Should NASA and The International Space Station Be Worried About the Vapors?

Medicine & Technology Feb 27, 2015

Should the vapors be cause for concern? Well it certainly has been a question that has crossed NASA and the astronauts’ aboard the International Space Station minds. Since the snafu on Wednesday, Feb. 25, when a routine spacewalk led to water leaking into space station flight engineer Terry Virts’ helmet, the team has been buzzing with news of whether or not they will be cleared to walk again this weekend.

As Dawn Spacecraft Approaches, A Second Bright Light Emerges from Ceres

Feb 27, 2015

To better answer Piazzi’s original questions, and some new ones that have arisen in the more than two centuries since it was first discovered, researchers with NASA developed the Dawn Spacecraft mission which was originally launched in 2007. After a successful 14-month-orbit around Vesta in the asteroid belt, Dawn is now moving onto the next dwarf planet and will arrive to Ceres within the next week. And the first question that the Dawn mission would like to answer is a glaring one, visible on the surface.

Spending The Weekend Strolling Around Space—Spacewalking Aboard the ISS

Feb 22, 2015

How’d you spend your weekend? Bet you didn’t have as great of a time as NASA astronaut Terry Virts, who clocked a couple of hours this Saturday, Feb. 21, in the void of space. While Virts and his colleague Barry Wilmore have been aboard the International Space Station for a couple of months now, the duo spent their weekend commemorating their first spacewalk with a collage of space selfies, posted on their Twitters.

Could Dark Matter and Black Holes Cause the Swirl In Your Galaxy?

Feb 21, 2015

Ever seen a snapshot of the universe and wondered just how and what makes the beautiful swirling shapes that modern telescopes now let us see? Imagery of the Horsehead Nebula, the Pillars of Creation, and even the Rose Galaxies have captivated researchers and the public for decades, but finding exactly what causes space dust, planets and stars to conform in such elegant forms has often eluded astronomers studying the infinite wonders of space. But a new study conducted by researchers with the Harvard University Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) reveals that the connection between collections of stars and the elliptical shapes of galaxies may have something to do with dark matter and the presence of black holes at the center of every galactic mass.

Researchers Find How Acidified Oceans Have Become with Help of NASA and ESA Satellites

Feb 17, 2015

While many argue that the fight against greenhouse gases is long over, climatologists and ecologists continue to urge that the battle continues on. And while the culprits are all the same, the problems with these remnants of burning fossil fuels are taking on new problems. A topic of major research has developed from these changes and now researchers are quantify just how it will impact our world in the years to come.

Ash, Auroras or Clouds—What Could this Strange Martian Plume Be?

Feb 17, 2015

Covered round-the-clock by rovers and orbiters, researchers know a lot about Mars and its vast desolate plains. Yet, some mysteries remain. Of course, researchers with major space agencies continue to look for evidence of life and of conditions hospitable to support possible manned missions, but even more so researchers are interested in the anomalies above the surface.

VIDEO—How Antiquated Technology May Reveal the Secrets of Titan’s Seas

Feb 15, 2015

Beneath the glaring surface and choppy waves, many secrets are hidden here in the oceans of Earth. The vast depths hide species unknown to men, lost treasures at the seafloor and perhaps even a cryptid or two. And while terrestrial studies of planets may have been interesting in the 20th century, space agencies are looking to aquatic surveys which may one day reveal the origins of life even farther out in space.

Valentine’s Day In Space—A Promise to Better Heart Health

Feb 14, 2015

When better than Valentine’s Day to discuss matters of the heart? As February happens to be American Heart Month, dedicated to heart health and the physical fitness of everyone around the world, it seems that NASA and astronauts aboard the International Space Station are taking the promise of heart health to new heights. A new year, a new crew, and a new attitude has come aboard the International Space Station, and this time they’re vowing to keep their hearts just as healthy as their minds and our thirst for knowledge in space exploration.

ESA Mars Express Orbiter Reveals Place for Caffè on Mars’ Southern Icecap

Feb 13, 2015

Thanks to some clever innovation, and one determined Italian astronaut currently stationed aboard the International Space Station, espresso and aroma of dark-roasted coffee beans has finally reached outer space. But what about the far off planet of Mars? Though the planet may be desolate, and according to current reports, completely absent of life, a new image released by the European Space Agency (ESA) looks like the red planet may have a place for caffè.

Seeing In Shades of Red—Revealing the Rings of Saturn

Feb 11, 2015

Unfortunately, when it comes to vision, humans aren’t the most adapted to see the world as it really is. Only capable of seeing a relatively small portion of the electromagnetic waves possible in the spectrum, our view is narrowed to that within the visible spectrum. But thanks to our mental aptitudes, researchers are able to solve this problem by developing imaging techniques that view our world, and the universe, in a different way.

Stellar Duo Fated to Meet a Supernova End—Twin Stars Discovered in Henize 2-428

Feb 10, 2015

Doomed for an end 700 million years in the making, a pair of white dwarf stars will inevitably merge and meet their doom and researchers are saying that the violent fate is unlike any that they’ve seen before.

Neil Armstrong's Apollo 11 Artifacts Stowed Away For More Than 40 Years

Feb 10, 2015

As NASA researchers from the Goddard Space Flight Center revealed this week what lies on the dark side of the moon, the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC reveals that space artifacts from that region of the moon may have been hiding here on Earth since the return of Apollo 11. In what appears to be yet another giant leap in the Apollo 11 mission, it turns out that the first man to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong, also brought home with him a bag full of keepsakes from his adventure. And they were hidden in his cupboard for more than 40 years.

What Lies On the 'Dark Side' of the Moon?

Feb 10, 2015

The recent full moon isn’t the only lunar news to come out of the woodworks this week. It appears that its hidden face is also making headlines here on Earth too. Though historically shrouded in mystery, even with NASA astronauts and other space agencies touching down on the surface of the moon, it appears that researchers are now able to reveal what lies on the “dark side” of the moon thanks to five years of mapping data collected courtesy of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Thanks To Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter NASA Reveals What Lies on the Dark Side of the Moon

Feb 09, 2015

Ever wonder what lies on the dark side of the moon? It’s a perspective unlike any that humans have ever seen, and it has been a question that researchers and civilizations have asked for thousands of years. But now, thanks to data collected by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, NASA is showing us exactly what lies on the dark side of the moon, and the view of our solar system whirling around it.

NASA & NOAA Satellites Reveal Stunning View of Record-Breaking New England Winter Storm

Feb 09, 2015

As temperatures on the west coast of the United States start to inch closer to that of summer weather, the east coast continues to face winter storms for the record books. In a new image published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) GOES-East satellite just this morning, NOAA and NASA researchers who collaborate on the project reveal another large snowstorm, bringing several feet of snow to the New England territory.