space exploration – News Stories About space exploration - Page 12

Russia Suspects
Spacecraft Was
Shot Down

Jan 11, 2012 2:12 PM CST

Russia Suspects Spacecraft Was Shot Down

Failed Mars probe may have been hit by weapon, says official

(Newser) - Russia suspects sinister forces may have been at work in the failure of its Phobos-Grunt probe, which was supposed to make it to one of Mars' moons. The probe was launched in November, but it failed to make it out of low orbit , and is now plummeting Earth-ward instead. The...

China Plans
to Grab
Moon Rocks
by 2016

Dec 30, 2011 12:36 PM CST

China Plans to Grab Moon Rocks by 2016

Beijing unveils new goals for space exploration

(Newser) - Might China soon be the new king of space? With NASA cooling its jets and Russia misfiring repeatedly on rockets and satellites, Beijing is steadily working toward filling the void. It unveiled a five-year plan yesterday to launch a space lab, collect samples from the moon on an unmanned mission,...

Russia's Failed Mars
Probe Will Crash to Earth

Dec 28, 2011 5:11 PM CST

Russia's Failed Mars Probe Will Crash to Earth

Phobos-Grunt, carrying toxic fuel, will come down in mid-January

(Newser) - A failed Russian spacecraft will plummet back to Earth next month, and more than two dozen chunks of it could make impact, along with a load of toxic fuel. The expected crash date of the Phobos-Grunt probe is mid-January, and nearly 400 pounds of fragments could survive re-entry, reports Fox...

NASA to Harpoon Comets

Dec 14, 2011 2:45 PM CST

NASA to Harpoon Comets

It's testing plan now with big crossbow on Earth

(Newser) - Why the heck does NASA need a 6-foot crossbow capable of flinging a projectile up to a mile and generating as much as 1,000 pounds of force? So it can test its designs for a harpoon meant to sink into distant asteroids and comets, of course. NASA is currently...

World's Biggest Plane to
Rocket People into Space

Dec 14, 2011 10:00 AM CST

World's Biggest Plane to Rocket People into Space

Paul Allen project might be ready for tests in 2016

(Newser) - The world's biggest plane, with wings longer than a football field, is being built to launch astronauts and cargo into outer space. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and aerospace innovator Burt Rutan have teamed up to create the gargantuan aircraft, which will work by hauling a rocket high into the...

NASA OKs Private Cargo Run to Space Station by SpaceX

NASA OKs First
Private Space Station Trip

Dec 10, 2011 5:55 AM CST

NASA OKs First Private Space Station Trip

SpaceX will send up cargo in February

(Newser) - One year and one day after SpaceX became the first private company to launch a capsule into orbit and return it to Earth safely, NASA has given the OK to attempt a cargo run to the International Space Station, reports the AP . SpaceX will attempt to launch an unmanned payload...

Meet the New
Space Pioneers:
Tiny Worms

Nov 30, 2011 1:10 PM CST

Meet the New Space Pioneers: Tiny Worms

They survive and reproduce at space station

(Newser) - If humans ever manage to colonize Mars or some other far-flung planet, a tiny roundworm may show the way. Scientists sent 4,000 worms (C. elegans for the science-minded) up to the International Space Station, where they managed to not only survive but produce 12 new generations over three months,...

Mars Rover
'Curiosity'
Launches

Nov 26, 2011 9:09 AM CST

Mars Rover 'Curiosity' Launches

Thousands converge to watch

(Newser) - The world's biggest extraterrestrial explorer is on its way to Mars. NASA today launched the six-wheeled, one-armed robotic rover, nicknamed Curiosity. An unmanned rocket blasted off with the spacecraft from Cape Canaveral. The journey to Mars will take 8 1/2 months and cover 354 million miles. Thousands of NASA...

NASA Preps
Biggest-Ever
Mars Rover

Nov 23, 2011 9:10 AM CST

NASA Preps Biggest-Ever Mars Rover

Can planet sustain life? Curiosity will search for clues

(Newser) - It’s “a Mars scientist's dream machine”: NASA is getting ready to launch its largest-ever Mars rover on Saturday. It’s not just big—it’s “the largest and most complex piece of equipment ever placed on the surface of another planet,” the agency’s Mars...

Russian Craft's Quest:
Grab Martian Moondust

Nov 7, 2011 9:00 AM CST

Russian Craft's Quest: Grab Martian Moondust

Takes tiny creatures along for the ride

(Newser) - A Russian spacecraft will depart for a Martian moon as soon as tomorrow. Its mission: to land on Phobos and collect soil to bring home to Earth, Scientific American reports. Researchers aim to learn about the moon’s development and composition. And should they discover ice or hydrated rocks, the...

