Space Shuttle Discovery’s greatest hits

Space Shuttle Discovery’s greatest hits

With final repairs complete, NASA has cleared Space Shuttle Discovery for its 39th and final launch on 3 November. If all goes according to plan, mission STS-133 will begin when the shuttle lifts off the launch pad at 3:52 PM. Update: Electrical issues have delayed the launch until 4 November at 3:29 PM  … Read more

Cyberspace abuzz over putative NASA mission

Cyberspace abuzz over putative NASA mission

Have you heard the one about the one-way manned mission to Mars? Many recent reports suggest that NASA and DARPA have come together in a plan for a “Hundred Year Starship” that would colonize distant worlds—starting with Mars—with each agency providing $100,000 and $1 million in funding, respectively.  Read more

US government takes on white-nose syndrome in bats

US government takes on white-nose syndrome in bats

To tackle the scourge of white-nose syndrome, which has killed more than a million bats in the northeastern United States, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has proposed a national framework of investigation and response to the outbreak. It is seeking comment on the plan from the public beginning 28 October.  Read more

NASA Administrator’s China visit draws congressional ire

NASA Administrator’s China visit draws congressional ire

When President Obama met with his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, in Beijing on 17 November, 2009, they brought up the possibility of a dialogue on space exploration between the two countries. But two US Representatives are now voicing concerns over NASA Administrator Charles Bolden’s plans to visit China for talks about cooperation on human spaceflight from 16 – 21 October.  Read more

NASA-aided design to help recue miners

NASA-aided design to help recue miners

If all goes well, the first of 33 Chilean miners trapped underground will soon see the surface for the first time in more than two months. During a televised press conference on 12 October, Chilean mining minister Laurence Golborne said that rescuers would begin work that day and continue around the clock for the next 48 hours to bring the men up.  Read more

New glimpse of Vesta whets appetite for discovery

New glimpse of Vesta whets appetite for discovery

What now looks like a blurry potato should, within nine months, blossom into detailed pictures of Vesta, the brightest asteroid in the sky. This view (at right) is one of several taken by the Hubble telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 to provide a better look at the space rock before the arrival of the Dawn spacecraft in July 2011.  Read more