Space Exploration news

Mars Odyssey Orbiter Puts Itself Into Safe Standby

Dec 01, 2009 | 5 / 5 (4) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter put itself into a safe standby mode on Saturday, Nov. 28, and the team operating the spacecraft has begun implementing careful steps designed to resume Odyssey's ...

TacSat-4 spacecraft complete and awaiting launch

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Dec 01, 2009 | 1 / 5 (1) | 1

Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) engineers have completed all environmental and performance testing on the TacSat-4 COMMx payload. This completes the entire TacSat-4 spacecraft as the spacecraft bus was completed ...

ISS astronauts land safely in Kazakhstan

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Dec 01, 2009 | 5 / 5 (3) | 0

A space capsule carrying a Belgian, a Canadian and a Russian landed safely in the steppes of Kazakhstan on Tuesday after the trio spent half a year on the International Space Station (ISS).

Chang'E-1 has blazed a new trail in China's deep space exploration

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Dec 01, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

A huge amount of scientific data have been accumulated by the CE-1 lunar orbiter. Using laser altimeter data, Jinsong Ping and Qian Huang et al obtained improved 3D lunar topography, and based on this, they ...

Rocket test will carry Purdue experiment

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 30, 2009 | 3 / 5 (1) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Purdue University researchers are designing and building an experiment that will operate during a test flight of a new type of reusable rocket to be launched by aerospace company Blue Origin LLC.

GOES-14 (O) moving into on-orbit storage around the Earth

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 30, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite named GOES-14, is being placed in on-orbit storage this month to await its call to duty.

Superior Super Earths

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 30, 2009 | 4.6 / 5 (55) | 15

Super Earths are named for their size, but these planets - which range from about 2 to 10 Earth masses - could be superior to the Earth when it comes to sustaining life. They could also provide an answer to ...

Scientists explain puzzling lake asymmetry on Titan

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 29, 2009 | 4.4 / 5 (14) | 0

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) suggest that the eccentricity of Saturn's orbit around the sun may be responsible for the unusually uneven distribution of methane and ethane ...

NASA: Floating 'junk' no threat to space station

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 28, 2009 | 4.7 / 5 (3) | 0

(AP) -- NASA says a piece of old space junk that it's been tracking for a few days is no threat to the International Space Station.

Japan launches 5th spy satellite

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 28, 2009 | 3.6 / 5 (9) | 3

(AP) -- Japan launched its fifth spy satellite into orbit Saturday in a bid to boost its ability to independently gather intelligence, the government said.

Space shuttle Atlantis, 7 astronauts back on Earth

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 27, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

Space shuttle Atlantis and its crew of seven astronauts ended an 11-day journey of nearly 4.5 million miles with a 9:44 a.m. EST landing Friday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

China is set to launch its second moon orbiter next October, state media have reported

China to launch second lunar probe: state media

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 27, 2009 | 5 / 5 (6) | 0

China will launch its second moon orbiter next October, state media reported Friday, as it powers ahead with a space programme that has sparked concerns abroad.

Astronauts surprised by holiday turkey dinners

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 26, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

(AP) -- Space shuttle Atlantis' astronauts thought they were going to give thanks with pantry leftovers Thursday as their mission drew to a close, but found turkey dinners awaiting them.

Gullies and Flow Features on Crater Wall

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 26, 2009 | 4.5 / 5 (2) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- This image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows a sample of the variety and complexity of processes that may occur ...