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| Subject | December Articles Date & Title |
|---|---|
| Origins | December 31:  The World in a Grain of Stardust - On January 2, 2004, NASA's Stardust spacecraft will fly through a comet and collect samples of dust for return to Earth. |
| Mars Exploration | December 30: Destination: Gusev Crater - On January 3, 2004, NASA's Mars rover Spirit is scheduled to land in a strange crater that might be an ancient martian lake bed. |
| Earth Science | December 29: Earth's Inconstant Magnetic Field - Our planet's magnetic field is in a constant state of change, say researchers who are beginning to understand how it behaves and why. |
| Mars Exploration | December 17: Christmas Day Mars Landing - In search of alien life, the European Space Agency's Beagle 2 probe will parachute to the surface of Mars on Dec. 25th. |
| Looking Up | December 12: Saturn Rings in the New Year - Earth is approaching Saturn for our closest encounter with the ringed planet in decades. The best time to look: when the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve. |
| Looking Up | December 09: Christmas Sunset - Look west as night falls on Dec. 25th for a lovely pairing of brilliant Venus and the crescent moon. |
| Space Weather | December 05: Dixieland Auroras - On Nov. 20, 2003, a modest solar explosion sparked auroras in some unusual places. |
| Mars Exploration | December 03: Membranes on Mars - Thin membranes developed by NASA-funded researchers could help people go to Mars--and clean the air here on Earth. |
| Space Weather | December 03: Cracks in Earth's Magnetic Shield - California-sized cracks in our planet's magnetic field can remain open for hours, allowing the solar wind to gush through and power stormy space weather. |
| International Space Station | December 01: Space: A bad influence on microbes? - At least one common disease-causing microbe becomes more virulent in simulated microgravity. Scientists studying this phenomenon hope to gain a better understanding of infectious disease. |
| Subject | November Articles Date & Title |
|---|---|
| Space Weather | November 12: The Sun Goes Haywire - Solar maximum is years past, yet the sun has been remarkably active lately. Is the sunspot cycle broken? |
| Space Station | November 10: Houston, We Have a Solution - New research aboard the space station aims to adapt a tried-and-true repair tool to weightlessness. |
| Looking Up | November 04: Lunar Eclipse - On Saturday, Nov. 8th, the full moon will glide through our planet's shadow and turn a delightful shade of sunset-red. |
| Subject | October Articles Date & Title |
|---|---|
| Asteroids | October 31: The Curious Tale of Asteroid Hermes - Asteroid Hermes has a knack for flying past Earth without anyone noticing. It's approaching our planet again this week, but this time we know it's coming. |
| Lightning | October 30: The Hidden Life of Thunderstorms - NASA scientists are using unmanned aircraft to explore the invisible electric and magnetic fields of thunderstorms. What they discover might help unravel a mystery about the charge on our planet. |
| Space Weather | October 23: Solar Superstorm - Scientists are beginning to understand a historic solar storm in 1859. One day, they say, it could happen again. |
| Looking Up | October 20: Two Magical Mornings - Before dawn on Tuesday, Oct. 21st, and Wednesday, Oct. 22nd, sky watchers can see two bright planets, the crescent moon and a meteor shower. |
| International Space Station | October 16: Liquids on Pause - Upcoming experiments planned for the International Space Station will help engineers on Earth learn to handle undercooled fluids. |
| Looking Up | October 10: The 2003 Leonid Meteor Shower - An unusual double Leonid meteor shower is going to peak next month over parts of Asia and North America. |
