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| Subject | December Articles Date & Title |
|---|---|
| Deep Space 1 | December 20:  Deep Space 1: The Archeology Mission - One year ago this week, NASA ground controllers deactivated Deep Space 1. The craft is asleep now, but perhaps it has one more contribution to make ... to the field of archeology in the next millennium.
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| Space Shuttle | December 18: Space Scents - Researchers hunting for new and profitable fragrances have discovered that roses in Earth orbit don't smell the same as they do on Earth. Soon a pair of flowers will blast off on board the space shuttle where they will participate in the continuing search for exotic space scents. |
| Looking Up | December 13: Breathtaking Saturn - On Dec. 17, 2002, Earth and Saturn will have their closest encounter in nearly 30 years. |
| Astronauts | December 12: A Teacher in Space - NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe announced today that elementary school teacher Barbara Morgan will visit the International Space Station in 2003. |
| Looking Up | December 09: Meteors from the Twilight Zone - The Geminid meteor shower, which peaks this year on Saturday morning, Dec. 14th, has begun. These meteors come from a curious object--a "Twilight Zone" cross between a comet and an asteroid--called 3220 Phaethon.
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| Earth Science | December 06: City-swallowing Sand Dunes - NASA-supported researchers are studying the complex physics of migrating sand dunes--a grave concern in nations where the relentless advance of desert dunes is a serious threat to habitation and agriculture. |
| Fundamental Physics | December 04: Confounded by Coffee - Here's something to ponder over your next cup of joe: the physics of a humble bag of coffee grounds still holds surprises for scientists. |
| International Space Station | December 02: Space Station Eclipse - The crew of the International Space Station will enjoy a unique view of this week's total solar eclipse--looking down at the moon's shadow on the earth below. |
| Subject | November Articles Date & Title |
|---|---|
| Life Science | November 22: Balancing Brains - NASA researchers have discovered something odd: if you put an astronaut in a spinning chair, their brains might decide they are back in space. Why? The answer may reveal important lessons about human learning. |
| Black Holes | November 20: A Super Galactic Discovery - Astronomers have spotted two supermassive black holes in the crowded center of a distant galaxy. And it's only a matter of time, they say, before the pair collide. |
| International Space Station | November 18: A Spaceship Among Meteors - With millions of people watching, the International Space Station will glide over North America during the 2002 Leonid meteor storm. Some of the apparitions will be remarkably eye-catching. |
| Looking Up | November 16: The Leonids TV Show - NASA TV kicks off live coverage of the 2002 Leonid meteor storm on Monday evening, Nov. 18th. The broadcast will feature live reports from around the world and weird meteor sounds. |
| Earth Science | November 15: Space, Inc. - NASA and other government agencies are helping the commercial space industry get off the ground by validating and buying satellite data. |
| Looking Up | November 14: Leonid Observing Tips - The 2002 Leonid meteor storm is due on Tuesday, Nov. 19th. A NASA expert offers common-sense advice to meteor watchers who plan to observe the display. |
| Jupiter | November 08: Dark Rings - Many years ago Pioneer 11 flew through Jupiter's rings, but no one knew it at the time. This week NASA's Galileo spacecraft did it again ... and scientists were ready. |
| Space Shuttle | November 06: The Roar of Innovation - The space shuttle's main engines are the best performing chemical rockets on Earth. You can listen to one roar during a live webcast of a engine test-firing on Nov. 8th. |
