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• Solar Probe Plus To Plunge Directly Into Sun's Atmosphere ()

  Huntsville AL (SPX) Sep 03, 2010 NASA's daring plan to visit the sun took a giant leap forward with the selection of five key science investigations for the Solar Probe+ spacecraft. Slated to launch no later than 2018, the smart car-sized spacecraft will plunge directly into the atmosphere of the sun, aiming to solve some of the biggest mysteries of solar physics. The announcement means that researchers can begin building
• Russian Cosmonauts Long For Hot Showers On ISS ()

  Moscow, Russia (RIA Novosti) Sep 03, 2010 A team of Russian cosmonauts working at the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS) are unhappy about the absence of hot showers onboard, a Russian cosmonaut said on Thursday. The U.S. segment of the station has a shower cabin that was delivered by the Endeavor shuttle in 2008. "There are wipes and towels onboard instead of a shower. It is not so easy to do without i
• God did not create Universe: Hawking ()

  London (AFP) Sept 2, 2010 God no longer has any place in theories on the creation of the Universe due to a series of developments in physics, British scientist Stephen Hawking said in extracts published Thursday from a new book. In a hardening of the more accommodating position on religion that he took in his 1988 international best-seller "A Brief History of Time", Hawking said the Big Bang was merely the consequenc
• ISRO To Conduct Key Test For GSLV Mk III Rocket Next Week ()

  Bangalore, India (PTI) Sep 03, 2010 After a failed test six months ago, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will be making a fresh attempt next week to conduct long-duration static test of a crucial liquid core stage for a new generation heavy rocket which is being developed. "The static test of crucial liquid core stage (L110) of GSLV Mk III launch vehicle (rocket) for 200 seconds is slated for 3 pm on September eight
• Three More GLONASS Satellites Put Into Orbit ()

  Moscow, Russia (RIA Novosti) Sep 03, 2010 Russia's Proton-M carrier rocket put three GLONASS satellites into orbit on Thursday, a spokesman for the Russian Space Forces said. The Proton-M rocket blasted off from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan at 4:53 Moscow time (0:53 GMT). "The launch and flight of the carrier rocket, as well as the separation of the satellites, took place on schedule," Alexei Zolotukhin said.
• India To Build World's Largest Solar Telescope ()

  Bangalore, India (PTI) Sep 03, 2010 India is inching closer towards building the world's largest solar telescope in Ladakh on the foothills of the Himalayas that aims to study the sun's microscopic structure. The National Large Solar Telescope (NLST) project has gathered momentum with a global tender floated for technical and financial bidding by the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA). The tender th
• Canadian to command space station in 2013 ()

  Ottawa (AFP) Sept 2, 2010 Astronaut Chris Hadfield in 2013 will become the first Canadian to command the International Space Station (ISS), the Canadian Space Agency announced Thursday. Hadfield, 51, will rocket on his third trip into space aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in December 2012 and assume command of the station during the second part of a six-month mission. Over the first four months, as an ISS fligh
• Spitzer Finds A Flavorful Mix Of Asteroids ()

  Pasadena CA (JPL) Sep 03, 2010 New research from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope reveals that asteroids somewhat near Earth, termed near-Earth objects, are a mixed bunch, with a surprisingly wide array of compositions. Like a pinata filled with everything from chocolates to fruity candies, these asteroids come in assorted colors and compositions. Some are dark and dull; others are shiny and bright. The Spitzer observatio
• Setting Sail In The Sun ()

  Moffett Field CA (SPX) Sep 03, 2010 By rigging large pieces of cloth atop boats, early explorers harnessed the wind to voyage across oceans. Now, modern space explorers want to use sails to send spacecraft to the far reaches of the solar system and beyond. These sails will be made of large, ultra-thin gossamer plastic sheets that, instead of wind, will be propelled using sunlight. Light particles, or photons, exert a small p
• The Superwind Galaxy NGC 4666 ()

  Paris, France (SPX) Sep 02, 2010 The galaxy NGC 4666 takes pride of place at the centre of this new image, made in visible light with the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. NGC 4666 is a remarkable galaxy with very vigorous star formation and an unusual "superwind" of out-flowing gas. It had previously been observed in X-rays by the ESA XMM-Newton space telescope, an
• Dawn Throttles Down ()

  Pasadena CA (JPL) Sep 03, 2010 Dawn's journey ever-deeper into the asteroid belt continues to go well, as the spacecraft carries out its familiar routine of thrusting gently with its ion propulsion system. But the interplanetary traveler has changed some of its habits, performing certain activities a little differently now from what its many followers have been accustomed to. Dawn is now so far from the sun, that even w
• Module To Get A Home In Space ()

  Cape Canveral FL (SPX) Sep 02, 2010 The Italian-built multi-purpose logistics module (MPLM) called Leonardo was built to serve the same purpose as its two brothers, Rafaello and Donatello: to ferry supplies, equipment, experiments and other cargo to and from the International Space Station via the space shuttle's payload bay. Now the module formerly known as Leonardo is on its way to a permanent assignment in space. An MPLM
• Extreme Effects: Seven Things You Didn't Know About Mercury ()

  Washington DC (SPX) Sep 02, 2010 Pity poor Mercury. The tiny planet endures endless assaults by intense sunlight, powerful solar wind and high-speed miniature meteoroids called micrometeoroids. The planet's flimsy covering, the exosphere, nearly blends in with the vacuum of space, making it too thin to offer protection. Because of this, it's tempting to think of Mercury's exosphere as just the battered remains of ancient
• Observations Of Supernova Reveal Composition Of 'Star Guts' Pouring Out ()

  Boulder CO (SPX) Sep 03, 2010 Observations made with NASA's newly refurbished Hubble Space Telescope of a nearby supernova are allowing astronomers to measure the velocity and composition of "star guts" being ejected into space following the explosion, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder. The team detected significant brightening of the emissions from Supernova 1987A, which were consis
• Critical Polar Data Flows Briskly To Researchers ()

  Washington DC (SPX) Sep 03, 2010 Operation IceBridge - a NASA airborne mission to observe changes in Earth's rapidly changing polar land ice and sea ice - is soon to embark on its fourth field season in October. The mission is now paralleled by a campaign to bring data to researchers as quickly as possible and to accelerate the analysis of those changes and how they may affect people and climate systems. "Anyone can acces