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July 25, 2008 12:31:57 AM CDT

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Stories related to: space exploration

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Stories 1 - 20 of 35

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  • July 2008

    • There's a New Space Race, and US Is Losing

      newser  |  Washington Post  |  Jul 9, 08 2:19 PM CDT

      There's a New Space Race, and US Is Losing

      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 »

      Tags

      China  • NASA  • space  • space shuttle  • space exploration  • European Space Agency  • satellite  • rocket  • space program

    • Thinking 'Bots May Probe Planets for Us

      newser  |  Space.com  |  Jul 6, 08 6:10 PM CDT

      Thinking 'Bots May Probe Planets for Us

      WALL-E they aren't, but future space robots may decide how and where we explore other planets, Space.com reports. Using what expert Wolfgang Fink calls “tier-scalable reconnaissance,” orbiting spacecrafts could choose where to deploy airships that drop rovers on planet surfaces. NASA and Europe may test the software on a planned 2017 mission to Titan and Europa. More »

      Tags

      space  • space exploration  • planet  • robot  • artificial intelligence  • Wall-E

  • June 2008

    • New Planets Yield Hopes of Life Beyond

      newser  |  New York Times  |  Jun 24, 08 1:43 PM CDT

      New Planets Yield Hopes of Life Beyond

      The discovery, announced last week, that rocky, Earth-sized planets appear to be circling sun-sized stars in our own galaxy should thrill the closet Star Trek geek in all of us, Natalie Angier writes in the New York Times. "If planets abound, scientists suspect that life abounds, too, at least of the microbial kind," she writes—exciting stuff, given previous news of unfriendly gas giants. More »

      Tags

      astronomy  • space exploration  • planet  • extraterrestrial life  • deep space  • Milky Way  • galaxy

    • Computer Woes Slow Mars Craft

      newser  |  Associated Press  |  Jun 19, 08 3:16 PM CDT

      Computer Woes Slow Mars Craft

      The Phoenix Mars Lander stopped digging yesterday to give its memory a rest after a computer glitch caused the loss of photographs and scientific data, the AP reports. Scientists were alerted to the problem after the lander transmitted a single piece of information 45,000 times. "It's unfortunate to lose any bit of science," one scientist said. "But it's not really critical stuff that you kick yourself over." More »

      Tags

      NASA  • Mars  • space exploration  • Phoenix Mars Lander  • robotic arm  • JPL

    • Shake 'N Bake: Unclogged Phoenix Ovens Ready

      newser  |  Los Angeles Times  |  Jun 12, 08 7:26 AM CDT

      Shake 'N Bake: Unclogged Phoenix Ovens Ready

      Scientists were cheering yesterday after a tricky operation succeeded in shaking Martian dirt into the Phoenix lander's oven, the Los Angeles Times . The spacecraft will now spend the next few weeks heating up soil samples and analyzing gases. Scientists hope the tests and photos being sent back today will help them understand why the planet's strange, clumpy soil is so different from what they expected. More »

      Tags

      NASA  • Mars  • space exploration  • Phoenix Mars Lander  • Phoenix  • soil sample

    • Stowaway Molecules Could Taint Mars Results

      newser  |  LiveScience  |  Jun 5, 08 4:10 PM CDT

      Stowaway Molecules Could Taint Mars Results

      Missions searching for signs of life on Mars could be fooled by organic molecules that hitched a ride from Earth, a new study suggests. University of Florida researchers using simulated Martian conditions found that ATP, an energy-storing molecule fundamental to terrestrial life, could survive the trip and hang around for months or years on NASA equipment, LiveScience reports. More »

      Tags

      NASA  • Mars  • space exploration  • extraterrestrial life  • Phoenix Mars Lander  • ATP  • Mars rover

    • Discovery's New Fuel Tank Passes With Flying Colors

      newser  |  Space.com  |  Jun 2, 08 3:33 AM CDT

      Discovery's New Fuel Tank Passes With Flying Colors

      The Discovery shuttle launch Saturday marked the first use of a new fuel tank designed after flaws led to the 2003 Columbia disaster, Space.com reports, and tests yesterday showed the new design to be successful. The external tank, designed to minimize the release of falling debris  during launch, shed a few pieces of foam, but "performed in a magnificent fashion," said a NASA mission manager. More »

