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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: space exploration

space exploration stories: 57 news summaries

1 - 20 of 57 Stories | 1 2 3 Next >>

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  NASA Finds Lots 
  of Water on Moon 

Rocket probe discovers large amounts of ice

Nov 13, 09 1:28 PM CST
(Newser) - A NASA probe has turned up water on the moon. Lots of water. “We practically tasted it with the impact,” said a geologist. The discovery—made last month after the space agency blasted the probe into the moon to study the debris—raises the chances of one day... More »

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NASA • space exploration • water • moon • moon landings • hydrogen • moon walk • moonwalk • lunar

 NASA Will 
 Try to Free 
 Rover Stuck 
 on Mars 

Spirit has been in a sand trap since April

Nov 12, 09 5:37 PM CST
(Newser) - Help is on the way, rover. NASA will attempt to free the Mars rover Spirit from its sand-trap prison on Monday. The plucky machine got stuck in April—“the equivalent of falling through the ice over a frozen pond," says a NASA official. Spirit has been exploring Mars... More »

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NASA • space exploration • Mars • planet • Mars rover • outer space



 NASA 
 Scrubs 
 Rocket's 
 Test Flight 

It may try tomorrow if weather permits

Oct 27, 09 10:40 AM CDT
(AP) - NASA's newest rocket will remain on the launch pad today because of clouds and high winds. Officials are deciding whether to try again tomorrow morning. Launch controllers tried repeatedly to get the Ares I-X rocket flying and got to within two-and-a-half minutes before calling it off. Minor problems stalled the... More »

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NASA • space exploration • space flight • Cape Canaveral • rocket • Ares launch video

 NASA Crashes 
 Probes Into Moon 

Intentional crashes are part of hunt for water

Oct 9, 09 7:05 AM CDT
(AP) - NASA has successfully bulldozed two spacecraft into the moon's south pole in a search for hidden ice, but without the promised live photos. First, a 2.2-ton empty rocket hull smacked the moon's south pole at 7:31am. Four minutes later, the camera-laden space probe made its plunge to examine... More »

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NASA • space exploration • moon

OPINION

 Send Astronauts to Mars 
 —and Leave Them There 

Why a one-way ticket is the best way to the red planet

Sep 1, 09 11:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - The most feasible way to get humans on Mars is to offer retirement-age astronauts one-way tickets to live out their last days on the red planet. Say what? It's not as crazy as it sounds, writes scientist Lawrence Krauss in the New York Times, who believes his plan would solve... More »

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NASA • space exploration • Mars • astronauts • red planet

(Newser) - With all the hoopla of the Apollo anniversary safely behind us, a White House panel is ready to deliver a sobering assessment of the nation's current moon plans: They're too expensive. The panel, set up by President Obama to review NASA's human space flight program, says the agency's budget is... More »

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NASA • space exploration • astronauts • moon • rockets • outer space

(Newser) - The International Space Station is more international than it's ever been before. With a full 13 astronauts aboard—six regular crew members and seven from the visiting Endeavor shuttle—the station has its biggest human payload ever, including representatives from all five of the top station partners. “It’s... More »

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NASA • space exploration • International Space Station • Endeavour • Space Shuttle Endeavour

(Newser) - Forty years ago today Neil Armstrong strode across the surface of the moon and became the most famous man in the galaxy. Then he disappeared—leaving NASA for a university job, attending almost no public functions, and refusing nearly all interview requests. "Neil was very much the same person... More »

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NASA • space exploration • astronauts • moon • Buzz Aldrin • moon landings • Neil Armstrong • Apollo 11

 At Last, Endeavour Reaches ISS 

Shuttle arrives nearly a month late for construction mission

Jul 17, 09 1:58 PM CDT
(Newser) - Space shuttle Endeavour docked today at the International Space Station, an important milestone in its oft-delayed mission, Space.com reports. The crew is scheduled to board the ISS later today. When the Endeavour's seven astronauts climb on, they will push the station's total population to a record-high 13. More »

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NASA • space exploration • construction • astronauts • space shuttle • International Space Station • Endeavour • Kibo • Space Shuttle Endeavour • laboratory • Mark Polansky

