Brian Wu

NASA Begins Mission To Find Life on Jupiter’s Moon

Medicine & Technology May 31, 2015

NASA has now begun its mission to learn if Europa, Jupiter’s icy moon could potentially harbor an ocean filled with alien life. So far, the mission is just in its early stages, but the agency has selected nine science instruments for the trip, which is a follow to the Galileo mission that found strong evidence that Europa could be concealing an ocean beneath its frozen crust.

Asteroid Impact That Killed the Dinosaurs Could Have Triggered the Largest Lava Flows on Earth

May 31, 2015

Geophysicists from the University of California, Berkeley now believe that the asteroid that slammed into the ocean off the coast of Mexico some 66 million years ago killing the dinosaurs may have also triggered volcanic eruptions around the globe that may have contributed to the devastation of the planet.

University of Alabama Students Win NASA’s Space Mining Competition

May 31, 2015

It seems the University of Alabama is now known for more than just their championships in athletics, as a group of engineering and computer science students are adding even more academic trophies in a national robotics competition held by NASA.

Four New Inductees into the Astronaut Hall of Fame

May 31, 2015

The Astronaut Hall of Fame is now four members stronger after NASA's Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate John Grunsfeld and former astronauts Steve Lindsey, Kent Rominger, and M. Rhea Seddon were inducted on Saturday, bringing the total number of Hall of Fame explorers to 91.

NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft Sends Back New Images of Ceres

May 30, 2015

New images have been taken of Ceres by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft and they offer some of the best quality shots of the dwarf planet located in the asteroid belt.

Breast Cancer Could Be “Stopped in its Tracks” by a New Technique

May 30, 2015

Researchers have discovered a method of blocking an enzyme that is used by the disease to spread to the bones and is being described as “important progress” in the prevention of one of the most common and deadly second stages of the disease.

Were Dinosaurs Warm Blooded Like Modern Animals?

May 30, 2015

For years the accepted theory was that dinosaurs were cold blooded, much like modern reptiles today. However, a study then showed that they were neither cold blooded or warm blooded like animals today. However, a paleontologist revisited that study focusing on the metabolism and growth of the dinosaurs. The re-analysis then provided evidence that dinosaurs were actually warm blooded like many of today's modern animals.

NASA Begins Testing Its Next Generation Mars Lander, InSight

May 29, 2015

NASA has begun testing its latest Mars Lander, called InSight, that is set to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and land on Mars approximately six months later. Once on the surface, the mission is scheduled to last approximately two Earth years, or 720 Earth days and is expected to begin delivering data in October 2016.

NASA Orders First Ever Commercial Human Spaceflight from Boeing

May 29, 2015

Since the retirement of the shuttle program, the restoration of launching American astronauts to the International Space Station from American soil by 2017 has been a goal of NASA. Now, that goal has taken a giant leap forward as NASA has ordered its first commercial spaceflight mission from Boeing.

Could Ecstasy Be The Next Big Anti-Anxiety Medication?

May 29, 2015

Researchers from California are currently experimenting with the street drug, Ecstasy, to see if could help alleviate anxiety for terminally ill patients.

New Horizon's Beams Back New Images of Pluto

May 28, 2015

NASA's New Horizon's spacecraft is already on target for an historic rendezvous with Pluto in July, but while it travels it continues to snap new images of the little dwarf planet. The new images reveal even more detail about its complex and high contrast surface.

SpaceX Earns Certification for the Pentagon

May 28, 2015

Although it took millions of dollars, some heated words and even a court case, Elon Musk's SpaceX has finally earned the right to launch satellites for the Pentagon. The Air Force announced that SpaceX has completed and won certification from the Pentagon after a long certification process.