NASA Phoenix Mission Ready for Mars Landing
NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is preparing to end its long journey and begin a three-month mission to taste and sniff fistfuls of Martian soil and buried ice. The lander is scheduled to touch down on the Red Planet May 25. (NASA)
New Water Reclamation System Headed for Duty on Space Station
International Space Station crews soon will have a new water reclamation system that will recycle wastewater, allowing up to six crew members to live aboard the orbiting laboratory. (NASA)
Astronomers discover missing matter
Astronomers have found a piece of the universe's puzzle that's been missing for awhile: a type of extremely hot, dense matter that is all but invisible to us. (msnbc.com)
Scientists endure Arctic for last campaign prior to CryoSat-2 launch
An international group of scientists has swapped their comfortable offices for one of the most inhospitable environments on the planet to carry out a challenging field campaign that is seen as the key to ensuring the data delivered by ESA's ice mission CryoSat will be as accurate as possible. (ESA)
Private space station prototype hits milestone
A prototype module for a private space station has passed an orbital milestone after completing its 10,000th trip around the Earth. (msnbc.com)
Are the rovers cut out to detect alien life?
Scientists at the University of Leicester find that the more instruments a robotic explorer uses, the better it is at finding signs of life. (msnbc.com)
Joint ESA/NASA team wins international award
The Ulysses mission operations team has won an international award in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the success and scientific productivity of the joint ESA/NASA observatory mission, now orbiting the poles of the Sun. (ESA)
GIOVE-B transmitting its first signals
PR 26-2008 Following a successful launch on 27 April, GIOVE-B began transmitting navigation signals today. This is a truly historic step for satellite navigation since GIOVE-B is now, for the first time, transmitting the GPS-Galileo common signal using a specific optimised waveform, MBOC (multiplexed binary offset carrier), in accordance with the agreement drawn up in July 2007 by the EU and the US for their respective systems, Galileo and the future GPS III. (ESA)
When E.T. phoned home, where did he call?
Where might extraterrestrial life lurk? Check out eight of the most promising prospects, ranging from Mars to distant stars. (msnbc.com)
XMM-Newton discovers part of missing matter in the universe
ESA’s orbiting X-ray observatory XMM-Newton has been used by a team of international astronomers to uncover part of the missing matter in the universe. (ESA)
ESA contributes to ocean carbon cycle research
The Earth’s oceans play a vital role in the carbon cycle, making it imperative that we understand marine biological activity enough to predict how our planet will react to the extra 25 000 million tonnes of carbon dioxide humans are pumping into the atmosphere annually. (ESA)
Black hole rips apart screaming star
Astronomers on Earth have picked up a faint call from a black hole as it rips apart a screaming star and are using it to map the nucleus of the galaxy from which it emanated. (msnbc.com)
Shuttle astronauts ready for launch practice
The seven shuttle astronauts preparing to rocket toward the international space station with a new Japanese laboratory this month arrived at NASA's Florida spaceport Tuesday for launch day practice. (msnbc.com)
Asteroid impact coated Earth in beads
The asteroid linked to dinosaurs' demise 65 million years ago slammed into the Yucatan Peninsula with such force it pulverized Earth's crust. The result was a veil of airborne carbon beads that blanketed the planet, a new study finds. (msnbc.com)
Relive NASA’s glory days in glorious HD
More than 100 hours of classic footage from NASA's Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space missions have been restored for high-definition television — and will be made available to the world through the space agency's archives. (msnbc.com)
Jupiter's ring oddities 'made in the shade'
Jupiter has a thin set of nearly imperceptible rings with features that have long puzzled scientists. A new study reveals how light and shadow are at work there. (msnbc.com)
Space shuttle takes its place on the pad
The shuttle Discovery reached its launch pad on Saturday, in preparation for a May 31 liftoff to add the main piece of a huge Japanese research complex to the international space station. (msnbc.com)
Watch the moon cover up a beehive
Astronomers say the moon's disk is due to pass through a dim star cluster known as the Beehive on Saturday, making for a nice sky show if skies are clear and dark. (msnbc.com)
Video: Video: 'Rocket science' takes off in Texas school
May 2: Making a Difference: How one high school science teacher used hands-on experiments to make math and physics the coolest subjects at his school. NBC's Tom Costello reports. (Nightly News) (msnbc.com)
Euronews looks at : Water and the Universe.
Water, water everywhere - a vital resource that is a defining feature of our planet.
But how much do we really understand about the water around us - where does the water on Earth come from, where do you find water in space and what role does it play? (ESA)