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December 16, 2014

Goddard instrument makes first detection of organic matter on Mars
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 17, 2014
The team responsible for the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite on NASA's Curiosity rover has made the first definitive detection of organic molecules at Mars. Organic molecules are the building blocks of all known forms of terrestrial life, and consist of a wide variety of molecules made primarily of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms. However, organic molecules can also be made by chemical reactions that don't involve life, and there is not enough evidence to tell if the matter found ... read more

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NASA Rover Finds Active and Ancient Organic Chemistry on Mars NASA's Mars Curiosity rover has measured a tenfold spike in methane, an organic chemical, in the atmosphere around it and detected other organic molecules in a rock-powder sample collected by the ro ... more		Oil-dwelling bacteria are social creatures in Earth's deep biosphere Oil reservoirs are scattered deep inside the Earth like far-flung islands in the ocean, so their inhabitants might be expected to be very different, but a new study led by Dartmouth College and Univ ... more		Spike seen in methane on Mars, but source unknown Methane, a gas that on Earth comes mainly from living organisms, has been measured for the first time making a sudden spike on Mars, leaving scientists puzzled about its origin. ... more
				NASA is letting people name the craters of Mercury The team behind NASA's Mercury orbiter, MESSENGER, has begun a competition to name the craters of Mercury. ... more		Robot named 'Athena' becomes first humanoid robot to pay for a seat on a flight A robot named "Athena" has officially become the first humanoid robot to pay for a seat on a flight. ... more

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

MAVEN Identifies Links in Chain Leading to Mars Atmospheric Loss Early discoveries by NASA's newest Mars orbiter are starting to reveal key features about the loss of the planet's atmosphere to space over time. The findings are among the first returns from ... more		Moon Express testing compact lunar lander at Kennedy NASA is working with U.S. industry to develop the capabilities and cutting-edge technologies that will help send astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit. To achieve this goal, space travelers will need th ... more				Opportunity Flash-Memory Resets Continue Opportunity is on the west rim of Endeavour Crater heading towards 'Marathon Valley,' a putative location for abundant clay minerals only about a mile (about 1 kilometer) to the south. Because ... more
				Mars Mountain was All Wet Observations by NASA's Curiosity Rover indicate Mars' Mount Sharp was built by sediments deposited in a large lake bed over tens of millions of years. This suggests ancient Mars maintained a climate ... more		Opportunity In No-Flash Mode: Kludge Ready To Radiate Persistent computer resets and "amnesia" events on NASA's Mars Exploration rover Opportunity that have occurred after reformatting the robot's flash memory have prompted a shift to a working mode th ... more

Startup in the Land of the Rising Sun; A Japanese Solar Venture - by Bradley L. Bartz

Signs of Ancient Mars Lakes and Quakes Seen in New Map Long ago, in the largest canyon system in our solar system, vibrations from "marsquakes" shook soft sediments that had accumulated in Martian lakes. The shaken sediments formed features that n ... more		ESA and Omega: a watch for astronauts Swiss watchmaker Omega has announced a new version of its historic space watch, tested and qualified with ESA's help and drawing on an invention of ESA astronaut Jean-Francois Clervoy. Jean-Fr ... more				MESSENGER Data Suggest Recurring Meteor Shower on Mercury The closest planet to the sun appears to get hit by a periodic meteor shower, possibly associated with a comet that produces multiple events annually on Earth. The clues pointing to Mercury's ... more
First steps for Hector the robot stick insect A research team at Bielefeld University has succeeded in teaching the only robot of its kind in the world how to walk. Its first steps have been recorded in a video. You can watch them in Bielefeld ... more		Soyuz Installed at Baikonur, Expected to Launch Wednesday The Soyuz-2.1A carrier rocket has been successfully installed at the launch site at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and is scheduled for launch on October 29, the press service of the Russian ... more		Observing Solar System Worlds as if They Were Distant Exoplanets "It takes one to know one," as the old truism goes. When it comes to unraveling the mysteries of far-off exoplanets, the same holds true - one more reason why astronomers want to thoroughly understa ... more		Building a Worldwide Genetic Library BRIC-by-BRIC A house is only as good as its foundation. Built solid and strong, the resulting structure should last for decades. NASA is laying a strong foundation of life science research with results from a re ... more

	Astronomers spot Pluto-size objects swarming about young sun Researchers at Harvard have come across images that suggest a series of Pluto-sized object swarming about the outer reaches of a solar system anchored by a young star. ... more		Early adoption of robotic surgery leads to organ preservation for kidney cancer patients Patients with operable kidney cancers were more likely to have a partial nephrectomy - the recommended treatment for localized tumors - when treated in hospitals that were early adopters of roboti ... more

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