http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/space_exploration/ Space Exploration History and Space Exploration News. See the best astronomy images and browse the latest articles on space exploration. Updated daily. en-us Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:05:01 EDT Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:05:01 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/space_exploration/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080820081650.htm An international team of engineers is to develop mission-critical control software for future European robotic space missions, it has been announced. Fri, 22 Aug 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080820081650.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080820210740.htm Black holes are sometimes huge cosmic beasts, billions of times the mass of our sun, and sometimes petite with just a few times the sun's mass. But do black holes also come in size medium? A new study suggests that, for the most part, the answer is no. Thu, 21 Aug 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080820210740.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080820162958.htm The Hubble Space Telescope has found the answer to a long-standing puzzle by resolving giant but delicate filaments shaped by a strong magnetic field around the active galaxy NGC 1275. It is the most striking example of the influence of these immense tentacles of extragalactic magnetic fields, say researchers. Wed, 20 Aug 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080820162958.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080819160053.htm Fleets of inexpensive, pint-sized spacecraft are one giant leap closer to lift off. Researchers describe a new, razor thin temperature-regulating film that brings this sci-fi vision of "micro-spacecraft" weighing barely 50 pounds and 10-pound "nano-spacecraft" closer to reality. Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080819160053.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080820211030.htm NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander scientists and engineers are continuing to dig into the area around the lander with the spacecraft's robotic arm, looking for new materials to analyze and examining the soil and ice subsurface structure. Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080820211030.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080814220113.htm In a feat of interplanetary sharpshooting, NASA's Cassini spacecraft has pinpointed precisely where the icy jets erupt from the surface of Saturn's geologically active moon Enceladus. New carefully targeted pictures reveal exquisite details in the prominent south polar "tiger stripe" fractures from which the jets emanate. Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080814220113.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080811095504.htm People across the world will have the chance to see a partial eclipse of the Moon on the 16th August. Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080811095504.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080814164414.htm NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has taken the first-ever image of a single particle of Mars' ubiquitous dust, using its atomic force microscope. The particle -- shown at higher magnification than anything ever seen from another world -- is a rounded particle about one micrometer, or one millionth of a meter, across. It is a speck of the dust that cloaks Mars. Such dust particles color the Martian sky pink, feed storms that regularly envelop the planet and produce Mars' distinctive red soil. Fri, 15 Aug 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080814164414.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080814104835.htm As NASA prepares to send humans back to the moon and then on to Mars, psychologists are exploring the challenges astronauts will face on missions that will be much longer and more demanding than previous space flights. Psychologists outlined these mental health challenges at the American Psychological Association's 116th Annual Convention, and introduced a new interactive computer program that will help address psychosocial challenges in space. Thu, 14 Aug 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080814104835.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080812100324.htm The Cassini spacecraft has begun sending data to Earth following a close flyby of Saturn's moon Enceladus. During closest approach, Cassini successfully passed only 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the surface of the tiny moon. Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080812100324.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080811200142.htm Students built and successfully launched a cosmic radiation detector this summer that, carried by a helium-filled balloon, reached 104,000 feet in altitude. The detector recorded radiation levels at the varying altitudes -- information that will be used by NASA to develop instrumentation for space flight. Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080811200142.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080808123912.htm August 12th will mark the annual maximum of the Perseid meteor shower. At its peak and in a clear, dark sky up to 80 'shooting stars' or meteors may be visible each hour. Tue, 12 Aug 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080808123912.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080810215113.htm NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has continued studies of its landing site by widening a trench, making overnight measurements of conductivity in the Martian soil and depositing a sample of surface soil into a gap between partially opened doors to an analytical oven on the lander. Sun, 10 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080810215113.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080807144236.htm Prevailing theoretical models attempting to explain the formation of the solar system have assumed it to be average. Now a new study by Northwestern University astronomers -- the first to model the formation of planetary systems from beginning to end -- illustrates the solar system is pretty special. Their results show that the average planetary system's origin was violent but that the formation of something like our solar system required conditions to be "just right." Fri, 08 Aug 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080807144236.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080807072800.htm When astronauts visit the Hubble Space Telescope in October 2008 for its final servicing mission, they will be facing a task that has no precedence – performing on-orbit 'surgery' on two ailing science instruments that reside inside the telescope – the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) and the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080807072800.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080806210116.htm With average temperatures of minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit, an almost nonexistent atmosphere and a complex web of cracks in a layer of ice encompassing the entire surface, the environment on Jupiter's moon Europa is about as alien as they come. Yet "Europa has the potential for something very similar to hydrothermal systems we have here in our oceans," according to one of the researchers. Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080806210116.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080806140124.htm Using one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world to simulate the halo of dark matter that envelopes our galaxy, researchers found dense clumps and streams of the mysterious stuff lurking in the inner regions of the halo, in the same neighborhood as our solar system. Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080806140124.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080805124054.htm The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has identified thousands of globular clusters -- more than 5 billion years old -- in the Virgo cluster of galaxies. One of the results of these discoveries led astronomers to understand more about the life and evolution of cannibal galaxies. Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080805124054.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080805192122.htm Describing the latest findings from the Red Planet as "neither good nor bad for life," Phoenix Mars mission scientists spoke on research in progress concerning an ongoing investigation of perchlorate salts detected in soil analyzed by the wet chemistry laboratory aboard NASA's Phoenix Lander. Wed, 06 Aug 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080805192122.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080805124001.htm When astronomers enlisted public support in cataloging galaxies, they never envisioned the strange object Hanny van Arkel found in archived images of the night sky. The Dutch school teacher discovered a mysterious and unique object some observers are calling a "cosmic ghost" -- a gaseous object with a hole in the center. Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080805124001.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080805114818.htm Scientists are analyzing results from soil samples delivered several weeks ago to science instruments on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander to understand the landing site's soil chemistry and mineralogy. Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080805114818.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080801221019.htm Laboratory tests aboard NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander have identified water in a soil sample. The lander's robotic arm delivered the sample Wednesday to an instrument that identifies vapors produced by the heating of samples. Sat, 02 Aug 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080801221019.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080731140026.htm Mars Express closed in on the intriguing martian moon Phobos at 6:49 CEST on July 23, flying past at 3 km/s, only 93 km from the moon. The ESA spacecraft's fly-bys of the moon have returned its most detailed full-disc images ever, also in 3-D, using the High Resolution Stereo Camera on board. Phobos is what scientists call a ‘small irregular body’. Fri, 01 Aug 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080731140026.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080729133527.htm Bars abound in spiral galaxies today, but this was not always the case. Astronomers have found that bars tripled in number over the past seven billion years, indicating that spiral galaxies evolve in shape. Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080729133527.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080724143903.htm On 1st August 2008 there will be a total eclipse of the Sun, visible from Canada, northern Greenland, Svalbard, the Barents Sea, Russia, Mongolia and China. From the whole of the British Isles observers will see a partial solar eclipse, with between 1/10th and 1/3rd of the Sun obscured by the Moon. Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080724143903.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080730140726.htm Scientists have confirmed that at least one body in our solar system, other than Earth, has a surface liquid lake. Using an instrument on NASA's Cassini orbiter, they discovered that a lake-like feature in the south polar region of Saturn's moon, Titan, is truly wet. The lake is about 235 kilometers, or 150 miles, long. Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080730140726.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080729075117.htm Physicists from the University of Granada and University of Valencia have developed a procedure for analysing specific data sent by the Huygens probe from Titan, the largest of Saturn's moons, "unequivocally" proving that there is natural electrical activity in its atmosphere. The scientific community believe that the probability of organic molecules, precursors of life, being formed is higher on planets or moons which have an atmosphere with electrical storms. Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080729075117.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080724150345.htm Astronomers were able for the first time to witness the appearance of a shell of dusty gas around a star that had just erupted, and follow its evolution for more than 100 days. This provides the astronomers with a new way to estimate the distance of this object and obtain invaluable information on the operating mode of stellar vampires, dense stars that suck material from a companion. Sun, 27 Jul 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080724150345.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080724221049.htm The origin of magnetic fields in galaxies is still a mystery to astronomers. Popular theories suggest continual strengthening over billions of years. New research, however, contradicts this assumption and reveals that young galaxies also have strong magnetic fields. Sat, 26 Jul 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080724221049.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080725093456.htm Astronomers have discovered an exoplanet orbiting a star slightly more massive than the Sun. After just 555 days in orbit, the COROT mission has now observed more than 50 000 stars and is adding significantly to our knowledge of the fundamental workings of stars. Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080725093456.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080724150341.htm What causes the shimmering, ethereal Northern Lights to suddenly brighten and dance in a spectacular burst of colorful light and rapid movement? Space scientists have identified the mechanism that triggers substorms in space; wreaks havoc on satellites, power grids and communications systems; and leads to the explosive release of energy that causes the spectacular brightening of the aurora borealis, also known as the Northern Lights. Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080724150341.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080724150339.htm Astronomers are providing hints that a recent supernova may not be as normal as initially thought. Instead, the star that exploded is now understood to have collapsed into a black hole, producing a weak jet, typical of much more violent events, the so-called gamma-ray bursts. This discovery represents a crucial milestone in the understanding of the most violent phenomena observed in the Universe. Fri, 25 Jul 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080724150339.