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February 16, 2013

Asteroid whizzes safely past Earth
Boston (AFP) Feb 15, 2013
A closely tracked asteroid, about 150-feet (45-meters) wide, whizzed safely past Earth on Friday, the same day a much smaller, previously undetected meteor hit Russia, injuring nearly 1,000 people. Live images from a telescope at the Gingin Observatory in western Australia showed the asteroid looking like a white streak, moving across against a backdrop of black sky. Astronomers said the object's speed and proximity made it a challenge to track, because telescopes had to be aimed precisely or ri ... read more

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Welcome Aboard Shenzhou 10 As we approach the launch of China's next human space mission, some questions still remain unanswered. This is not unusual for the relatively veiled nature of China's space program, but it does invi ... more		Telescopes Could Detect ET Life Signs Within 25 Years A team of Dutch astronomers has shown that with a new type of telescope it may be possible to detect signs of extraterrestrial life on planets orbiting other stars than the Sun. Although even the mo ... more		Magnetic shielding of ion beam thruster walls Electric rocket engines known as Hall thrusters, which use a super high-velocity stream of ions to propel a spacecraft in space, have been used successfully onboard many missions for half a century. ... more
				Orion Lands Safely on Two of Three Parachutes in Test NASA engineers have demonstrated the agency's Orion spacecraft can land safely if one of its three main parachutes fails to inflate during deployment. The test was conducted Tuesday in Yuma, A ... more		NASA's MAVEN Mission Completes Assembly NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft is assembled and is undergoing environmental testing at Lockheed Martin Space Systems facilities, near Denver, Colo. MAVEN is the nex ... more

CubeSats, SmallSats and MicroSats

Comet dust seeding life to Jupiter moons? Comet dust may have seeded Jupiter's moons, including Europa and its liquid ocean beneath an icy crust, with the raw ingredients for life, U.S. researchers say. ... more		Low-Gravity Flights Will Aid ISS Fluids and Combustion Experiments Wouldn't it be fun to do experiments while floating free inside an airplane? Scientists from NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland get to do just that using suborbital flights. These planes fly ... more		India signs $7 bn deal for 97 domestically made fighter jets France doubles down on threat to build future fighter jet alone US approves $1.2 bn missile sale to Germany		Another Sea Launch Failure Sea Launch is currently a Russian spacecraft launch service that uses a mobile seagoing platform for direct equatorial launches of commercial payloads on Zenit 3SL rockets. Since its inception ... more
				ILS Concludes Yamal 402 Proton Launch Investigation The International Launch Servies (ILS) Failure Review Oversight Board (FROB) concluded its review on February 7, concurring on the most probable root cause and the associated corrective action plan ... more		NASA Set for New Round Of J-2X Testing at Stennis Space Center NASA's progress toward a return to deep space missions continues with a new round of upcoming tests on the next-generation J-2X rocket engine, which will help power the agency's Space Launch System ... more

Solar systems for home and business installations

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Visit The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

Mars Rock Takes Unusual Form On Mars, as on Earth, sometimes things can take on an unusual appearance. A case in point is a shiny-looking rock seen in a recent image from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover. Some casual obs ... more		Rover Walkabout Continues at Cape York Opportunity is conducting the post-walkabout in-situ (contact) science campaign on the inboard edge of Cape York on the rim of Endeavour Crater. On Sol 3208 (Jan. 31, 2013), the rover collecte ... more		Simulations of Exoplanet Formation May Help Inform Search for Extraterrestrial Life Ancient hot springs reveal how microbes thrived before Earth gained oxygen Framework proposed to study planetary scale impact of life		Rocketdyne Powers Atlas 5 Upper Stage, Placing New Landsat In Orbit Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne and RD AMROSS successfully propelled the most advanced Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) spacecraft into orbit Monday for NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey. ... more
				Progress docks with ISS Russian cargo ship "Progress M-18M" has successfully docked with the ISS. The docking took place at 00:40 Moscow time. This is already the third successful shortened, 6-hour docking in the his ... more		Dry ice vacuum cleaner robot bound for Fukushima A remote controlled robot that uses dry ice to vacuum up radiation was unveiled by Japanese researchers on Friday, the latest innovation to help the clean-up at Fukushima. ... more

Another Sea Launch Failure

Rocketdyne Powers Atlas 5 Upper Stage, Placing New Landsat In Orbit

ILS Concludes Yamal 402 Proton Launch Investigation

NASA's MAVEN Mission Completes Assembly

Rover Walkabout Continues at Cape York

Mars Rock Takes Unusual Form

Building a lunar base with 3D printing

US, Europe team up for moon fly-by

Russia to Launch Lunar Mission in 2015

Public to vote on names for Pluto moons

The PI's Perspective: The Seven-Year Itch

New Horizons Gets a New Year's Workout

	Gas explosions enable soft robot to jump Robots that can already stand, walk and wriggle under obstacles are getting a new skill thanks to Harvard University researchers - now they can jump. ... more		Insect drives robot to track down smells A small, two-wheeled robot has been driven by a male silkmoth to track down the sex pheromone usually given off by a female mate. The robot has been used to characterise the silkmoth's tracking beha ... more		Getting the Right Spin on a Close-Passing Asteroid The record-setting close approach of an asteroid on Feb. 15 is an exciting opportunity for scientists, and a research team will use National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and NASA telescopes to ... more		Humans and robots work better together following cross-training Spending a day in someone else's shoes can help us to learn what makes them tick. Now the same approach is being used to develop a better understanding between humans and robots, to enable them to w ... more

Uranium enrichment: Why Iran refuses to step back

Redwire to Deliver Solar Array Wings for Axiom Station's First Module

Germany's Merz rejects claims he is slowing green shift

Earth-like planets are right next door		Satellite undergoes extreme testing		In milestone, Mars rover collects first bedrock sample		Ariane 5 delivers record payload off back-to-back launches this week		Can we live farther away from the Sun
Eutelsat and Arianespace sign new multi-year multiple launch services agreement		No asteroid risk in foreseeable future		Alphasat experiences heaven on Earth		Public to vote on names for Pluto moons		Planet color may suggest alien life

Foundation Helps Promote New Robotics Teams Worldwide

How The World's Saltiest Pond Gets Its Salt; Implications For Water On Mars

Ariane 5 Arrives At Kourou For 4th Automated Transfer Vehicle Mission

NASA Curiosity Rover Collects First Martian Bedrock Sample

Direct Infrared Image Of An Arm In Disk Demonstrates Transition To Planet Formation

Lockheed Martin Completes Assembly, Begins Environmental Testing of NASA's MAVEN Spacecraft

New NASA Mission To Help Us Better Estimate Asteroid Impact Hazard

Near impact: asteroid to narrowly miss Earth

Kepler Data Suggest Earth-size Planets May Be Next Door

Arianespace Launches Six Globalstar Birds Using Starsem Soyuz

NASA and ATK Complete Avionics and Controls Testing for SLS Booster

Earth-like planets may be closer than thought: study

Asteroid 2012 DA14 - Earth Flyby Reality Check

Sampling Several Rock Targets

Final checkout underway for the Starsem Soyuz launch with Globalstar spacecraft

Small Asteroid to Whiz Past Earth Safely

Mapping Mars

Weekend Test on Mars Was Preparation to Drill a Rock

Supersonic skydiver even faster than thought

Are Super-Earths Actually Mini-Neptunes?

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