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January 06, 2015

Inflatable 'Donut' to Bring Astronauts to Mars
Moscow, Russia (Sputnik) Jan 06, 2015
NASA is crafting a donut-shaped inflatable landing mechanism, which will become the key to sending a manned expedition to Mars, AP reports. Leaving a human footprint on Mars has been a cherished dream for generations of scientists. However, a manned expedition cannot be sent to the Red Planet until a safe and reliable landing system is designed. Because of the thin atmosphere, neither rockets nor parachutes can be employed for delivering loads heavier than a rover. However, NASA's Langley Re ... read more

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Chinese spacecraft to return to moon's orbit The service module of China's unmanned lunar orbiter is scheduled to return to the moon's orbit in mid-January for more tests to prepare for the country's next lunar probe mission, Chang'e-5. ... more		New Project Scientist for Mars Rover The new project scientist for Mars Rover Curiosity is Ashwin Vasavada of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. Vasavada had been deputy project scientist for NASA's Mars Science La ... more		New Instrument Reveals Recipe For Other Earths How do you make an Earth-like planet? The "test kitchen" of Earth has given us a detailed recipe, but it wasn't clear whether other planetary systems would follow the same formula. Now, astronomers ... more
				New analyses suggests water binds to sulfates in Martian soil A research team led by LSU Geology and Geophysics Assistant Professor Suniti Karunatillake reveals a spatial association between the presence of sulfur and hydrogen found in martian soil. The ... more		Isro's Mangalyaan Completes 100 Days in Mars Orbit India's Mars Orbiter (Mangalyaan) completed 100 days of its Martian orbit on the New Year's Day 2015 Thursday, space agency officials said. The Mars Orbiter was inserted in Martian orbit September ... more

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

Super-Earths Have Long-Lasting Oceans For life as we know it to develop on other planets, those planets would need liquid water, or oceans. Geologic evidence suggests that Earth's oceans have existed for nearly the entire history of our ... more		Russian space medic who led Mars experiment dies at 64 Boris Morukov, a Russian cosmonaut and doctor who led an extraordinary experiment in which volunteers simulated a flight to Mars while never leaving a Moscow car park, has died at 64, his scientific institute said Friday. ... more				China launches the FY-2 08 meteorological satellite successfully China successfully launched meteorological satellite Fengyun-2 08 at 9:02 am on December 31, 2014, from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province. FY-2 08 satellite is named as FY-2G ... more
				Technology Innovations Spin NASA's SMAP into Space It's active. It's passive. And it's got a big, spinning lasso. Scheduled for launch on Jan. 29, 2015, NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) instrument will measure the moisture lodged in Earth' ... more		Russian Company Proposes to Build Lunar Base A privately owned Russian company called Lin Industrial has announced that it is capable of constructing a lunar base. The projected cost of constructing a first-stage lunar outpost, followed ... more

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

South Korean Satellite Faces Collision With Space Junk: Reports A South Korean geological monitoring satellite is on course to come within close hazardous proximity with space debris, Yonhap reports. The South Korean Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Pla ... more		NASA launching spacecraft with 19 foot lasso NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive, SMAP, will measure moisture in the Earth's soil, which will help farmers combat the effects of drought. ... more				Catching ET on the move Looking for life on other planets is not straightforward. It usually relies on chemical detection, which might be limited or even completely irrelevant to alien biology. On the other hand, motion is ... 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		Mars mission boost welcomed by scientists University of Leicester scientists, who are closely involved in the European mission to Mars -ExoMars- have welcomed support from the Government for the project. Following the Chancellor's Aut ... more		Mars rover Opportunity suffering from 'amnesia' says NASA Researchers at NASA are working to improve the memory of the Mars exploration rover Opportunity after a series of glitches in recent weeks led to what officials are describing as "amnesia" within the its memory banks. ... more		Revellers welcome 2015 but celebrations turn deadly in China Millions of revellers took to the streets around the world from Sydney to New York to usher in 2015 on Thursday, but in China celebrations turned to tragedy when 35 people were killed in a stampede in central Shanghai. ... more

	Dawn Spacecraft Begins Approach to Dwarf Planet Ceres NASA's Dawn spacecraft has entered an approach phase in which it will continue to close in on Ceres, a Texas-sized dwarf planet never before visited by a spacecraft. Dawn launched in 2007 and is sch ... more		U.K. researchers plan to grow lettuce on Mars A group of students at Southampton University in England are looking to grow lettuce on Mars. The researchers - a combination of undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students - are currently lobbying for their lettuce-growing experiment to be included on the Mars One lander payload. ... more

I, Tormentum		Gecko Grippers Get a Microgravity Test Flight		Tiny 'life detector' could sense alien movement: study		Innovative use of Pressurant Extends Messenger's Mission		Barren Deserts Can Host Complex Ecosystems in Their Soils
Risky Business		Stretched-out solid exoplanets		Scientists create human primordial cells in the lab		Tales from a Martian Rock		QinetiQ North America refurbishing, modernizing Talon robots used by the military

Russian scientists 'map' water vapor in Martian atmosphere

Flying over Becquerel

'Shooting the Moon' with Satellite Laser Ranging

Pitt team publishes new findings from mind-controlled robot arm project

New idea for transporting spacecraft could ease trip to Mars

Young Red Dwarf Stars could Host Habitable Worlds

Sunday night the longest since 1912, here's why

Kepler Proves It Can Still Find Planets

NASA, Planetary Scientists Find Meteoritic Evidence of Mars Water Reservoir

Inmarsat-2 F2 satellite retired after more than 23.5 years of GEO operations

Robot named 'Athena' becomes first humanoid robot to pay for a seat on a flight

NASA's Kepler Reborn, Makes First Exoplanet Find of New Mission

Signs of Europa Plumes Remain Elusive in Search of Cassini Data

Opportunity drives on in no-flash mode

Australian university students aim to generate first 'breathable' air on Mars

First steps for Hector the robot stick insect

Goddard instrument makes first detection of organic matter on Mars

NASA Rover Finds Active and Ancient Organic Chemistry on Mars

Super-Earth spotted by ground-based telescope, a first

NASA is letting people name the craters of Mercury

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