| Fundamental Biology | October 07: DNA Biosentinels - A NASA-supported researcher is learning how to snag strands of DNA and examine them one by one under a microscope. |
| Astrobiology | October 02: The Goldilocks Zone - Researchers are finding that life can thrive in some unexpected places on Earth--and perhaps elsewhere in the Universe, too. |
| Subject | September Articles Date & Title |
|---|---|
| Space Station | September 25: Space Station Ingenuity - Researchers have dreamed up some ingenious experiments using odds and ends onboard the International Space Station. |
| Earth Science | September 18: Hurricane Isabel: The View from Space - High above Earth, NASA satellites have taken some remarkable pictures of Hurricane Isabel's landfall. |
| Looking Up | September 17: Sick of Mars? Try Saturn - Seen enough of Mars? There are some alternatives: Saturn is fast becoming an eye-catching sight in the morning sky, and Jupiter's not bad either. |
| X-ray Astronomy | September 12: Solar Flares on Steroids - Solar flares that scorch Earth's atmosphere are commonplace. But scientists have discovered a few each year that are not like the others: they come from stars thousands of light years away. |
| Chandra X-ray Observatory | September 09: Black Hole Sound Waves - Sound waves 57 octaves lower than middle-C are rippling away from a supermassive black hole in the Perseus cluster. |
| Mars 2003 | September 08: The Planet that Won't Go Away - Mars' closest approach to Earth was on August 27th--but the red planet is even easier to see now. |
| International Space Station | September 04: Space Station Music - A surprising number of astronauts are also musicians--and they love to play in space. "Music makes it seem less like a space ship, and more like a home," says astronaut Carl Walz. |
| Subject | August Articles Date & Title |
|---|---|
| Mars 2003 | August 25: Close Encounters with Mars - This week Earth makes its nearest approach to Mars in almost 60,000 years. Everyone on our planet will be close to Mars--but somewhere, someone will be the closest of all. Where? |
| Mars Exploration | August 20: Harvesting Mars - A NASA-supported scientist is learning how to use carbon dioxide--the main gas in Mars' atmosphere--to harvest rocket fuel and water from the red planet. |
| Chandra X-ray Observatory | August 18: X-rays from Earth - Later this year, astronomers plan to use NASA's powerful Chandra x-ray telescope to look at something they've never seen before: our own planet. |
| Earth Science | August 11: Anticipating Earthquakes - High above Earth where seismic waves never reach, satellites may be able to detect earthquakes--before they strike. |
| Mars 2003 | August 07: Mars is Melting - It's not every day you get to watch a planetary ice cap melt, but this month you can. All you need are clear skies, a backyard telescope, and a sky map leading to Mars. |
| Subject | July Articles Date & Title |
|---|---|
| Life in the Universe | July 30: A New Form of Life - NASA scientists have discovered a new extreme-loving microorganism in California's exotic Mono Lake. |
| Materials Science | July 25: Guiding Light - A new kind of glass pane containing liquid crystal droplets might have applications ranging from improving the Internet to discovering new planets. |
| Looking Up | July 17: The 2003 Perseid Meteor Shower - Earthgrazing meteors. The Moon and Mars. The dependable Perseids. It all happens on August 12th and 13th. Mark your calendar and don't miss the show. |
| Extra-solar Planets | July 10: Ancient Planet - Some 13 billion years ago in a distant cluster of stars, a planet formed. Remarkably it's still there, according to astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope. |
| Mars 2003 | July 09: Mars Dust - On July 1st a bright dust cloud spilled out of Hellas Basin, a giant impact crater on Mars' southern hemisphere, and quickly grew large enough to see from Earth. Amateur astronomers have been tracking the cloud ever since.
