With stimulus aid, scientists hope to mimic nature's dynamos

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Oct 09, 2009 | 4.5 / 5 (4) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- In the cosmos, all celestial objects - planets, stars, galaxies and clusters of galaxies - have magnetic fields. On Earth, the magnetic field of our home planet is most easily observed in a compass where ...

New Set of High-Resolution Mars Images Online

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Oct 08, 2009 | 4 / 5 (1) | 0

Thousands of image products from 233 recent telescopic observations by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show a diversity of surface shapes and textures on Mars.

Alfalfa sprouts hold the line on meandering streams (w/ Video)

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Oct 05, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (3) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Sinuous, meandering streams produce diverse and wildlife-rich habitats and are the aim of many river restoration efforts, but until now, the bank, water flow and sediment conditions required ...

Space scientists set for final spacecraft flyby of Mercury

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Sep 28, 2009 | 3.7 / 5 (3) | 0

NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft, which is toting an $8.7 million University of Colorado at Boulder instrument, will make its third and final flyby of Mercury on Sept. 29 -- a clever gravity-assist maneuver that ...

Scientists see water ice in fresh meteorite craters on Mars

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Sep 24, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (16) | 3

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists are seeing sub-surface water ice that may be 99 percent pure halfway between the north pole and the equator on Mars, thanks to quick-turnaround observations from orbit of fresh ...

Radar Map of Buried Mars Layers Matches Climate Cycles

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Sep 22, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (7) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- New, three-dimensional imaging of Martian north-polar ice layers by a radar instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is consistent with theoretical models of Martian climate swings ...

Biosphere 2 Opens Phoenix Mars Lander Exhibit

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Sep 18, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- A full-size model Phoenix Lander has landed at Biosphere 2 before it heads, ultimately, to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C

It's a grind to make Mars red

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Sep 18, 2009 | 4.6 / 5 (5) | 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- The widespread idea that Mars is red due to rocks being rusted by the water that once flooded the red planet may be wrong. Recent laboratory studies show that the red dust may be formed by ...

Robotics desert test provides NASA with new set of wheels for moon

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Sep 16, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Every year, for two weeks in the Arizona desert at Black Point Lava Flow, NASA's Desert Research and Technology Studies group (Desert RATS) conducts technology development tests in anticipation ...

Telltale tells story of winds at Phoenix landing site

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Sep 16, 2009 | 4 / 5 (2) | 0

Wind speeds and directions were measured for the first time in the Mars polar region using the Phoenix lander’s Telltale instrument. Astronomers recorded Easterly winds of approximately 15-20 kilometres per ...

Water quality in orbit: Scientists test H2O disinfection on International Space Station

Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry

Sep 14, 2009 | not rated yet | 1

Space is not a fun place to get a stomach bug. To ensure drinking water is adequately disinfected, University of Utah chemists developed a two-minute water quality monitoring method that just started six months ...

Students To Participate In NASA's Lunar Field Test Activities

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Sep 11, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- To prepare for human exploration of the moon and other destinations in our solar system, NASA is conducting a field test of rovers and equipment at an Earthly site in the Arizona desert. Hundreds ...

Spacecraft Talk Continued During JPL Wildfire Threat

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Sep 10, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

As the flames of the raging brush fire dubbed the Station Fire threatened the northern edge of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Saturday, Aug. 29, the managers of NASA's Deep Space Network prepared for ...

Return to Sender: MISSE-6 Comes Home After More Than a Year in Space

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Sep 03, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- It's been eight years since the first Materials International Space Station Experiment, or MISSE, arrived at the orbiting laboratory. During that time, more than 4,000 materials samples have ...

Mars Orbiter in Safe Mode Increases Communication Rate

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Aug 31, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (5) | 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- Engineers for NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter project have stepped up the communication rate being received from the orbiter as an early step in the process of determining why the spacecraft ...