Archive for 2008

STS-119: A Final Station Power Up
December 30, 2008
News and Features STS-119: A Final Station Power Up

Discovery's STS-119 astronauts are in final training mode before the holidays. At NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston the crew is reviewing launch procedures, spacewalking techniques and undergoing medical exams.

Mars Rovers Near Five Years of Science and Discovery
December 30, 2008
News and Features Mars Rovers Near Five Years of Science and Discovery

NASA rovers Spirit and Opportunity may still have big achievements ahead as they approach the fifth anniversaries of their memorable landings on Mars.

Cyclone Billy
December 30, 2008
News and Features Cyclone Billy

Tropical Cyclone Billy moved off the coast of Western Australia on December 25, 2008. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite took this picture at 3:10 p.m. local time on December 25. Compared to earlier images, the storm appears more compact in this picture, and occurs almost entirely over the ocean.

Breckenridge and Copper Mountain Ski Slopes, Colorado
December 29, 2008
News and Features Breckenridge and Copper Mountain Ski Slopes, Colorado

Located in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, Tenmile Range and Copper Mountain are among the state’s meccas for winter sports. In this astronaut photo, the Breckenridge and Copper Mountain ski areas are clearly visible as the snow-covered ski runs stand out from the surrounding darker forest.

Astrobiology Top 10: Life is Lonely at the Center of the Earth
December 26, 2008
News and Features Astrobiology Top 10: Life is Lonely at the Center of the Earth

Astrobiology Magazine is looking back over 2008, highlighting the top 10 astrobiology stories of the year. At number 9 is the story of Desulforudis audaxviator, a bacterium that lives in total darkness. Scientists now have discovered it also lives in complete isolation. Almost all organisms on Earth live in interdependent communities, but the lonely D. audaxviator proves it's possible for life to go solo. (This story was originally published on October 11, 2008).

NASA's Gift to Mr. Claus
December 26, 2008
News and Features NASA's Gift to Mr. Claus

True story: NASA technology saves Claus from a disaster at sea! Christmas (and the sport of fishing) may never be the same.

Next NASA Moon Mission Completes Major Milestone
December 24, 2008
News and Features Next NASA Moon Mission Completes Major Milestone

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, has successfully completed thermal vacuum testing, which simulates the extreme hot, cold and airless conditions of space LRO will experience after launch. This milestone concludes the orbiter's environmental test program at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

'Suit Yourself' is Easier Said than Done
December 24, 2008
News and Features 'Suit Yourself' is Easier Said than Done

On launch day, a space shuttle astronaut's first challenge isn't handling the force of liftoff or adjusting to microgravity. It's getting into the bulky, bright-orange Advanced Crew Escape Suit (ACES) that provides each crew member a safe cocoon of pressure, breathable air and survival essentials during launch and landing.

Astrobiology Top 10: Ancient Footprints in the Salt
December 24, 2008
News and Features Astrobiology Top 10: Ancient Footprints in the Salt

Astrobiology Magazine is looking back over 2008, highlighting the top 10 astrobiology stories of the year. At number 10 is the discovery of ancient organism remnants preserved in salt crystals. The surprising finding could help astrobiologists search for signs of life on other planets. (This story was originally published on July 31, 2008).

What Can Swiss Cheese Teach us About Dark Energy?
December 23, 2008
News and Features What Can Swiss Cheese Teach us About Dark Energy?

About 10 years ago, scientists reached the astonishing conclusion that our universe is accelerating apart at ever-increasing speeds, stretching space and time itself like melted cheese.

Researcher Hopes to Put Fuel Cells on the Fast Track
December 23, 2008
News and Features Researcher Hopes to Put Fuel Cells on the Fast Track

The slow evolution of clean-energy solutions is about to kick into high gear, if Sossina M. Haile has anything to say about it. As a fuel cell researcher at the California Institute of Technology and a founding member of the company Superprotonic Inc., she hopes to make this “technology of the future” practical for today’s applications.

Missing Mars Mineral Materalizes
December 23, 2008
News and Features Missing Mars Mineral Materalizes

Researchers using NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have identified carbonate minerals on the martian surface, indicating that the planet had different types of watery environments in its past. The discovery has important implications in determining if Mars was once habitable.

