Recently in the Space Category


May 15, 2013 5:35 PM |

Malfunction Could Mark the End of NASA's Kepler Mission

Planet-hunting spacecraft has lost pointing ability
April 8, 2013 1:55 PM |

NASA Picks Next Exoplanet Mission for Launch in 2017

Space agency also picks neutron star instrument to fly on space station
April 1, 2013 2:35 PM |

Forest-Measuring Orbiter Picked for Future European Earth Science Mission

Biomass spacecraft will use radar to calculate forest biomass and carbon cycling
March 5, 2013 4:25 PM |

U.S. Congressman Asks NASA to Disinvite Chinese Participants From Upcoming Meeting

Representative Frank Wolf claims NASA is violating 2011 law
December 5, 2012 1:05 PM |

NASA Needs 'National Consensus' on Mission, Report Concludes

Meanwhile, space agency announces it will send new rover to Mars in 2020
November 21, 2012 2:10 PM |

Europe Puts New Rocket, Trip to Mars on Its To-Do List

Ministers agree on €10.1 billion in new priorities for the European Space Agency
November 9, 2012 3:45 PM |

U.K. Finance Chief Launches New Money Into Space

Britain adds £60 million to its annual space budget, but still trails other European nations
September 25, 2012 6:10 PM |

Panel Gives NASA Options for How to Bring Back Pieces of Mars

Report adds its voice to calls for a sample return mission
September 24, 2012 4:18 PM |

House Republicans Propose New Board to Oversee NASA

Legislators take swipe at Obama's space policies with restructuring plan
August 21, 2012 1:15 PM |

Qualms About India's Plan for a 2013 Mars Mission

It’s extravagant, hurried, and ill-planned, some say
August 13, 2012 5:30 PM |

Obama Wants the News From Mars ASAP

President congratulates JPL scientists who built the Curiosity rover
July 24, 2012 4:10 PM |

Sally Ride, First American Woman to Fly in Space, Dies

Astrophysicist was also involved in research, education, and arms control
June 4, 2012 4:56 PM |

Spy Telescopes Could Advance U.S. Dark Energy Mission

NASA hopes to repurpose the instruments to study dark energy, extrasolar planets, and a host of other questions in astronomy
May 22, 2012 5:22 PM |

Space Policy Is a Hard Sell, Says Holdren

Obama’s science adviser says ignoring nuances gives critics the edge
April 23, 2012 12:53 PM |

Researchers Unable to Revive Europe's Envisat

World's largest civilian satellite silent since early April
April 18, 2012 4:15 PM |

Senator Asks NASA About Alleged Disclosure of Sensitive Information

Letter raises questions about possible violations at Ames Research Center
April 18, 2012 1:18 PM |

House Panel Wants NASA to Plan Mars Sample Return

Mission to Jupiter moon would be next in line
April 17, 2012 5:40 PM |

Senate Bill Good News for NASA Mars Missions

$5 billion mark above Obama Administration's request
March 26, 2012 5:39 PM |

Update: No Second Life, After All

Engineers bring down Russian satellite some had hoped to save for Antarctic communications
February 15, 2012 3:11 PM |

Swiss Want to Build a Satellite That Removes Space Litter

Space researchers in Switzerland are seeking funding to build a spacecraft that will home in on a redundant satellite, grab it, and drag it down to burn up when...
February 13, 2012 5:41 PM |

Failure to Launch: Mars Missions Sidelined in New NASA Budget Proposal

The not-so-bad news in the president's 2013 budget proposal for NASA is that his request for $17.71 billion is only marginally less than what the agency got in 2012,...
February 13, 2012 11:55 AM |

A Big Step for Europe's Small Space Launcher

Today's inaugural flight of Europe's Vega rocket went off without a hitch as European Space Agency mission VV01 lit up the early morning sky above the Kourou spaceport in...
February 9, 2012 1:50 PM |

Ed Weiler Says He Quit NASA Over Cuts to Mars Program

Next week, President Barack Obama will propose a $300 million cut in NASA's planetary science programs as part of his 2013 request for the agency, ScienceInsider has learned. If...
February 7, 2012 4:40 PM |

