http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/space_probes/ Space Probes. Read the latest in space exploration using unmanned spacecraft. See images from Space Probe Cassini and Space Probe Galileo. Pictures of Saturn, Jupiter, Mars and more. en-us Sun, 21 Mar 2010 17:05:01 EDT Sun, 21 Mar 2010 17:05:01 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/space_probes/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100316172901.htm The general public can now follow along with NASA on its journey of lunar discovery. On March 15, the publicly accessible Planetary Data System released data sets from the seven instruments on board NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100316172901.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100318141745.htm From our vantage point on Earth, Saturn may look like a peaceful orb with rings worthy of a carefully raked Zen garden, but NASA's Cassini spacecraft has been shadowing the gas giant long enough to see that the rings are a rough and tumble roller derby. It has also revealed that the planet itself roils with strange weather and shifting patterns of charged particles. Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100318141745.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100316164950.htm A Canadian researcher has helped solve a 37-year-old space mystery using lunar images released by NASA and maps from an atlas of the moon. Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100316164950.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100315125645.htm Images from the recent flyby of Phobos, on March 7, 2010, have been released. The images show Mars' rocky moon in exquisite detail, with a resolution of just 4.4 m per pixel. They show the proposed landing sites for the forthcoming Phobos-Grunt mission. Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100315125645.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100312133725.htm Space physicists have identified the impact of the Sun on Mars' atmosphere. The scientists report that Mars is constantly losing part of its atmosphere to space. The new study shows that pressure from solar wind pulses is a significant contributor to Mars's atmospheric escape. Sun, 14 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100312133725.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100304184156.htm New studies of ripples and dunes shaped by the winds on Mars testify to variability on that planet, identifying at least one place where ripples are actively migrating and another where the ripples have been stationary for 100,000 years or more. Sat, 13 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100304184156.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100311143830.htm By precisely tracking NASA's Cassini spacecraft on its low swoops over Saturn's moon Titan, scientists have determined the distribution of materials in the moon's interior. The subtle gravitational tugs they measured suggest the interior has been too cold and sluggish to split completely into separate layers of ice and rock. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100311143830.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100308124809.htm Planetary scientists have been puzzling for years over the honeycomb patterns and flat valleys with squiggly edges evident in radar images of Saturn's moon Titan. Now, working with a "volunteer researcher" who has put his own spin on data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, they have found some recognizable analogies to a type of spectacular terrain on Earth known as karst topography. Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100308124809.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100309103323.htm Like a hard-driving athlete whose joints need help, the giant "Mars antenna" at NASA's Deep Space Network site in Goldstone, Calif. has begun major, delicate surgery. The operation on the historic 70-meter-wide (230-foot) antenna, which has received data and sent commands to deep space missions for over 40 years, will replace a portion of the hydrostatic bearing assembly. This assembly enables the antenna to rotate horizontally. Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100309103323.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100308125356.htm What if space held the key to producing alternative energy crops on Earth? That's what researchers are hoping to find in a new experiment on the International Space Station. Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100308125356.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100302170232.htm Extensive radar mapping of the middle-latitude region of northern Mars shows that thick masses of buried ice are quite common beneath protective coverings of rubble. Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100302170232.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100304184427.htm One year ago this week, NASA's Kepler mission soared into the dark night sky, leaving a bright glow in its wake as it began to search for other worlds like Earth. Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100304184427.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100304184315.htm NASA's newest Mars orbiter, completing its fourth year at the Red Planet next week, has just passed a data-volume milestone unimaginable a generation ago and still difficult to fathom: 100 terabits. Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100304184315.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100304112239.htm Mars Express encountered Phobos March 3, smoothly skimming past at just 67 km, the closest any artificial object has ever approached Mars' enigmatic moon. The data collected could help unlock the origin of not just Phobos but other "second generation" moons. Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100304112239.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100303162902.htm Mini-thrusters or miniature, electric propulsion systems are being developed, which could make it easier for the Air Force's small satellites, including the latest CubeSats, to perform space maneuvers and undertake formidable tasks like searching for planets beyond our solar system. Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100303162902.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100302085214.htm Using data from a NASA radar that flew aboard India's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, scientists have detected ice deposits near the moon's north pole. NASA's Mini-SAR instrument, a lightweight, synthetic aperture radar, found more than 40 small craters with water ice. The craters range in size from 1 to 9 miles (2 to15 km) in diameter. Although the total amount of ice depends on its thickness in each crater, it's estimated there could be at least 600 million metric tons of water ice. Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100302085214.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100302084740.htm NASA's Aquarius instrument, and the Argentinian spacecraft that will carry it into space, the Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas (SAC-D), successfully rode out one of the largest earthquakes in recorded history Feb. 27 with no problems. Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100302084740.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100225101657.htm NASA's Mars Odyssey began a second campaign Feb. 22 to check on whether the Phoenix Mars Lander has revived itself after the northern Martian winter. The orbiter received no signal from the lander during the first 10 overflights of this campaign. Fri, 26 Feb 2010 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100225101657.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100225101853.htm NASA officials broke ground near Canberra, Australia, on Feb. 22, beginning a new antenna-building campaign to improve Deep Space Network communications. Fri, 26 Feb 2010 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100225101853.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100223161837.htm When NASA's satellite operators need accurate, real-time space-weather information, they turn to the Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC) of the Space Weather Laboratory at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The CCMC's newest and most advanced space-weather science tool is the Integrated Space Weather Analysis system. Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100223161837.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100223162707.htm Newly released images from last November's swoop over Saturn's icy moon Enceladus by NASA's Cassini spacecraft reveal a forest of new jets spraying from prominent fractures crossing the south polar region and yield the most detailed temperature map to date of one fracture. Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100223162707.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100219102733.htm Dark energy, habitable planets around other stars, and the mysterious nature of our own Sun, have been chosen by the European Space Agency as candidates for two medium-class missions to be launched no earlier than 2017. Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100219102733.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100218151400.htm A dramatic 3D Mars view based on terrain modeling from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter data shows "highs and lows" of Mojave Crater. Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100218151400.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100224183119.htm NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite K-L program completed its Critical Design Review and Production Readiness Review in El Segundo, Calif. on Feb. 19. Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100224183119.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100217123426.htm A diverse cast of cosmic characters is showcased in the first survey images NASA from its Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. Sun, 21 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100217123426.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100219164200.htm Like the battered white whale Moby Dick taunting Captain Ahab, Saturn's moon Prometheus surges toward the viewer in a new 3-D image from NASA's Cassini spacecraft. The image exposes the irregular shape and circular surface scars on Prometheus, pointing to a violent history. These craters are probably the remnants from impacts long ago. Sat, 20 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100219164200.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100218151152.htm Just three days shy of one year before its planned flyby of comet Tempel 1, NASA's Stardust spacecraft has successfully performed a maneuver to adjust the time of its encounter by eight hours and 20 minutes. The delay maximizes the probability of the spacecraft capturing high-resolution images of the desired surface features of the 2.99-kilometer-wide (1.86 mile) potato-shaped mass of ice and dust. Fri, 19 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100218151152.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100216113851.htm Today Mars Express began a series of flybys of Phobos, the largest moon of Mars. The campaign will reach its crescendo on March 3, when the spacecraft will set a new record for the closest pass to Phobos, skimming the surface at just 50 km. The data collected could help untangle the origin of this mysterious moon. Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100216113851.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100211152126.htm Near the center of a Martian crater about the size of Connecticut, hundreds of exposed rock layers form a mound as tall as the Rockies and reveal a record of major environmental changes on Mars billions of years ago. Sun, 14 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100211152126.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100210131749.htm Artwork inspired by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope is making an appearance at this year's Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia. No, it's not battling other telescopes for the "gold," but its observations are now on display as part of the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad Festival. Fri, 12 Feb 2010 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100210131749.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100211111537.htm Researchers recently took advantage of a rare opportunity to record Saturn when its rings are edge on, resulting in a unique movie featuring both of the giant planet's poles. Saturn is only in this position every 15 years and this favorable orientation has allowed a sustained study of Saturn's almost symmetric northern and southern lights. Fri, 12 Feb 2010 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100211111537.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100211152456.htm NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, has lifted off on a first-of-a-kind mission to reveal the sun's inner workings in unprecedented detail. The most technologically advanced of NASA's heliophysics spacecraft, SDO will take images of the sun every 0.75 seconds and daily send back about 1.5 terabytes of data to Earth -- the equivalent of streaming 380 full-length movies. Thu, 11 Feb 2010 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100211152456.