Saturn's Crazy Christmas Tilt
December 23, 2008
News and Features Saturn's Crazy Christmas Tilt

The planet Saturn is doing something rare and beautiful this holiday season. Find out what in today's story from Science@NASA.

NASA Study Links Severe Storm Increases, Global Warming
December 22, 2008
News and Features NASA Study Links Severe Storm Increases, Global Warming

The frequency of extremely high clouds in Earth's tropics is increasing as a result of global warming.

Explore the Entire Region of the Sun's Influence
December 22, 2008
News and Features Explore the Entire Region of the Sun's Influence

Have you ever wondered how much data exist about the sun and how it affects the solar system and beyond? Data sets and images returned from NASA's cadre of space physics spacecraft, known collectively as the Heliophysics Great Observatory, now can be accessed through one convenient location at the Heliophysics Data Environment (HPDE) web site.

Enceladus Evolving
December 22, 2008
News and Features Enceladus Evolving

Cassini's most recent flyby of Saturn's moon Enceladus has provided more evidence that the moon is an active world. Jets of water vapor and ice have been seen erupting from Enceladus, and new data shows the moon may have Earth-like tectonics.

Spacewalk at International Space Station Tonight
December 22, 2008
News and Features Spacewalk at International Space Station Tonight

Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke and Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov are set to begin their excursion outside the station at about 7:15 p.m. EST.

Looking at LUCA
December 22, 2008
News and Features Looking at LUCA

Scientists may have characterized the common ancestor of all life on Earth, LUCA (Last Universal Common Ancestor). This 3.8-billion-year-old organism was not the creature usually imagined, and may change ideas about early life on Earth.

Life on Super-Earths
December 19, 2008
News and Features Life on Super-Earths

Astronomers are expanding the search for extraterrestrial life to include some very unearthly places. Their theory is that ice-covered super-Earths, which are plentiful in the Universe, could support some kinds of life.

Apollo 8: 40 Years Later
December 19, 2008
News and Features Apollo 8: 40 Years Later

In late 1968, NASA made a bold, improvisational call: It would change mission plans and send the Apollo 8 crew all the way to the moon without a lunar module … on the first manned flight of the massive Saturn V rocket.

NASA Instrument Inaugurates 3-D Moon Imaging
December 19, 2008
News and Features NASA Instrument Inaugurates 3-D Moon Imaging

Different wavelengths of light provide new information about the Orientale Basin region of the moon in a new composite image taken by NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper, a guest instrument aboard the Indian Space Research Organization's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft.

Insect Damage in British Columbia Forests
December 19, 2008
News and Features Insect Damage in British Columbia Forests

Beginning in the 1990s, British Columbia’s forests were increasingly plagued by a population explosion of mountain pine beetles. This beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae, destroyed large tracts of forest in the province. Such widespread forest loss affects more than just the scenery.

Sun Often "Tears Out A Wall" In Earth's Solar Storm Shield
December 18, 2008
News and Features Sun Often "Tears Out A Wall" In Earth's Solar Storm Shield

Earth's magnetic field, which shields our planet from particles streaming outward from the Sun, often develops two holes that allow the largest leaks, according to researchers sponsored by NASA and the National Science Foundation.

Some Planets are Better for Life
December 18, 2008
News and Features Some Planets are Better for Life

A new idea proposes that worlds with the potential to host organisms can be split into four categories, each with their own likelihood of being inhabited. With extrasolar planet detection methods becoming ever-more advanced, these ideas could influence which worlds are studied first.

Waves Crash on Europa
December 17, 2008
News and Features Waves Crash on Europa

New studies indicate that Europa may harbor a more dynamic ocean than previously believed beneath its icy exterior. The gravitational pull of Jupiter could be producing powerful waves in the ocean, which in turn could have implications on the habitability of the unique moon.

Dark Energy Found Stifling Growth in Universe
December 17, 2008
News and Features Dark Energy Found Stifling Growth in Universe

Galaxy clusters are the largest collapsed objects in the Universe and are ideal for studying the properties of dark energy, the mysterious form of repulsive gravity that is driving the accelerated expansion of the Universe.

Low Clouds over Central China
December 17, 2008
News and Features Low Clouds over Central China

Low clouds hug the ground, seeping into the valleys between the peaks surrounding central China’s Sichuan Basin in this photo-like image captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite on December 9, 2008.