(Newser) - It’s the largest spacecraft mankind has ever built, it’s cost the taxpayers and US allies $100 billion, and in a few years, NASA intends to crash the International Space Station into the Pacific Ocean, letting it burn up in the atmosphere en route. The station is nearly complete,... More »

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NASA • space exploration • space shuttle • International Space Station • orbit • outer space

(AP) - NASA launched its first moon shot in a decade today, with an unmanned rocket blasting off from Cape Canaveral. It carried a pair of science probes that will scout out potential landing spots for astronauts. It's a first step in NASA's effort to return humans to the moon by 2020. More »

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NASA • space exploration • moon

(AP) - New images suggest Mars had a sizable lake on its surface billions of years ago, further evidence that the planet had a watery past. Images snapped by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveal a 30-mile-long canyon where water once flowed and beach remnants surrounding a basin. Dubbed the Shalbatana lake for... More »

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space exploration • water • Mars • lake • satellite images • outer space • Lake Champlain • Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter • satellite photograph • Gaetano Di Achille • Jim Bell • Shalbatana lake

 Kepler Begins
 Search for 
 Other 'Earths'

Spacecraft will spend next 3 years searching for planet in 'Goldilocks zone'

Mar 7, 09 2:18 AM CST
(Newser) - NASA's planet-hunting spacecraft Kepler was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral last night, Space.com reports. Kepler, the widest-field telescope ever sent into space, will spend the next three years scanning the sky for a planet in the "Goldilocks zone" where conditions are just right for liquid water to exist... More »

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space exploration • planet • Earth • exoplanet • Cape Canaveral • Kepler spacecraft • space telescope • outer space

 NASA Plans Jupiter Mission  


Feb 18, 09 9:03 PM CST
(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... More »

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NASA • space exploration • European Space Agency • Saturn • Jupiter • moon

ANALYSIS

 ET Seekers Win Big Boost 

Fringe movement attracts big donors and wide interest as its goes mainstream

Feb 13, 09 5:58 PM CST
(Newser) - The truth is out there, and now there’s funding to find it: Everyone from Bill Gates to Cameron Diaz is embracing the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), a movement transitioning from X-Files territory to the mainstream, the Wall Street Journal says. One astronomer left last week's prestigious TED conference... More »

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astronomy • space exploration • space • extraterrestrial life • SETI • The X-Files

OPINION

 Leave Space to Robots

President Obama would be well-served by removing costly manned exploration goals

Jan 24, 09 2:58 AM CST
(Newser) - Barack Obama is poised to chart a new direction for America’s exploration of the final frontier, writes the Economist. While George W. Bush supported continuing manned space exploration in the tradition of the previous century, Obama is considering scrapping some of NASA’s planned upgrades to the space shuttle... More »

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Barack Obama • NASA • space exploration • Mars • methane • satellite • robots • Obama administration • President Obama

(Newser) - NASA is delaying the launch of its next Mars rover, which is significantly larger and more complex than previous models, until 2011, Space.com reports. The Mars Science Laboratory was set to arrive on the red planet next year, but problems with crucial mechanical components mean it will miss its... More »

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NASA • space exploration • Mars • delay • Mars rover • Mars Science Laboratory • launch window

 Saturn's Moon  
 Hints at Water 

High speeds strongly hint at liquid water's presence

Nov 26, 08 4:44 PM CST
(Newser) - Plumes of gas and dust firing off one of Saturn's moons are moving at speeds “hard to do without liquids,” astronomers say, strongly suggesting the presence of water and raising the possibility of the moon supporting life. As Enceladus continues “helpfully spewing out its innards,” evidence... More »

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NASA • space exploration • water • extraterrestrial life • Saturn • moons • Enceladus

(Newser) - A British university is making a political stand as it teaches students how to survive in outer space, the Guardian reports. The University of Leicester has hired NASA shuttle veteran Jeff Hoffman to lead a new course on how to become an astronaut, despite the UK government's ban on manned... More »

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space exploration • astronauts • university • Britain

(Newser) - India has launched its first mission to the moon, the BBC reports. The unmanned Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft blasted off smoothly from southern Andhra Pradesh. The robotic probe is scheduled to orbit the moon for two years, during which time it will compile a 3-D atlas of the surface and search... More »

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space exploration • India • moon • space program

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