NASA WEB ·SETI Institute Planet hunters plot course for habitable worlds. Together, Kepler and WFIRST will work to produce a rough census of how many planets there are in our Galaxy.

Planet hunters plot course for habitable worlds. Together, Kepler and WFIRST will work to produce a rough census of how many planets there are in our Galaxy. 

NASA WEB ·SETI Institute Venus Gets Weirder: CO2 Oceans May Have Covered Surface Venus is often described as Earth's twin planet because it is the world closest to Earth in size, mass, distance and chemical makeup. However, whereas Earth is a haven for life, Venusis typically described as hellish, with a crushing atmosphere and clouds of corrosive sulfuric acid floating over a rocky desert surface hot enough to melt lead.,

Venus Gets Weirder: CO2 Oceans May Have Covered Surface

Venus is often described as Earth's twin planet because it is the world closest to Earth in size, mass, distance and chemical makeup. However, whereas Earth is a haven for life, Venusis typically described as hellish, with a crushing atmosphere and clouds of corrosive sulfuric acid floating over a rocky desert surface hot enough to melt lead.,

NASA WEB ·Astronomy Today For the first time, a mission designed to set its eyes on black holes and other objects far from our solar system has turned its gaze back closer to home, capturing images of our sun. NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, has taken its first picture of the sun, producing the most sensitive solar portrait ever taken in high-energy X-rays. "NuSTAR will give us a unique look at the sun, from the deepest to the highest parts of its atmosphere," said David Smith...

For the first time, a mission designed to set its eyes on black holes and other objects far from our solar system has turned its gaze back closer to home, capturing images of our sun. NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, has taken its first picture of the sun, producing the most sensitive solar portrait ever taken in high-energy X-rays.

"NuSTAR will give us a unique look at the sun, from the deepest to the highest parts of its atmosphere," said David Smith...

NASA WEB ·Mystery Object Appears Near Milky Way's Monster Black Hole A mystery object at the center of the galaxy has astronomers scratching their heads, and a new piece of information won't be solving the case before the New...

See how this mysterious object has experts stumped.

Mystery Object Appears Near Milky Way's Monster Black Hole

A mystery object at the center of the galaxy has astronomers scratching their heads, and a new piece of information won't be solving the case before the New...

NASA WEB ·Planet Uranus: Facts About Its Name, Moons and Orbit Learn about the history of Uranus (and how it got its name) as well as the physical characteristics of the planet including its rings and moons.

How Uranus got its name.

Planet Uranus: Facts About Its Name, Moons and Orbit

Learn about the history of Uranus (and how it got its name) as well as the physical characteristics of the planet including its rings and moons.

NASA WEB ·Space.com-Opportunity: Longest-Running Mars Rover The Opportunity rover is NASA's longest rover mission.

Still going!

Opportunity: Longest-Running Mars Rover

The Opportunity rover is NASA's longest rover mission.

NASA WEB ·SpaceX Last night, 3 new crewmembers arrived at the ISS, bringing the station’s population total to 6. NASA astronaut Terry Virts, ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov – enjoy your time on orbit and look out for a Dragon delivery in a few weeks!

Last night, 3 new crewmembers arrived at the ISS, bringing the station’s population total to 6. NASA astronaut Terry Virts, ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov – enjoy your time on orbit and look out for a Dragon delivery in a few weeks!

NASA WEB ·The First 3-D Printer in Space Makes Its First Object: A Spare Part After a series of calibration tests, the first 3-D printer to fly to outer space has manufactured its first potentially useful object on the International Sp...

The first ever 3-D printer in space – delivered to station this fall by Dragon – just printed its first part.

The First 3-D Printer in Space Makes Its First Object: A Spare Part

After a series of calibration tests, the first 3-D printer to fly to outer space has manufactured its first potentially useful object on the International Sp...

