NASA: News About the Space Exploration Agency - Page 35

NASA Puts Sale of Apollo 13 Checklist on Hold

Jan 7, 2012 8:25 AM CST

NASA Puts Sale of Apollo 13 Checklist on Hold

Astronaut Lovell sold it for $388K, but he may not own it

(Newser) - Astronaut James Lovell may not have made a small fortune after all by selling his checklist and notes from the almost-disastrous Apollo 13 mission (the one made famous in the Tom Hanks movie of the same name). The list, along with handwritten calculations by Lovell, fetched $388,000 at auction...

China Plans
to Grab
Moon Rocks
by 2016

Dec 30, 2011 12:36 PM CST

China Plans to Grab Moon Rocks by 2016

Beijing unveils new goals for space exploration

(Newser) - Might China soon be the new king of space? With NASA cooling its jets and Russia misfiring repeatedly on rockets and satellites, Beijing is steadily working toward filling the void. It unveiled a five-year plan yesterday to launch a space lab, collect samples from the moon on an unmanned mission,...

NASA Probes
to Reach Moon
Over New Year's

Dec 28, 2011 5:57 PM CST

NASA Probes to Reach Moon Over New Year's

Twin 'grails' will study moon's gravity field

(Newser) - Two NASA probes are poised to reach the moon over the New Year's holiday. After a journey of more than three months, the $496 million Grail probes—short for Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory—will soon be in place, reports AP . Grail A is set to arrive on New...

Russia's Failed Mars
Probe Will Crash to Earth

Dec 28, 2011 5:11 PM CST

Russia's Failed Mars Probe Will Crash to Earth

Phobos-Grunt, carrying toxic fuel, will come down in mid-January

(Newser) - A failed Russian spacecraft will plummet back to Earth next month, and more than two dozen chunks of it could make impact, along with a load of toxic fuel. The expected crash date of the Phobos-Grunt probe is mid-January, and nearly 400 pounds of fragments could survive re-entry, reports Fox...

Astronaut Shoots
Comet Video...
From Space

Dec 23, 2011 1:15 PM CST

Astronaut Shoots Comet Video... From Space

Lovejoy visible in 'most amazing' clip

(Newser) - An astronaut has captured video of a comet, and it looks like it's straight out of a sci-fi flick. International Space Station Commander Dan Burbank was snapping images of lightning storms over the Pacific when Comet Lovejoy made its appearance. He didn't know what it was at first,...

Is Jupiter's Core Dissolving?

Dec 21, 2011 9:48 AM CST

Is Jupiter's Core Dissolving?

Theory holds that midsection is slowly shrinking

(Newser) - Jupiter may be the largest planet in our solar system, but what if its massive core is actually dissolving? Jupiter's core of iron, rock, and ice is suspended in a sea of hydrogen and helium, under pressure 40 million times greater than that which we experience on Earth, and...

NASA to Harpoon Comets

Dec 14, 2011 2:45 PM CST

NASA to Harpoon Comets

It's testing plan now with big crossbow on Earth

(Newser) - Why the heck does NASA need a 6-foot crossbow capable of flinging a projectile up to a mile and generating as much as 1,000 pounds of force? So it can test its designs for a harpoon meant to sink into distant asteroids and comets, of course. NASA is currently...

World's Biggest Plane to
Rocket People into Space

Dec 14, 2011 10:00 AM CST

World's Biggest Plane to Rocket People into Space

Paul Allen project might be ready for tests in 2016

(Newser) - The world's biggest plane, with wings longer than a football field, is being built to launch astronauts and cargo into outer space. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and aerospace innovator Burt Rutan have teamed up to create the gargantuan aircraft, which will work by hauling a rocket high into the...

NASA Denies
2012 Apocalypse

Dec 11, 2011 3:11 PM CST

NASA Denies 2012 Apocalypse

Astronomer criticizes list of doomsday 'Mayan' predictions

(Newser) - The Earth will not be destroyed or burned or gravitationally warped on Dec. 12, 2012, according to a NASA scientist, Space.com reports. Despite claims that the Mayan calendar predicts our planetary demise next year, astronomer Don Yeomans says we can "sleep well on Dec. 21 of next year....

NASA OKs First
Private Space Station Trip

Dec 10, 2011 5:55 AM CST

NASA OKs First Private Space Station Trip

SpaceX will send up cargo in February

(Newser) - One year and one day after SpaceX became the first private company to launch a capsule into orbit and return it to Earth safely, NASA has given the OK to attempt a cargo run to the International Space Station, reports the AP . SpaceX will attempt to launch an unmanned payload...

