Successful initial efforts fuel next steps toward developing technologies that would enable assembly of more flexible, scalable and cost-effective space systems on orbit.
Apr 3rd, 2014
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NASA's Cassini spacecraft and Deep Space Network have uncovered evidence Saturn's moon Enceladus harbors a large underground ocean of liquid water, furthering scientific interest in the moon as a potential home to extraterrestrial microbes.
Apr 3rd, 2014
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The Hubble data show that the cluster is roughly 43 percent more massive than earlier estimates based on X-ray and dynamical studies of the unusual cluster.
Apr 3rd, 2014
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A new study of gamma-ray light from the center of our galaxy makes the strongest case to date that some of this emission may arise from dark matter, an unknown substance making up most of the material universe.
Apr 3rd, 2014
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College and university students have an opportunity to help design systems for future space habitats and exploration systems through NASA's Exploration Habitat (X-Hab) Academic Innovation Challenge. Applications for the fifth annual challenge will be accepted through April 30.
Apr 3rd, 2014
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The centimeter-sized fragments and smaller particles that make up the regolith - the layer of loose, unconsolidated rock and dust - of small asteroids is formed by temperature cycling that breaks down rock in a process called thermal fatigue, according to a paper published today.
Apr 2nd, 2014
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A new Institute of Medicine report says NASA should use an ethics framework to determine if extended or exploratory spaceflights that do not meet current health standards are acceptable.
Apr 2nd, 2014
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In the process of evaluating thousands of datasets from the NASA Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) space telescope, planetary researchers at DLR have been tracking metallic asteroids.
Apr 2nd, 2014
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A new image from the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile shows two contrasting galaxies: NGC 1316, and its smaller neighbour NGC 1317. These two are quite close to each other in space, but they have very different histories. The small spiral NGC 1317 has led an uneventful life, but NGC 1316 has engulfed several other galaxies in its violent history and shows the battle scars.
Apr 2nd, 2014
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The amount of water present in the moon may have been overestimated by scientists studying the mineral apatite, researchers have discovered.
Apr 1st, 2014
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The scientific imaging system on board ESA's spacecraft Rosetta gets its first glimpse of comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Apr 1st, 2014
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New findings from a study of 12 astronauts show the heart becomes more spherical when exposed to long periods of microgravity in space, a change that could lead to cardiac problems.
Mar 31st, 2014
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Scientists have developed a way of reading the universe's 'cosmic barometer' to learn more about ancient violent events in space.
Mar 31st, 2014
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Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have rejuvenated a technique for finding planets near distant stars. New measurements of light from special lamps could help astronomers find planets hidden in data from more than a decade's worth of extrasolar planet searches, as well as improve telescopes' current capabilities.
Mar 27th, 2014
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The feature should allow astronomers to measure the direction of the nucleus's pole, and hence, rotation axis.
Mar 27th, 2014
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Scientists have for the first time witnessed the mechanism behind explosive energy releases in the Sun's atmosphere, confirming new theories about how solar flares are created. New footage put together by an international team led by University of Cambridge researchers shows how entangled magnetic field lines looping from the Sun's surface slip around each other and lead to an eruption 35 times the size of the Earth and an explosive release of magnetic energy into space.
Mar 27th, 2014
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Two thin rings made of ice surround the asteroid Chariklo.
Mar 27th, 2014
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A new, planet-like body has been found on the outer edges of the solar system. This object is the second body of its class found since the identification of the dwarf planet Sedna in 2003. It joins an exclusive club composed of some of the strangest objects in the solar system.
Mar 26th, 2014
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