NASA WEB ·SpaceX , Imagining a future in space? This short film visualizes what interplanetary travel might look like.,

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Imagining a future in space? This short film visualizes what interplanetary travel might look like.,

NASA WEB ·SpaceX Details on latest milestone with NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration to take American astronauts to space on board Dragon →http://1.usa.gov/1w6DS39

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Details on latest milestone with NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration to take American astronauts to space on board Dragon ,

NASA WEB ·This colorful telescopic portrait of Comet Lovejoy, C/2014 Q2 was snapped on December 16th. Its lovely coma is tinted green by diatomic C2 gas fluorescing in sunlight. Discovered in August of this year, this Comet Lovejoy is currently sweeping north through the constellation Columba, heading for Lepus south of Orion and bright enough to offer good binocular views.

This colorful telescopic portrait of Comet Lovejoy, C/2014 Q2 was snapped on December 16th. Its lovely coma is tinted green by diatomic C2 gas fluorescing in sunlight. Discovered in August of this year, this Comet Lovejoy is currently sweeping north through the constellation Columba, heading for Lepus south of Orion and bright enough to offer good binocular views.

This comet Lovejoy will pass closest to planet Earth on January 7, while its perihelion (closest point to the Sun) will be on January 30. A long period comet, this Comet Lovejoy should return again... in about 8,000 years.,

NASA WEB ·Study Eyes Influence of Religion on Future Space Exploration , Research by a political science professor shows opinions on space exploration are influenced by a person's religious beliefs.

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Study Eyes Influence of Religion on Future Space Exploration

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Research by a political science professor shows opinions on space exploration are influenced by a person's religious beliefs.

NASA WEB ·What Lies Below: The history of the South Pole's atmosphere is locked up in layers of ice. Read more at: ,

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What Lies Below: The history of the South Pole's atmosphere is locked up in layers of ice. Read more at: ,

NASA WEB ·This excellent NASA video shows how asteroid Bennu was born from the rubble of a violent collision, hurled through space for millions of years and dismembered by the gravity of planets. Asteroid Bennu had a tough life in a rough neighborhood: the early solar system. This video, "Bennu's Journey," is a new animation created at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland that shows what's known and what remains mysterious about the life of Bennu and the origin of the solar system.

This excellent NASA video shows how asteroid Bennu was born from the rubble of a violent collision, hurled through space for millions of years and dismembered by the gravity of planets. Asteroid Bennu had a tough life in a rough neighborhood: the early solar system. This video, "Bennu's Journey," is a new animation created at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland that shows what's known and what remains mysterious about the life of Bennu and the origin of the solar system.

"We are going to Bennu because we want to know what it has witnessed over the course of its evolution," said Edward Beshore of the University of Arizona, Deputy Principal Investigator for NASA's asteroid-sample-return mission OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security – Regolith Explorer). The mission will be launched toward Bennu in late 2016, arrive at the asteroid in 2018, and return a sample of Bennu’s surface to Earth in 2023. "Bennu's experiences will tell us more about where our solar system came from and how it evolved. Like the detectives in a crime show episode, we'll examine bits of evidence from Bennu to understand more completely the story of the solar system, which is ultimately the story of our origin."

The video opens with an establishing shot of the galaxy and moves in to a nebula – a vast cloud of gas and dust ejected from the explosions of dying stars. From observations of other star-forming regions in our galaxy, scientists have a good idea of the basic outlines of how our solar system came to be, according to Beshore. As shown in the animation, a nearby exploding star disrupts material in the nebula, causing part of it to collapse under its own gravity and form a disk of material surrounding the infant Sun.

Within this disk, bits of dust are flash heated to molten rock and solidify to become chondrules -- some of the building blocks of the solar system. Chondrules are shown in the animation as they clump together via electrostatic and gravitational forces to become asteroids and planets.

Chondrules may make up a large part of the material in Bennu. "On planets like Earth, the original materials have been profoundly altered by geologic activity and chemical reactions with our atmosphere and water. We think Bennu may be relatively unchanged, so this asteroid is like a time capsule for us to examine," said Beshore. By analyzing the sample collected from Bennu, the OSIRIS-REx team will be able to examine some of the most pristine material to be found anywhere in the solar system.

Bennu may also harbor organic material from the young solar system. Organic matter is made of molecules containing primarily carbon and hydrogen atoms and is fundamental to terrestrial life. The analysis of any organic material found on Bennu will give scientists an inventory of the materials present at the beginning of the solar system that may have had a role in the origin of life. "By bringing this material back to Earth, we can do a far more thorough analysis than we can with instruments on a spacecraft, because of practical limits on the size, mass, and energy consumption of what can be flown," said Beshore. "We will also set aside returned materials for future generations to study with instruments and capabilities we can't even imagine now."

