http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/space_missions/ Space Missions to Venus, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter and the Moon. Learn about new space missions being planned. Read astronomy articles on recent space missions by NASA, ESA and more. en-us Fri, 16 May 2008 14:05:01 EDT Fri, 16 May 2008 14:05:01 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/space_missions/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080516113418.htm New observations from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter indicate that the crust and upper mantle of Mars are stiffer and colder than previously thought. The findings suggest any liquid water that might exist below the planet's surface and any possible organisms living in that water, would be located deeper than scientists had suspected. Fri, 16 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080516113418.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080515113255.htm Technology that could someday "MapQuest" Mars and other bodies in the solar system is under development. Scientists are developing a new generation of optical/ultraviolet imaging LIDAR detectors that will significantly extend NASA science capabilities for planetary applications by providing 3-D location information for planetary surfaces and a wider range of coverage than the current technology. Fri, 16 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080515113255.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514131133.htm Curved features on Jupiter's moon Europa may indicate that its poles have wandered by almost 90 degrees, report scientists. Such an extreme shift suggests the existence of an internal liquid ocean beneath the icy crust, which could help build the case for Europa as possible habitat for extraterrestrial life. Thu, 15 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514131133.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080513104001.htm To prepare for a return to the moon, researchers are evaluating how dust deposits in the lungs in reduced gravity in order to assess the health risk of long-term exposure to lunar particles. The findings will influence the design of lunar bases and could also provide benefits for health care on Earth, such as improved delivery of aerosol medications to the lungs. Wed, 14 May 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080513104001.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514073843.htm NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is preparing to end its long journey and begin a three-month mission to taste and sniff fistfuls of Martian soil and buried ice. The solar-powered robotic lander will manipulate a 2.35 meter arm (7.7 foot) to scoop up samples of underground ice and soil lying above the ice. Onboard laboratory instruments will analyze the samples. One research goal is to assess whether conditions at the site ever have been favorable for microbial life. Wed, 14 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514073843.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080509102949.htm NASA engineers Thursday successfully completed the first series of tests in the early development of the J-2X engine that will power the upper stages of the Ares I and Ares V rockets, key components of NASA's Constellation Program. Ares I will launch the Orion spacecraft that will take astronauts to the International Space Station and then to the moon by 2020. The Ares V will carry cargo and components into orbit for trips to the moon and later to Mars. Sat, 10 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080509102949.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508091605.htm Imagine yourself hip-to-hip, shoulder-to-shoulder, inside a room the size of a walk-in closet for eight hours with five people you just met. Does that make you sweat? Or maybe make your breathing a little more animated? For three weeks, 23 volunteers dedicated time to do just that -- sweat and breathe -- inside a test chamber so NASA scientists at Johnson Space Center in Houston could measure the amount of moisture and carbon dioxide absorbed by a new system being developed for future space vehicles. The system is designed to control carbon dioxide and humidity inside a crew capsule to make air breathable and living space more comfortable. Thu, 08 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508091605.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429120900.htm Artificial intelligence being used at the European Space Operations Center is giving a powerful boost to ESA's Mars Express as it searches for signs of past or present life on the Red Planet. Thu, 01 May 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429120900.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428203702.htm A new life-detecting instrument is preparing for a mission to the Red Planet. The Urey: Mars Organic and Oxidant Detector instrument, developed by a scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, received approximately $2 million in NASA funding to further refine the design and technology for the European Space Agency's (ESA) 2013 ExoMars Rover Mission. Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428203702.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429174658.htm As a powerful electrical storm rages on Saturn with lightning bolts 10,000 times more powerful than those found on Earth, the Cassini spacecraft continues its five-month watch over the dramatic events. Scientists with NASA's Cassini-Huygens mission have been tracking the visibly bright, lightning-generating storm--the longest continually observed electrical storm ever monitored by Cassini. Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429174658.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424092743.htm Astronomers are looking to identify Earth-like watery worlds circling distant stars from a glint of light seen through an optical space telescope and a newly developed mathematical method. Sat, 26 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424092743.