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 Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:05:01 EST Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:05:01 EST 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/2009/11/091123185639.htm NASA's Cassini spacecraft is helping to rewrite our understanding of the shape of our solar system as it moves through the local Milky Way galaxy. Previous models pictured our solar system as having a comet-like appearance. The new results suggest a picture more like a bubble. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123185639.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123094122.htm Scientists have used an innovative computer program to produce a more detailed global map of Mars' valley networks. It shows the networks are much more extensive than had been previously depicted. Regions that are most densely dissected by the valley networks roughly form a belt around the planet, consistent with a past climate scenario that included precipitation and the presence of an ocean covering a large portion of Mars' northern hemisphere. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123094122.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091113101417.htm This morning, mission controllers confirmed that ESA's comet chaser Rosetta had swung by Earth at 8:45 CET as planned, skimming past our planet to pick up a gravitational boost for an epic journey to rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014. Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091113101417.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091113122530.htm The argument that the moon is a dry, desolate place no longer holds water. Preliminary data from the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, indicates that the mission successfully uncovered water during the Oct. 9, 2009 impacts into the permanently shadowed region of Cabeus cater near the moon's south pole. Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091113122530.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104122526.htm Is there such a thing as "weather" on Mars? There are some doubts, considering the planet's atmosphere is only 1 percent as dense as that of the Earth. Mars, however, definitely has clouds, drastically low temperatures and out-of-this-world dust storms. A professor of atmospheric sciences now hopes to analyze and forecast Martian weather. Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104122526.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091112103425.htm When Europe's comet chaser Rosetta swings by Earth on Nov. 13 for a critical gravity assist, tracking data will be collected to precisely measure the satellite's change in orbital energy. The results could help unravel a cosmic mystery that has stumped scientists for two decades. Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091112103425.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111110045.htm Contrary to preconceived notions, the atmosphere and the oceans were perhaps not formed from vapors emitted during intense volcanism at the dawning of our planet. Scientists now suggest that water was not part of the Earth's initial inventory but stems from the turbulence caused in the outer solar system by giant planets. Ice-covered asteroids thus reached the Earth around one hundred million years after the birth of the planets. Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111110045.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102110228.htm A new image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows channels to the southeast of Hale crater on southern Mars. Taken by the orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, this view covers an area about 3 kilometers (2 miles) wide. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102110228.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091108215449.htm A NASA spacecraft gliding over the battered surface of Mercury for the second time this year has revealed more previously unseen real estate on the innermost planet. The probe also has produced several science firsts and is returning hundreds of new photos and measurements of the planet's surface, atmosphere and magnetic field. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091108215449.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110070107.htm Winter images of NASA's Phoenix Lander showing the lander shrouded in dry-ice frost on Mars have been captured with the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, or HiRISE camera, aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110070107.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102110050.htm Until Oct. 24, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover had gone more than six months without an episode of amnesia-like symptoms like those that appeared on four occasions earlier this year. In these amnesia events, Spirit fails to record data from the day's activities onto the type of computer memory -- non-volatile "flash" memory -- that can retain the data when the rover powers down for its energy-conserving periods of "sleep." Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102110050.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029141251.htm Scientists argue that human missions to Mars, as well as all other long-term space flights might be compromised by microbial hitchhikers, such as bacteria. That's because long-term space travel packs a one-two punch to astronauts: first it appears to weaken their immune systems; and second, it increases the virulence and growth of microbes. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029141251.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090924123310.htm During flights simulating the moon's low gravity, researchers find that sifters can separate soil particles and produce the best feedstock for an oxygen generator. Scientists are designing and testing components of the generator, which would provide oxygen needed for a lunar or Martian outpost. Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090924123310.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091027195507.htm An armada of robots may one day fly above the mountain tops of Saturn's moon Titan, cross its vast dunes and sail in its liquid lakes. Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091027195507.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091023163519.htm As Saturn's rings orbit the planet, a section is typically in the planet's shadow, experiencing a brief night lasting from 6 to 14 hours. However, once approximately every 15 years, night falls over the entire visible ring system for about four days. Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091023163519.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029151322.htm Starting in 2010, an international crew of six will simulate a 520-day round-trip to Mars, including a 30-day stay on the martian surface. In reality, they will live and work in a sealed facility in Moscow, Russia, to investigate the psychological and medical aspects of a long-duration space mission. ESA is looking for European volunteers to take part. Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029151322.