      Tags

      NASA  • International Space Station  • space shuttle  • space exploration  • Discovery space shuttle  • aerospace  • Columbia Space Shuttle

  • May 2008

    • Discovery Launches, With Kibo Aboard

      newser  |  Associated Press  |  May 31, 08 4:31 PM CDT

      Discovery Launches, With Kibo Aboard

      The space shuttle Discovery blasted into a clear blue sky today, carrying Kibo, a huge Japanese laboratory for the International Space Station. The $1 billion lab will be the station’s biggest room. “This is a real milestone,” said one NASA administrator. The Discovery is also bringing a replacement for the station’s broken toilet, rush-ordered from Moscow. More »

      Tags

      NASA  • International Space Station  • space shuttle  • space exploration  • Discovery space shuttle  • aerospace  • Kibo

    • NASA Deploys Mars Probe's Robotic Arm

      newser  |  Associated Press  |  May 29, 08 1:00 PM CDT

      NASA Deploys Mars Probe's Robotic Arm

      NASA’s Phoenix Mars lander extended its robotic arm for the first time late last night, the AP reports, a day late because of a temporary radio blackout. The arm, which will unfurl over a 2-day period, will eventually be used to take samples of ice below the surface in Mars’ arctic regions to search for evidence of life. More »

      Tags

      NASA  • space  • Mars  • Arctic  • space exploration  • Phoenix Mars Lander  • soil sample

  • March 2008

    • $4M NASA Cut May Strand Mars Rover

      newser  |  CNN  |  Mar 24, 08 8:38 PM CDT

      $4M NASA Cut May Strand Mars Rover

      NASA confirmed and denied plans today to scuttle a Mars rover and fire 300 employees, CNN reports. The space agency first announced a $4 million cut to the Mars program's $20 million budget and vowed to unplug one of two rovers roaming the red planet. Then a NASA spokesman told CNN that "the cancellation of the Mars Exploration Rovers is not under consideration." More »

      Tags

      NASA  • Mars  • space exploration  • job cuts  • rover  • Opportunity  • Spirit  • budget cuts

  • February 2008

    • Want Oil? Try Saturn's Titan

      newser  |  Space.com  |  Feb 14, 08 5:09 PM CST

      Want Oil? Try Saturn's Titan

      Titan, one of Saturn's dozens of moons, has supplies of natural gas and liquid hydrocarbons hundreds of times greater than Earth’s oil reserves, Space.com reports. The unmanned Cassini spacecraft has mapped only 20% of Titan’s surface with radar, and has already discovered dozens of bodies of hydrocarbon liquid, each one of which more volume than Earth’s entire oil supply. More »

      Tags

      NASA  • oil  • space exploration  • Earth  • Saturn  • Cassini  • Titan  • hydrocarbon

  • January 2008

    • OMG! Bigfoot on Mars! Run!

      newser  |  Daily Telegraph (UK)  |  Jan 24, 08 6:19 PM CST

      OMG! Bigfoot on Mars! Run!

      After nearly four years of important discoveries, it has taken a tiny rock outcropping that looks like Bigfoot to make people passionate about the Mars rovers, the Telegraph reports. Conspiracy theorists are sure a photo snapped in 2004 reveals an alien, or perhaps a creature like Sasquatch. "I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw what appears to be a naked alien running around on Mars," writes one blogger. More »

      Tags

      NASA  • Mars  • space exploration  • aliens  • bigfoot

    • Branson Unveils SpaceShipTwo

      newser  |  TechCrunch  |  Jan 23, 08 5:31 PM CST

      Branson Unveils SpaceShipTwo

      Richard Branson has unveiled the ship that will carry paying passengers to space. Slightly different from its original prototype, SpaceShipTwo will be carried to high altitude by a double-hulled plane called White Knight, where the rocket will then separate and launch. Branson's Virgin Galactic startup hopes to start test flights this summer, reports the TechCrunch blog. More »