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| Materials Science | July 07: Trouble with Lifshitz, Slyozov, and Wagner - A physics theory used to create cutting-edge "designer materials" doesn't work as scientists expect. A new experiment planned for the International Space Station could reveal why. |
| Looking Up | July 02: Harry Potter and the Moons of Jupiter - Blistering-hot volcanoes that belch snow. Moons bigger than planets. Icy worlds with vast underground oceans. All of these things can be found in the latest Harry Potter novel. And according to NASA space probes, they're all real. This week you can see them yourself in the evening sky. |
| Science Education | July 01: Check out NASA at your Library - Would you like to fly to the space station? Take a shower in microgravity? See Earth from Earth-orbit? If you answered "yes" to any of those questions, then you might want to check out something new at local libraries. |
| Subject | June Articles Date & Title |
|---|---|
| Looking Up | June 27: Uncharted Meteors - The solar system is littered with clouds of dust--some of them uncharted. Earth might encounter one such cloud this Friday, June 27th. |
| Looking Up | June 20: Night Clouds - A series of upcoming rocket launches will create glowing-white nighttime clouds visible from the eastern seaboard of the United States. |
| Mars 2003 | June 18: Approaching Mars - Amateur astronomers report that the red planet is now so close, you can see its south polar cap through a backyard telescope. |
| International Space Station | June 09: The Strange Physics of Foam - What's made mostly of gas, a dash of liquid, and acts like a springy solid? Foams. Foams are so common we seldom appreciate how strange they are. Scientists are designing an experiment for the International Space Station to investigate the puzzling physics of these everyday substances. |
| Subject | May Articles Date & Title |
|---|---|
| Space Weather | May 30: Solar Eclipse - Sky watchers in Europe, Asia, and parts of Alaska and Canada will experience a partial eclipse of the Sun on Saturday, May 31st. |
| Fundamental Biology | May 29: Artificial Cells - NASA-supported researchers are learning to make designer cells for dehydrated blood supplies and space-age medicines. |
| Mars Exploration | May 22: Pictures of Earth from Mars - NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft turned away from Mars for a while on May 8th and took a unique picture of Earth from Mars-orbit. |
| Earth Science | May 16: Mesoamerica Burning - With help from NASA scientists and satellites, Central American governments are piecing together a "bio-corridor" of protected lands stretching from Mexico to South America. They hope the gigantic preserve will help their people and the environment flourish together. |
| Looking Up | May 12: Lunar Eclipse - Later this week, millions of sky watchers can step outside and see the first lunar eclipse of 2003. |
| Mars Exploration | May 02: Instant Glider--Just Add Light. - This weekend university students will test an innovative concept for Mars exploration when they loft a glider with inflatable wings to the edge of space 100,000 ft above Earth. |
| Subject | April Articles Date & Title |
|---|---|
| Space Weather | April 22: A Star with Two North Poles - Using a supercomputer and data from NASA's Ulysses spacecraft, scientists are beginning to understand a curious event two years ago when the Sun sprouted two north poles. |
| NASA Technology | April 17: Rocks in your Gas Tank - Experiments onboard the International Space Station could accelerate the drive toward a hydrogen-based economy. |
| Materials Science | April 14: Wonder-glass from Space - Glass made of metal. Glass so clear that fibers thousands of miles long would be transparent. Glass that travels through the body to destroy cancer. These are some of the wonderous types of glass than can be formed in the weightlessness of space. |
| Gamma-ray Bursts | April 10: It's a Supernova! - On March 29, 2003, in the constellation Leo, something exploded--bright enough to see through small telescopes in brightly-lit cities. Astronomers say it provides the long-sought link between supernovas and mysterious gamma ray bursts.
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| Fundamental Physics | April 02: Robot Blood - This week astronauts onboard the International Space Station are studying strange magnetic fluids that might one day flow in the veins of robots and help buildings resist earthquakes.
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| Subject | March Articles Date & Title |
|---|---|
| NASA Technology | March 26: Evil-doers beware! Space scientists are on the case... - NASA scientists have invented a new video technology that helps police track down criminals. |
| International Space Station | March 24: Space Station Astrophotography - Irregular galaxies, glittering cities, and auroras so close you can reach out and touch them ... almost. These are some of the things NASA astronauts have been photographing from the International Space Station.
