Book Review: NASA’s First 50 Years – Historical Perspectives

Credit: NASA History DivisionΒ  NASA’s First 50 Years – Historical Perspectives by Steven Dick, editor; NASA Special Publication (SP-2010-4704); U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. ; (hard cover) ; $79.00; 2010 This impressive and scholarly volume is...

NASA Pushes Forward on Human Mission to an Asteroid

Image of asteroid Itokawa taken by Japan’s Hayabusa spacecraft in 2005. Credit: JAXAΒ  NASA is holding next month an Exploration of Near Earth Objects Objectives Workshop, dubbed Explore NOW. The by-invitation only workshop has been sparked by U.S. President Obama’s...

Congressional Bill Calls for Commission on Planetary Defense

Β  How best to thwart Earth-threatening objects is receiving increased attention in Washington, D.C. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (Republican from California) has introduced a bill calling for the establishment of a United States Commission on Planetary Defense. Such a...

Update: Particles Detected in Asteroid Probe’s Sample Container

Β  Particles have been detected inside the Hayabusa sample container, a process which began on June 24 at the Sagamiharashi campus’ curation center near Tokyo. However, it is still unknown whether the particles belong to asteroid Itokawa or Earth, and tests will...