NASA launched a telescope Wednesday to scout out elusive, super high-energy gamma rays lurking in the universe.
The official group that names objects in the solar system is calling all distant dwarf planets "plutoids" after the planet that was demoted to dwarf status.
The official group that names objects in the solar system is calling all distant dwarf planets "plutoids" after the planet that was demoted to dwarf status.
Space shuttle Discovery pulled away from the international space station on Wednesday and began its journey home, ending a nine-day visit highlighted by the installation of a new Japanese lab.
The astronauts aboard the orbiting shuttle and station complex shook hands and hugged goodbye Tuesday as the doors swung shut between their spacecraft on the eve of undocking.
Scientists troubleshooting the Phoenix lander said Monday that they will try one last shake to get a scoopful of Martian dirt inside a tiny oven in hopes of jump-starting their study of Mars' north pole region.
Astronauts on the international space station Monday flexed some of the muscles on a robotic arm attached to a new Japanese lab they delivered and helped install on the orbiting outpost.
Shuttle Discovery's astronauts breezed through their third and final spacewalk Sunday, replacing an empty gas tank at the international space station and collecting a sample of dusty debris.
Astronauts debuted the international space station's newest piece of equipment Saturday during a successful but very limited test.
The first sample of Martian dirt dumped onto the opening of the Phoenix lander's tiny testing oven failed to reach the instrument, and scientists said Saturday that they will devote a few days to trying to determine the cause.
NASA launched a telescope Wednesday to scout out elusive, super high-energy gamma rays lurking in the universe.
The official group that names objects in the solar system is calling all distant dwarf planets "plutoids" after the planet that was demoted to dwarf status.
The official group that names objects in the solar system is calling all distant dwarf planets "plutoids" after the planet that was demoted to dwarf status.
Space shuttle Discovery pulled away from the international space station on Wednesday and began its journey home, ending a nine-day visit highlighted by the installation of a new Japanese lab.
The astronauts aboard the orbiting shuttle and station complex shook hands and hugged goodbye Tuesday as the doors swung shut between their spacecraft on the eve of undocking.
Scientists troubleshooting the Phoenix lander said Monday that they will try one last shake to get a scoopful of Martian dirt inside a tiny oven in hopes of jump-starting their study of Mars' north pole region.
Astronauts on the international space station Monday flexed some of the muscles on a robotic arm attached to a new Japanese lab they delivered and helped install on the orbiting outpost.
Shuttle Discovery's astronauts breezed through their third and final spacewalk Sunday, replacing an empty gas tank at the international space station and collecting a sample of dusty debris.
Astronauts debuted the international space station's newest piece of equipment Saturday during a successful but very limited test.
The first sample of Martian dirt dumped onto the opening of the Phoenix lander's tiny testing oven failed to reach the instrument, and scientists said Saturday that they will devote a few days to trying to determine the cause.
The newest space station addition, a giant Japanese science lab, is about to get bigger.
Spacewalking astronauts worked on the outside of Japan's shiny new science lab Thursday, installing cameras and removing covers.
The Phoenix lander's first dig into the Martian soil for scientific study was delayed Wednesday because of a communications glitch on a spacecraft that relays commands from Earth to the red planet.
To everybody's relief, astronauts fixed the toilet at the international space station Wednesday and opened a grand science lab.
This month, Just Imagine has looked at the future of space, and the potential it holds for humanity.
A team of astronauts working inside and out anchored a giant billion-dollar Japanese lab to the international space station Tuesday, making it the biggest room there.
Space shuttle Discovery performed a slow back flip and then docked at the international space station Monday, delivering a mammoth lab and two new occupants: a NASA astronaut and Buzz Lightyear.
If Dr. Robert Zubrin could take a trip to Mars, he would be sure to pack a bread maker in his suitcase. Not just because bread is a pretty reliable expeditionary food, but because the act of cooking, according to Zubrin, seems to help people get along with each other, especially when they are in slightly dire, less than luxurious and more than stressful circumstances.
If Dr. Robert Zubrin could take a trip to Mars, he would be sure to pack a bread maker in his suitcase. Not just because bread is a pretty reliable expeditionary food, but because the act of cooking, according to Zubrin, seems to help people get along with each other, especially when they are in slightly dire, less than luxurious and more than stressful circumstances.
NASA's new robot on Mars has reached out and touched the soil for the first time, leaving behind a striking footprint-like impression.
Space shuttle Discovery's seven-member crew completed an inspection of the spacecraft's wings Sunday afternoon, looking for any signs of damage after launching a day earlier.
The space shuttle Discovery and its crew of seven launched into a sunny sky Saturday in the latest effort to bring supplies to the international space station.
Space shuttle Discovery and a crew of seven blasted off Saturday, carrying a giant Japanese lab addition to the international space station along with something more mundane: a toilet pump.
