Jun 14, 2011 | Blog, Education Station, Exploration, Kids Space, Mars, NASA, Space and Science
NASA’s Opportunity Mars rover is rolling its way toward Endeavour crater, eyeing the western rim of the huge feature as seen in new imagery. Endeavour crater has a diameter of about 14 miles (22 kilometers). Scientists are expecting the robot to gain access to...
Jun 13, 2011 | Ask the Expert, Asteroid Exploration, Blog, Education Station, Exploration, NASA, Our Solar System, Space and Science
NASA’s Dawn mission was launched in September 2007. The spacecraft is now approaching Vesta, a protoplanet that is currently some 143 million miles from Earth. Powered by an ion engine, Dawn will arrive at Vesta next month. Starting in September, the spacecraft will...
Jun 13, 2011 | Blog, Book Reviews, Education Station, Exploration, Kids Space, Mars, NASA, Space and Science
Martian Summer – Robot Arms, Cowboy Spacemen, and My 90 Days with the Phoenix Mars Mission by Andrew Kessler; Pegasus Books; New York, New York; $27.95 (Hardcover); April 2011. NASA’s Phoenix Mars lander was a milestone in red planet probing. Touching down on Mars on...
Jun 9, 2011 | Blog, China, Education Station, Exploration, Kids Space, Space Race, The Moon
Chinese space officials have announced that their second lunar orbiter – Chang’e-2 – has departed the Moon and is headed for deep space. Making use of leftover propellant, the spacecraft will reportedly carry out additional exploratory tasks. According to the Xinhua...
Jun 9, 2011 | Blog, Education Station, Exploration, Kids Space, NASA, Our Solar System, Space and Science, The Sun
Voyager Spacecraft Data: New Findings. Credit: NASA/JPL A new computer model of the solar system based on data gathered by NASA’s enduring Voyager space probes indicates that the edge of the solar system — the heliosheath — is not smooth. Rather, it is...
Jun 9, 2011 | Exploration, Mars, Our Solar System, Space and Science
NASA faces significant cost and technical challenges in its bid to launch the $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory, also known as the Curiosity rover, during a 23-day window late this year, according to a new report from the agency’s independent Inspector...
Jun 4, 2011 | Exploration, International Space Station, Space Shuttle, NASA
NASA’s contract aerospace workforce faces more layoffs as NASA’s shuttle program winds to an end in July. On Friday, The Boeing Co. issued 60-day advance layoff notices to an estimated 510 Space Exploration division workers in Houston, Tex., Cape...
Jun 1, 2011 | Blog, Education Station, Exploration, Kids Space, Mars, NASA
Nuclear-powered Mars rover, Curiosity, is expected to open up a new arm of red planet research. Credit: NASA/JPL NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory is named Curiosity. And if you are curious about where Curiosity is going to land on the red planet, stay tuned. The final...
May 31, 2011 | Blog, Education Station, Exploration, Kids Space, Mars, NASA
Living on Mars – New ideas for habitats Credit: NASA/Space Telescope Science Institute Advanced textile materials may be just the ticket to help make a human mission to Mars a 21st century reality. Aeronautical and textile engineering students from North...
May 30, 2011 | Exploration, International Space Station, Space Shuttle, NASA, Space Research
The shuttle Endeavour crew departed the International Space Station late Sunday, ending a marathon visit that concluded with a successful flight test of the rendezvous and docking sensors NASA is developing for the shuttle’s successor, a four person capsule...