European Space Agency

Stories 41 - 60 | << Prev   Next >>

Newfound 'Super-Earth' Might Support Life

It's one of 50 new exoplanets found by European telescope

(Newser) - A telescope at the European Southern Observatory has spotted 50 new exoplanets—and one of them is a so-called "super-Earth" that might just be habitable, Live Science reports. The telescope actually found 16 super-Earths—potentially rocky worlds sporting more mass than our beloved home world—but one designated HD...

Oxygen Molecules Detected in Deep Space for 1st Time

Elusive molecule spotted in Orion nebula

(Newser) - Breathe easier, budding astronauts, it turns out there are oxygen molecules in space. In fact, there are some just 1,500 light-years away, in a star-forming region of the Orion nebula, reports Live Science . Researchers think the oxygen comes from water molecules that coat tiny grains of space dust; when...

US, EU May Launch Single Mars Rover

NASA, ESA discuss combining missions

(Newser) - American and European space agencies trying to reconcile their Mars ambitions with their budgets are stepping up cooperation. NASA and ESA had planned to send two rovers to Mars for a tandem mission in 2018, but they're now considering combining functions and sending a single rover. America's Max-C rover is...

257 Days Later, Astronauts 'Land' on Mars

No one's quit after months in the pod

(Newser) - A team of researchers has finally arrived on Mars after a 257-day flight —none of which was real. Six men from across the globe spent 257 days locked in a 12-by-20-foot steel capsule in Moscow, simulating the experience of traveling to the planet, the Daily Mail reports. They’ll...

Space Probe Visits Biggest Asteroid Yet

Europe's Rosetta snapping photos of mysterious Lutetia

(Newser) - The European Space Agency is pulling off a nifty feat 280 million miles from home. Its comet-chasing space probe Rosetta is making a flyby of the biggest asteroid ever visited by a spacecraft, reports the BBC . Rosetta will be sending back photos of Lutetia, which was first spotted 150 years...

Space Telescope Captures Big Bang Radiation

Planck beams back microwave map of entire sky

(Newser) - The European Space Agency’s Planck space telescope has beamed back its first, much-anticipated image: a map of the entire sky, composed of microwave light. That bright line in the center of the image is our own Milky Way galaxy, and the lights surrounding it represent not stars but the...

Massive Space Mission to Test Einstein Theory

Three ships to fire lasers at each other near sun

(Newser) - NASA and the European Space Agency are preparing to shoot three spacecraft into orbit around the sun and have them fire laser beams at each other, in an attempt to detect gravitational waves—the last unproven piece of Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. They're calling the whole thing the...

Europe Closes In on Mock Mars Trip

Psychological experiment to test effects of isolation

(Newser) - The European Space Agency today introduced the four finalists vying for the questionable privilege of being locked inside a cramped fake spaceship for 17 months. Dubbed Mars 500, the project aims to study the psychological stresses of a journey to the Red Planet. “You need to be a little...

Mysterious Bright Spot Appears on Venus

Scientists suspect volcanic eruption

(Newser) - Astronomers are puzzling over a strange white spot that recently appeared in the clouds of Venus, the BBC reports. The European Space Agency’s Venus Express spacecraft confirmed the spot, originally noticed by an amateur stargazer on July 19. Data suggests it appeared 4 days before that and has been...

NASA Plans Jupiter Mission
 NASA Plans Jupiter Mission  
Feb 18, 2009 9:03 PM CST

NASA Plans Jupiter Mission

(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...

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....

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

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...

Cargo Ship Docks With ISS
 Cargo Ship Docks With ISS
updated
Apr 3, 2008 1:17 PM CDT

Cargo Ship Docks With ISS

Unmanned European vessel hooks up to International Space Station

(Newser) - European cargo vessel Jules Verne docked flawlessly today at the International Space Station, Space.com reports. The double-decker-sized space hauler has about 8 tons of supplies on board for astronauts at the station, including food and water, rocket propellant—even handwritten documents from the real Jules Verne, a 19th-century science...

Shuttle Safe, Mission On
Shuttle Safe, Mission On
Mar 12, 2008 4:07 AM CDT

Shuttle Safe, Mission On

No sign of dings in heat shield after blast-off

(Newser) - The crew of the space shuttle Endeavour is on course to dock with the international space station with apparently no damage to the heat shield during takeoff, the Houston Chronicle reports. Tracking cameras indicated possible debris near the shuttle just after launch that may have struck near the ship's nose....

Space Truck Shoots Into Orbit
Space Truck Shoots Into Orbit
Mar 9, 2008 11:42 AM CDT

Space Truck Shoots Into Orbit

Europe's robotic space freighter to service ISS

(Newser) - Europe's first automated cargo ship blasted off from the South American jungle early today, headed for a rendezvous with the International Space Station, the BBC reports. The craft—the biggest and most complex that Europe has ever launched—will deliver food, water, pressurized air, fuel, and personal items to the...

Europe to Launch Space Truck
Europe to Launch Space Truck
Mar 8, 2008 3:20 PM CST

Europe to Launch Space Truck

Automated vehicle can haul tons of supplies to space station

(Newser) - Europe is about to launch its most sophisticated spacecraft ever, the BBC reports. The “Jules Verne,” set to take off tomorrow, will deliver supplies to the International Space Station while nudging the station higher into its orbit to prevent it from falling to Earth. The freighter is fully...

Astronauts Often a Bit Woozy
Astronauts Often a Bit Woozy
Feb 15, 2008 12:52 PM CST

Astronauts Often a Bit Woozy

Spacesickness a common malady for unearthly missions

(Newser) - We all know about carsickness and seasickness—but spacesickness? NASA is cagey about its vomiting astronauts, but about half of the 500 who’ve been to the final frontier suffer from “space adaptation syndrome,” reports Ned Potter for ABC News. So it comes as no surprise to Potter...

Atlantis Docks With Space Station
Atlantis
Docks With Space Station
UPDATED
Feb 9, 2008 11:43 AM CST

Atlantis Docks With Space Station

Shuttle's crew is delivering $2B European laboratory

(Newser) - Space shuttle Atlantis docked flawlessly with the international space station today, the AP reports. Atlantis is delivering a $2 billion lab eagerly awaited by European scientists. Before docking, the shuttle performed a giant backflip so station crew members could take images of the shuttle's thermal shield. NASA engineers will examine...

Shuttle Atlantis Lifts Off
Shuttle Atlantis Lifts Off
UPDATED
Feb 7, 2008 2:11 PM CST

Shuttle Atlantis Lifts Off

Weather doesn't delay mission to international space station after all

(Newser) - After bad weather prompted worries of a further delay, US space shuttle Atlantis successfully blasted into space today, the AP reports. NASA had feared the same cold front that ravaged the South with tornadoes would push the launch to tomorrow, or later. Aboard, with seven astronauts, is the European Space...

Stories 41 - 60 | << Prev   Next >>