NASA

Read the latest NASA news today on Newser.com

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NASA Probe Snaps Mars 'Trees'
 NASA Probe Snaps Mars 'Trees' 
Jan 14, 2010 4:19 AM CST

NASA Probe Snaps Mars 'Trees'

Martian landslides create optical illusion

(Newser) - NASA's Mars orbiter has captured an image of what looks remarkably like rows of trees sprouting from the red planet's surface. The effect is actually an optical illusion, caused by erupting sand debris and dust clouds. The photo shows an area 240 miles south of Mars' north pole where the...

Mystery Object to Hurtle Past Earth Tonight


 Mystery Object to Hurtle 
 Past Earth Tonight
asteroid or space junk?
Jan 13, 2010 6:37 AM CST

Mystery Object to Hurtle Past Earth Tonight

Shows small asteroids can be detected two days before hitting earth

(Newser) - Scientists aren't sure what exactly the small object whizzing toward earth is—it could be an asteroid or space junk—but they are confident that it will narrowly miss hitting our planet. The 33-foot-wide object known as 2010 AL30 will shave past earth today at a distance of 80,000...

Urine Damaging Space Station
 Urine Damaging Space Station 
Jan 13, 2010 5:50 AM CST

Urine Damaging Space Station

Calcium-rich astronaut pee clogs water recycling system

(Newser) - The unexpectedly calcium-rich urine of International Space Station astronauts is causing major headaches for NASA engineers. The calcium is clogging the station's $250 million water recycling system and engineers are trying to come up with a fix in time for the Endeavour shuttle's trip to the International Space Station next...

NASA Planet Hunter Finds 5 New Worlds

Glowing hot planets found, 100 possibles being analyzed

(Newser) - NASA's planet-hunting Kepler telescope has found its first five planets outside our solar system, and they're all hotter than molten lava.The planets are all much bigger than Earth and orbit their suns very closely. Their discovery is a dramatic demonstration that Kepler is working well, boosting the hopes of...

Russia: We'll Save Earth From Asteroid

Space agency confirms secret talks are in works

(Newser) - A 1,150-foot asteroid on a collision course with Earth could create a France-sized desert in 2036—unless Russian scientists can avert the catastrophe. No, it’s not the plot of a science-fiction movie; the head of Russia’s space agency confirms secret talks are in the works to prevent...

NASA Launches Telescope to Detect Space Threats

WISE infrared telescope will scan whole sky for hazardous objects

(Newser) - NASA today launched the first orbiting telescope since 1983 designed to search the entire sky for objects and phenomena invisible to conventional optics. Over the next nine months, the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer will scan the whole sky one and a half times over looking for asteroids and comets that...

Rocket Scientists See Red Flag in Background Checks

Contentious case likely to advance to Supreme Court

(Newser) - A case brought by workers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory could help determine a government standard for employee privacy. The rocket scientists have won a district court ruling against a Bush-era homeland security initiative that instituted background checks for all employees. The employees consider the checks not just intrusive...

Astronauts Are Sky-High&mdash;Figuratively
 Astronauts Are 
 Sky-High—Figuratively 
just say no
Dec 4, 2009 4:31 PM CST

Astronauts Are Sky-High—Figuratively

Space explorers have access to some high-test drugs, man

(Newser) - Space is full of unique challenges, and astronauts use contemporary pharmacology to meet them. Discovery News compiles a list of the drugs our ambassadors to space could be on right now:
  • Modafinil. A strong stimulant taken by astronauts when the mission calls for unnaturally long periods of wakefulness.
  • Scopolamine. Crew
...

Shuttle Atlantis Back Home
 Shuttle Atlantis Back Home 
Nov 27, 2009 9:09 AM CST

Shuttle Atlantis Back Home

11-day mission to resupply International Space Station a success

(Newser) - Space shuttle Atlantis and its seven astronauts are back on Earth. The shuttle landed at Kennedy Space Center in Florida this morning, swooping through a clear sky. The touchdown ended an 11-day flight in which the astronauts spent time stockpiling the International Space Station with big spare parts.