The mission also will contribute to NASA’s Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM), which will identify, capture and redirect a near-Earth asteroid to a stable orbit around the moon, where astronauts will explore it in the 2020s, returning with samples.

ARM is part of NASA’s plan to advance new capabilities needed for future human missions to Mars. OSIRIS-REx also will support the agency's efforts to understand the population of potentially hazardous near-Earth objects and characterize those suitable for future asteroid exploration missions.

The early solar system was quite chaotic. Giant impact craters throughout the inner solar system indicate there may have been a "late heavy bombardment" by asteroids approximately 4.1 billion to 3.8 billion years ago, right around the origin of life on Earth. The video illustrates one theory for this. The massive "gas giant" planet Jupiter began to migrate inward closer to the Sun due to gravitational interactions with the outer gas giant planets. Jupiter's gravity disrupted the asteroid belt, tossing many asteroids closer to the Sun, where some collided with the terrestrial planets, including Earth. This asteroid bombardment may have been a significant source of organic matter and water for the early Earth.

After this bombardment, things calmed down a little, but massive collisions still happened occasionally, like the one the video shows happening between an asteroid and a planetesimal about one billion years ago. Scientists think a collision like this may have resulted in the birth of Bennu, and the video illustrates the asteroid forming as some of the rubble from the collision slowly coalesces under its own weak gravity.

Measurements reveal that Bennu's density is less than that of rock, so scientists think the asteroid may have voids in its interior, according to Beshore. An asteroid like this is called a "rubble pile" -- a loosely bound collection of boulders, rock, and dust.

Bennu is also quite dark. Like an asphalt road on a hot day, it absorbs most of the sunlight that hits it and later radiates this energy away as heat. This radiation gives Bennu a tiny push, called the Yarkovsky effect, which gradually changes its orbit over time. The animation shows how the Yarkovsky effect causes Bennu to migrate until it encounters a so-called gravitational resonance with the planet Saturn. Regular tugs by this resonance eventually push Bennu into the inner solar system, where it has repeated close encounters with Venus and Earth. These encounters pull apart the rubble pile that is Bennu, turning it inside out and reshaping the asteroid.

Because Bennu comes close to Earth, there is a tiny chance – about 1 in 2,500 – that it could hit Earth late in the 22nd century, according to Beshore. "We'll get accurate measurements of the Yarkovsky effect on Bennu by precisely tracking OSIRIS-REx as it orbits the asteroid," said Beshore. "In addition, the instrument suite the spacecraft is carrying is perfectly suited to measure all the things that contribute to the Yarkovsky effect, such as composition, energy transport through the surface, temperature, and Bennu's topography.

If astronomers someday identify an asteroid that presents a significant impact hazard to Earth, the first step will be to gather more information about that asteroid. Fortunately, the OSIRIS-REx mission will have given us the experience and tools needed to do the job."
The animation ends with the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft entering orbit around Bennu to tell the tale of the asteroid’s long, strange trip, a journey that promises to reveal the secrets of the solar system and perhaps our own origins.

Do you feel that this mission is important? Why or why not? Should NASA be conducting more missions similar to this that will provide us science that we would otherwise never be able to get our hands on?

For more updates on Astronomy and Space Exploration, follow us atAstronomy Today.

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NASA WEB ·Space Shuttle Program , Space Shuttle Atlantis is outfitted with its left Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) pod in Orbiter Process Facility bay 1. The Orbital Maneuvering System provides the thrust for orbit insertion, orbit circularization, orbit transfer, rendezvous, deorbit, abort to orbit and abort once around. It can provide up to 1,000 pounds of propellant to the aft reaction control system.