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| Science Education | March 21: Eggs in a Rocket - The first-ever national high school rocketry competition will send dozens of eggs hurtling into the air. |
| NASA Technology | March 18: Cool Fuel Cells - Fuel cells promise to be the environmentally-friendly power source of the future, but some types run too hot to be practical. NASA-funded research may have a solution. |
| Earth Science | March 14: A Quirky El Niño - The ongoing El Niño climate disturbance has a unusual personality. It's weak where it should be strong, warm where it should be cold. And now it seems about to end earlier than expected. |
| Jupiter | March 12: The Great Dark Spot - For more than a century, astronomers thought the Great Red Spot was the biggest thing on Jupiter. But cameras onboard the Cassini spacecraft have revealed something at least as large: the Great Dark Spot. |
| Chandra X-ray Observatory | March 04: The Cosmos is the Classroom - How do you teach young kids the wonders of physics? At an upcoming NASA-sponsored workshop, science teachers will learn to use real data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory to inspire students in their own classrooms. |
| Subject | February Articles Date & Title |
|---|---|
| Comets & Meteors | February 28: A Rare Meteor Shower - Earth is approaching a cometary debris stream that might trigger an unusual Antarctic meteor shower this weekend. |
| International Space Station | February 25: Saturday Morning Science - "Quite by accident, we have made a most surprising observation," reports Don Pettit, the science officer of the International Space Station. |
| Mars Exploration | February 19: Snow Gullies on Mars - NASA spacecraft may have finally found the mysterious source of gullies on Mars: melting snow. |
| International Space Station | February 18: Strange Clouds - Astronauts onboard the International Space Station have been observing strange electric-blue clouds hovering near the edge of space. |
| Cosmology | February 11: The Oldest Light in the Universe - A NASA satellite has captured the sharpest-ever picture of the big bang's afterglow. |
| Life Science | February 07: The Pull of Hypergravity - By spinning people in a giant centrifuge for 22 hours at a time, a NASA researcher is learning more about the strange effects of artificial gravity on humans. |
| Materials Science | February 05: Living up to the Hype: Superconductors - NASA research is unlocking the amazing potential of high-temperature superconductors. |
| Subject | January Articles Date & Title |
|---|---|
| Fundamental Physics | January 31: A Flame Ball Named Kelly - Onboard the space shuttle Columbia (STS-107), experimental flame balls have been doing some strange and wonderful things--e.g., flying in corkscrew patterns and beating like human hearts. |
| Space Transportation | January 29: Candlestick Rocket Ship - Forget antimatter and di-lithium crystals. The next hot rocket fuel is candle wax! |
| Looking Up | January 27: Look at that Spaceship - The space shuttle Columbia (STS-107) will make a lovely series of morning passes over the United States this week. |
| Space Shuttle | January 24: The G's in the Machine - Zero-g is a myth. Even in orbit, spacecraft experience tiny accelerations called "microgravity" that scientists monitor using a device named SAMS. |
| Looking Up | January 21: The Hour of the Planets - Dashing out the door to work or school? Pause for a moment and look up. There are two dazzling planets in the morning sky. |
| Climate Research | January 17: The Inconstant Sun - If you thought the sun was an unwavering beacon, you're wrong. An experiment called SOLCON on board shuttle mission STS-107 is monitoring the sun's brightness high above Earth's cloudy atmosphere. Researchers say it's crucial data for studies of climate change. |
| Space Shuttle | January 16: Science that can't be done on Earth - This morning the space shuttle Columbia left Earth on an extraordinary mission--to study flames that form balls and flit around like UFOs, to collect exotic scents from space-traveling flowers, to reveal the inner workings of the human brain. And much more! |
| International Space Station | January 10: Weekend Movie Guide, NASA-style - Science@NASA presents a review of the IMAX movie Space Station 3D. It's the next best thing to space flight. |
| Space Weather | January 08: Solar Spitwads - Using data from the Ulysses spacecraft, researchers have discovered that high-energy particles from the Sun sometimes go in unexpected directions. |
| Astrophysics | January 06: near-Earth Supernovas - A new NASA mission named "CHIPS" will soon leave Earth to study the remains of some uncomfortably close supernova explosions. |
