»

NASA Thinks 4,700 Asteroids Threaten Earth

And twice as many as previously believed are in orbits similar to Earth's

(NEWSER) - NASA thinks it's got a pretty solid estimate on the number of gigantic asteroids that could plausibly cause regional or global catastrophe by smashing into Earth: 4,700, give or take 1,500. Included in that number are all the rocks that exist, or which they suspect exist, that are larger than 330 feet across, and have orbits that pass within 5 million miles of Earth, Space.com reports. Only about 30% of these asteroids have actually been found. More»

SpaceX Counts Down to Maiden ISS Mission

Private space firm hopes to dock Dragon next week

(NEWSER) - Commercial space firm SpaceX may be just days away from going where no private company has gone before: the International Space Station. The company is preparing to send its unmanned Dragon capsule on a mission to supply the ISS with 1,100 pounds of food, water, and other cargo. The launch, which could happen as soon as Monday, marks the next step in space strategy for the US after the retirement of the shuttle fleet, the Washington Post notes. NASA aims to turn ISS missions into low-cost, largely private ventures, leaving the agency free to plan missions further afield. More»

'Snowball Fight' Spotted in Saturn's Weirdest Ring

Cassini probe captures objects punching through ring

(NEWSER) - Inside Saturn's outermost ring, NASA's Cassini probe has captured activity that researchers liken to a cosmic snowball fight. Hundreds of balls of snow and ice up to half a mile in diameter have been spotted punching through the F ring at gentle speeds, leaving glittering trails behind them, the BBC reports. The snowballs are created by moons like Prometheus, which move along the outside of the ring, and researchers believe some of them survive to become moonlets of their own. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Colonize the Moon? NASA to Scope It Out

NASA • space travel • moon colonization • Lunar Crater and Observation Sensing Satellite • Obama administration • outer space

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Radiation Threatens Deep-Space Sex: NASA

Protons could kill embryo's eggs, cut sperm count

Scientists Hatch Round-Trip Mission to Mars

Unmanned spacecraft would bring back rocks and possibly microscopic life

NASA Thinks 4,700 Asteroids Threaten Earth

And twice as many as previously believed are in orbits similar to Earth's

SpaceX Counts Down to Maiden ISS Mission

Private space firm hopes to dock Dragon next week

'Snowball Fight' Spotted in Saturn's Weirdest Ring

Cassini probe captures objects punching through ring

About Us

Site

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?