Europe and Russia Plan Trips to Mars—But Maybe Without NASA

The European Space Agency (ESA) and its Russian counterpart, Roscosmos, are making plans to carry out the international ExoMars exploration program without help from one of the project's original...
September 14, 2011 2:23 PM |

Heavy Lifting at NASA Yields a Rocket Design, But No Price Tag

Eighteen months after President Barack Obama announced the Administration's new plan for space exploration, NASA has selected a design for an essential component—the new Space Launch System—a powerful, heavy...
July 21, 2011 11:32 AM |

Decades Late, Russian Space Telescope Finally Launched

Russian space science got a long overdue shot in the arm this week with the launch of Spektr-R, a radioastronomy satellite that was originally designed in 1982 but whose...
July 6, 2011 3:51 PM |

House Spending Panel Wants to Kill Webb Telescope

A draft bill before a spending panel in the U.S. House of Representatives would eliminate funding for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a flagship instrument that NASA wants...
July 1, 2011 1:31 PM |

Scientists Reconnect With Cluster Mission

Europe's Cluster mission is back in the fold after controllers fixed a glitch that would have seriously curtailed its ability to do science. Cluster is comprised of four identical...
May 25, 2011 5:39 PM |

NASA Aims to Grab Asteroid Dirt in 2020

Today NASA announced the next medium-class science mission to explore the solar system. The winner of a three-way competition is a mouthful: Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith...
May 25, 2011 9:40 AM |

Mars Spirit Rover, 2004-2011

NASA has ended efforts to re-establish contact with its Spirit rover. Nothing had been heard from it since 22 March 2010, when the feisty rover beamed a last transmission...
May 20, 2011 4:23 PM |

Chinese Journalists Barred From Shuttle Launch

Chinese journalists were denied access to this week's space shuttle launch in what is believed to be the first application of a congressional ban on interactions between NASA and...
April 13, 2011 2:06 PM |

Tomorrow on ScienceLive: 50 Years in Space

Tune in tomorrow for the inaugural running of ScienceLive, our new weekly 1-hour live chat where the hottest topics in science get discussed by the top experts, with Science...
April 12, 2011 2:22 PM |

NASA Science Budget Holds Steady

In Congressional hearings over the past few weeks, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden has warned lawmakers that the space agency would have to scale back its plans for exploration and...
April 4, 2011 4:34 PM |

International Mega-Telescope Project Gears Up at U.K. Observatory

The nine-nation, $1.5 billion Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project to build the world's biggest and most sensitive radio telescope has established a governing board and will set up its...
March 25, 2011 11:12 AM |

China to Tune in to the Music of Dark Energy

BEIJING—China is about to join the hunt for dark energy. At a cosmology workshop held here on 20 March, scientists unveiled Tianlai, or "Sound of Heaven," a project to...
March 18, 2011 4:12 PM |

European Space Missions to Go It Alone After NASA Yanks Support

European space scientists are scrambling to rethink—and redesign—massive potential missions after it was confirmed that NASA, whose budget is in disarray, won't contribute significant funding to any of the...
March 8, 2011 5:38 PM |

NASA Satellite Crash Complicates Gloomy Climate Budget Picture

Last week's failed mission to place the $424 million Glory satellite into orbit doesn't just stymie scientists' efforts to maintain a 33-year record of the sun's brightness and discern...
March 8, 2011 12:35 PM |

Cost-Cutting Recommended for Planetary Science, With More Cutting to Come

HOUSTON, TEXAS--A committee of the National Research Council is insisting that the cost of two of the largest planetary missions it is recommending for NASA in the coming decade...
February 24, 2011 11:45 AM |

How to Grow Your Own Army of Citizen Scientists

In 2007, astronomer Chris Lintott and colleagues were drowning under a data deluge—1 million images of galaxies to characterize and only one graduate student to do it. His student...
February 16, 2011 12:44 PM |

India May Join U.S. MoonRise Mission

NEW DELHI—India hopes to join the United States on a sample return mission to the moon, according to K. Radhakrishnan, chair of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). He...