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423131602.htm Researchers have found compelling evidence of thick, recurring glaciers on Mars, a discovery that suggests that the Red Planet's climate was much more dynamic than previously believed -- and could change again. Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423131602.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420114718.htm A radar instrument has looked beneath the surface of Mars and opened up a new dimension for planetary exploration. The technique's success is prompting scientists to think of other places in the solar system where they would like to use radar sounders. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420114718.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420123319.htm Behold the full moon. Ancient craters and frozen lava seas lie motionless under an airless sky of profound quiet. It's a serene, slow-motion world where even a human footprint may last millions of years. Nothing ever seems to happen there, right? Wrong. Scientists have realized that something happens every month when the moon gets a lashing from Earth's magnetic tail. Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420123319.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420114045.htm Commander Peggy Whitson and cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko of the 16th International Space Station crew landed on the steppes of Kazakhstan around 4:30 a.m. EDT April 19 after 192 days in space. All three people aboard the Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft were reported to be in good condition after their re-entry and landing. Mon, 21 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420114045.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415133647.htm NASA is extending the international Cassini-Huygens mission by two years. The historic spacecraft's stunning discoveries and images have revolutionized our knowledge of Saturn and its moons. Cassini's mission originally had been scheduled to end in July 2008. The newly-announced two-year extension will include 60 additional orbits of Saturn and more flybys of its exotic moons. These will include 26 flybys of Titan, seven of Enceladus, and one each of Dione, Rhea and Helene. The extension also includes studies of Saturn's rings, its complex magnetosphere, and the planet itself. Thu, 17 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415133647.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415134614.htm NASA engineers have adjusted the flight path of the Phoenix Mars Lander, setting the spacecraft on course for its May 25 landing on the Red Planet. The mission's two prior trajectory maneuvers, made last August and October, adjusted the flight path of Phoenix to intersect with Mars. Thu, 17 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415134614.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415164332.htm With major implications for long-duration space travel, a new study demonstrates that the high-energy radiation found in space may lead to premature aging and prolonged oxidative stress in cells. The findings suggest that astronauts may be at increased risk of colon cancer due to exposure to the high linear energy transfer radiation found in space. Wed, 16 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415164332.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080414094156.htm The European Space Agency has chosen the GSI accelerator facility to assess radiation risks that astronauts will be exposed to on a Mars mission. GSI was selected because its accelerator is the only one in Europe able to create ion beams similar to those found in space. To determine possible health risks of manned space flights, scientists from all over Europe have been asked to investigate the effects of ion beams in human cells and organs. Mon, 14 Apr 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080414094156.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080411091532.htm NASA engineers have adjusted the flight path of the Phoenix Mars Lander, setting the spacecraft on course for its May 25 landing on the Red Planet. Mon, 14 Apr 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080411091532.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080411092032.htm NASA is preparing to send a small spacecraft to the moon in 2011 to assess the lunar atmosphere and the nature of dust lofted above the surface. Sun, 13 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080411092032.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080409231029.htm A new stereo view of Phobos, the larger and inner of Mars' two tiny moons, has been captured by a NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took two images of Phobos 10 minutes apart on March 23. Scientists combined the images for a stereo view. Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080409231029.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080402160216.htm Astronomers have, for the first time, detected a storm of shooting stars on Mars. The detections were made using predictions of when meteor showers should occur as the orbit of Mars intersects with debris from comet 79P/du Toit-Hartley. These predictions were cross-referenced with observations of activity in the Martian ionosphere. Sun, 06 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080402160216.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080320150828.htm NASA's Cassini spacecraft has discovered evidence that points to the existence of an underground ocean of water and ammonia on Saturn's moon Titan. The findings made using radar measurements of Titan's rotation will appear in the March 21 issue of the journal Science. Fri, 21 Mar 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080320150828.