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100209144657.htm Some of 'the major ingredients for life' are present on one of Saturn's moons, according to scientists. A team working on the Cassini-Huygens mission have found negatively charged water ions in the ice plume of Enceladus. Their analysis of data gathered during the spacecraft's plume fly-throughs in 2008 provide evidence for the presence of liquid water. Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100209144657.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100205110636.htm Engineers and scientists from NASA and GM are working together to build a new humanoid robot capable of working side by side with people. Using leading edge control, sensor and vision technologies, future robots could assist astronauts during hazardous space missions and help GM build safer cars and plants. Sun, 07 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100205110636.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100204204309.htm A $32 million instrument package set for launch Feb. 9 by NASA should help scientists better understand the violent effects of the sun on near-Earth space weather that can affect satellites, power grids, ground communications systems and even astronauts and aircraft crews. Sun, 07 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100204204309.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100129220939.htm Sixteen days after last visiting Saturn's largest moon, NASA's Cassini spacecraft returns for another look-see of the cloud-shrouded moon -- this time from on high. The flyby on Thursday, Jan. 28, referred to as "T-66" in the hollowed halls of Cassini operations, places the spacecraft within 7,490 kilometers (4,654 miles) above the surface during time of closest approach. Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100129220939.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100129092410.htm On 26 January, Mars Express completed its 7777th orbit around the Red Planet, an auspicious milestone as the satellite is readied for the closest-ever flyby of Phobos, scheduled for just a few weeks from now. Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100129092410.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100127182505.htm A tiny communications satellite designed and built by undergraduates has been selected to be launched into orbit in November as part of a NASA space education initiative. Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100127182505.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100126101423.htm Packed with novel devices and science instruments, Proba-2 is demonstrating technologies for future ESA missions while providing new views of our Sun. Thu, 28 Jan 2010 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100126101423.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100127152506.htm The latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES-P is proceeding through more checks in preparation for its launch, which is no earlier than March 1. Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100127152506.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100125172816.htm NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, has spotted its first never-before-seen near-Earth asteroid, the first of hundreds it is expected to find during its mission to map the whole sky in infrared light. There is no danger of the newly discovered asteroid hitting Earth. Tue, 26 Jan 2010 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100125172816.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100119085221.htm Dunes of sand-sized materials have been trapped on the floors of many Martian craters. A new view captured by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows dunes inside a crater in Noachis Terra, west of the giant Hellas impact basin in Mars' southern hemisphere. Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100119085221.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100119085538.htm NASA's Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) began its survey of the infrared sky Jan. 14, 2010. The mission will spend nine months scanning the sky one-and-a-half times in infrared light, revealing all sorts of cosmic characters -- everything from near-Earth asteroids to young galaxies more than ten billion light-years away. Thu, 21 Jan 2010 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100119085538.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100115204423.htm On 14 January 2005, ESA's Huygens probe descended to the surface of Titan, Saturn's largest moon. Planetary scientists from around the world have gathered in Barcelona to discuss the legacy of Huygens and to consider future Titan exploration missions. Wed, 20 Jan 2010 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100115204423.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100118091812.htm ESA and NASA are inviting scientists from across the world to propose instruments for their joint Mars mission, the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. Scheduled for launch in 2016, the spacecraft will focus on understanding the rarest constituents of the martian atmosphere, including the mysterious methane that could signal life on Mars. Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100118091812.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100112141400.htm Blobs of warm ice that periodically rise to the surface and churn the icy crust on Saturn's moon Enceladus explain the quirky heat behavior and intriguing surface of the moon's south polar region, according to a new paper using data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100112141400.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100115182637.htm During the first three weeks in January, the latest in the series of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites also known as GOES-P is being processed and prepped for launch. Meanwhile, the first and second stages of the Delta IV rocket that will carry it into orbit, are being assembled on the launch pad. Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100115182637.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100112141155.htm Beginning Jan. 18, NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter will listen for possible, though improbable, radio transmissions from the Phoenix Mars Lander, which completed five months of studying an arctic Martian site in November 2008. Wed, 13 Jan 2010 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100112141155.htm