Space: Final Frontier

Stories

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November 2008
- British College Launches Astronaut Course
  
  Guardian (UK) | Nov 21, 08 7:14 PM CST
  
  (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 space flight. Lawmakers are reviewing the policy and promise to make a decision by the end of the year. More »
- Astronauts Wrap Up Second Spacewalk (No Lost Tools)
  
  Associated Press | Nov 20, 08 8:49 PM CST
  
  (AP) - Spacewalking astronauts performed more repair work on a jammed joint at the International Space Station today, keeping a tight grip on all their tools so nothing would get away this time. The spacewalk—the second of four planned for shuttle Endeavour's visit— went smoothly and fell on the 10th anniversary of the space station. More »
- Oops! Tools Lost in Space
  
  Houston Chronicle | Nov 19, 08 3:10 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - A shuttle astronaut performing repairs during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station yesterday faced a slippery dilemma when a grease gun spurted lubricant inside her tool bag. As Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper cleaned the lubricant from her gloves, her bag full of tools floated away, boldly going where no tools have gone before, reports the Houston Chronicle. More »
- Endeavour Anchors at Space Station
  
  Florida Today | Nov 16, 08 5:14 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Space shuttle Endeavour docked at the International Space Station today, Florida Today reports. Commander Christopher Ferguson flipped the shuttle 360 degrees before docking, allowing space station residents to photograph possible damage sustained during liftoff. The radar worked well despite worries about the shuttle's antenna, the AP reports. More »
- Endeavour Heads to Space Station
  
  Space.com | Nov 15, 08 12:06 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The space shuttle Endeavour lifted off last night on a journey to the International Space Station, where astronauts will install new equipment and fix a solar panel, Space.com reports. The crew of the ISS will double from three to six next year; ahead of that, the Endeavour crew is installing new bedrooms, another toilet, and a high-tech device that can recycle astronauts' urine into water. The shuttle is due to arrive tomorrow afternoon. More »
- India Smashes Probe Into Moon
  
  Bloomberg | Nov 15, 08 7:46 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - India’s Moon Impact Probe, decorated with the country’s colors, was a smashing success for India's space program when it rammed into the moon’s surface today, Bloomberg reports. The green, white, and orange probe hurtled downward for half an hour, gathering data on the moon’s surface before its crash landing. The mission was part of India’s $78.9 million plan to map the moon’s terrain. More »
- Endeavour Blasts Into Night Sky
  
  Associated Press | Nov 14, 08 7:18 PM CST
  
  (AP) - Space shuttle Endeavour and a crew of seven blasted into the night sky today, bound for the International Space Station and the most extreme home makeover project ever attempted by astronauts, the AP reports. The shuttle rose off its launch pad at 7:55 p.m. EST, right on time, in a brilliant flash of light visible for miles around. More »
- Scientists Snap First Images of New Planets
  
  Space.com | Nov 13, 08 3:55 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Scientists have photographed planets outside our solar system for the first time, Space.com reports. One team captured images of a three-planet system orbiting a star in the Pegasus constellation, while another group snapped a planet rotating around the star Fomalhaut. The planets can't support life or little green men, but one astronomer says the photos are “a crucial step on the road to the ultimate detection of another Earth." More »
- Mars Lander Falls Silent
  
  NASA | Nov 10, 08 5:11 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The Martian autumn has cut power to NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander, ending its mission of scientific discovery, NASA reports. As anticipated, shorter days and increasingly overcast skies are preventing sufficient solar energy from reaching the lander’s power cells. It has already collected data for 2 months longer than its originally planned 90-day mission, yielding information crucial to understanding Mars’ environment. More »
- Space: The Final Voting Frontier
  
  Bloomberg | Nov 4, 08 5:10 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Two US astronauts on the International Space Station did their civic duty from afar yesterday, casting absentee ballots from space using laptops with secure connections. Commander E. Michael Fincke and flight engineer Greg Chamitoff are the only voters who could actually see all those red and blue states, reports Bloomberg. More »
- Space Junk to Hit Earth Tomorrow
  
