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February 20, 2013

Radar Movie of Asteroid 2012 DA14
Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 20, 2013
An initial sequence of radar images of asteroid 2012 DA14 was obtained on the night of Feb. 15/16, 2013, by NASA scientists using the 230-foot (70-meter) Deep Space Network antenna at Goldstone, Calif. Each of the 72 frames required 320 seconds of data collection by the Goldstone radar. The observations were made as the asteroid was moving away from Earth. The asteroid's distance from the radar dish increased from 74,000 miles (120,000 kilometers) to 195,000 miles (314,000 kilometers). The r ... read more

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Asteroid Steins' hidden gems ESA's Rosetta spacecraft snapped images of asteroid Steins as it flew by the diamond-shaped asteroid on 5 September 2008 revealing a tiny world with a big history of collisions. The images wer ... more		Asteroid 2012 DA14 Speeds Away From Earth On February 15, asteroid 2012 DA14 passed extraordinarily close to the Earth. Unlike the unexpected asteroid collision over Russia that day, this encounter never presented any danger, but astronomer ... more		How Do We Know the Russian Meteor and 2012 DA14 Aren't Related? So how can we tell that the Russian meteor isn't related to asteroid 2012 DA14? One way is to look at meteor showers - the Orionids all have similar orbits to their parent comet, Halley. Simi ... more
				Temporary Comm Loss Interrupts Crew's Day The Expedition 34 crew completed a bevy of science and maintenance tasks Tuesday despite a temporary loss of communications between the International Space Station and the ground. Communicatio ... more		NASA briefly loses contact with space station The International Space Station briefly lost contact with ground controllers on Tuesday because of a computer problem, but its commander said the crew was fine, NASA said. ... more

CubeSats, SmallSats and MicroSats

Russia to launch bioscience satellite A Russian satellite that will conduct biological experiments in space and its launch rocket have been delivered to the Baikonur space center, officials said. ... more		Bleach could hamper Mars life search A martian meteorite frozen in antarctic ice suggests we may need to dig deeper into Mars to search for traces of past life, U.S. researchers say. ... 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		At the mouth of the red valley ESA's Mars Express took a high-resolution stereo image on 13 January of the southeast corner of the Amenthes Planum region on Mars, near to Palos crater and the mouth of a well-known sinuous valley, ... more
				Antares Engine Test Aborted; New Date TBD The planned first stage propulsion system "hot fire" test of Orbital's new Antares medium-class rocket was halted in the final seconds of the countdown by the rocket's flight computer, which detecte ... more		NASA Spinoff 2012 Features New Space Tech Bettering Your Life Today A plant texts a farmer to say it needs more water. An invisible coating scrubs pollutants from the air. A robot roams a hospital's halls, aiding doctors and nurses by recording vital signs and regis ... more

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Scientists turn eyes toward Europa in search for life US astronomers looking for life in the solar system believe that Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter, which has an ocean, is much more promising than desert-covered Mars, which is currently the focus of the US government's attention. ... 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		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		Asteroid whizzes safely past Earth 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. ... more
				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

Another Sea Launch Failure

ILS Concludes Yamal 402 Proton Launch Investigation

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Bleach could hamper Mars life search

At the mouth of the red valley

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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

	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		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

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

The quest for a better bionic hand		Brain prostheses create a sense of touch		Robots with lift		Dry ice vacuum cleaner robot bound for Fukushima		Gas explosions enable soft robot to jump
Getting the Right Spin on a Close-Passing Asteroid		Humans and robots work better together following cross-training		ILS Concludes Yamal 402 Proton Launch Investigation		NASA Set for New Round Of J-2X Testing at Stennis Space Center		Mars Rock Takes Unusual Form

Rover Walkabout Continues at Cape York

Another Sea Launch Failure

Insect drives robot to track down smells

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

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

NASA Curiosity Rover Collects First Martian Bedrock Sample

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

New NASA Mission To Help Us Better Estimate Asteroid Impact Hazard

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