Sharp new images received Saturday from the Phoenix lander largely convinced scientists that the spacecraft's thrusters had uncovered a large patch of ice just below the Martian surface, team members said.
NASA began fueling space shuttle Discovery on Saturday for a late afternoon launch to the international space station.
Japanese beer-lovers can anticipate an out-of-this-world brew: suds made with barley descended from grains that traveled in outer space.
The Phoenix lander is getting ready to flex its muscles on Mars.
NASA rushed Wednesday to get a special pump on board shuttle Discovery to fix a balky toilet at the international space station, as the launch countdown got under way.
Scientists began releasing the robotic arm on NASA's new Mars spacecraft on Wednesday, one day late because of a radio problem.
The international space station's lone toilet is broken, leaving the crew with almost nowhere to go. So NASA may order an in-orbit plumbing service call when space shuttle Discovery visits next week.
NASA couldn't send commands to the Phoenix Mars lander for most of Tuesday because of a radio glitch, delaying a second day of activities, officials said.
Japan is about to roll out the Lexus of space station labs, a whopper in size and sophistication.
Ernst Stuhlinger, one of the last surviving German rocket scientists who came to America after World War II and formed the engineering foundation of the nation's space program, has died. He was 94.
When Neil Armstrong took one small step onto the moon in 1969, it seemed only a matter of time before the advent of thriving space colonies and summer vacations on distant planets. But after an initial flurry of moon landings, manned lunar expeditions dwindled: the last time an astronaut left his footprints on the moon was in 1972.
NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander began sending photos of the planet's surface on the first day of its three-month mission "to taste and sniff the northern polar site's soil and ice," the space agency said.
The first pictures from NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander, which successfully touched down near Mars' north pole Sunday, showed a pattern of brown polygons as far as the camera could see.
In the wake of the wildly successful Spirit and Opportunity rover missions, you would think NASA would approach the landing of the next Martian probe with high confidence.
In the wake of the wildly successful Spirit and Opportunity rover missions, you would think NASA would approach the landing of the next Martian probe with high confidence.
In a stroke of cosmic luck, astronomers for the first time witnessed the start of one of the universe's most fiery events: the end of a star's life as it exploded into a supernova.
One of Francis Williams' favorite stories to tell is about the time he was pulled over for speeding.
Author Iain M. Banks, whose "Culture" novels have made him one of science fiction's leading lights, has created a utopian universe where altruistic robot spaceships care for genetically-enhanced humanoids, where no one wants for anything and where people are freed from the chores of daily life to express themselves as they choose.
Astronomers have discovered the youngest known supernova in the Milky Way galaxy, still a baby at 140 years old.
It may have taken the "right stuff" -- a macho blend of youthful bravado and reckless adrenaline -- to get the first people into space, but if you want to be an astronaut today, be warned, it's no longer a young man's game.
Jon Edwards often manages what appears impossible. He has recovered precious data from computers wrecked in floods and fires and dumped in lakes.
Robert Richards is CEO of Odyssey Moon Ltd, the first contenders for the Google Lunar X Prize, a $30 million prize fund for the first commercial team to land a craft on the moon and send back video footage.
NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, along with two cosmonauts, rode in the Russian Soyuz spacecraft that made a gut-wrenching, off-target landing last month.
NASA's final visit to the Hubble Space Telescope has been delayed at least a month, until the fall, because of extra time needed to build the shuttle fuel tanks needed for the flight and a potential rescue mission.
The crew of the Soyuz capsule that landed in Kazakhstan hundreds of miles off-target after an unexpectedly severe descent was in serious danger, a Russian news agency reported.
Russian space officials say the crew of the Soyuz space ship is resting after a rough ride back to Earth.
carrying South Korea's first astronaut landed in northern Kazakhstan Saturday, 260 miles off its mark, Russian space officials said.
To fix a potentially fatal shaking problem on its snazzy new moon rocket, NASA is considering something that works for mud-stained pickups: heavy-duty shock absorbers.
A new European cargo ship flew up to the international space station and docked Thursday, successfully delivering food, water and clothes in its orbital debut.
The space shuttle Endeavour and its crew of seven returned to Earth Wednesday, making a rare nighttime touchdown to wrap up "a two-week adventure" at the international space station.
A California aerospace company plans to enter the space tourism industry with a two-seat rocket ship capable of suborbital flights to altitudes more than 37 miles above the Earth.
Endeavour's seven astronauts aimed for a Wednesday night landing in Florida after more than two grueling weeks of space station construction.
After a week and a half of complex orbital construction work, Endeavour's seven astronauts undocked from the international space station and began their journey home.
NASA sent conflicting signals Monday evening about what an official told CNN is a planned $4 million budget cut in NASA's Mars Exploration Rover program.
With their fifth and final spacewalk under their belt, Endeavour's astronauts planned to take some well-deserved time off on Sunday before starting the journey home.
Endeavour's astronauts inspected their ship's thermal skin Friday for any damage from orbital debris, using a laser-tipped boom that will be left behind at the international space station.