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091015091605.htm The Moon is a big sponge that absorbs electrically charged particles given out by the Sun. These particles interact with the oxygen present in some dust grains on the lunar surface, producing water. This discovery, made by the ESA-ISRO instrument SARA onboard the Indian Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter, confirms how water is likely being created on the lunar surface. Mon, 19 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091015091605.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016101807.htm The solar system, as defined by the heliosphere, the region of the sun's influence, may have a quite different shape than scientists had thought. Sun, 18 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016101807.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016094030.htm Direct communication between Earth and Mars can be strongly disturbed and even blocked by the Sun for weeks at a time, cutting off any future human mission to the Red Planet. An European Space Agency engineer working with engineers in the UK may have found a solution using a new type of orbit combined with continuous-thrust ion propulsion. Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016094030.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091015144522.htm NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, spacecraft has made it possible for scientists to construct the first comprehensive sky map of our solar system and its location in the Milky Way galaxy. The new view will change the way researchers view and study the interaction between our galaxy and sun. Results include the discovery of a narrow ribbon of bright details or emissions not resembling any of the current theoretical models of the interstellar boundary region. Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091015144522.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016142056.htm The first all-sky maps developed by NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft, the first mission to examine the global interactions occurring at the edge of the solar system, reveal surprising and intense interactions between our home in the galaxy and interstellar space. Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016142056.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091009101945.htm NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, created twin impacts on the moon's surface early Friday in a search for water ice. Scientists will analyze data from the spacecraft's instruments to assess whether water ice is present. Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091009101945.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091008161908.htm At 7:30 a.m. EDT on Oct. 9, a two-ton rocket body will slam into a crater near the moon's south pole. By studying the resulting plume of gas and dust, scientists hope this grand experiment will confirm the presence of ice in permanently shadowed craters at the lunar poles. A NASA Goddard Space Flight Center visualization team previewed the lunar impact. Thu, 08 Oct 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091008161908.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091006113003.htm Crashing a rocket into the Moon will create “one more dimple” on the lunar surface and could find water ice on Earth’s nearest neighbour, according to one expert. Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091006113003.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091004020806.htm NASA has made a series of critical strides toward the development of new nuclear reactors the size of a trash can that could power a human outpost on the moon or Mars. Three recent tests at different NASA centers and a national lab have successfully demonstrated key technologies required for compact fission-based nuclear power plants for human settlements on other worlds. Sun, 04 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091004020806.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091001101333.htm An innovative technique called L.I.F.E. imaging used successfully to detect bacteria in frozen Antarctic lakes could have exciting implications for demonstrating signs of life in the polar regions of Mars, according to a new article. Fri, 02 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091001101333.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090928194449.htm NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center is testing a new robotic lunar lander test bed that will aid in the development of a new generation of multi-use landers for future robotic space exploration. Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090928194449.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090916092751.htm Wind speeds and directions were measured for the first time in the Mars polar region using the Phoenix lander’s Telltale instrument. Astronomers recorded Easterly winds of approximately 15-20 kilometres per hour during the martian mid-summer. When autumn approached, the winds increased and switched round to come predominantly from the West. While these winds appeared to be dominated by turbulence, the highest wind speeds recorded of up to nearly 60 kilometres per hour coincided with the passing of weather systems, when also the number of dust devils increased by an order of magnitude. Tue, 29 Sep 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090916092751.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090924112849.htm Twenty-eight times per second, engineers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center fire a laser that travels about 250,000 miles to hit the minivan-sized Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft moving at nearly 3,600 miles per hour as it orbits the moon. Mon, 28 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090924112849.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090925102055.htm The European Space Agency's SMART-1 team has released an image of the future impact site of NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS). LCROSS will search for water ice on the Moon by making two impacts into a crater named Cabeus A at the lunar South Pole. The impacts are scheduled for 11:30 and 11:34 am UT on 9 October 2009. Sun, 27 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090925102055.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090924143506.htm NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has revealed frozen water hiding just below the surface of mid-latitude Mars. The spacecraft's observations were obtained from orbit after meteorites excavated fresh craters on the Red Planet. Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090924143506.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090924141249.htm The discovery of large quantities of water on the moon will have very significant implications for human space exploration, according to a UK space expert. The findings by NASA were reportedly made after researchers examined data from three separate missions to the moon. Fri, 25 Sep 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090924141249.