Giant Breach in Earth's Magnetic Field Discovered
December 17, 2008
News and Features Giant Breach in Earth's Magnetic Field Discovered

NASA's five THEMIS spacecraft have discovered a breach in Earth's magnetic field ten times larger than anything previously thought to exist. The size of the opening and the strange way it forms could overturn long-held ideas of space physics.

Busy Mission Runs Astronauts Through Multiple Roles
December 17, 2008
News and Features Busy Mission Runs Astronauts Through Multiple Roles

The astronauts of STS-126 acted as craftsmen, mechanics, spacewalkers and, of course, astronauts during International Space Station mission.

Solar Flare Surprise
December 16, 2008
News and Features Solar Flare Surprise

A 2006 solar flare surprised scientists by behaving in unexpected ways.

New Satellite Data Reveal Impact of Olympic Pollution Controls
December 16, 2008
News and Features New Satellite Data Reveal Impact of Olympic Pollution Controls

China had clearer skies and easier breathing in mind in the summer of 2008 when they temporarily shuttered some factories and banished many cars in a pre-Olympic sprint to clean up Beijing's air.

Planets Form in the Eye of a Storm
December 16, 2008
News and Features Planets Form in the Eye of a Storm

New research shows that turbulence in protoplanetary disks plays a key role in the birth of planet. The finding may alter theories on how planets form from dust and debris around distant stars.

Mission Operations Readiness Review for NPOESS Preparatory Project Completed
December 16, 2008
News and Features Mission Operations Readiness Review for NPOESS Preparatory Project Completed

A comprehensive Mission Operations Readiness (MOR) review of the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP) was successfully completed last month. The largest review of the overall NPOESS configuration to date, the MOR focused specifically on the NPP's operational readiness and progress to launch.

Unmasking Europa
December 15, 2008
News and Features Unmasking Europa

We may not be able to judge a book by its cover, but hopefully we can judge a moon by its surface. A scientist who worked on the Galileo mission has written a new book about the scratched and splotchy surface of Europa.

2008 Atlantic Tropical Cyclone Rainfall
December 15, 2008
News and Features 2008 Atlantic Tropical Cyclone Rainfall

Hurricane, tropical storm and tropical depression rainfall caused many severe floods and numerous lost lives during the 2008 north Atlantic hurricane season. The north Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1st to November 30th.

Watching for Wobbles
December 15, 2008
News and Features Watching for Wobbles

New research may make it easier to detect habitable moons around distant, extrasolar planets. The new method not only identifies moons, but also allows scientists to determine their size and their distance from the host planet.

CO2 Found on Exoplanet
December 15, 2008
News and Features CO2 Found on Exoplanet

The Hubble Space Telescope has identified carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of an extrasolar planet. The discovery is an important step toward identifying habitable planets beyond our solar system.

NASA's Top Science, Exploration and Discovery Stories of 2008
December 15, 2008
News and Features NASA's Top Science, Exploration and Discovery Stories of 2008

NASA landed on Mars, photographed distant worlds, added to the International Space Station and made major progress toward returning astronauts to the moon as the agency celebrated its 50th birthday in 2008.

Follow the Elements
December 12, 2008
News and Features Follow the Elements

Life needs more than liquid water to survive. Organisms also need important chemical elements. Researchers are now studying the distribution of these elements on Earth to determine how they affect the distribution and evolution of life.

Drama in the Tarantula's Heart
December 12, 2008
News and Features Drama in the Tarantula's Heart

The Tarantula Nebula produces intense radiation and searing winds of multimillion-degree gas.

NASA Science on Display at American Geophysical Union Conference
December 12, 2008
News and Features NASA Science on Display at American Geophysical Union Conference

NASA researchers will present new findings on a wide range of Earth and space science topics during the 2008 fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union. The meeting runs from Monday, Dec. 15, through Friday, Dec. 19, at San Francisco's Moscone Convention Center at 747 Howard St.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Completes Prime Mission
December 12, 2008
News and Features Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Completes Prime Mission

Among other findings, the spacecraft has found signs of a complex Martian history of climate change that produced a diversity of past watery environments.

