India’s Chandrayaan-1 Is Adding to Our Understanding of the Moon
There was a time when the words “space exploration” could only mean one thing: the highly competitive, secretive space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. They were the…
Mission Is Planned to Observe Jupiter and Four of Its Moons (Part Two)
This is part two in our examination of the Jupiter mission that is being planned by the European Space Agency and NASA, with collaboration from Japan’s JAXA. The mission, which…
Mission Is Planned to Observe Jupiter and Four of Its Moons
A huge, multi-national mission to investigate Jupiter and four of its moons is now in its planning stages, and is tentatively planned for a launch in 2020. The project, which…
Does the Earth Owe its Atmosphere to Ancient Comets?
Does the Earth Owe its Atmosphere to Ancient Comets? by beconrad The fortuitous combination of atmospheric gases that may life as we know it possible may have a decidedly extraterrestrial…
Exploration of Mercury Will Continue With the Bepicolombo Probe
This is our second article about the exploration of Mercury. In the first, we looked at NASA’s MESSENGER probe, which will go into orbit around Mercury in 2011, and is…
Nature's Spectacular Show – the Northern Lights
Most people have heard of the aurora borealis ”“ more commonly known as the northern lights ”“ even if they have never actually seen them. And if you have been…
Solar Sailing Comes of Age With IKAROS and Lightsail I
This is an article about lightsails, an idea that has been around for a long time, and is now approaching reality. Both the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and America’s Planetary…
NASA's EPOXI Probe: Deep Impact Is Reborn
This is another one of our articles about the new things we’re learning regarding comets. It’s also about the amazing ingenuity of the folks at NASA, who have taken the…
Rosetta Probe Has Encounters With Two Asteroids, Then Moves on to a Comet Rendezvous
This is the third in our three-part series about the recent successes of the European Space Agency in the exploration of the solar system. In the last two articles, we…
Two New Objects Identified in the Night Sky
Asteroid detection and study has been ongoing for a number of years and is considered an important part of astronomical research. The potential for a collision event to occur has…
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