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December 24, 2015

Chinese rover analyzes moon rocks: First new 'ground truth' in 40 years
St. Louis MO (SPX) Dec 24, 2015
In 2013, Chang'e-3, an unmanned lunar mission, touched down on the northern part of the Imbrium basin, one of the most prominent of the lava-filled impact basins visible from Earth. It was a beautiful landing site, said Bradley L. Jolliff, PhD, the Scott Rudolph Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, who is a participant in an educational collaboration that helped analyze Chang'e-3 mission data. The lander touched down on a smooth flood basalt plain next t ... read more

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NASA offers sneak peak at Christmas Eve asteroid New images, shared Wednesday by NASA, showcase the size and shape of the Christmas Eve asteroid - the highest resolution images to date. ... more		Dwarf planet Ceres: water vapor in Occator crater When the Sun shines into the Occator crater on the surface of the dwarf planet Ceres, a kind of thin haze appears above its brightest spot. This can be seen in images taken by the camera system aboa ... more		Scientists produce 50 grams of plutonium-238 For the first time 30 years, federal scientists have produced plutonium-238. ... more
				NASA suspends March launch of InSight mission to Mars NASA has suspended the March 2016 launch of its InSight mission to Mars because of problems with a key scientific component, the US space agency said Tuesday. The lander was set to delve deep ... more		University researchers test prototype spacesuits at Kennedy The spacesuits astronauts will wear while exploring the surface of Mars will protect the person inside, supply air and water, and be flexible enough that astronauts can dig samples and do the other ... more

Marshall: Advancing the technology for NASA's Journey to Mars From making rocket engines roar to analyzing the first 3-D printed parts created on the space station and developing new technologies, 2015 was a year of discovery and progress as the team at NASA's ... more		Opportunity positioned on steeper slopes for another Martian winter Opportunity is inside "Marathon Valley" on the west rim of Endeavour Crater. The rover is positioned on steep slopes for improved solar array energy production. The near-term object is to position t ... more		U.S. defense in free fall U.S. and Saudis conduct Middle East's largest counter-drone exercise Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sign mutual defense pact		Magnetic nanoparticle chains offer new technique for controlling soft robots Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a technique for using chains of magnetic nanoparticles to manipulate elastic polymers in three dimensions, which could be used to remo ... more
				Martian gullies likely contain 'no water': study Months after scientists announced "the strongest evidence yet" of liquid water on Mars, a study Monday said there was none at least in the valleys carved into numerous Red Planet slopes. ... more		Canada delivers Laser Altimeter for OSIRIS-REx spacecraft integration A sophisticated laser-based mapping instrument has arrived at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver for integration onto NASA's Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security- ... more

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

Cassini Completes Final Close Enceladus Flyby NASA's Cassini spacecraft has begun transmitting data and images from the mission's final close flyby of Saturn's active moon Enceladus. Cassini passed Enceladus at a distance of 3,106 miles (4,999 ... more		Is evolution more intelligent than we thought Evolution may be more intelligent than we thought, according to a University of Southampton professor. Professor Richard Watson says new research shows that evolution is able to learn from pre ... more		Fossil fuels harm health from 'cradle to grave': report Trash, mulch and security: All jobs for troops in Washington Rising oceans to threaten 1.5 million Australians by 2050: report		Insight shipped to California for March launch to Mars NASA's next Mars spacecraft has arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, for final preparations before a launch scheduled in March 2016 and a landing on Mars six months later. Lockhee ... more
Israel's Amos-5 Satellite Failure Caused by Power Supply Malfunction Israel's AMOS-5 satellite failed as a result of a problem either with the power supply or an onboard cable network due to the external impact of high-energy cosmic particles, the manufacture of the ... more		Rare full moon on Christmas Day Not since 1977 has a full moon dawned in the skies on Christmas. But this year, a bright full moon will be an added gift for the holidays. December's full moon, the last of the year, is called ... more		LADEE Mission Shows Force of Meteoroid Strikes on Lunar Exosphere NASA scientists have released new findings about the Moon's tenuous exosphere - the thin layer of gas surrounding the Moon that is one 25-trillionth the density of Earth's atmosphere. The data revea ... more		Cassini Closes in on Enceladus, One Last Time A thrilling chapter in the exploration of the solar system will soon conclude, as NASA's Saturn-orbiting Cassini spacecraft makes its final close flyby of the ocean-bearing moon Enceladus. Cassini i ... more

	New Horizons team releases detailed slice of Pluto Five months after NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew past Pluto to take the first images and measurements of this icy world and its system of satellites, knowledge about this distant system continu ... more		Nearby star hosts closest alien planet in the 'habitable zone' UNSW Australia astronomers have discovered the closest potentially habitable planet found outside our solar system so far, orbiting a star just 14 light years away. The planet, more than four times ... more

EU to fast-track review of 2035 combustion-engine ban

Norway sovereign wealth fund drops French miner over environmental fears

EU split on 2040 climate goal ahead of UN summit

Asteroid WT24 looks even better second time around		ALMA reveals planetary construction sites		Rocks Rich in Silica Present Puzzles for Mars Rover Team		New Mars rover findings revealed at American Geophysical Union Conference		Opportunity performs a week of robotic arm at Marathon Valley
Monster planet is 'dancing with the stars'		Agreement with Chinese Space Tech Lab Will Advance Exploration Goals		Time-resolved measurement of the anomalous velocity		Cassini gets bull's eye view of Enceladus and Tethys		Twin civilisations? How life on an exoplanet could spread to its neighbour

Scientists teach machines to learn like humans

SSL selected for NASA project to develop robotic on-orbit satellite assembly

NASA: Asteroid to pass by Earth on Christmas Eve

Exoplanets Water Mystery Solved

Satellite's Last Days Improve Orbital Decay Predictions

Huge organs defy austerity for tiny cave snails in the subterranean realm

Mystery of missing exoplanet water solved

Hubble reveals diversity of exoplanet atmosphere

Study finds evidence for more recent clay formation on Mars

Hayabusa2 Earth Swing-by Result

Digital Globe to use Raytheon's Constellation Scheduling System

Tech titans pledge $1 bn for artificial intelligence research

Curiosity reaches sand dunes

Opportunity on west rim of Endeavour Crater within Marathon Valley

Japan asteroid probe enters 'target orbit' in space quest

Computing with time travel

No extraterrestrial laser pulses detected from KIC 8462852

Pluto's close-up, now in color

NASA's Curiosity rover reaches Martian sand dunes

Zooming in on Pluto's Pattern of Pits

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