NASA, ESA Ramp Up Planet-hunting Missions
NASA’s planet-hunting Kepler mission stirred up excitement this week when mission officials announced they’d hit the proverbial jackpot – discovering and confirming a record 715 new planets orbiting 305 stars. Nearly 95 percent of these newly found planets are smaller than Neptune, but four are about 2.5 times bigger than Earth and are located within […]
Sleeping Comet Chaser to Get Wake-Up Call
The European Space Agency’s comet chasing Rosetta spacecraft is about to wake up from a 31-month nap, which was induced to conserve power after the vehicle ventured too far from the sun. While ESA officials are confident Rosetta will respond when they try to rouse it this Monday, Jan. 20, they also realize anything could […]
NASA Builds Bridge to Future with LEGOs
NASA is teaming up with LEGO to inspire a new generation of space explorers. The US space agency and the LEGO group, creator of the popular building brick and model construction kits, are challenging young people to envision the future through a competition called NASA’s Missions: Imagine and Build. The contest calls on young people […]
NASA Launches Powerful Earth-Observing Satellite
NASA’s latest Earth-observing satellite rocketed into space today continuing a program which began more than 40 years ago. An Atlas V rocket carrying the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) spacecraft launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in Lompoc, California. NASA officials called today’s launch “picture perfect.” The spacecraft is now on its own after a […]
Science Images of the Week
SpaceX Marks New Commercial Era in Space Exploration
Yesterday’s successful launch of SpaceX‘s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon reusable spacecraft from Cape Canaveral in Florida, marked what NASA administrator Charles Bolden called “the beginning of a new era in exploration.” Now that the Dragon is in space, technicians are testing its capability of rendezvousing and docking with the International Space Station, where it […]