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080320150042.htm Scientists using a Mars-orbiting camera have discovered the first evidence for deposits of chloride minerals -- salts -- in numerous places on Mars. These deposits, say the scientists, show where water was once abundant and may also provide evidence for the existence of former Martian life. Thu, 20 Mar 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080320150042.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080319140319.htm A study of meteorites suggests that Mars, the Earth and the Moon share a common composition from 'growing up' in a unique planetary nursery in the inner solar system. The finding could lead to a rethink of how the inner solar system formed. Thu, 20 Mar 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080319140319.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080320095012.htm Jules Verne ATV has today reached a parking position 2000 km ahead of the International Space Station. Europe's ISS re-supply spacecraft will wait at this holding point for the completion of the STS-123 Space Shuttle mission before proceeding with the first of two rendezvous demonstration days. Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080320095012.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080317123246.htm Patterns of scalloped-edged cliffs or lobate scarps on Mercury's surface are thrust faults that are consistent with the planet shrinking and cooling with time. However, compression occurred in the planet's early history and Mariner 10 images revealed decades ago that lobate scarps are among the youngest features on Mercury. Why don't we find more evidence of older compressive features? A new simulation reveals a possible cause of Mercury's distinctive features. Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080317123246.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080312115427.htm Promethei Planum, an area seasonally covered with a more than 3500 meters thick layer of ice in the Martian south polar region, has been photographed. The total amount of water ice contained at both the south and north poles of Mars makes up the largest water reservoir on the planet today. If polar ice melted, the entire surface of the planet would be covered by an ocean 11-m deep. Mon, 17 Mar 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080312115427.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080313095626.htm Venus Express has constantly been observing the south pole of Venus and has found it to be surprisingly fickle. An enormous structure with a central part that looks like the eye of a hurricane, morphs and changes shape within a matter of days, leaving scientists puzzled. Mon, 17 Mar 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080313095626.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080314112230.htm A new analysis of impact cratering data from Mars reveals that the planet has undergone a series of global volcanic upheavals. These violent episodes spewed lava and water onto the surface, sculpting the landscape that ESA's Mars Express looks down on today. Mon, 17 Mar 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080314112230.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080314160235.htm The space shuttle is carrying with it an experiment designed to isolate how each component of the low-earth orbit environment contributes to the overall degradation each material specimen. The results will help guide the development of next-generation satellite materials that will be durable in space. Sat, 15 Mar 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080314160235.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080310164854.htm Engineers are conducting experiments using a new hydrogen facility to help NASA create designs to improve the cooling efficiency and performance of the J-2X rocket engine, critical for future missions to Mars and the moon. Thu, 13 Mar 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080310164854.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080310110917.htm Jules Verne, the first of the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicles, a new series of autonomous spaceships designed to resupply and reboost the International Space Station, was successfully launched into low Earth orbit by an Ariane 5 vehicle this morning. Wed, 12 Mar 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080310110917.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080311085606.htm Space shuttle Endeavour thundered into orbit early in the morning on March 11 carrying seven astronauts and Japan's dreams for a space-based laboratory at the International Space Station. The first module of the Japanese-built Kibo laboratory complex was packed inside Endeavour's cargo bay, along with a Canadian-built robotics system that will enhance the capabilities of the International Space Station's robotic arm. Tue, 11 Mar 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080311085606.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080310171102.htm NASA's Cassini spacecraft will make an unprecedented "in your face" flyby of Saturn's moon Enceladus on Wed., March 12. The spacecraft, orchestrating its closest approach to date, will skirt along the edges of huge Old-Faithful-like geysers erupting from giant fractures on the south pole of Enceladus. Cassini will sample scientifically valuable water-ice, dust and gas in the plume. The source of the geysers is of great interest to scientists who think liquid water, perhaps even an ocean, may exist in the area. Tue, 11 Mar 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080310171102.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080306160209.htm NASA's Cassini spacecraft has found evidence of material orbiting Rhea, Saturn's second largest moon. This is the first time rings may have been found around a moon. A broad debris disk and at least one ring appear to have been detected by a suite of six instruments on Cassini specifically designed to study the atmospheres and particles around Saturn and its moons. Fri, 07 Mar 2008 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080306160209.