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Space Shuttle Atlantis is outfitted with its left Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) pod in Orbiter Process Facility bay 1. The Orbital Maneuvering System provides the thrust for orbit insertion, orbit circularization, orbit transfer, rendezvous, deorbit, abort to orbit and abort once around. It can provide up to 1,000 pounds of propellant to the aft reaction control system. Each pod contains one OMS engine and the hardware needed to pressurize, store and distribute the propellants to perform the velocity maneuvers. Atlantis is the designated orbiter to fly on mission STS-121. The mission has a launch window of July 12 - July 31. 02/18/2005

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NASA WEB ·Space Shuttle Program , In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Ken Revay, the ET/SRB processing manager with United Space Alliance, inspects the newly installed liquid oxygen bellows heater on

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In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Ken Revay, the ET/SRB processing manager with United Space Alliance, inspects the newly installed liquid oxygen bellows heater on External Tank 120, recently removed from the orbiter Discovery. The new heater has been added to the feedline bellows to minimize the potential for ice and frost buildup. ET-120 will fly with Atlantis on the second Return to Flight mission STS-121. The launch window for STS-121 extends from Sept. 9 - 24. 06/13/2005

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NASA WEB ·Space Shuttle Program , In the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA Kennedy Space Center, the orbiter Atlantis is lifted off the transporter.

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In the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA Kennedy Space Center, the orbiter Atlantis is lifted off the transporter. The orbiter will be raised to a vertical position and lifted up and over the cross-beam into high bay 1 and mated with the Solid Rocket Boosters and External Tank already stacked there on the Mobile Launcher Platform. Atlantis is the designated orbiter for Return to Flight mission STS-121. The lighted planning window for launch extends from Sept. 9 to Sept. 25. 07/22/2005

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NASA WEB ·SETI Institute's Lori Fenton takes a look at a Martian crater: Some time ago, something hit the ground on Mars and made this impact crater, right into a field of ripples. Stuff thrown up during the impact fell back down, burying the ripples with the gray ejecta rays that radiate from the crater. But the wind kept blowing, and in some places you can see where new ripples have formed on top of the ejecta. That’s Mars for you: wind, wind, wind, impact(!), more wind…

SETI Institute's Lori Fenton takes a look at a Martian crater:

Some time ago, something hit the ground on Mars and made this impact crater, right into a field of ripples. Stuff thrown up during the impact fell back down, burying the ripples with the gray ejecta rays that radiate from the crater. But the wind kept blowing, and in some places you can see where new ripples have formed on top of the ejecta. That’s Mars for you: wind, wind, wind, impact(!), more wind…

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NASA WEB ·Inside the wheel well behind Atlantis’ right-hand main landing gear, workers attaches one end of a retract link. It replaces one in which a small crack was recently found.

Inside the wheel well behind Atlantis’ right-hand main landing gear, workers attaches one end of a retract link. It replaces one in which a small crack was recently found. To lower the main landing gear, a mechanical linkage released by each gear actuates the doors to the open position. The landing gear reach the full-down and extended position with 10 seconds and are locked in the down position by spring-loaded downlock bungees Atlantis is scheduled to launch in September 2005 on the second Return to Flight mission, STS-121. 05/26/2005

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NASA WEB ·SETI Institute , Cetus Duo M77 and NGC 1055: At the top right, large spiral galaxy NGC 1055 joins spiral Messier 77 in this sharp cosmic view toward the aquatic constellation Cetus.

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Cetus Duo M77 and NGC 1055: At the top right, large spiral galaxy NGC 1055 joins spiral Messier 77 in this sharp cosmic view toward the aquatic constellation Cetus. The narrowed, dusty appearance of edge-on spiral NGC 1055 contrasts nicely with the face-on view of M77's bright nucleus and spiral arms.

The field of view is about the size of the full Moon on the sky and includes colorful foreground Milky Way stars (with diffraction spikes) along with more distant background galaxies. ,

NASA WEB ·Amazing image of Jupiter taken in infrared light with the Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics Demonstrator (MAD) prototype instrument mounted on ESO's Very Large Telescope. This false color photo is the combination of a series of images taken over a time span of about 20 minutes, through three different filters (2, 2.14, and 2.16 microns).

Amazing image of Jupiter taken in infrared light with the Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics Demonstrator (MAD) prototype instrument mounted on ESO's Very Large Telescope. This false color photo is the combination of a series of images taken over a time span of about 20 minutes, through three different filters (2, 2.14, and 2.16 microns).

The great red spot is not visible in this image as it was on the other side of the planet during the observations. ,