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090924093559.htm In a discovery that promises to reinvigorate studies of the moon and potentially upend thinking of how it originated, scientists have found evidence of water molecules on the surface of the moon. Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090924093559.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090921174323.htm NASA scientists are marveling over the extent of ruffles and dust clouds revealed in the rings of Saturn during the planet's equinox last month. Scientists once thought the rings were almost completely flat, but new images reveal the heights of some newly discovered bumps in the rings are as high as the Rocky Mountains. Wed, 23 Sep 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090921174323.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090923112547.htm A NASA team is developing a transparent coating that mimics the self-cleaning properties of the lotus plant to prevent dirt from sticking to the surfaces of spaceflight gear and bacteria from growing inside astronaut living quarters. Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090923112547.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090922185937.htm New, three-dimensional imaging of Martian north-polar ice layers by a radar instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is consistent with theoretical models of Martian climate swings during the past few million years. Wed, 23 Sep 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090922185937.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917131548.htm NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched on June 18 of this year, has begun its extensive exploration of the lunar environment and will return more data about the Moon than any previous mission. The Lyman-Alpha Mapping Project is an integral part of the LRO science investigation. LAMP uses a novel method to peer into the perpetual darkness of the Moon's so-called permanently shadowed regions. Tue, 22 Sep 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917131548.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090918102022.htm The widespread idea that Mars is red due to rocks being rusted by the water that once flooded the red planet may not be correct. Recent laboratory studies show that red dust may be formed by ongoing grinding of surface rocks and liquid water need not have played any significant role in the formation process. The findings open up the debate about the history of water on Mars and whether it has ever been habitable. Mon, 21 Sep 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090918102022.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090918102105.htm Over its ten months of operation, the Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS) has gathered data for a total of 30 solar flares, giving the most accurate measurements to date of magnesium, aluminium, silicon, calcium and iron in the lunar surface. Mon, 21 Sep 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090918102105.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917191609.htm NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), an unmanned mission to comprehensively map the entire moon, has returned its first data. One of the seven instruments aboard, the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment, is making the first global survey of the temperature of the lunar surface while the spacecraft orbits some 31 miles above the moon. Sat, 19 Sep 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917191609.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090916092818.htm Scientists have assembled the first global geological map of Jupiter's moon Ganymede -- the solar system's largest moon -- and in doing so have gathered new evidence into the formation of the large, icy satellite. Fri, 18 Sep 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090916092818.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090915140921.htm A research project looking for ways to reduce bone loss in astronauts may yield methods of improving the bone health of cancer patients undergoing radiation treatment. The scientists are seeking to understand radiation-induced bone loss and to determine which treatments can be used to reduce that loss and lower the risk of fractures. The results could be beneficial to cancer patients, especially those who receive radiation therapy in the pelvic region. Thu, 17 Sep 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090915140921.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090916092653.htm Networks of giant polygonal troughs etched across crater basins on Mars have been identified as desiccation cracks caused by evaporating lakes, providing further evidence of a warmer, wetter martian past. Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090916092653.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090910235638.htm Sniffing out any potential contaminants on the International Space Station where it was stationed for the last six months, the NASA-built electronic nose, or ENose, is homeward bound. While on the space station, the ENose sampled the air with 32 sensors that can detect various odors and pinpoint which ones are dangerous to humans. Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090910235638.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090908132944.htm Since its discovery by Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens in 1655, Saturn's most massive moon, Titan, has been known as a place of mystery and intrigue. The large, cloud-enshrouded moon is such a scientific enigma that for the past five years, it has been targeted by NASAs Cassini spacecraft with more than 60 probing flybys. One of its latest findings could be a valuable asset to future generations of space explorers hunting for materials to whip up a Labor Day barbecue. Tue, 08 Sep 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090908132944.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090903170011.htm Four months after the success of Apollo 11, NASA launched Apollo 12 in November 1969. Almost exactly 40 years later, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has seen the landing site. Fri, 04 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090903170011.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090903170218.htm Thousands of newly released images from more than 1,500 telescopic observations by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show a wide range of gullies, dunes, craters, geological layering and other features on the Red Planet. Fri, 04 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090903170218.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090819150521.htm Anyone who's vacationed in the mountains or lived on a farm knows that it's hard to get good internet access or a strong cell phone signal in a remote area. Communicating across great distances has always been a challenge. So when NASA engineers designed the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), they knew it would need an extraordinary communications system. Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090819150521.htm