In Meteor, NASA Sees Best Evidence Yet of Life on Mars

Martian meteorite shows fossilized bacteria

(Newser) - A Martian meteorite that hit Antarctica 13,000 years ago offers “very strong evidence of life on Mars,” say NASA scientists after concluding that microscopic worm-like structures in the rock are almost certainly fossilized bacteria. The meteorite, which broke off the Red Planet millions of years ago, also...

Atlantis Crew Finishes Mission
 Atlantis Crew Finishes Mission 
Nov 23, 2009 2:55 PM CST

Atlantis Crew Finishes Mission

Astronauts complete final spacewalk

(Newser) - Astronauts from the space shuttle Atlantis finished the final spacewalk of their mission at the International Space Station today, clearing the way for their return Wednesday. Astronauts Robert Satcher and Randy Bresnik installed a science experiment that will test how materials, including a new kind of Teflon, hold up to...

Space Shuttle Lifts Off Safely
 Space Shuttle Lifts Off Safely 
Nov 16, 2009 1:53 PM CST

Space Shuttle Lifts Off Safely

Atlantis heads for space station loaded with spare parts

(Newser) - Space shuttle Atlantis took off without a hitch this afternoon, departing Cape Canaveral, Fla., for the International Space Station. After a cloudy morning, the weather improved and the spacecraft lifted off on schedule at 2:28pm, carrying six astronauts—half of them first-timers in space—and two carriers filled with...

Shuttle Launch Comes With Real-World 'Tweetup'
Shuttle Launch Comes With Real-World 'Tweetup'
the final frontier
Nov 15, 2009 3:01 PM CST

Shuttle Launch Comes With Real-World 'Tweetup'

NASA Twitter followers get front-row seats

(Newser) - Final preparations for tomorrow's space shuttle launch include inspecting Atlantis, briefing the six-person crew, and making sure followers of NASA's Twitter feed can see from where they're sitting. The first 100 people to register for the event received 2-day passes that include an in-person look at the launch. "I'm...

NASA Finds Lots of Water on Moon

Rocket probe discovers large amounts of ice

(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...

NASA Will Try to Free Rover Stuck on Mars

Spirit has been in a sand trap since April

(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...

NASA Mission Monitors Polar Ice

Antarctica jet filling in for dying satellite

(Newser) - NASA has begun a mission much closer to home than usual. The agency is flying a DC-8 over Antarctica to track melting glaciers and any subsequent rise in sea levels. Operation Ice Bridge is designed to buttress the work of a fading satellite, ICESat, which is just about spent after...

Farthest-Ever Star Blast From Ancient Cosmos

Gamma ray burst took 13 billion years to reach Earth

(Newser) - Astronomers have detected a cosmic object more distant than any ever seen: a gamma ray burst about 13 billion light-years from Earth. The massive, luminous burst occurred about 600 million years after the Big Bang—that is, when the universe was 4% of its current age—and only lasted for...

Ares Test Rocket Blasts Off

Possible space shuttle replacement launches after long delay

(Newser) - NASA’s Ares I-X test rocket finally blasted off this morning, after several delays and a storm-foiled first attempt. The $445 million rocket is the first of its kind, and NASA hopes it’ll eventually replace the space shuttle and take astronauts to the moon. Originally it was supposed to...

NASA Scrubs Rocket's Test Flight

It may try tomorrow if weather permits

(Newser) - 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...

NASA Readies New Rocket for Test Flight

It's the first new US rocket in 30 years

(Newser) - NASA rolled out a seaside launch pad in Florida today, preparing to test its first new rocket designed for manned space travel in almost 30 years. The Ares I-X is a prototype of the Ares I, which NASA hopes will power the new spacecraft that will replace the shuttle. It...

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