| Earth Science | November 01: Saving Cajun Country - Archeologists and engineers will soon be using NASA satellite data to restore endangered wetlands without accidentally destroying Native American cultural sites. |
| Subject | October Articles Date & Title |
|---|---|
| Asteroids | October 31: Halloween Asteroid - Near-Earth asteroid 1997 XF11, which briefly scared astronomers five years ago, passes by Earth again this week on Halloween. |
| Life Science | October 30: Hip Science - Using space technology, NASA-funded researchers are developing artificial bones for pain-free hip implants. |
| Looking Up | October 24: Rings around the Sun - Whenever both sun and clouds are in the sky, be sure to look up--you may behold rings, arcs, and other marvels! |
| Living in Space | October 21: How Astronauts Get Along - Astronauts have a cool demeanor and good people-skills, but six months in a tiny spaceship with the same crewmates can drive anyone to distraction. |
| Astrobiology | October 18: Earth rocks on the Moon - Astrobiologists speculate that a valuable record of Earth's distant past is preserved on the Moon. |
| International Space Station | October 16: One Night, Two Spaceships - Sky watchers in North America can spot the ISS and the space shuttle Atlantis at the same time on Oct. 16 and 17. |
| Earth Science | October 11: Urban Sprawl: the Big Picture - Earth-orbiting satellites are collecting valuable data that reveal the environmental impact of fast-growing cities. |
| Looking Up | October 09: Leonid Meteor Storm Forecast - Scientists at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center have released new predictions for the 2002 Leonid meteor storm. |
| Planetary Astronomy | October 07: A Cold New World - Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have measured a distant world more than half the size of Pluto. It's the biggest object found in our solar system since the discovery of Pluto itself 72 years ago. |
| Subject | September Articles Date & Title |
|---|---|
| The Cutting Edge | September 30: Space Medicine - Researchers discuss how to keep astronauts safe and healthy during long trips through the solar system. |
| Space Shuttle | September 26: An Extraordinary Movie - On October 2nd, NASA TV plans to broadcast the first live video from a space shuttle's fuel tank as it soars into Earth orbit on the belly of Atlantis and falls back again. |
| Space Weather | September 23: Aurora Season Begins - Autumn has arrived and that means it's time to watch out for Northern Lights. |
| Looking Up | September 20: Mystery Object Orbits Earth - A puzzling object just discovered in orbit around Earth might be an Apollo rocket on a fantastic journey through the solar system. |
| Chandra X-ray Observatory | September 19: A Shocking Space Movie - Astronomers have captured extraordinary footage of a Manhattan-sized star rotating and spewing antimatter jets into space. |
| The Cutting Edge | September 16: Super Spaceships - Imagine a "holistic spaceship" that behaves eerily alive--even telling you when it feels bad; that travels much faster and weighs much less than ordinary spacecraft; that scientists will design molecule-by-molecule. NASA researchers say it's not so far-fetched! |
| The Cutting Edge | September 13: Silicon Sidekicks - NASA's successful Sojouner Mars rover had the computing power of a cricket, more or less. Researchers say we'll have to do better than that if we're serious about exploring the solar system. This story describes the emerging new technologies of smart robots that will precede and later accompany human space travelers. |
| The Cutting Edge | September 09: Houston, are we there yet? - This month Science@NASA is publishing a series of stories about the technology of space exploration. Today's installment, the second, is about the engines that will propel our future spacecraft. |
| Earth Science | September 05: Muddy Waters - Is it safe to swim in your local lake? Are the fish from that lake good to eat?