NASA Spots
Habitable
Earth-Like
Planet

Dec 5, 2011 5:29 PM CST

NASA Spots Habitable Earth-Like Planet

Kepler-22b averages 72 degrees and may have oceans

(Newser) - Finally, an Earth-like planet where the weather is nice enough for an occasional visit. Only, it's 600 light-years away. Today NASA announced the existence of Kepler-22b, the first-ever planet discovered in the "habitable zone" of a sun-like star—where temperatures are placid enough to allow for water, ScienceNOW...

Mars Rover
'Curiosity'
Launches

Nov 26, 2011 9:09 AM CST

Mars Rover 'Curiosity' Launches

Thousands converge to watch

(Newser) - The world's biggest extraterrestrial explorer is on its way to Mars. NASA today launched the six-wheeled, one-armed robotic rover, nicknamed Curiosity. An unmanned rocket blasted off with the spacecraft from Cape Canaveral. The journey to Mars will take 8 1/2 months and cover 354 million miles. Thousands of NASA...

NASA Preps
Biggest-Ever
Mars Rover

Nov 23, 2011 9:10 AM CST

NASA Preps Biggest-Ever Mars Rover

Can planet sustain life? Curiosity will search for clues

(Newser) - It’s “a Mars scientist's dream machine”: NASA is getting ready to launch its largest-ever Mars rover on Saturday. It’s not just big—it’s “the largest and most complex piece of equipment ever placed on the surface of another planet,” the agency’s Mars...

NASA Puts Out Call
for Astronauts

Nov 16, 2011 3:16 PM CST

NASA Puts Out Call for Astronauts

Though it'll be a looong time before you get into space

(Newser) - Bust out your resume, space cadets, because NASA wants you! Yes, despite the recent end of the space shuttle program, and the fact that everyone and their brother once dreamed of being an astronaut, a September report concluded that the space agency needed to recruit fresh astronauts or face a...

Giant Asteroid
Headed Toward
Fly-by of Earth

Nov 3, 2011 5:41 AM CDT

Giant Asteroid Headed Toward Fly-by of Earth

Astronomers call it a rare chance to learn about life's origins

(Newser) - We're just five days away from an aircraft-carrier-sized asteroid passing less than 202,000 miles from the Earth, a rare near-miss for an object this large, reports ABC News . The object called 2005 YU55 is a circular c-type asteroid—carbon-based, darker than charcoal, and the kind likely responsible for...

Beam Me Up:
NASA Explores
'Tractor Beams'

Nov 2, 2011 2:11 PM CDT

Beam Me Up: NASA Explores 'Tractor Beams'

Study will examine ways to move objects via laser light

(Newser) - "Tractor beams" could soon move from science fiction to science fact, thanks to a NASA-funded study. Ideas for tractor beams—"the ability to trap and move objects using laser light," explains NASA —have been published, but none has been put into practice. "Though a mainstay...

NASA-Backed
'Space Taxi' to
Fly Next Year

Oct 13, 2011 2:21 AM CDT

NASA-Backed 'Space Taxi' to Fly Next Year

Dream Chaser's first test flight scheduled for summer 2012

(Newser) - With the space shuttles retired, NASA currently has to rely on the Russians to ferry astronauts and cargo to and from the International Space Station. But it hopes to be able to hail a taxi soon. Dream Chaser, one of four "space taxis" being developed by private industry with...

NASA: We've IDed Most
Killer Asteroids Out There

Sep 29, 2011 4:32 PM CDT

NASA: We've IDed Most Killer Asteroids Out There

911 of the 981 big ones have been found

(Newser) - You can sleep easy tonight. Or easy-ish. NASA today announced that it has identified more than 90% of the giant asteroids out there that could threaten Earth (think dinosaur-killing size). "We know now where most of them are and where most of them are going. That really has reduced...

Another Falling
Satellite on Its Way

Sep 29, 2011 12:05 PM CDT

Another Falling Satellite on Its Way

1.6 tons of space junk could land somewhere on Earth

(Newser) - Brace yourself: Another satellite is falling, and this time the chances are one in 2,000 that it’ll hit someone. A German satellite known as ROSAT is due to plummet around the end of October, and while a lot of it will disintegrate before returning to Earth, experts say...

ISS Captures Southern Lights

Sep 29, 2011 5:30 AM CDT