Life Out There | The Cost of Dreams: SETI Research Is Revived - Life Out There
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:20:04 GMT
Operating on money and equipment scrounged from the public and from Silicon Valley millionaires, a band of astronomers recently restarted the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
National Briefing | Science: Job Seekers Still Drawn to Space
Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:00:32 GMT
The space shuttles are headed for museums, but NASA said Friday that more than 6,300 people responded to its latest call for would-be astronauts, the second highest in its history.
Roger Boisjoly, 73, Dies; Warned of Shuttle Danger
Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:20:43 GMT
Mr. Boisjoly wrote a portentous memo six months before the Space Shuttle Challenger’s explosion, warning that if it was too cold, seals connecting sections of the shuttle’s rocket boosters could fail.
World Briefing | Europe: Russia: Radiation Blamed in Doomed Space Mission
Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:20:29 GMT
Russia blamed radiation on Tuesday for a computer glitch that doomed its mission to a moon of Mars, but space industry experts cast doubt on the findings.
Political Science | The Question of Space: For a Moon Colony, Technology Is the Easy Part
Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:44:06 GMT
Could America build a lunar base during an eight-year Newt Gingrich presidency, as Mr. Gingrich promised this week? The obstacles would lie in money and politics.
NASA Tackles Problem of Missing Moon Rocks
Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:24:28 GMT
Hundreds of moon rocks and other stuff from space have been lost, destroyed, stolen or remain unaccounted for, according to inspectors.
After Space Probe’s Failure, Russia Looks to U.S. Radar
Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:20:10 GMT
Officials said on Tuesday that they were looking into whether powerful American radar systems might have caused the failure of a $170 million scientific probe headed toward Mars.
Russia’s Phobos-Grunt Mars Probe Crashes Into Pacific
Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:40:06 GMT
The Phobos-Grunt spacecraft had stalled in Earth orbit shortly after its launch on Nov. 9, losing a few miles of altitude each day until it fell to Earth.
Observatory: Kepler Telescope Finds More Planets Orbiting Two Stars
Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:24:28 GMT
The discovery, scientists say, suggests there are probably millions of these so-called circumbinary planets.
A Push for Historic Preservation on the Moon
Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:14:15 GMT
Some archaeologists and historians worry that the next generation to visit the moon might carelessly obliterate the site of one of humanity’s greatest accomplishments.
Russian Official Suggests Weapon Caused Spacecraft Failure
Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:07:23 GMT
A scientific spacecraft whizzing out of control around the Earth may have failed because it was struck by some type of antisatellite weapon, the director of Russia’s space agency said.
Spaceflights Get Ready to Board Business Class
Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:27:36 GMT
The first excursions by new airlines that will take tourists out of Earth’s atmosphere are poised to take off in 2012.
Two NASA Spacecraft Set to Orbit the Moon
Sun, 08 Jan 2012 03:09:52 GMT
A pair of spacecraft arriving in orbit on Saturday and Sunday will map the moon’s gravitational field in order to get a clear picture of its interior.
China Unveils Ambitious Plan to Explore Space
Fri, 30 Dec 2011 17:52:42 GMT
A five-year development timeline unveiled Thursday by the Chinese government could establish it as a major rival in space at a moment when the American program is in retreat.
World Briefing | Europe: Soyuz Spacecraft Raises Doubts on Russian Space Program
Thu, 29 Dec 2011 01:35:09 GMT
Despite a successful trip to the International Space Station on Friday, an engine failure in a different version of the Soyuz rocket caused a satellite not to launch, raising further questions about the state of Russia’s space industry.
World Briefing | Science: Smooth Start to Latest Space Mission
Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:20:06 GMT
A Soyuz spacecraft carrying a Russian, an American and a Dutchman to the International Space Station blasted off from Russia’s launching facility in Kazakhstan on Wednesday.
NASA’s Kepler Spacecraft Discovers 2 Earth-Size Planets
Wed, 21 Dec 2011 20:17:16 GMT
The discovery of Kepler 20e and Kepler 20f may be an encouraging sign that planet hunters would someday succeed in finding other Earth-like planets.
Boris Chertok, Russian Rocket Engineer, Dies at 99
Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:20:10 GMT
Mr. Chertok was a rocket engineer who played a central role in designing the navigation systems for Soviet spacecraft during the race to the moon, among them the one that carried the first human into space.
Paul Allen’s Plan: Airplanes as Launching Pads for Rockets
Wed, 14 Dec 2011 21:17:18 GMT
The huge plane, which could be ready in 2016, would dwarf today’s biggest airplane, first taking satellites and then, perhaps, people into orbit.
Observatory: Forecast for Sagittarius A* Black Hole: A Cold Gas Cloud
Thu, 29 Dec 2011 09:00:51 GMT
The tremendous gravity of the hole at the center of the Milky Way, known as Sagittarius A*, should accelerate and compress the gas, causing it to emit X-rays.
Physicists Will Have to Wait a Little Longer for Higgs Boson
Wed, 14 Dec 2011 21:27:24 GMT
Two teams of scientists say they have recorded only hints of a subatomic particle, the Higgs boson, whose existence is a key to explaining why there is mass in the universe.
Joseph M. Chamberlain Dies at 88; Led Hayden and Adler Planetariums
Tue, 13 Dec 2011 07:10:03 GMT
Dr. Chamberlain spent nearly four decades leading planetariums in New York and Chicago into a new era of technology, instruction and visitor experience.
