http://news.softpedia.com Softpedia News - Space Softpedia News en-us 2001 - 2012 Softpedia. All rights reserved. Tue, 29 May 2012 05:35:10 GMT Tue, 29 May 2012 05:35:10 GMT News http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 10 http://news.softpedia.com/base_img/softpedia_logo.gif http://news.softpedia.com http://news.softpedia.com/news/CryoSat-s-Laser-Altimeter-Can-Measure-Sea-Levels-272074.shtml Scientists with the European Space Agency (ESA) have recently figured out that the laser altimeter instrument on the CryoSat satellite can be used to measure sea levels as well. Originally, the device was create to measure sea and land ice thickness and height.

CryoSat is the second vehicle ordered by ESA, since the first one failed... (read more)]]> Mon, 28 May 2012 10:03:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/CryoSat-s-Laser-Altimeter-Can-Measure-Sea-Levels-272074.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/CryoSat-s-Laser-Altimeter-Can-Measure-Sea-Levels-272074.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/SKA-Radio-Telescope-to-Spread-Across-Australia-South-Africa-271896.shtml The Square Kilometer Array (SKA) radio telescope will be installed both in Australia and South Africa, project managers announce. This will be the most sensitive radio installation ever developed, and will be used to investigate the Universe in more detail than ever before.

The announcement was made yesterday, May 25, and ... (read more)]]> Sat, 26 May 2012 09:51:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/SKA-Radio-Telescope-to-Spread-Across-Australia-South-Africa-271896.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/SKA-Radio-Telescope-to-Spread-Across-Australia-South-Africa-271896.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Dragon-Capsule-Docks-to-the-ISS-in-Historic-Flight-271876.shtml At 9:56 am EDT (1356 GMT) yesterday, May 25, the unmanned Dragon space capsule was grappled by the International Space Station's (ISS) Canadarm-2 robotic arm, which was operated by NASA astronaut Donald Pettit.

By 11:52 am EDT (1552 GMT), the privately built spacecraft was attached to the American docking port on the orbital lab's... (read more)]]> Sat, 26 May 2012 08:56:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Dragon-Capsule-Docks-to-the-ISS-in-Historic-Flight-271876.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Dragon-Capsule-Docks-to-the-ISS-in-Historic-Flight-271876.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Mysterious-Martian-Landscape-Reveals-Its-Origins-271766.shtml According to the conclusions of a new study from experts in the United States, it would appear that Medusae Fossae Formation on the surface of Mars has a volcanic origin. How this landscape feature formed has puzzled planetary scientists for years.

The structure is basically a 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) deposit located close to the ... (read more)]]> Fri, 25 May 2012 13:14:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Mysterious-Martian-Landscape-Reveals-Its-Origins-271766.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Mysterious-Martian-Landscape-Reveals-Its-Origins-271766.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/NASA-Wants-Private-Companies-to-Preserve-Artifacts-on-the-Moon-271744.shtml With 26 competing teams, the Google Lunar X Prize is definitely the most important competition ever conducted with the express purpose of reaching and exploring the lunar surface. NASA has recently released a series of guidelines calling on these competitors not to target historic sites on the Moon.

In a statement rele... (read more)]]> Fri, 25 May 2012 12:24:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/NASA-Wants-Private-Companies-to-Preserve-Artifacts-on-the-Moon-271744.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/NASA-Wants-Private-Companies-to-Preserve-Artifacts-on-the-Moon-271744.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Hunting-Exoplanets-with-JWST-Like-Mirrors-271667.shtml When the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) launches in 2018, it will carry the largest segmented mirror ever developed. Now, scientists are working on miniaturizing the technology, so that it can be used aboard high-altitude balloons, capable of detecting exoplanets from just above Earth's atmosphere.

The primary mirror on the JWST is made ... (read more)]]> Fri, 25 May 2012 08:53:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Hunting-Exoplanets-with-JWST-Like-Mirrors-271667.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Hunting-Exoplanets-with-JWST-Like-Mirrors-271667.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Carbon-Based-Chemistry-Can-Take-Place-on-Mars-271650.shtml Scientists based at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington have recently established that complex, carbon-based chemistry can take place on the surface of the Red Planet. Whether or not this continues to happen to this day is still unclear.

The investigation was based on a number of meteorites that arrived here on Earth fro... (read more)]]> Fri, 25 May 2012 08:10:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Carbon-Based-Chemistry-Can-Take-Place-on-Mars-271650.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Carbon-Based-Chemistry-Can-Take-Place-on-Mars-271650.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Asteroid-Weighed-from-Millions-of-Miles-Away-271641.shtml Using a combination of data obtained from three separate sources, an American astronomer has recently been able to determine the mass of a near-Earth object that is targeted by an upcoming mission.

