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NASA Orbiter Points to 'Dry Ice' Snowfall on Mars
09.11.12 -
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter data have given scientists the clearest evidence yet of carbon-dioxide snowfalls on Mars. This reveals the only known example of carbon-dioxide snow falling anywhere in our solar system.
Frozen carbon dioxide, better known as "dry ice," requires temperatures of about minus 193 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 125 Celsius), which is much colder than needed for freezing water. -
Researchers Look to Alien Soils for Heat Shield
09.13.12 -
An important test is coming up next week to see whether a heat shield made from the soil of the moon, Mars or an asteroid will stand up to the searing demands of a plunge through Earth's atmosphere. -
Kennedy's Challenge Still Guides NASA
09.12.12 -
On Sept. 12, 1962, President John F. Kennedy spoke at Rice University about his decision to send Americans to the moon. His famous declaration that the United States would forego easy options and choose to do things specifically "because they are hard" became the bedrock of NASA's foundation. -
Extreme Life Forms Might Survive on Exoplanets
09.11.12 -
Astronomers have discovered a veritable rogues' gallery of odd exoplanets -- from scorching hot worlds with molten surfaces to frigid ice balls.
And while the hunt continues for the elusive "blue dot" -- a planet with roughly the same characteristics as Earth -- new research reveals that life might actually be able to survive on some of the many exoplanetary oddballs that exist. -
Vesta in Dawn's Rear View Mirror
09.11.12 -
NASA's Dawn mission is releasing two parting views of the giant asteroid Vesta, using images that were among the last taken by the spacecraft as it departed its companion for the last year.
Dawn left Vesta on Sept. 4, 2012 PDT (Sept. 5, 2012 EDT). The spacecraft is using its ion propulsion system to travel to Ceres. It is expected to arrive in early 2015. -
A Canopy of Confidence: Orion’s Parachutes
09.07.12 -
Orion will be the most advanced spacecraft ever flown, and its parachutes have been designed with a return from exploration missions in mind.
The spacecraft will weigh more than 21,000 pounds as it descends through the air. Each of the main chutes only weighs 300 pounds, so it is quite a feat of engineering that they are able to catch the heavy weight of the spacecraft underneath them. -
Global Hawk Mission Flies to Hurricane Leslie
09.07.12 -
NASA has begun its latest hurricane science field campaign by flying an unmanned Global Hawk aircraft over Hurricane Leslie in the Atlantic Ocean during a day-long flight from California to Virginia. With the Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) mission, NASA for the first time will be flying Global Hawks from the U.S. East Coast. -
Hurricane Season 2012: Michael
09.10.12 -
NASA satellites have provided visible, infrared and microwave imagery of Hurricane Michael as it tracks north in the eastern Atlantic. A stunning visible image of Hurricane Michael was taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite on Sept. 6 at 12:20 p.m. EDT. -
'Mighty Eagle' Robotic Prototype Lander Aces Exam
09.06.12 -
Completing this round of flight test objectives, the "Mighty Eagle," a NASA robotic prototype lander, flew to an altitude of 100 feet and descended gently to a controlled landing during a successful free flight Sept. 5 at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
Guided by autonomous rendezvous and capture software, the vehicle located an on-the-ground target using its onboard camera and flew to it. -
Dawn Departs the Giant Asteroid Vesta
09.06.12 -
Mission controllers received confirmation on Sept. 5 that NASA's Dawn spacecraft has escaped from the gentle gravitational grip of the giant asteroid Vesta.
Communications from the spacecraft via NASA's Deep Space Network confirmed the departure and that the spacecraft is now traveling toward Ceres.
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