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December 16, 2015

Satellite's Last Days Improve Orbital Decay Predictions
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 16, 2015
Scientists are learning more about how the upper atmosphere and ionosphere affect space satellites as well as communications and navigation here on Earth, thanks to new data from a U.S. Air Force satellite that recently completed a more than seven-year mission. The Communication/Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS) satellite burned up in Earth's atmosphere during a planned reentry on Nov. 28, leaving behind a treasure trove of data about a part of the space environment that's difficult to ... read more

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NASA: Asteroid to pass by Earth on Christmas Eve That's not Rudolph's nose, it's just a giant rock hurtling through space. NASA scientists calculate that asteroid 163899, also known as 2003 SD220, will make its closest approach to Earth on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2015. ... more		Exoplanets Water Mystery Solved A survey of 10 hot, Jupiter-sized exoplanets conducted with NASA's Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes has led a team to solve a long-standing mystery - why some of these worlds seem to have less wa ... more		Scientists teach machines to learn like humans A team of scientists has developed an algorithm that captures our learning abilities, enabling computers to recognize and draw simple visual concepts that are mostly indistinguishable from those cre ... more
				Study finds evidence for more recent clay formation on Mars Recent orbital and rover missions to Mars have turned up ample evidence of clays and other hydrated minerals formed when rocks are altered by the presence of water. Most of that alteration is though ... more		Mystery of missing exoplanet water solved Astronomers from the University of Exeter have helped shed light on the atmospheres of a group of planets which orbit stars outside our solar system, known as exoplanets. Exeter academics led ... more

Japan asteroid probe enters 'target orbit' in space quest A Japanese space probe successfully entered "target orbit" and is on its way to rendezvousing with a far away asteroid, in a quest to study the origin of the solar system, authorities said Monday. ... more		Hubble reveals diversity of exoplanet atmosphere Astronomers have used the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope to study the atmospheres of ten hot, Jupiter-sized exoplanets in detail, the largest number of such pla ... more				Hayabusa2 Earth Swing-by Result The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) confirmed that the Asteroid Explorer "Hayabusa2" is cruising on its target orbit after measuring and calc ... more
				Twin civilisations? How life on an exoplanet could spread to its neighbour Imagine two nearby exoplanets orbiting the same sun, each with its own indigenous civilisation. They're going through history either as companionable neighbours or deadly rivals. This is a familiar ... more		SSL selected for NASA project to develop robotic on-orbit satellite assembly Space Systems Loral has been selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for a multi-million dollar contract to develop on-orbit robotic satellite assembly technology. ... more

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

Digital Globe to use Raytheon's Constellation Scheduling System Raytheon has been selected by the high-resolution Earth imagery company, DigitalGlobe, Inc., to develop the capability to support a September 2016 launch and mission planning of DigitalGlobe's World ... more		Tech titans pledge $1 bn for artificial intelligence research Several big-name Silicon Valley figures have pledged $1 billion to support a non-profit firm that on Friday said it would focus on the "positive human impact" of artificial intelligence. ... more				Computing with time travel Why send a message back in time, but lock it so that no one can ever read the contents? Because it may be the key to solving currently intractable problems. That's the claim of an international coll ... more
No extraterrestrial laser pulses detected from KIC 8462852 The anomalous star KIC 8462852 has baffled astronomers with its erratic dimming, causing some to speculate that it's orbited by a massive structure built by an extraterrestrial civilization. To help ... more		Huge organs defy austerity for tiny cave snails in the subterranean realm While most of the knowledge about tiny snails comes from studying empty shells sifted out from piles of dust and sand, the present research is the first contemporary microscopic exploration of organ ... more		Curiosity reaches sand dunes NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has begun an up-close investigation of dark sand dunes up to two stories tall. The dunes are on the rover's trek up the lower portion of a layered Martian mountain. ... more		Opportunity on west rim of Endeavour Crater within Marathon Valley The rover is positioned on steep, north-facing slopes for improved solar array energy production. On Sol 4202 (Nov. 19. 2105), the robotic arm was raised so Panoramic Camera (Pancam) color images co ... more

	Pluto's close-up, now in color This enhanced color mosaic combines some of the sharpest views of Pluto that NASA's New Horizons spacecraft obtained during its July 14 flyby. The pictures are part of a sequence taken near New Hori ... more		NASA's Curiosity rover reaches Martian sand dunes NASA's Curiosity rover is continuing its trek up Mount Sharp. Recently, the Mars rover reached a series of sand dunes covering a lower portion of the layered Martian mountain inside Gale Crater. ... more

Zooming in on Pluto's Pattern of Pits		Dwarf planet Ceres: water vapor in Occator crater		German physicists see landmark in nuclear fusion quest		China launches new communication satellite		XPRIZE verifies moon express launch contract, kicking off new space race
Student helps discover new planet, calculates frequency of Jupiter-like planets		Robot adds new twist to NIST antenna measurements and calibrations		New Horizons' catches a wandering Kuiper Belt Object not far off		New clues to Ceres' bright spots and origins		Prometheus up close about Saturn

Robot arm simulates close approach of ESA's asteroid mission

New Visualization of Space Environment at Pluto

UW roboticists learn to teach robots from babies

Peering Through Titan's Haze

Russia's Kanopus-ST Research Satellite Deorbited, Heading to Earth

New US space mining law to spark interplanetary gold rush

Space Debris - A Growth Industry?

Swimming devices could deliver drugs inside the body

Mars Mission Team Addressing Vacuum Leak on Key Science Instrument

Pluto surface details revealed in best images yet

British astronaut Tim Peake to run marathon from space

Letter to Mars? Royal Mail works it out for British boy, 5

What kinds of stars form rocky planets

Japan asteroid probe conducts 'Earth swing-by' in space quest

Dawn spiraling in towards Ceres

NASA team discover how water escapes from Saturn

Rotational movies of Pluto and Charon

Half of Kepler's giant exoplanet candidates are false positives

These are the robots you're looking for

Japan shows off disaster-response robots at android fair

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