Space Exploration News – Latest Headlines

Martian box of delights (w/video)

A Mars sample-return mission is one of the most challenging space ventures possible for robotic exploration.

October 29, 2013 Read more

NASA prepares to launch first mission to explore Martian atmosphere

A NASA spacecraft that will examine the upper atmosphere of Mars in unprecedented detail is undergoing final preparations for a scheduled 1:28 p.m. EST Monday, Nov. 18 launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

October 28, 2013 Read more

Computer science helps astronomers exploring the sky

The new HITS research group 'Astroinformatics' will develop methods and software for astronomers and help facilitating the analysis and processing of the rapidly growing amount of data in astronomy.

October 28, 2013 Read more

Carbon worlds may be waterless, finds NASA study

Planets rich in carbon, including so-called diamond planets, may lack oceans, according to NASA-funded theoretical research. Read more: http://www.nanowerk.com/news2/space/newsid=32939.php#ixzz2ivkRS7Qk

October 27, 2013 Read more

ALMA reveals ghostly shape of 'coldest place in the universe'

At a cosmologically crisp one degree Kelvin (minus 458 degrees Fahrenheit), the Boomerang Nebula is the coldest known object in the Universe - colder than the faint afterglow of the Big Bang, which is the natural background temperature of space. Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope have taken a new look at this intriguing object to learn more about its frigid properties and to determine its true shape, which has an eerily ghost-like appearance.

October 24, 2013 Read more

NASA's Great Observatories begin deepest ever probe of the universe

In an ambitious collaborative program, called The Frontier Fields, NASA's Great Observatories are teaming up to look deeper into the universe than ever before. With a boost from natural 'zoom lenses' found in space, they should be able to uncover galaxies that are as much as 100 times fainter than what the Hubble, Spitzer, and Chandra space telescopes can typically see.

October 24, 2013 Read more

Just two weeks in orbit causes changes in eyes

Just 13 days in space may be enough to cause profound changes in eye structure and gene expression, report researchers. Their study is the first to examine eye-related gene expression and cell behavior after spaceflight.

October 24, 2013 Read more

A rare snapshot of a planetary construction site

Planets are formed in disks of gas and dust around nascent stars. Now, observations have produced a rare view of a planetary construction site in an intermediate state of evolution: Contrary to expectations, the disk around the star HD 21997 appears to contain both primordial gas left over from the formation of the star itself and dust that appears to have been produced in collisions between planetesimals.

October 24, 2013 Read more

Astronomers discover universe's most distant galaxy

Astronomers have detected the most distant spectroscopically confirmed galaxy ever found - one created within 700 million years after the Big Bang.

October 23, 2013 Read more

ESA launches 3D metal printing project in space

3D printing is getting ready to revolutionise space travel. ESA is paving the way for 3D-printed metals to build high-quality, intricate shapes with massive cost savings.

October 23, 2013 Read more

Shedding light on black holes at November 6 online public lecture

Perimeter Institute Associate Faculty member Avery Broderick will explore how astronomers are now imaging the horizons of black holes and attaining new insights about these enigmatic monsters in the dark.

October 23, 2013 Read more

Martian meteorite may hold secret to slowing global warming

The early Martian atmosphere lost much of its carbon dioxide through a reaction with rock - a reaction that could slow global warming on Earth.

October 23, 2013 Read more

Asteroid space cannon ready for test

Japanese scientists readying to blast a crater in an asteroid to find out what it is made of said Wednesday they have successfully tested their new space cannon.

October 23, 2013 Read more

NASA laser communication system sets record with data transmissions to and from Moon

NASA's Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD) has made history using a pulsed laser beam to transmit data over the 239,000 miles between the moon and Earth at a record-breaking download rate of 622 megabits per second (Mbps).

October 23, 2013 Read more

Time is ripe for fire detection satellite

Wildfire detection today is much like it was 200 years ago, relying primarily on humans to spot smoke plumes or flames. UC Berkeley experts in fires, satellites and remote sensing now say that the technology is ripe for a fire-spotting satellite that could snap images of the US West every few seconds to detect fires before they spread with few false alarms. The cost would be a fraction of the country's annual fire-fighting budget.

October 22, 2013 Read more

Big plans for small spacecraft

MIT engineer is designing tiny ion thrusters for the next generation of satellites.

October 22, 2013 Read more

Astrophysics researchers advance explanation for star formation

A newly published paper by three UC San Diego astrophysics researchers for the first time provides an explanation for the origin of three observed correlations between various properties of molecular clouds in the Milky Way galaxy known as Larson's Laws.

October 21, 2013 Read more

Planck satellite on course for safe retirement

In preparation for its final switch-off on 23 October, mission controllers today fired Planck's thrusters to empty its fuel tanks. The burn is one of the final steps to ensure that Planck ends its hugely successful mission in a permanently safe configuration.

October 21, 2013 Read more