The Incredible Journey of the JWST
December 11, 2008
News and Features The Incredible Journey of the JWST

From humble beginnings in a Utah beryllium mine to the most advanced laboratories in the world, the mirrors of NASA's next great observatory are taking an incredible journey to space.

Oscillation Rules as the Pacific Cools
December 11, 2008
News and Features Oscillation Rules as the Pacific Cools

The latest image of sea-surface height measurements from the U.S./French Jason-1 oceanography satellite shows the Pacific Ocean remains locked in a strong, cool phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, a large, long-lived pattern of climate variability in the Pacific associated with a general cooling of Pacific waters. The image also confirms that El Niño and La Niña remain absent from the tropical Pacific.

Constant Comet Threat
December 11, 2008
News and Features Constant Comet Threat

Comet impacts have likely transformed life on Earth, but it is still a mystery how these icy bodies are put on a collision course with our planet. New research says that nearby stars and the galaxy as a whole are to blame.

Astronomers Find the Two Dimmest Stellar Bulbs
December 11, 2008
News and Features Astronomers Find the Two Dimmest Stellar Bulbs

It's a tie! The new record-holder for dimmest known star-like object in the universe goes to twin "failed" stars, or brown dwarfs, each of which shines feebly with only one millionth the light of our sun.

Orbit Determines Climate
December 10, 2008
News and Features Orbit Determines Climate

New research shows evidence of ancient climate change on Mars caused by variations in the planet's tilt relative to the sun. The findings may help scientists understand if Mars was habitable for life at some point in the planet's past.

James Webb Telescope Mirrors Chill Out
December 10, 2008
News and Features James Webb Telescope Mirrors Chill Out

The first of 18 mirror segments that will fly on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope arrived this week at the Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. to prepare it to meet the extreme temperatures it will encounter in space.

Biggest Full Moon of the Year
December 10, 2008
News and Features Biggest Full Moon of the Year

This Friday's full Moon is the biggest full Moon of the year. It is a 'perigee Moon' as much as 14% bigger and 30% brighter than lesser full Moons we've seen earlier in 2008.

Jump Like a Grasshopper
December 09, 2008
News and Features Jump Like a Grasshopper

A robot that can jump like a grasshopper and roll like a ball could play a key role in future space exploration. The robot can traverse complicated terrain and could be useful in studying planets like Mars.

What's in a Name? Global Warming vs. Climate Change
December 09, 2008
News and Features What's in a Name? Global Warming vs. Climate Change

When scientists or the media talk about global warming, climate change or global change, the terms are sometimes used interchangeably. What's the difference?

Rivers of Gas Flow Around Stars in New Space Image
December 09, 2008
News and Features Rivers of Gas Flow Around Stars in New Space Image

A new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows a turbulent star-forming region, where rivers of gas and stellar winds are eroding thickets of dusty material.

Hubble Finds Carbon Dioxide on an Extrasolar Planet
December 09, 2008
News and Features Hubble Finds Carbon Dioxide on an Extrasolar Planet

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has discovered carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting another star, an important breakthrough toward finding chemical evidence of extraterrestrial life.

Astronaut Sandra Magnus' International Space Station Journal
December 08, 2008
News and Features Astronaut Sandra Magnus' International Space Station Journal

Read firsthand accounts of her experiences on the ISS.

Deriba Caldera, Sudan
December 08, 2008
News and Features Deriba Caldera, Sudan

Deriba Caldera is a geologically young volcanic structure located at the top of the Marra Mountains of western Sudan.

Bilateral Bubble Bodies
December 08, 2008
News and Features Bilateral Bubble Bodies

A single-celled organism has been found leaving tracks on the ocean floor that look like those from larger, multicellular organisms. The finding is causing scientists to re-think the fossil record - and the timing of when complex, bilateral organisms developed.

How To Destroy an Asteroid
December 05, 2008
News and Features How To Destroy an Asteroid

Researchers are carefully observing asteroids in order to determine their composition - and the best way to protect the Earth from any that might be headed our way in the future.

Return of the Leonids
December 05, 2008
News and Features Return of the Leonids

Astronomers from NASA and Caltech are predicting a near-storm of Leonids in 2009 based on a surprising outburst of meteors just two weeks ago.