The explosion of a star halfway across the universe was so huge it set a record for the most distant object that could be seen on Earth by the naked eye.
Two spacewalking astronauts, armed with a caulk gun and a high-tech kind of Silly Putty, floated out the hatch Thursday to test a method for patching shuttle thermal tiles.
Astronauts moved Dextre the robot to its new perch outside the international space station Tuesday after devoting nearly a week to putting together and creating the monster-size machine.
Spacewalking astronauts stepped outside Monday night and gave the space station's new robot some eyes and a set of tools.
Two spacewalking astronauts attached 11-foot arms to the international space station's huge new robot Sunday, preparing the giant machine for its handyman job on the orbital outpost.
With Dextre the robot's power problem solved, astronauts on Saturday ventured outside the international space station to put together the bulk of the gigantic walking and working machine.
Spacewalking astronauts added hands to a robot outside the international space station early Friday as experts on the ground devised a plan to get power to the giant machine.
A pair of astronauts have ventured out on the first spacewalk of Endeavour's space station mission despite a problem getting power to a giant robot that they needed to assemble.
Scientists say the data download has started from the international Cassini spacecraft as it moves through geyser plumes from one of Saturn's moons.
An Atlas 5 rocket carrying a secret U.S. satellite lifted off before dawn Thursday, officials said.
The seven-man crew of the shuttle Endeavour maneuvered toward the international space station early Wednesday, with the astronauts spending their first full day in orbit carefully examining the ship for any launch damage.
Three years after gigantic geysers were spied on an icy Saturn moon, the international Cassini spacecraft is poised to plunge through the fringes of the mysterious plumes to learn how they formed.
Endeavour's seven astronauts jumped into their first full day in orbit Tuesday as the shuttle pursued the international space station to deliver a giant robot and the first piece of a new Japanese lab.
Astronauts bound for orbit this week will dabble in science fiction, assembling a "monstrous" two-armed space station robot that will rise like Frankenstein from its transport bed.
New observations by a spacecraft suggest Saturn's second-largest moon may be surrounded by rings.
A robotic spacecraft circling Mars has snapped the first image of a series of active avalanches near the planet's north pole, scientists said Monday.
Those having trouble remembering the newly assigned 11 planets, including three dwarfs, are getting help from a fourth-grader.
The military's analysis of the missile strike on a dead U.S. spy satellite has revealed no sign of danger from debris, including no hazard from the satellite's fuel tank, a Pentagon spokesman said Friday.
Pentagon officials said they think a Navy missile scored a direct hit on the fuel tank of an errant spy satellite late Wednesday, eliminating a toxic threat to people on Earth.
The last total lunar eclipse until 2010 occurred Wednesday, with cameo appearances by Saturn and the bright star Regulus on either side of the veiled full moon.
The U.S. Navy succeeded in its effort to shoot down an inoperable spy satellite before it could crash to Earth and potentially release a cloud of toxic gas, the Department of Defense said Wednesday.
Europe's shiny new $2 billion science lab, Columbus, was anchored to the international space station Monday by a team of astronauts laboring inside and out.
Space shuttle Atlantis and its crew returned to Earth on Wednesday, wrapping up a 5 million-mile journey highlighted by the successful delivery of a new European lab to the international space station.
A Navy team including some 200 industry experts and scientists has been working furiously since January to modify the Aegis air-defense missile system so it can shoot down a failed satellite officials say could fall to Earth, a Pentagon official told CNN.
The U.S. Navy likely will make its first attempt to shoot down a faulty spy satellite Wednesday night.
The space shuttle Atlantis undocked from the international space station early Monday for its journey back to Earth, ending a nearly nine-day visit to deliver, install and activate Europe's new orbital laboratory.
Military plans to shoot down a damaged U.S. spy satellite carrying toxic fuel will not concern the crew aboard the international space station, commander Peggy Whitson said Saturday.
The U.S. military may try within days to shoot down a failed satellite using a missile launched from a Navy ship, officials announced Thursday.
Two astronauts ventured outside Friday for the last spacewalk of the shuttle Atlantis' mission to the international space station, working to attach science experiments to the exterior of the new Columbus lab.
The Pentagon is planning to shoot down a broken spy satellite expected to hit the Earth in early March, The Associated Press has learned.
With two of their three spacewalks completed, the astronauts aboard the linked shuttle-station complex focused Thursday on getting the new Columbus lab up and running.
Two spacewalking astronauts supplied the international space station with a fresh tank of nitrogen gas Wednesday, one of them a German who was too sick to venture outside a few days earlier.
With the Columbus lab now secured to the international space station, the 10 orbiting astronauts rolled up their sleeves on Tuesday for their next big job: getting the lab running.
NASA engineers are assessing two small areas on the space shuttle Atlantis that may have received some damage during Thursday's launch and ascent, officials said Saturday.
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