space – News Stories About space - Page 22

Jan 6, 2008 11:32 AM CST

'08 NASA Missions Called Risky

Space agency pushing up against 2010 deadline

(Newser) - NASA is speeding up its space shuttle flight schedule to meet the 2010 deadline for the completion of the International Space Station. This year alone, the space agency will launch six missions—twice the number of the last two years—and some experts worry that the crunch is a recipe...

Is Time Running Out on Time?

Jan 1, 2008 5:39 PM CST

Is Time Running Out on Time?

Scientists speculate that the universe is winding down and could one day stop

(Newser) - Astronomers have been scratching their heads for years trying to figure out why exploding stars at the very edge of the universe seem to be moving faster than ones in the middle. Some theories say the acceleration is due to mysterious "dark energy,"but a new one posits...

Mars Smash Looking Likelier

Dec 29, 2007 7:55 AM CST

Mars Smash Looking Likelier

Still a longshot, but cosmic collision now a 25-1 chance

(Newser) - Scientists say the chances of a giant asteroid smashing into Mars on January 30 have gone up steeply, the AP reports. It's still a 25-1 longshot, but stargazers have their fingers crossed. I think it'll be cool," said a NASA tracker. "Usually when an asteroid is headed toward...

Astronaut Grieves From Space Station

Dec 22, 2007 8:32 AM CST

Astronaut Grieves From Space Station

Tani speaks to family via teleconference to help plan mother's memorial service

(Newser) - Before they blast off for missions that could take months, NASA asks astronauts to choose if they want to learn if there's important news from home. Daniel Tani said yes, and is this week mourning his mother from space. Tani has chosen to continue his daily tasks, and yesterday spoke...

NASA Delays Mars Probe to 2013

Dec 21, 2007 6:40 PM CST

NASA Delays Mars Probe to 2013

Conflict of interest in purchasing phase pushes mission back

(Newser) - A conflict of interest has forced NASA to delay a scheduled Mars probe by two years and spend an extra $40 million, the Associated Press reports. The panel choosing between two firms for the mission had to be replaced, and because Mars is only within reach every 26 months, the...

Solar System Is Dented: Voyager

Dec 11, 2007 9:18 AM CST

Solar System Is Dented: Voyager

Intrepid spacecraft finds strange bulges in the heliosphere

(Newser) - Far out in space, a violent boundary zone marks the point where our solar system ends and outer space begins. NASA's Voyager 2 has now confirmed what its sister ship indicated: that this region is squashed and uneven, Space.com reports. This shock wave "sloshes back and forth like...

Astronauts Wire Up 'Harmony'

Nov 20, 2007 7:22 PM CST

Astronauts Wire Up 'Harmony'

Two spacewalkers attach a new room to international space station

(Newser) - Two astronauts set up a new room on the international space station today, the AP reports. Their relatively quick, successful work was greeted with smiles from Mission Control: The room has to be functional before NASA can send up its next shuttle, currently scheduled for a Dec. 6 launch, which...

Planet Found Orbiting Star

Nov 6, 2007 10:28 PM CST

Planet Found Orbiting Star

Gas giant is 45 times the size of Earth

(Newser) - Astronomers have found a planet that’s at least 45 times the size of Earth orbiting a star 41 light years away, Space.com reports. The giant ball of gas is the fifth planet discovered around the star 55 Cancri. And while it's not a "twin of our solar...

Discovery Crew Bids Teary Bye

Nov 5, 2007 3:55 AM CST

Discovery Crew Bids Teary Bye

Astros exit space station after 11-day renovation project

(Newser) - Astronauts bid each other teary goodbyes yesterday as the shuttle Discovery prepared to leave the international space station and return to Earth. Seven people will make the two-day journey home, including astronaut Clay Anderson, who completed a 152-day mission aboard the station. Crew member Dan Tani is taking his place...

China Launches 1st Lunar Probe

Oct 24, 2007 12:46 PM CDT

China Launches 1st Lunar Probe

Plans to land astronaut on lunar surface by 2020

(Newser) - China launched its first lunar mission today, beginning its gambit to be the third country to put a man in space. The Chang'e-I probe fired into space unmanned, but the lunar orbiter should earn China’s space program respect—and lucrative contracts, Bloomberg reports. China next plans to land a...

