SPACE

NASA Begins Mission To Find Life on Jupiter’s Moon

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.

Chinese Astronauts Hope to Come aboard International Space Station, and End US Ban

In the fifteen years since the International Space Station has been in operation, this multi-nation venture has steadily advanced our understanding of science, from astronomy, to human physiology, to materials science. It represents a global effort in scientific research and includes five participating space agencies, from the U.S., Russia, Japan, Europe and Canada. Noticeably absent is China. The Chinese would like to see that change.

Four New Inductees into the Astronaut Hall of Fame

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.

Hubble Spots Collisions and Cosmic Disarray At the Center of Black Hole

When it comes to high-speed collisions, nobody here on Earth has anything on black holes. Astronomers have witnessed a new first: two high-speed knots of matter colliding in a sort of rear-end impact. They saw this after creating a time-lapse video of a super-speed jet of plasma as it shot out of a supermassive black hole. The knots of matter were inside the black hole until it blasted them out-and into each other.

NASA Begins Testing Its Next Generation Mars Lander, InSight

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

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.

The ESA Finds Champagne Nebula And Brighter Sets of Stars

This stunning nebula, called RCW 34 and visualized by the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT), is home to young stars that heat gases, causing them to expand outward. In this brightest area of the nebula heated hydrogen bursts into the vacuum outside the gas cloud, "uncorking" the nebula. This kind of process is called a champagne flow, and the entire area provides rich fodder for astronomers as it continuously produces new, brilliant stars.

New Horizon's Beams Back New Images of Pluto

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

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.

The Deceptive Surface of Mars

The team in charge of the Curiosity rover recently had to find a new route to some interesting rocks that they wanted to study because the original path proved too difficult for the rover to safely traverse.

Giant Telescope Construction Continues atop Hawaiian Volcano, Despite Protests

The best place to view space is from a locale far from the glaring lights of human habitation. And what better spot than the isolated Hawaiian islands, in the middle of the northern Pacific? Unfortunately, the residents of Hawaii abhor the idea of another telescope marring their sacred mountain. So they have banned together to bid the giant scope a hearty "Aloha!"

See What Tools Made the Cut Aboard the Upcoming Europa Clipper Mission

What would you pack for the 390 million mile trip to Jupiter's icy moon, Europa? Last year, NASA posed that question to a bevy of scientists and after whittling down the final 33 proposals, they have decided on nine items that will rocket aboard the Europa Clipper, which is set to blast off sometime after 2020.
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