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080724113045.htm New Hubble Space Telescope observations of six spectacular galaxy clusters acting as gravitational lenses have given significant insights into the early stages of the Universe. Scientists have found the largest sample of very distant galaxies seen to date: ten promising candidates thought to lie at a distance of 13 billion light-years. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080724113045.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080723142119.htm For the first time, researchers have found a way to view the accretion disks surrounding black holes and verify that their true electromagnetic spectra match what astronomers have long predicted they would be. A black hole and its bright accretion disk have been thought to form a quasar, the powerful light source at the center of some distant galaxies. Using a polarizing filter, astronomers isolated the light emitted by the accretion disk from that produced by other matter in the vicinity of the black hole. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080723142119.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080721153148.htm The Pinwheel galaxy is gussied up in infrared light in a new picture from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The fluffy-looking galaxy, officially named Messier 101, is dominated by a mishmash of spiral arms. In Spitzer's new view, in which infrared light is color coded, the galaxy sports a swirling blue center and a unique, coral-red outer ring. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080721153148.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080721151938.htm The same researcher who is helping rovers navigate on Mars is leading a new effort to help humans navigate on the moon. When NASA returns to the moon -- the space agency has set a target date of 2020 to do so -- astronauts won't be able to use a global positioning system to find their way around, explained the professor of civil and environmental engineering and geodetic science. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080721151938.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080721152858.htm NASA's Phoenix Mars Mission has released stereo images of the Martian surface near the Phoenix lander. The images in the new 3-D Gallery combine views from the left and right "eyes" of the lander's Surface Stereo Imager (SSI) so that they appear three-dimensional when viewed through red-blue glasses. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080721152858.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080722092809.htm The first robotic mission to return samples to Earth from Mars took a further step toward realization with the recent publication of a mission design report by the iMARS Working Group. The report, defines key elements of the future internationally-funded mission involving the cooperation of ESA, NASA and other national agencies. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080722092809.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080721153039.htm The team operating NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander plans to tell the lander June 18 to do a second, larger test of using a motorized rasp to produce and gather shavings of frozen ground. Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080721153039.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080718130629.htm NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft has created a video of the moon transiting (passing in front of) Earth as seen from the spacecraft's point of view 31 million miles away. Scientists are using the video to develop techniques to study alien worlds. Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080718130629.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080718092231.htm The Heads of the International Space Station Agencies have noted the significantly expanded capability the ISS now provides for on-orbit research and technology development activities and as an engineering test-bed for flight systems and operations critical to future space exploration initiatives. Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080718092231.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080717134854.htm A new sequence of Hubble Space Telescope images offers an unprecedented view of a planetary game of Pac-Man among three red spots clustered together in Jupiter's atmosphere. The images were taken by the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, developed and built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080717134854.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080717134550.htm A powered rasp on the back of the robotic arm scoop of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander successfully drilled into the frozen soil and loosened material that was collected in the lander's scoop. Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080717134550.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080716140922.htm How do you weigh the biggest black holes in the universe? One answer now comes from a completely new and independent technique that astronomers have developed using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. By measuring a peak in the temperature of hot gas in the center of the giant elliptical galaxy NGC 4649, scientists have determined the mass of the galaxy's supermassive black hole. The method, applied for the first time, gives results that are consistent with a traditional technique. Thu, 17 Jul 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080716140922.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080716141755.htm A powered rasp on the back of the robotic arm scoop of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is being tested for the first time on Mars in gathering sample shavings of ice. Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080716141755.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080716140925.htm Mars once hosted vast lakes, flowing rivers and a variety of other wet environments that had the potential to support life, according to two new studies. Vast regions of the ancient highlands of Mars—which cover about half the planet—contain clay minerals, which can form only in the presence of water. Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080716140925.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080715131623.htm A contender for the title of brightest star in our Milky Way galaxy has been unearthed in the dusty metropolis of the galaxy's center. Nicknamed the "Peony nebula star," the bright stellar bulb was revealed by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and other ground-based telescopes. It blazes with the light of an estimated 3.2 million suns. Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080715131623.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080715131422.htm NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is using its Robotic Arm to enlarge an exposure of hard subsurface material expected to yield a sample of ice-rich soil for analysis in one of the lander's ovens. Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080715131422.htm