  Space.com | Nov 1, 08 3:07 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - NASA is tracking a fridge-sized chunk of space trash expected to plunge to Earth tomorrow night, Space.com reports. The ammonia tank was thrown overboard from the International Space Station over a year ago and has been slowly descending since. NASA says it's highly unlikely that anybody will impacted by the debris but people should be wary of any strange objects they find. More »
October 2008
- Hubble's Back in Action
  
  Space.com | Oct 30, 08 7:15 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Hubble has perfect vision again. NASA today released the first photos taken by the space telescope since an instrumental glitch put it out of commission last month, Space.com reports. Engineers fixed the problem this week, then got photos of a pair of galaxies about 400 million light-years from Earth. The two galaxies look a bit like the number 10, leading mission specialists to call Hubble's feat a "perfect 10." More »
- Lava Spotted on Mercury
  
  National Geographic | Oct 30, 08 2:39 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A spacecraft studying the planet Mercury has discovered evidence of enormous volcanic eruptions. The scale of the volcanic activity has astonished scientists, according to the National Geographic News . Images from the Messenger spacecraft reveal 3,600 cubic miles of solid lava inside a single crater—enough to drown the entire Baltimore/Washington metropolitan region under lava 12 times the height of the Washington Monument. More »
- Nearby Solar System Looks Familiar
  
  Space.com | Oct 27, 08 6:45 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A nearby solar system looks a lot like ours, complete with newly identified asteroid belts, gas giants, and a similarly sized sun, Space.com reports. The star at the center of the system is visible without magnification, and scientists say they can infer the presence of planets in a zone whose conditions would be hospitable to life. "This system probably looks a lot like ours did when life first took root on Earth," a researcher tells McClatchy. More »
- Troubled Hubble Gets a Fix
  
  Los Angeles Times | Oct 24, 08 10:06 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The malfunctioning Hubble Space Telescope could resume its space photography tomorrow, the Los Angeles Times reports. NASA scientists have reconfigured software that shut down the telescope last week. “There does not appear to be any permanent damage,” said a Hubble manager. “We're ready to resume recovery.” If all goes well, Hubble should be good to go for six years. More »
- India Launches First Moon Mission
  
  BBC | Oct 21, 08 8:58 PM CDT
  
  (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 for minerals and water. China and Japan already have crafts orbiting the moon, and India was under pressure not to fall behind in the Asian space race. More »
- Time to Ditch the Shuttle
  
  Washington Post | Oct 16, 08 11:24 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - It’s past time to put the US space shuttle fleet out to pasture, according to John Logsdon, a member of the 2003 Columbia Accident Investigation Board. That panel recommended the US “replace the shuttle as soon as possible,” and Logsdon stands by that assessment, even though it comes with an unpalatable caveat: the only alternative is to use Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft. More »
- 3-D Map Adds Light Years to Concept of Universe
  
  Los Angeles Times | Oct 15, 08 5:00 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Telescope photographs of the night sky are compelling, but it’s hard to get a feel for the heavens when you’re Earthbound. The recently completed Sloan Digital Sky Survey can help: It is a 3-D map of the area within 2 billion light years of Earth that allows the user to move through space as if by flying saucer, the Los Angeles Times reports. More »
- NASA Scrambles to Fix Ailing Hubble
  
  Space.com | Oct 15, 08 2:34 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - NASA engineers will work around the clock in a bid to revive the ailing Hubble Telescope by activating a back-up system that has lain dormant for 20 years, reports Space. com. The mammoth telescope has been unable to send images to earth for weeks since a relay system malfunctioned. If current efforts fail a space shuttle mission may be needed to fix Hubble. More »
- Tourist, Crew Dock at Space Station
  
  Space.com | Oct 14, 08 9:37 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - American space tourist Richard Garriott arrived safely at the International Space Station today for a 10-day visit, Space.com reports. “I can fly!” Garriott told Russia’s command center, where former NASA astronaut and dad Owen watched his son become the first second-generation space-traveler. Also aboard the Soyuz craft was a replacement crew for current station residents, who haven’t had any visitors since June. More »