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January 07, 2015

NASA closer than ever to finding Earth's 'twin'
Miami (AFP) Jan 6, 2015
NASA is closer than ever to finding a twin for the Earth, astronomers said Tuesday, announcing the discovery of eight new planets that circle in the habitable zones of their stars. Two of the eight are the most Earth-like of any known planets found so far outside our solar system, astronomers told the 225th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Seattle, Washington. The pair are likely to have hard, rocky surfaces in addition to being an orbiting distance from their stars that is neithe ... read more

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Eight new planets found in 'Goldilocks' zone Astronomers have announced that they have found eight new planets in the "Goldilocks" zone of their stars, orbiting at a distance where liquid water can exist on the planet's surface. This doubles t ... more		Kepler Marks 1,000th Exoplanet Discovery How many stars like our sun host planets like our Earth? NASA's Kepler Space Telescope continuously monitored more than 150,000 stars beyond our solar system, and to date has offered scientists an a ... more		Gemini Planet Imager produces stunning observations in its first year Stunning exoplanet images and spectra from the first year of science operations with the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) were featured in a press conference at the 225th meeting of the American Astronomi ... more
				Volunteer 'Disk Detectives' Classify Possible Planetary Habitats A NASA-sponsored website designed to crowdsource analysis of data from the agency's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission has reached an impressive milestone. In less than a year, citiz ... more		Inflatable 'Donut' to Bring Astronauts to Mars 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 dre ... more

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

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		U.S. defense in free fall Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sign mutual defense pact Brazil, Chile sign defense agreement		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

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

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		GUARDIAN Tsunami Detection Tech Catches Wave in Real Time Galileo daughter mission named Celeste to strengthen navigation resilience How quantum computers can be validated when solving unsolvable problems		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		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		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		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

Ohio State scientists advance focus on nuclear propulsion

Mixing neutrinos of colliding neutron stars changes how merger unfolds

China launches experimental satellites to enhance mobile space internet

Mars mission boost welcomed by scientists		Mars rover Opportunity suffering from 'amnesia' says NASA		Revellers welcome 2015 but celebrations turn deadly in China		Dawn Spacecraft Begins Approach to Dwarf Planet Ceres		U.K. researchers plan to grow lettuce on Mars
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

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