Earth-orbiting satellites are plumbing the depths of muddy waters to find the answers. |
| The Cutting Edge | September 03: Space Power - This month Science@NASA will publish a series of stories about the technology of space exploration--and what advances in technology are needed to send human and robotic explorers across the solar system. Today's installment, "Space Power," is the first. |
| Subject | August Articles Date & Title |
|---|---|
| Looking Up | August 28: Space Station Supernova - Next week, sky watchers in many US cities can see the space station materialize in the morning sky just before sunrise. |
| Fundamental Physics | August 23: Amazing Magnetic Fluids - Astronauts onboard the International Space Station are studying strange fluids that might one day flow in the veins of robots and help buildings resist earthquakes. |
| Fundamental Physics | August 21: Floating Flame Balls - Flames do something odd in space: they form tiny almost-invisible balls that might reveal the secrets of combustion here on Earth. |
| The Moon | August 13: In Search of Moon Trees - Scattered around our planet are hundreds of creatures that have been to the Moon and back again. None of them are human. They outnumber active astronauts 3:1. And most are missing. |
| Mars Exploration | August 09: To Distill Some Water - This fact-filled science fiction tale, based on Jack London's "To Build a Fire," describes an astronaut's urgent search for something to drink on Mars. |
| Looking Up | August 07: Horseflies and Meteors - Like bugs streaking down the side window of a moving car, colorful Perseid Earthgrazers could put on a remarkable show before midnight on August 12th and 13th. |
| Subject | July Articles Date & Title |
|---|---|
| Looking Up | July 30: Look at that Asteroid - A big space rock will soon come so close to Earth that sky watchers can see it through binoculars. |
| Asteroids | July 26: Caveat Impactor - An asteroid with almost no chance of hitting Earth made big headlines this week. Are we really in danger? |
| Looking Up | July 24: More Spaceship Sightings - Beginning this week, the International Space Station will make a series of eye-catching passes over North America. |
| Looking Up | July 19: Summer Meteor Shower - The Perseid meteor shower peaks this year on Aug. 12th and 13th. The warmth of northern summer makes it one of the year's most inviting sky shows. |
| Fundamental Biology | July 16: Mossy Space Spirals - Samples of fire moss that travel onboard the space shuttle do something odd: they spiral. Scientists say it's a clue to the fundamental inner workings of plant cells. |
| Materials Science | July 11: The Physics of Sandcastles - An upcoming shuttle mission will carry small columns of sand into space -- and will return with valuable lessons for earthquake engineers, farmers and physicists. |
| Space Weather | July 08: Auroras Underfoot - A group of astronauts will never forget the day they flew right through a cloud of auroras while onboard the space shuttle Atlantis. |
| Astronomy | July 02: The Distant Sun - Earth reaches its greatest distance from the Sun (aphelion) during the 4th of July holiday weekend. Curiously, our planet is globally warmer when it is farther from the Sun. |
| Subject | June Articles Date & Title |
|---|---|
| Looking Up | June 24: Summer Moon Illusion - Summer is a good time to spot giant moons near the horizon. It's the season for the mysterious moon illusion. |
| Looking Up | June 21: Solstice Shadows - Shaquille O'Neal's stubby shadow is proof that our planet is tipped on its side--and summer has arrived. |
| Fundamental Biology | June 19: Curious Skeletons - Deep within the cells we're made of, squishy skeletons feel the effects of gravity ... and respond in unexpected ways. |
| New Planets | June 13: Extraterrestrial Jupiter - Today astronomers announced the discovery of more than a dozen new planets orbiting distant stars. One of those planetary systems looks curiously like our own. |
| International Space Station | June 12: Astronaut Fingers - A device just delivered to the ISS will add something important to space station research: the human touch. |
| International Space Station | June 11: Watch Out for Spaceships - This week is a good time to spot two spaceships flying over your backyard: the International Space Station and the space shuttle Endeavour. |
| Fundamental Physics | June 07: Shear Mystery - Some fluids have a mysterious property: one moment they're thick, the next they're thin. Physicists aim to find out why with the aid of an experiment in space. |
| Looking Up | June 03: Weird Sunset - On Monday, June 10th, the Moon will glide in front of the Sun as it sets over parts of North America. |
| Subject | May Articles Date & Title |
|---|---|
| Earth Science | May 29: Earthgazing, NASA-style - Earth scientists love it when astronauts peer through the space station's extraordinary Destiny Lab window. |
| Mars Exploration | May 28: Found it! Ice on Mars - Instruments on board NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft have revealed more underground ice on the Red Planet than scientists expected. |
| Looking Up | May 24: A Dazzling Duo - Stick out your index finger and hold it at arm's length. The width of your fingertip is how far apart Jupiter and Venus will be on June 3rd -- a remarkable close encounter between the two brightest planets. |
| International Space Station | May 17: Space Station Meteor Shower - "It looked like we were seeing UFOs approaching the earth flying in formation, three or four at a time," recalls astronaut Frank Culbertson. "There were hundreds per minute going beneath us, really spectacular!"
