Space Exploration news

Astronauts rest up after 3 spacewalks

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 24, 2009 | 4 / 5 (1) | 0

(AP) -- The astronauts aboard the orbiting shuttle-station complex are resting after their three successful spacewalks.

Cassini Sends Back Images of Enceladus as Winter Nears

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 23, 2009 | 4.4 / 5 (7) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Cassini spacecraft has sailed seamlessly through the Nov. 21 flyby of Saturn's moon Enceladus and started transmitting uncalibrated temperature data and images of the rippling terrain. ...

Free Spirit: Third Extrication Drive Ends With Wheel Stall

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 23, 2009 | 4 / 5 (2) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Spirit experienced a wheel stall with the right-rear wheel during the second step of a two-step drive on Sol 2092 (Saturday, Nov. 21). This is not the same wheel that stalled on Sol 1899 (May ...

New computer-developed map shows more extensive valley network on Mars

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 23, 2009 | 4.4 / 5 (9) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- New research adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting the Red Planet once had an ocean.

Astronauts take spacewalk No. 3 after suit snag

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 23, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

(AP) -- A pair of astronauts stepped out on the third and final spacewalk of their shuttle mission Monday, helping to install an enormous oxygen tank at the International Space Station.

Astronaut's baby daughter born as he circles Earth

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 22, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

(AP) -- Astronaut Randolph Bresnik jubilantly welcomed his new daughter into the world Sunday as he floated 220 miles above it.

Baby can wait as expectant dad finishes spacewalk

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 21, 2009 | 3.7 / 5 (3) | 0

(AP) -- A spacewalking astronaut put aside the impending birth of his daughter and blazed through his first-ever venture outside the International Space Station on Saturday.

Planet 51 Star Brings NASA's Message of Exploration Down to Earth

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 20, 2009 | 4 / 5 (2) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Actor Dwayne Johnson, usually known for his action and comedic film roles, takes to the stars as an astronaut in a new animated feature that brings important messages about the importance of space exploration ...

Astronauts await word of baby girl on Earth

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 20, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

(AP) -- Atlantis' astronauts anxiously awaited word on the birth of one crewman's daughter Friday, as they moved more supplies into the International Space Station and geared up for another spacewalk.

Cassini's Big Sky: The View from the Center of Our Solar System

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 20, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (15) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- When NASA's Cassini spacecraft began orbiting Saturn five years ago, a dozen highly-tuned science instruments set to work surveying, sniffing, analyzing and scrutinizing the Saturnian system.

Before Darkness Falls: Cassini to Scan Enceladus on Winter's Cusp

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 20, 2009 | 4.5 / 5 (2) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Cassini spacecraft will fly by Saturn's moon Enceladus this weekend for a last peek at the intriguing "tiger stripes" before winter darkness blankets the area for several years.

Astronauts get extra moving time at space station

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 20, 2009 | 4 / 5 (1) | 0

(AP) -- The astronauts aboard the shuttle-station complex are getting some extra moving time.

SOFIA Seeks Secrets of Planetary Birth

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 19, 2009 | not rated yet | 1

You don't always have to have a rocket to do rocket science. Sometimes a mere airplane will do - that is, a mere Boeing 747 toting a 17-ton, 9-foot wide telescope named SOFIA.

Astronauts get extra work done in 1st spacewalk (Update)

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 19, 2009 | not rated yet | 2

(AP) -- A pair of spacewalking astronauts, one of them a surgeon, hustled through antenna and cable work outside the International Space Station on Thursday and even whipped off an extra chore.

NASA Provides Venerable Hubble Hardware to Smithsonian

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 19, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Two key instruments from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have a new home in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington after being returned to Earth aboard space shuttle Atlantis ...