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080305105128.htm Using two ESA spacecraft, planetary scientists are watching the atmospheres of Mars and Venus being stripped away into space. The simultaneous observations by Mars Express and Venus Express give scientists the data they need to investigate the evolution of the two planets' atmospheres. Despite the differences in size and distance from the Sun, Mars and Venus are surprisingly similar. Both planets have beams of electrically charged particles flowing out of their atmospheres. The particles are being accelerated away by interactions with the solar wind, a constant stream of electrically charged particles released by the Sun. Thu, 06 Mar 2008 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080305105128.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080306133930.htm Scientists have discovered never-before-seen impact "megabreccia" and a possibly once-habitable ancient lake on Mars at a place called Holden crater. Topping the clay layers that formed in the placid Holden crater lake are layers of great boulder-filled debris unleashed later, when water breached Holden crater rim, creating a torrential flood that eroded the older lake sediments. The body of water would have been larger than Lake Huron. Thu, 06 Mar 2008 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080306133930.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080229102056.htm With ESA's Columbus laboratory successfully attached and operating on the International Space Station, the time has now come for another European milestone mission to leave for the ISS -- that of the first Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), named "Jules Verne." Tue, 04 Mar 2008 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080229102056.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080303155815.htm A NASA spacecraft in orbit around Mars has taken the first ever image of active avalanches near the Red Planet's north pole. The image shows tan clouds billowing away from the foot of a towering slope, where ice and dust have just cascaded down. Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080303155815.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080229075203.htm Liquid water has not been found on the Martian surface within the last decade after all, according to new research. The finding casts doubt on the 2006 report that the bright spots in some Martian gullies indicate that liquid water flowed there sometime since 1999. The researchers took advantage of the detailed topographic data derived from images of Mars taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Sun, 02 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080229075203.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080227182956.htm In a car commercial, it would sound odd: active suspension, six-wheel drive with independent steering for each wheel, no doors, no windows, no seats and the only color it comes in is gold. But NASA's latest concept vehicle is meant to go way, way off-road -- as in 240,000 miles from the nearest pavement, driving on the moon. NASA is working to send astronauts to the moon by 2020 to set up a lunar outpost, where they will do scientific research and prepare for journeys to destinations like Mars. Fri, 29 Feb 2008 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080227182956.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080227182335.htm NASA has obtained the highest resolution terrain mapping to date of the moon's rugged south polar region, with a resolution to 20 meters per pixel. The imagery generated by the data has been incorporated into animation depicting the descent to the lunar surface of a future human lunar lander and a flyover of Shackleton Crater. Thu, 28 Feb 2008 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080227182335.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080226160450.htm Two students are currently living, working and communicating with the outside world as if they were on a mission to Mars. Whenever they go outside their small, round habitat where eight people are spending a two-week "mission," they don spacesuits and pass through an airlock. When they send e-mail, it takes 20 minutes before the recipient can see it -- the time it takes for radio waves to travel to and from the red planet. Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080226160450.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080225110209.htm Modeling of the Earth's atmosphere has acquired economic importance due to its use in the prediction of ozone depletion and in measuring the impact of global warming. Now researchers have found that the rate at which electrons lose energy to carbon monoxide is greater than that to carbon dioxide at higher levels in the atmospheres of both Mars and Venus. Wed, 27 Feb 2008 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080225110209.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080222101542.htm Ulysses, the mission to study the Sun's poles and the influence of our star on surrounding space is coming to an end. After more than 17 years in space -- almost four times its expected lifetime -- the mission is finally succumbing to its harsh environment and is likely to finish sometime in the next month or two. Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080222101542.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080220200415.htm Like salt used as a preservative, high concentrations of dissolved minerals in the wet, early-Mars environment known from discoveries by NASA's Opportunity rover may have thwarted any microbes from developing or surviving. "Not all water is fit to drink," said one of the scientists. Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080220200415.htm