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| Fundamental Biology | May 15: Sowing Seeds in a Magnetic Field - Scientists hope that an unusual experiment slated for launch on the space shuttle this summer will reveal how plants know up from down. |
| Looking Up | May 10: The Truth about the 2002 Leonid Meteor Storm - Another Leonid meteor storm is due in 2002. Rumor has it that a full Moon will ruin the show ... but perhaps there's hope for a marvelous show, after all. |
| Looking Up | May 06: Venus Pillars and Dogs - If you look at Venus this month and something doesn't seem quite right, you may have spotted a rare Venus pillar ... or better yet, a Venusdog! |
| Climate Research | May 02: Modeling Climate at Warp Speed - Two new NASA technologies have squeezed 10 times more power out of some supercomputers. Climate scientists are putting the extra number-crunching muscle to good use. |
| Subject | April Articles Date & Title |
|---|---|
| Looking Up | April 30: Reed Rafts to Rockets - High school students are following in the wake of great explorers as they launch extraordinary rockets toward a new frontier. |
| Space Weather | April 25: Starshine 2 Return - A glittering satellite named Starshine 2 will disintegrate in Earth's atmosphere on April 26th. |
| Looking Up | April 24: Relax, it's only April - The five brightest planets are converging in the western sky for an eye-popping show in May 2002. |
| Earth Science | April 22: Clouds in the Greenhouse - As vexing as they are beautiful, clouds play an important role in Earth's planetary greenhouse. |
| Cosmology | April 19: Great Intergalactic Cobwebs - Astronomers using NASA's FUSE spacecraft have spotted vast clouds between galaxies that might permeate the early Universe like a tangled spider's web. |
| Earth Science | April 17: Rift Valley Fever - Scientists are learning that the key to predicting certain epidemics -- like Rift Valley fever in Africa or Hanta virus in the U.S. -- lies in an unexpected place: the ocean. |
| Looking Up | April 12: Earthshine - Northern spring is the best time to spot one of the loveliest sights in the heavens: Earthlight reflected from the Moon. |
| Earth Science | April 10: Hawaii's Wake - Scientists have discovered something nearly invisible that straddles the vast Pacific Ocean: Hawaii's surprising island wake. |
| Physics | April 08: Tick-Tock Atomic Clock - Scientists are building atomic clocks that keep time with mind-boggling precision. Such devices will help farmers, physicists, and interstellar travelers alike. |
| Asteroid Eros | April 05: Hitchhiker's Guide to an Asteroid - Learning what near-Earth asteroids are made of and how they're put together is simply prudent. NASA's NEAR spacecraft got a closer look at one when it landed on 433 Eros in 2001. |
| Materials Science | April 03: My Pet Neutron Star - Using a new form of matter called Bose-Einstein condensates, researchers are bringing astrophysics from deep space right into their laboratories. |
| Subject | March Articles Date & Title |
|---|---|
| Microgravity | March 29: Antibiotics from Space - Some bacteria riding on the space shuttle produce more antibiotics than they do on Earth. Researchers aren't sure why ... but they aim to find out. |
| Physics | March 27: Sit. Speak. Good Photon! - Researchers have trapped a laser pulse inside a glass chamber --and released it again intact. Such command of light could lead to mind-boggling new technologies. |
| Astronauts | March 25: When Space Makes You Dizzy - Astronauts returning to Earth sometimes feel light-headed. It's been a problem since the earliest days of human space exploration, but now doctors may have a solution. |
| Earth Science | March 22: Ice Continent on the Move - For the first time, radar satellites have mapped Antarctica, revealing a continent whose frozen cloak is in constant (and surprising) motion. |
| Materials Science | March 20: A New Form of Matter - Scientists have created a new kind of matter: It comes in waves and bridges the gap between the everyday world of humans and the micro-domain of quantum physics. |
| Astronauts | March 18: Gravity in the Brain - Playing catch looks easy, but there's more to it than meets the eye. A ball-catching experiment in space has revealed that human brains have a built-in model of gravity. |