Teams Fail to Build Elevator to Heaven

Oct 22, 2007 5:30 AM CDT

Teams Fail to Build Elevator to Heaven

Contestants still struggling to realize Willy Wonka fantasy

(Newser) - The race was on and the wind was up, which was something of a problem because contestants in the second annual Space Elevator Games in Utah yesterday were vying to send a vehicle 400 feet up a vertical cable attached to a crane. The prize of $500,000 in NASA...

Orion Nebula Closer to Us

Oct 11, 2007 9:12 PM CDT

Orion Nebula Closer to Us

Famous stellar nursery 300 light-years nearer to Earth than thought

(Newser) - The famed Orion Nebula is the closest stellar nursery to Earth, and it's even nearer than scientists previously thought, a study finds. Researchers had pinned it at about 1,565 light years away 25 years ago, but using multiple telescope shots to create a "virtual telescope" as wide as...

NASA Probe Gets Lucky with Jupiter Flyby

Oct 9, 2007 10:26 PM CDT

NASA Probe Gets Lucky with Jupiter Flyby

Spacecraft New Horizons sees storms and supervolcanoes

(Newser) - New Horizons, the robotic probe destined to reach Pluto in 2015, took some exciting photos when it flew within 1.4 million miles of Jupiter last February. Data from the fruitful detour for NASA’s fastest spacecraft will be published in Science this month. Highlights include photos of Jupiter’s...

After Sputnik: Satellites Today

Oct 4, 2007 4:47 PM CDT

After Sputnik: Satellites Today

Fifty years later, thousands of descendants have made a home in space

(Newser) - Satellites have lost a bit of their star power since Sputnik blasted into orbit. But 50 years later, its grandkids continue to look down at the Earth and out into deep, deep space. Here are some of the coolest, according to Wired:

James Webb Space Telescope: Putting the Hubble to

...

Scientists Stumped by Blast From Outer Space

Sep 29, 2007 5:15 PM CDT

Scientists Stumped by Blast From Outer Space

Mysterious pulse could be sign of black hole evaporating or supernovas colliding

(Newser) - A bizarre burst from outer space has scientists talking black holes and colliding stars, Physorg reports — and may even help us "determine the amount of material in intergalactic space," one researcher says. The radio waves, which were measured in milliseconds, might be a blast from 2 superdense...

Hidden Galaxies Come to Light

Sep 24, 2007 12:15 PM CDT

Hidden Galaxies Come to Light

Scientists discover star systems obscured by quasars

(Newser) - Astronomers have added 14 “invisible galaxies” to their map of the heavens, thanks to an imaginative breakthrough and a massive telescope. Researchers realized that some galaxies might be hidden by the bright lights of quasars behind them, so they scanned quasar data for “dips” where those lights might...

From Tokyo With Love: Japan Launches 1st Lunar Probe

Sep 14, 2007 4:00 PM CDT

From Tokyo With Love: Japan Launches 1st Lunar Probe

Mission to rival Apollo program

(Newser) - Japan began its first trip to the moon today, launching a lunar probe that will spend a year orbiting Earth’s natural satellite. In what the Japanese call the most complex moon mission since America’s famous Apollo program, Selene will study the body’s origin and evolution, the BBC...

Mars Rover Steps Into Crater

Sep 13, 2007 6:00 PM CDT

Mars Rover Steps Into Crater

NASA vehicle got second chance, after withstanding a two-month dust storm

(Newser) - The dust has finally settled on Mars, and NASA's Mars rover Opportunity took its first steps Tuesday 13 feet into the half-mile-wide Victoria Crater—and then backed out after slipping beyond acceptable levels. With Opportunity's six wheels perched over the lip of the crater, researchers paused the operation in order...

New 'Lucky' System Takes Clearest-Ever Space Pics

Sep 4, 2007 3:42 AM CDT

New 'Lucky' System Takes Clearest-Ever Space Pics

Images are twice as sharp as Hubble's

(Newser) - A ground-based optics system has been developed that can take pictures of space twice as sharp as those from the Hubble Telescope. The system uses advanced light detection chips and calculates when the atmosphere is least distorting, the BBC reports. The system gathers together the clear pictures and eliminates distortions...

Russia Shoots For the Moon

Sep 3, 2007 12:10 PM CDT

Russia Shoots For the Moon

Cash-strapped space agency aims to send a man to the moon by 2025

(Newser) - Russia has announced a plan to put a man (or woman) on the moon by 2025, reports ABC. The cash-strapped Russian space agency also plans a permanent moon base and a Mars mission. "The Russians have some big ideas, but their space program is coming up slowly from being...