Giant Asteroid
Headed Toward
Fly-by of Earth

Nov 3, 2011 5:41 AM CDT

Giant Asteroid Headed Toward Fly-by of Earth

Astronomers call it a rare chance to learn about life's origins

(Newser) - We're just five days away from an aircraft-carrier-sized asteroid passing less than 202,000 miles from the Earth, a rare near-miss for an object this large, reports ABC News . The object called 2005 YU55 is a circular c-type asteroid—carbon-based, darker than charcoal, and the kind likely responsible for...

NASA's New Worry:
Astronauts Going Blind

Sep 20, 2011 2:24 PM CDT

NASA's New Worry: Astronauts Going Blind

It could happen on a trip to Mars

(Newser) - NASA has a serious health concern to resolve before it fires up a manned mission to Mars or some other way-off locale: Astronauts might not be able to see anything once they get there. As the Orlando Sentinel explains, the space agency is seeing more cases of astronauts reporting blurred...

NASA Reveals
Massive Mars
Rocket Plans

Sep 14, 2011 12:54 PM CDT

NASA Reveals Massive Mars Rocket Plans

New $35B project could launch up to 165 tons into space

(Newser) - NASA today unveiled plans for a rocket that will power the next generation of space exploration, designed to take manned missions to distant asteroids and eventually Mars, Space.com reports. The uncreatively named “Space Launch System,” or SLS, uses bits of technology from the defunct space shuttle and...

NASA Heads Back to Moon

Sep 10, 2011 6:39 AM CDT

NASA Heads Back to Moon

... But it's an unmanned mission to explore the lunar gravity field

(Newser) - NASA's not done with the moon yet. It launched two unmanned spacecraft today (Grail A and Grail B) to study the lunar gravitational field and interior, reports Space.com . The $496 million mission has an interesting twist, notes the PopSci blog: a MoonKAM that will allow students to log...

PETA: Go Vegan, Mars!

Aug 9, 2011 6:51 PM CDT

PETA: Go Vegan, Mars!

Animal rights organization lobbies SpaceX founder

(Newser) - If PETA has taught us nothing else, it is that we have completely messed up our own planet with our insistence on wearing fur, eating meat, and racing goldfish . But there's a light at the end of the tunnel: Mars. The animal rights organization is lobbying for the planet...

Space Station
Will Plunge
Into Pacific
After 2020

Jul 28, 2011 5:41 AM CDT

Space Station Will Plunge Into Pacific After 2020

Station won't be left to become space junk

(Newser) - The International Space Station's grave will be a watery one, not a cosmic one. The colossal orbiting outpost will be deliberately crashed into the Pacific Ocean when it reaches the end of its working life some time after 2020, AP reports. "It cannot be left in orbit, it'...

Private
Companies
Shoot for
the Moon

Jul 23, 2011 12:24 PM CDT

Private Companies Shoot for the Moon

About 30 companies vying for Google's big prize

(Newser) - The space shuttle is gone, but worry not. Private industry is coming to the rescue, and fast. Inspired by a $30 million prize put up by Google, 29 entrepreneur/engineer teams are out to prove they have what it takes to win the kitty and become the first private enterprise to...

Post-Shuttle Era NASA:
Now What?

Jul 19, 2011 10:45 AM CDT

Post-Shuttle Era NASA: Now What?

Agency lacks clear vision for future of space exploration

(Newser) - Atlantis' wheels will hit Earth early Thursday, closing out NASA's epic 30-year space shuttle program for good. But when the dust clears, the space agency has no clear replacement program on the horizon to lead America's return to space, notes the LA Times . Rather, the trailblazing agency is...

Astronauts
Take NASA's
Last Spacewalk
of Shuttle Era

Jul 12, 2011 2:26 PM CDT

Astronauts Take NASA's Last Spacewalk of Shuttle Era

They set up experiment for robot to refuel satellites

(Newser) - Astronauts making the last spacewalk of NASA's space shuttle era today retrieved a broken pump from the International Space Station and installed a fill-er-up experiment for a robot on the side of the space station. The two-armed robot Dextre won't actually begin the $22.6 million experiment until...

Atlantis
Blasts Off
on Final
Shuttle Flight

Jul 8, 2011 10:43 AM CDT

Atlantis Blasts Off on Final Shuttle Flight

Flight will last 12 days

(Newser) - Atlantis blasted off this morning on the last flight of NASA's space shuttle program. The historic liftoff occurred 30 years and three months after the very first shuttle flight. Four astronauts are riding Atlantis to orbit, bound for the International Space Station. Massive crowds jammed Cape Canaveral and surrounding...