Jul 22, 2011 | Blog, Commercial Space, Education Station, Exploration, General, Kids Space, Market Research, NASA, Research, Space Race, Space Shuttle, Why Space
A new CNN/ORC International Poll has found that 50 percent of Americans say curtailing the NASA space shuttle program is bad for country. The findings from the new national survey were released shortly after the space agency’s last shuttle mission came to a wheel’s...
Jul 22, 2011 | Ask the Expert, Blog, Education Station, Exploration, Mars, NASA
Official word from NASA this morning: The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) — the huge Curiosity rover — will touch down at Gale crater. That site offers access to diverse rock strata, including interbedded sulfates and phyllosilicates in a three mile (5...
Jul 21, 2011 | Asteroid Exploration, Commercial Space, Exploration, Hubble Space Telescope, International Space Station, Space Shuttle, NASA, Mars, The Moon
Orbiter Atlantis touched down at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in the pre-dawn Thursday, bringing a triumphant conclusion to the nation’s long running shuttle program. Weather conditions were perfect, as the spacecraft’s rolled onto the runway along...
Jul 20, 2011 | Blog, Education Station, European Space Agency, Exploration, Hubble Space Telescope, Kids Space, NASA, Our Solar System, Space and Science
Researchers using the Hubble Space Telescope have found a fourth moon orbiting the icy dwarf planet Pluto. The discovery of the tiny, new satellite — temporarily designated P4 — was uncovered in a Hubble survey searching for rings around the dwarf planet....
Jul 19, 2011 | Blog, Education Station, Exploration, Mars, NASA, Space and Science
This Friday, NASA is set to announce just where the Mars Science Laboratory will set down on the red planet. The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), or Curiosity robot, will land on the surface of Mars in August 2012. But where? The two candidate sites are Eberswalde...
Jul 19, 2011 | Asteroid Exploration, Blog, Education Station, Exploration, International Cooperation, Kids Space, NASA, Our Solar System, Space and Science, This Week in Space
After nearly four years traveling through space, the NASA Dawn spacecraft reached its destination and entered orbit around the asteroid Vesta on 16 July 16th. Scientists will create detailed maps and elevation models of this celestial body, which is located in the...
Jul 18, 2011 | Blog, Education Station, Exploration, Kids Space, NASA, Our Solar System, Space and Science
NASA’s Juno mission to giant planet Jupiter is now in final preparation for its departure. The launch of the Lockheed Martin-built Juno aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is on track for an August 5th takeoff from Florida. After launch, the spacecraft will...
Jul 17, 2011 | Asteroid Exploration, Blog, Education Station, Exploration, International Cooperation, Kids Space, NASA, Our Solar System, Space and Science
It’s official. NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has relayed information to confirm that it has entered an orbit around asteroid Vesta. Dawn has become the first probe ever to enter orbit around an object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Researchers are now...
Jul 16, 2011 | Asteroid Exploration, Commercial Space, Exploration, International Space Station, Space Shuttle, NASA, Mars, The Moon
The Atlantis astronauts, nearing the end of the final shuttle program visit to the International Space Station, are leaving a small U. S. flag to be reclaimed by the crew of the first commercially launched U. S. spacecraft to reach the orbital outpost. The flag flew...
Jul 15, 2011 | Ask the Expert, Blog, Education Station, Exploration, International Cooperation, NASA, Planet Earth, Space and Science, Space Shuttle
The worrisome build-up of human-caused orbital debris has reached a critical point. Collisions between objects will continue to occur, and so will impact damages to operational spacecraft. The trend will get worse unless more aggressive actions — such as active...