      Tags

      space exploration  • Richard Branson  • Virgin Galactic  • SpaceShipTwo  • Burt Rutan

    • Evolution Coming to Space Race

      newser  |  Space.com  |  Jan 9, 08 2:33 PM CST

      Evolution Coming to Space Race

      Engineers have devised a way of coming up with flight paths for space missions by using the laws of natural selection, Space.com reports. An algorithm called "differential evolution" treats different paths as individual organisms, which then "mutate," and the best solutions survive to the next generation. Engineers behind differential evolution hope NASA and other agencies consider using the method in future. More »

      Tags

      NASA  • evolution  • space exploration

  • December 2007

    • NASA to Boost Brits to the Moon

      newser  |  BBC  |  Dec 15, 07 6:20 AM CST

      NASA to Boost Brits to the Moon

      NASA is likely to help Britain send a probe to the moon by 2012, reports the BBC. A study found that the British "Moonlite" proposal fit a gap in NASA's plans. The project will fire darts from an unmanned probe into the moon's surface to discover what lies beneath. The Indian Space Agency may also get involved. More »

      Tags

      NASA  • space exploration  • moon  • Mike Griffin  • space probes

  • October 2007

    • Asian Space Race Stirs Friction, Pride

      newser  |  Christian Science Monitor  |  Oct 25, 07 10:58 PM CDT

      Asian Space Race Stirs Friction, Pride

      With China, India and Japan all launching civilian moon missions, the Christian Science Monitor examines the  Asian space race, driven by what one expert calls "techno-nationalism."  They "generate pride domestically and they demonstrate prowess internationally," but they're also inflaming security concerns and suspicions, as all three are wary of missile defense schemes or other military plans by their rivals.  More »

      Tags

      China  • Japan  • NASA  • India  • space exploration  • aerospace  • moon colonization  • lunar exploration  • Space arms race

    • China Launches 1st Lunar Probe

      newser  |  Bloomberg  |  Oct 24, 07 12:46 PM CDT

      China Launches 1st Lunar Probe

      China launched its first lunar mission today, beginning its gambit to be the third country to put a man in space. The Chang'e-I probe fired into space unmanned, but the lunar orbiter should earn China’s space program respect—and lucrative contracts, Bloomberg reports. China next plans to land a lunar rover in 2012 and astronauts in 2020. More »

      Tags

      China  • NASA  • space  • space exploration  • Discovery space shuttle  • moon  • European Space Agency

    • Japan Sets Its Sights on the Moon

      newser  |  Reuters  |  Oct 9, 07 12:26 PM CDT

      Japan Sets Its Sights on the Moon

      Japan is officially joining the ranks of countries intent on lunar exploration. The country plans to land an unmanned rover on the lunar surface "in the middle of the 2010s," a government official announced today. China and India have already announced plans to place a spacecraft on the mysterious satellite, Reuters reports. More »

      Tags

      Japan  • space exploration  • moon

    • 50 Highs and Lows Since Sputnik

      newser  |  Time  |  Oct 4, 07 3:08 PM CDT

      50 Highs and Lows Since Sputnik

      Since Sputnik’s launch, space exploration has gone through some dizzying highs and tragic lows. Time recounts the top moments, replete with triumphs like John Glenn’s first earth orbit, tragic lows like the death of the Apollo 1 crew, and the many missteps in between – like the Soviets launching a dog in the Sputnik 2, only to have it die from exposure. More »

      Tags

      list  • NASA  • space exploration  • Sputnik

  • September 2007

    • Hidden Galaxies Come to Light

      newser  |  Space.com  |  Sep 24, 07 12:15 PM CDT

      Hidden Galaxies Come to Light

      Astronomers have added 14 “invisible galaxies” to their map of the heavens, thanks to an imaginative breakthrough and a massive telescope. Researchers realized that some galaxies might be hidden by the bright lights of quasars behind them, so they scanned quasar data for “dips” where those lights might be passing through galaxies, Space.com reports. More »

      Tags

      space  • astronomy  • space exploration  • deep space  • galaxies

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