NASA Orbiter Finds Martian Rock Record With 10 Beats to the Bar
December 05, 2008
News and Features NASA Orbiter Finds Martian Rock Record With 10 Beats to the Bar

Climate cycles persisting for millions of years on ancient Mars left a record of rhythmic patterns in thick stacks of sedimentary rock layers, revealed in three-dimensional detail by a telescopic camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Next NASA Mars Mission Rescheduled for 2011
December 04, 2008
News and Features Next NASA Mars Mission Rescheduled for 2011

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory will launch two years later than previously planned. The 2009 launch date is no longer feasible feasible because of testing and hardware challenges that must be addressed.

Simulating Mars on Earth
December 04, 2008
News and Features Simulating Mars on Earth

By simulating conditions at and below the surface of Mars, experiments now suggest that bacterial life could exist below its sterile surface layer of soil.

A Celestial Snow Globe of Stars
December 04, 2008
News and Features A Celestial Snow Globe of Stars

Hubble has captured an instantaneous glimpse of many hundreds of thousands of stars moving about in the M13 globular cluster.

Scientists Have a New Scientific Tool for Hurricane Research On-Line at NASA
December 04, 2008
News and Features Scientists Have a New Scientific Tool for Hurricane Research On-Line at NASA

Scientists, students, and applications users seeking on-the-fly visualizations and analysis of hurricane-related satellite and model data can now get access to it via the NASA Hurricane Data Analysis tool on-line.

A Pinwheel in X-rays
December 03, 2008
News and Features A Pinwheel in X-rays

Chandra snaps one of the longest exposures ever obtained of a spiral galaxy -- in X-rays.

Giving Life a Hand
December 03, 2008
News and Features Giving Life a Hand

The basic molecules of life have a predetermined 'handedness', or chiraliy, that scientists have been unable to explain. New research shows that chirality may have been induced by irradiation as the molecules traveled through space before arriving on Earth.

Fall Colors in Pennsylvania
December 03, 2008
News and Features Fall Colors in Pennsylvania

Central Pennsylvania presents an ancient landscape, worn down by the grind of ice, water, wind, and time. The ridge lines of the Appalachian Mountain chain, once formidable, are now gentle folds rising over fertile valleys. Ice age glaciers shaped the land, smoothing out the mountains and depositing rich soil as the ice melted away.

This Month in Exploration - December
December 03, 2008
News and Features This Month in Exploration - December

Forty years ago the crew of Apollo 8 transmitted the first image of Earth from space. Read more historical facts in This Month in Exploration.

An Ocean on Enceladus
December 02, 2008
News and Features An Ocean on Enceladus

New data from Cassini supports the theory that Saturn's moon Enceladus has liquid water beneath its surface. Water is essential for life, and determining locations of liquid water is the first step in the search for life in our solar system.

Alluvial Fan in Southern Iran
December 02, 2008
News and Features Alluvial Fan in Southern Iran

Seasonally dry salt lakes and the traces of ephemeral streams occupy many of the valleys of the Zagros Mountains in southern Iran. Much of the time, the rivers and lakes are dry above ground, but subterranean water flows along the same pathways. Where these subterranean streams flow out of the mountains, the water table comes closer to the surface, and it is more readily accessible through wells.

Marco Polo and Meteorites
December 02, 2008
News and Features Marco Polo and Meteorites

In this podcast, Beda Hofmann explores the links between meteorites and astrobiology, and discusses Europe's proposed Marco Polo Mission to an asteroid.

Timing Tectonics
December 01, 2008
News and Features Timing Tectonics

Plate tectonics on Earth may have started much earlier than previously believed. An active Earth could have had profound implications for the origin of life.

Solar-Powered Slugs
December 01, 2008
News and Features Solar-Powered Slugs

Extreme Life The sea-slug, Elysia chlorotica, represents a unique step in the evolution of life. The slug appears to behave like a plant and can get energy from the sun. New research shows that the slug has genes needed for photosynthesis - but steals important cellular components from algae.

Endeavour Crew Returns After 'Home Improvement' In Orbit
December 01, 2008
News and Features Endeavour Crew Returns After 'Home Improvement' In Orbit

The STS-126 astronauts landed in California Sunday, after upgrading the International Space Station for larger future crews. Astronaut Greg Chamitoff is back on Earth after spending more than five months on the station.

Archive Summary