| Earth Science | March 14: Unveiling Planet Ocean - NASA's GRACE mission will reveal some of what lies hidden beneath the surface of Earth's oceans by measuring tiny changes in gravity. |
| Mars Exploration | March 12: Once Upon a Water Planet - Today the Red Planet is dry and barren, but what about tomorrow? New data suggest that the long story of water on Mars isn't over yet. |
| Chandra X-ray Observatory | March 07: Puzzling X-rays from Jupiter - Astronomers using the Chandra X-ray Observatory have spotted a mysterious pulsing x-ray beacon near the north pole of the giant planet. |
| Earth Science | March 05: A Curious Pacific Wave - A massive swell of warm water is buffeting South America. Is it the first sign of a new El Niño -- or just another "Kelvin wave?" |
| Subject | February Articles Date & Title |
|---|---|
| Earth Science | February 28: Tractors, Satellites, and Pickup Trucks - The tools of agriculture are changing as growers experiment with new space-age techniques called "precision farming." |
| Looking Up | February 26: Big Moonshine - Not all full Moons are alike. This week's will be the brightest of 2002 -- but will anyone notice? |
| Black Holes | February 21: A Mystery in the Galactic Center - Astronomers have learned that the center of our Milky Way galaxy harbors a long-sought black hole. But the finding has raised even more questions than before. |
| Looking Up | February 19: Vanishing Saturn - The ringed planet will vanish behind Earth's moon on Wednesday, Feb. 20th. Some astronomers will be watching carefully for the faint glow of Saturn's "lost ring." |
| NASA Technology | February 14: Patches for a Broken Heart - Researchers using a space-age device called a bioreactor have grown patches of heart tissue that beat and respond much like a real human heart. |
| Planetary Astronomy | February 12: The Real Lord of the Rings - Four hundred years after they were discovered, Saturn's breath-taking rings remain a mystery |
| Cosmology | February 08: The First Starlight - By peering through a giant cosmic lens, scientists have found some of the first-born stars in our Universe. |
| Space Weather | February 06: The Biggest Explosions in the Solar System - NASA's HESSI spacecraft aims to unravel an explosive mystery: the origin of solar flares. |
| NASA Technology | February 01: Annihilating Anthrax - Research aimed at building better greenhouses in space has led to a device that attacks and destroys airborne pathogens -- like Anthrax. |
| Subject | January Articles Date & Title |
|---|---|
| Astrobiology | January 28: The Great Dying - 250 million years ago something unknown wiped out most life on our planet. Now scientists are finding buried clues to the mystery inside tiny capsules of cosmic gas. |
| Microgravity Research | January 23: Cell Wars - Immune cells vs. invaders: it's a war going on in every healthy human body. When the combatants travel to space, say NASA scientists, curious things happen... |
| Space Weather | January 18: The Resurgent Sun - Evidence is mounting that some solar cycles are doubled-peaked. The ongoing solar maximum may itself be a double -- and the second peak has arrived. |
| The Cutting Edge | January 15: Voyage of the Nano-Surgeons - NASA-funded scientists are crafting microscopic vessels that can venture into the human body and repair problems, one cell at a time. |
| Earth Science | January 15: Easing off the (Greenhouse) Gas - Greenhouse gases are still accumulating in Earth's atmosphere, but more slowly than before, say NASA-funded researchers. |
| Astrobiology | January 10: In Search of E.T.'s Breath - Astronomers are discovering new worlds outside our solar system at a dizzying pace. Do any of them harbor alien life? No one knows, yet... |
| Solar Power | January 08: The Edge of Sunshine - Solar energy is an abundant source of power for spacecraft navigating the inner solar system. But how far away from our star can photovoltaics work? |
| NASA Technology | January 03: Bionic Eyes - Using space technology, scientists have developed extraordinary ceramic photocells that could repair malfunctioning human eyes. |