Astronomers Find Biggest Black Holes Yet
Tue, 06 Dec 2011 20:50:05 GMT
Cosmologists have measured the biggest black holes ever found, work that could shed light on the formation and evolution of galaxies.
Search Resumes for Evidence of Life Out There
Tue, 06 Dec 2011 20:40:05 GMT
An effort to find radio signals from extraterrestrial civilizations starts anew using an innovative set of radio telescopes.
Life Out There: Scientists Are Hot on Trail of Exoplanets Suitable for Life
Sun, 11 Dec 2011 14:00:47 GMT
Scientists say they are closing in on finding distant worlds in the habitable zones of their stars.
NASA’s Curiosity Rover Sets Off for Mars Mission
Sat, 03 Dec 2011 04:10:17 GMT
The one-ton Curiosity is a mobile, nuclear-powered laboratory holding 10 scientific instruments that will sample Martian soil and rocks.
Life Out There: Aboard Mars Curiosity Rover, Tools to Plumb a Methane Mystery
Wed, 23 Nov 2011 21:24:02 GMT
The Mars Science Laboratory, to be launched on Saturday, will seek to confirm claims that the Martian atmosphere contains methane, one of the building blocks of life.
Soyuz With 3 Astronauts Lands in Kazakhstan
Tue, 22 Nov 2011 10:00:59 GMT
Astronauts from the United States, Russia and Japan touched down safely in the snow-covered steppes of Kazakhstan early Tuesday morning.
Neutrino Finding Is Repeated in Second Experiment, Opera Scientists Say
Tue, 22 Nov 2011 12:55:06 GMT
Physicists in a group known as Opera say a second experiment has confirmed their first results and eliminated a leading criticism of their first experiment, which elicited wide disbelief.
On View: ‘Beyond Planet Earth’ - Museum Review - Oh, the Places We Could Go
Wed, 16 Nov 2011 04:57:18 GMT
The exhibition “Beyond Planet Earth: The Future of Space Exploration” opens Saturday at the American Museum of Natural History.
Russian Rocket Gives NASA a Lift to Space Station
Thu, 17 Nov 2011 20:15:12 GMT
A Russian Soyuz rocket blasted off from Kazakhstan on Monday morning, beginning a two-day trip to ferry three astronauts to the International Space Station.
NASA and Russia Begin New Chapter in Space
Fri, 18 Nov 2011 19:41:45 GMT
The flight of a Russian spacecraft with an American astronaut opened a new chapter for NASA, which is turning to foreign governments and commercial enterprises for space transportation.
World Briefing | Europe: Russia: Hopes for Space Probe Fade
Fri, 11 Nov 2011 18:05:04 GMT
Hopes of salvaging an ambitious unmanned mission to Mars dwindled on Thursday, with Russian scientists failing to make contact with a multimillion dollar space probe that stalled in a low-earth orbit.
Russia Fights to Save Mars Probe After Launch Mishap
Thu, 10 Nov 2011 21:57:18 GMT
If space engineers cannot save it, the probe, which is loaded with toxic fuel, could re-enter the atmosphere within days or weeks.
World Briefing | Europe: Russia: Probe to a Martian Moon Malfunctions Shortly After Launch
Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:15:25 GMT
Russia’s first effort at an interplanetary mission in more than two decades went awry on Wednesday when an unmanned spacecraft failed to take the proper course toward Mars after its launch
China’s Space Program Bolstered by First Docking
Mon, 14 Nov 2011 08:00:52 GMT
A pair of Chinese spacecraft coupled and brought the country one step closer to its four-decade question for manned space exploration.
Huge Asteroid Swings Close to Earth
Wed, 09 Nov 2011 22:11:05 GMT
An asteroid as big as an aircraft carrier zipped by Earth on Tuesday in the closest known encounter by such a massive space rock in more than three decades. Scientists ruled out any chance of a collision.
Q & A: What Will Happen to the Planets as the Sun Dies?
Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:44:06 GMT
As our Sun dies, what will happen to Earth and the other planets?
Essay: With Chocolate at Stake, Physicists Bet on Whether the Higgs Boson Will Be Found
Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:10:05 GMT
In a castle in Sweden, two of the world’s leading particle physicists made a bet about an elusive, long-sought and much-theorized particle.
Opinion: Planets in the Sky With Diamonds
Mon, 03 Oct 2011 19:13:17 GMT
The past month has brought one marvel after another. It’s tantalizing. There could be life out there.
Where No Museum Has Gone Before
Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:30:06 GMT
A sneak peek at the exhibition “Beyond Planet Earth: The Future of Space Exploration,” which opens Saturday at the American Museum of Natural History.
Endeavour’s Final Flight
Fri, 22 Jul 2011 06:51:18 GMT
On May 16, the shuttle Endeavour rose slowly on a pillar of fire, picking up speed and eventually disappearing from view as it stabbed through a layer of clouds on its way to orbit.
A Shuttle Town’s Glory Days
Tue, 10 May 2011 16:26:29 GMT
The launching of the space shuttle Endeavor is expected to be one of the biggest ever, jamming the roads in Titusville, Cape Canaveral and other nearby Florida towns.
The First Close-Ups of Mercury
Wed, 30 Mar 2011 22:17:10 GMT
NASA’s Messenger spacecraft sent back the first of what is expected to be 75,000 photographs during a yearlong investigation of Mercury.
An Inflatable Space Station
Tue, 08 Jun 2010 00:14:39 GMT
In four years, a small company called Bigelow Aerospace is to launch a private space station that will be leased to governments, companies and perhaps space tourists.