Space

May 25, 2008 -- PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Phoenix spacecraft landed in the northern polar region of Mars Sunday to begin three months of examining a site chosen for its likelihood of having frozen water within reach of the lander's robotic arm.

Icy, patterned ground on Mars: A polygonal pattern in the ground near NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, similar in appearance to icy ground in the arctic regions of Earth. NASA photo.

Radio signals received at 4:53:44 p.m. Pacific Time (7:53:44 p.m. Eastern Time) confirmed the Phoenix Mars Lander had survived its difficult final descent and touchdown 15 minutes earlier. The signals took that long to travel from Mars to Earth at the speed of light.    » read more »

26 May 2008 -- The U.S. space agency's Phoenix space probe has landed successfully near Mars' northern pole to begin a three-month mission to explore Martian soil and look for buried ice. Engineers and scientists breathed a sigh of relief late Sunday following a challenging landing and marveled at some early images Phoenix sent back to Earth.

Phoenix on Mars - artist's concept: NASA image

Mission controllers at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California watched with white knuckles as Phoenix made its descent into the Martian atmosphere.    » read more »

May 20, 2008 -- WASHINGTON -- If you've never seen the International Space Station flying 220 miles overhead, this is the week to do so. The station will be in almost constant sunlight from Wednesday through Friday, offering an incredible view to sky gazers across the country.

Astronaut on the ISS: NASA photo

In order to find out when the station will be visible over your city, visit:

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/sightings    » read more »

NEW ORLEANS, La., May 19, 2008 – Science Channel is reminding viewers that the sky isn’t the limit, it’s just the beginning. The second annual SPACE WEEK airs Sunday, July 6, to Friday, July 11, 2008, from 9-11 PM (ET/PT) on Science Channel and Science Channel HD. As Discovery Communications continues to commemorate NASA’s 50th anniversary throughout 2008, Science Channel is immersing viewers in the awe-inspiring first triumphs of mankind’s journey to the moon and the mysteries of deep space.    » read more »

Contract Release : C08-027

May 16, 2008 -- HOUSTON -- NASA Wednesday awarded ARES Corp. in Houston a one-year contract extension valued at $25.7 million for services required to continue the development and operation of the International Space Station.

Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft approaches the International Space Station: Docking with the Pirs Docking Compartment occurred at 8:57 a.m. (EDT) on April 10, 2008. Photo: NASA    » read more »

May 14, 2008 -- WASHINGTON -- The most recent supernova in our galaxy has been discovered by tracking the rapid expansion of its remains. This result, using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Very Large Array, will help improve our understanding of how often supernovae explode in the Milky Way galaxy.

Chandra uncovers youngest supernova in our galaxy: Photo Credit: X-ray (NASA/CXC/NCSU/S.Reynolds et al.); Radio (NSF/NRAO/VLA/Cambridge/D.Green et al.); Infrared (2MASS/UMass/IPAC-Caltech/NASA/NSF/CfA/E.Bressert)    » read more »

May 12, 2008 -- HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- International Space Station crews soon will have a new water reclamation system that will recycle wastewater, allowing up to six crew members to live aboard the orbiting laboratory.

The latest addition to the station's life support system departs today from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., for final flight preparations.

On board the International Space Station: NASA photo    » read more »

May, 2008 -- Scientists at the University of Konstanz in Germany and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated an ultrafast laser that offers a record combination of high speed, short pulses and high average power. The same NIST group also has shown that this type of laser, when used as a frequency comb—an ultraprecise technique for measuring different colors of light—could boost the sensitivity of astronomical tools searching for other Earthlike planets as much as 100 fold.

NIST Frequency Comb, Ultrafast Laser: Photo M. Kirchner & S. Diddams/NIST    » read more »

May 8, 2008 -- STENNIS, Miss. -- NASA engineers Thursday successfully completed the first series of tests in the early development of the J-2X engine that will power the upper stages of the Ares I and Ares V rockets, key components of NASA's Constellation Program.

A historic J2 engine awaits testing on the A-1 Test Stand: NASA's Stennis Space Center. Image courtesy NASA/SSC

Ares I will launch the Orion spacecraft that will take astronauts to the International Space Station and then to the moon by 2020. The Ares V will carry cargo and components into orbit for trips to the moon and later to Mars.    » read more »

May 7, 2008 -- HOUSTON -- Imagine yourself hip-to-hip, shoulder-to-shoulder, inside a room the size of a walk-in closet for eight hours with five people you just met. Does that make you sweat? Or maybe make your breathing a little more animated?

A mock-up of the Orion space capsule heads to its temporary home in a hangar at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.: NASA photo    » read more »

May 3, 2008 -- CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- After safely reaching its launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, space shuttle Discovery now awaits its next major milestone for the upcoming STS-124 mission. A launch dress rehearsal, known as the terminal countdown demonstration test, is scheduled to take place at Kennedy from May 6 to 9.

Space Shuttle Discovery on launch pad: Photo courtesy NASA

Discovery arrived at the pad at 4:25 a.m. EDT Saturday on top of a giant crawler-transporter. The crawler-transporter left Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building at 11:47 p.m. Friday, traveling less than 1 mph during the 3.4-mile journey. The shuttle was secured on the launch pad at 6:06 a.m. Saturday.    » read more »

April 24, 2008 -- MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., and m2mi Corp., Moffett Field, Calif., announced Thursday they are taking a revolutionary step forward in improving telecommunications and networking from space.

Under the terms of a cooperative research and development agreement, only the third in NASA's history, NASA Ames and m2mi will work together to develop very small satellites, called nanosats, for the commercialization of space.

"NASA wants to work with companies to develop a new economy in space," said NASA Ames Center Director S. Pete Worden. "m2mi has great technology that fits excellently with our goals, while enhancing the commercial use of NASA-developed technologies."    » read more »

April 20, 2008 -- Billions of years from now, only one of these two galaxies will remain. Until then, spiral galaxies NGC 2207 and IC 2163 will slowly pull each other apart, creating tides of matter, sheets of shocked gas, lanes of dark dust, bursts of star formation, and streams of cast-away stars.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day - Spiral Galaxies in Collision: Photo by Debra Meloy Elmegreen (Vassar College) et al. & Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI/NASA)

Astronomers predict that NGC 2207, the larger galaxy on the left, will eventually incorporate IC 2163, the smaller galaxy on the right.    » read more »

April 21, 2008 -- WASHINGTON -- Educators soon may be able take the "learning can be fun" adage to another level using computer-simulation games with new technologies created by NASA and a yet-to-be-selected game developer.

NASA Learning Technologies sponsored a workshop today to present its concept of delivering NASA content through a Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) educational game to interested development partners. Designed to enhance learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), such an online educational game would draw players into a synthetic environment that can serve as a powerful "hands-on" tool for teaching a range of complex subjects.    » read more »

April 19, 2008 -- HOUSTON – NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, the first female commander of the International Space Station, returned to Earth at approximately 4:30 a.m. EDT Saturday, ending a mission during which she conducted five spacewalks and set a new record in American spaceflight.

Unpiloted Progress supply vehicle on its way to dock with the International Space Station: Photo by NASA    » read more »