March 09, 2010
Mars Express | Phobos flyby success
Mars Express encountered Phobos last night, smoothly skimming past at just 67 km, the closest any manmade object has ever approached Mars’ enigmatic moon. The data collected could help unlock the origin of not just Phobos but other ‘second generation’ moons.
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March 09, 2010
Goldstone | Historic Deep Space Network Antenna Starts Major Surgery
Like a hard-driving athlete whose joints need help, the giant "Mars antenna" at NASA's Deep Space Network site in Goldstone, Calif. has begun major, delicate surgery. The operation on the historic 70-meter-wide (230-foot) antenna, which has received data and sent commands to deep space missions for over 40 years, will replace a portion of the hydrostatic bearing assembly. This assembly enables the antenna to rotate horizontally. Read the full article |
March 09, 2010
herschel | Herschel-HIFI Unveils Precursors of Life-Enabling Molecules in Orion Nebula
The Herschel Space Observatory has revealed the chemical fingerprints of potential life-enabling organic molecules in the Orion Nebula, a nearby stellar nursery in our Milky Way galaxy. The European Space Agency leads the Herschel mission with important participation from NASA.
This detailed-spectrum, obtained with the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared (HIFI) - one of Herschel's three innovative instruments - demonstrates the gold mine of information that Herschel-HIFI will provide on how organic molecules form in space.
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March 08, 2010
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter | Mars Dunes: On the Move?
New studies of ripples and dunes shaped by the winds on Mars testify to variability on that planet, identifying at least one place where ripples are actively migrating and another where the ripples have been stationary for 100,000 years or more.
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March 05, 2010
Cassini | Is That Saturn's Moon Titan or Utah?
Planetary scientists have been puzzling for years over the honeycomb patterns and flat valleys with squiggly edges evident in radar images of Saturn's moon Titan. Now, working with a "volunteer researcher" who has put his own spin on data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, they have found some recognizable analogies to a type of spectacular terrain on Earth known as karst topography. A poster session today, Thursday, March 4, at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in The Woodlands, Texas, displays their work. Read the full article |
March 05, 2010
GOES | Newest NOAA Geostationary Satellite Reaches Orbit
NOAA and NASA officials announced a new Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), launched tonight, successfully reached its initial orbit, joining four other GOES spacecraft that help NOAA forecasters track life-threatening weather and solar activity.
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March 04, 2010
Change 2
 | China plans to launch second lunar probe in October - Launch Of Docking Module For Next Manned Mission Delayed
China plans to launch the Chang'e-2, the country's second lunar probe, in October this year, an expert said Thursday Read the full article |
March 04, 2010
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter | NASA Mars Orbiter Speeds Past Data Milestone
NASA's newest Mars orbiter, completing its fourth year at the Red Planet next week, has just passed a data-volume milestone unimaginable a generation ago and still difficult to fathom: 100 terabits. That 100 trillion bits of information is more data than in 35 hours of uncompressed high-definition video. It's also more than three times the amount of data from all other deep-space missions combined -- not just the ones to Mars, but every mission that has flown past the orbit of Earth's moon.
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March 03, 2010
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter | Radar Map of Buried Martian Ice Adds to Climate Record
Extensive radar mapping of the middle-latitude region of northern Mars shows that thick masses of buried ice are quite common beneath protective coverings of rubble.
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March 02, 2010
Mars Express | Mars Express heading for closest flyby of Phobos
ESA’s Mars Express will skim the surface of Mars’ largest moon Phobos on Wednesday evening. Passing by at an altitude of 67 km, precise radio tracking will allow researchers to peer inside the mysterious moon.
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