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Key Advance Toward 'Micro-spacecraft'
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.

Astronomers Find Unusual New Denizen Of The Solar System
A "minor planet" with the prosaic name 2006 SQ372 is just over two billion miles from Earth, a bit closer than the planet Neptune. But this lump of ice and rock is beginning the return leg of a 22,500-year journey that will take it to a distance of 150 billion miles, nearly 1,600 times the distance from the Earth to the Sun, according to a team of researchers from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-II).

Cassini Pinpoints Source Of Jets On Saturn's Moon Enceladus
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.

Partial Lunar Eclipse On 16th August
People across the world will have the chance to see a partial eclipse of the Moon on the 16th August.

Phoenix Microscope Takes First Image Of Martian Dust Particle
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.

To The Moon And Mars: Psychologists Show New Ways To Deal With Health Challenges In Space
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.

Cassini Begins Transmitting Data From Enceladus Flyby
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.

Students Build And Launch A Sensor Into Space
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.

Maximum Of Perseid Meteor Shower
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.

Colorful Star Birth Region Near Tarantula Nebula Unveiled On Hubble's 100,000th Orbit Milestone
During Hubble's 100,000th orbit around the Earth, it peered into a small portion of the nebula near the star cluster NGC 2074. The region is a firestorm of raw stellar creation, perhaps triggered by a nearby supernova explosion. It lies about 170,000 light-years away near the Tarantula nebula, one of the most active star-forming regions in our Local Group of galaxies.

Soil Studies Continue At Site Of Phoenix Mars Lander
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.

Solar System Is Pretty Special, According To New Computer Simulation
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."

Hubble Instruments Slated for On-Orbit 'Surgery'
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).

Is There Life On Jupiter's Moon Europa? Finding Signs Of Current Geological Activity On A Frozen World
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.

Clumps And Streams Of Dark Matter May Lie In Inner Regions Of Milky Way
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.

Jupiter And Saturn Full Of Liquid Metal Helium
A strange metal brew lies buried deep within giant gaseous planets such as Jupiter and Saturn. A new study demonstrates that metallic helium is less rare than was previously thought, and is produced under the kinds of conditions present at the centers of giant gaseous planets such as Jupiter and Saturn, mixing with metal hydrogen to form a liquid metal alloy.

Switching On First Neutrons At UK's ISIS Second Target Station
The UK's ISIS Second Target Station Project moved a major step closer to completion when the first neutrons were created in the ISIS Second Target Station. ISIS uses neutrons to study materials at the atomic level with a suite of instruments, often described as 'super-microscopes.' By scattering neutrons off sample materials, scientists can visualize the positions and motions of atoms and make discoveries that have the potential to affect almost every aspect of our lives.

Thousands Of Globular Clusters Identified In Virgo Cluster Of Galaxies
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.

Martian Life Or Not? NASA's Phoenix Team Analyzes Results
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.

'Cosmic Ghost' Discovered By Volunteer Astronomer In Archived Images Of Night Sky
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.

NASA Spacecraft Analyzing Martian Soil Data
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.

Superfluid-superconductor Relationship Is Detailed
Scientists have studied superconductors and superfluids for decades. Now researchers have drawn the first detailed picture of the way a superfluid influences the behavior of a superconductor. In addition to describing previously unknown superconductor behavior, these calculations could change scientists' understanding of the motion of neutron stars.

NASA Spacecraft Confirms Martian Water, Mission Extended
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.

Mars Express Acquires Sharpest Images Of Martian Moon Phobos
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’.

How The First Stars In The Universe Came Into Existence
How the first stars formed from dust and gas has been a burning question for years, but a state-of-the-art computer simulation now offers the most detailed picture yet of how these first stars in the universe came into existence, researchers say.

Antikythera Mechanism: Scientists Crack Secrets Of 2,000-year-old Astronomical Computer
Researchers have unravelled the secrets of a 2,000-year-old computer which could transform the way we think about the ancient world. The Antikythera Mechanism is a clock-like astronomical calculator dating from the second century BC, several years ago. Now, scientists believe they have cracked the centuries-old mystery of how it actually works.

Astronomers Describe The Bar Scene At The Beginning Of The Universe
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.

Solar Eclipse On The Morning Of August 1st
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.

Saturn's Moon Titan Has Liquid Surface Lake
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.

Electrical Activity On Saturn's Moon Titan Confirmed By Spanish Scientists
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.

Watching A 'New Star' Make The Universe Dusty
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.

Young Galaxies Have Surprisingly Strong Magnetic Fields: Contradicts Popular Theories
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.

Exoplanet Orbiting Sun-like Star Discovered
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.

Scientists Solve 30-year-old Aurora Borealis Mystery
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.

Quiet Explosion: Object Intermediate Between Normal Supernovae And Gamma-ray Bursts Found
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.

Largest Sample Of Very Distant Galaxies Ever Seen Provide New Insights Into Early Universe
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.

Astronomers See Disks Surrounding Black Holes, Strengthened Evidence For Current Explanation Of Quasars
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.

Spitzer Reveals 'No Organics' Zone Around Pinwheel Galaxy
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.

New Project To Develop GPS-like System For Moon
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.

3-D Views Posted From NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander
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.

Mars Sample Return: Bridging Robotic And Human Exploration
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.

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander Continues Tests With Rasp
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.

NASA's Deep Impact Films Earth As An Alien World
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 Could Cause 15% To 20% Of Effects Of Climate Change, Researcher Says
Global warming is mainly caused by greenhouse gas emissions resulting from human activities; however, current climatic variations may be affected "around 15% or 20%" by solar activity," according to one researcher. In the past, the sun was the main external agent affecting climate change on Earth, together with the effects of volcanic explosions and internal factors such as ocean currents. The role of the sun in the Earth's climatic variations "is not inconsiderable," but the researcher pointed out that over the last 40 years solar activity has not increased, and has in fact remained constant or even diminished, which is why it is difficult to attribute a significant global warming effect to it.

The International Space Station, A Test-bed For Future Space Exploration
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.

Three Red Spots Mix It Up On Jupiter
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.

Phoenix Rasps Frozen Layer, Collects Sample
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.

New Way To Weigh Giant Black Holes
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.

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for Requirements for Amateur Rocket Activities