For this investigation, Steve Chesley used readings collected by the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope and... (read more)]]> Fri, 25 May 2012 07:39:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Asteroid-Weighed-from-Millions-of-Miles-Away-271641.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Asteroid-Weighed-from-Millions-of-Miles-Away-271641.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Space-Exploration-Cannot-Move-Forward-Without-International-Cooperation-271504.shtml Cooperation and collaboration in space exploration are absolutely necessary if new, ambitious projects are to be set in motion, the leaders of multiple space agencies agree. Budgets are currently very low, compared to historic levels, while mission costs are skyrocketing.

Implementing new technologies on advan... (read more)]]> Thu, 24 May 2012 12:34:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Space-Exploration-Cannot-Move-Forward-Without-International-Cooperation-271504.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Space-Exploration-Cannot-Move-Forward-Without-International-Cooperation-271504.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Dragon-Completes-Flyby-of-the-ISS-271489.shtml Today, May 24, saw the first-ever, privately built spacecraft flying past the International Space Station. The point of closest approach between the two vehicles was reached at 7:25 am EDT (1125 GMT).

The unmanned Dragon space capsule first fired its engines to complete this maneuver at 4:43 am EDT (0843 GMT). Once this objective was complete, the ... (read more)]]> Thu, 24 May 2012 11:59:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Dragon-Completes-Flyby-of-the-ISS-271489.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Dragon-Completes-Flyby-of-the-ISS-271489.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Wind-Driven-Tumbleweed-Shaped-Rover-Could-Explore-Mars-271457.shtml Exploring the Red Planet using standard robots is a fairly tricky task, primarily because of terrain limitations. By definition, rovers are very sensitive pieces of high-tech equipment, and they need to be looked after all the time. But what if a new machine would actually thrive in harsh terrain?

This is a scenario proposed by... (read more)]]> Thu, 24 May 2012 09:48:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Wind-Driven-Tumbleweed-Shaped-Rover-Could-Explore-Mars-271457.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Wind-Driven-Tumbleweed-Shaped-Rover-Could-Explore-Mars-271457.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Asteroid-Impacts-May-Have-Caused-Global-Warming-on-Mars-271413.shtml Eons ago, Mars underwent a period in which asteroid strikes were commonplace. Astronomers now propose that the large number of collisions may have been one of the primary factors that drove temperatures on the planet through the roof, eventually leading to a runaway global warming effect.

Understanding what happened on the nei... (read more)]]> Thu, 24 May 2012 07:54:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Asteroid-Impacts-May-Have-Caused-Global-Warming-on-Mars-271413.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Asteroid-Impacts-May-Have-Caused-Global-Warming-on-Mars-271413.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Gemini-Telescope-Sees-Complex-Planetary-Nebula-271403.shtml The Gemini North Telescope, located in Hawaii, was recently trained on the planetary nebula Sharpless 2-71, a complex structure located in the constellation Aquila, around 3,260 light-years from Earth.

The relatively distant nebula reveals a massive swirl of gas at its core, a structure that has intrigued astronomers for several years... (read more)]]> Thu, 24 May 2012 07:26:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Gemini-Telescope-Sees-Complex-Planetary-Nebula-271403.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Gemini-Telescope-Sees-Complex-Planetary-Nebula-271403.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/New-Spaceport-Could-Open-in-Colorado-271319.shtml The city of Aurora, Colorado could become home to a new American spaceport, if state officials manage to set a new project in motion. They suggest that the Front Range Airport can be converted to support suborbital launches with moderate investments.

The FRA occupies a total of 4,000 acres (1,619 hectares) of land, and is surrounded by an addit... (read more)]]> Wed, 23 May 2012 14:04:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/New-Spaceport-Could-Open-in-Colorado-271319.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/New-Spaceport-Could-Open-in-Colorado-271319.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Solar-System-May-Have-a-Ninth-Planet-271310.shtml According to the conclusions of a new scientific study, a planet about four times the size of Earth may lurk in the solar system, beyond the orbit of Neptune. Its existence was proposed based on observations of other, small bodies in the area, which appear to be constantly perturbed by something.

Some astronomers believe that such a world could... (read more)]]> Wed, 23 May 2012 13:48:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Solar-System-May-Have-a-Ninth-Planet-271310.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Solar-System-May-Have-a-Ninth-Planet-271310.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/100-Year-Starship-Project-Gets-New-Leader-271278.shtml Officials with the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have selected a non-profit organization, led by former NASA astronaut Mae Jemison, to develop the proposed 100-Year Starship project into tangible reality.

The organization will receive $500,000 in seed funding from the US military for this objective, so its goal will ... (read more)]]> Wed, 23 May 2012 12:38:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/100-Year-Starship-Project-Gets-New-Leader-271278.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/100-Year-Starship-Project-Gets-New-Leader-271278.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Critical-Data-on-the-Universe-May-Have-Been-Lost-271213.shtml According to the results of a new, complex series of calculations, the best time to study the Universe has long since passed. The ideal moment for such research, when we could have obtained the largest amount of useful data, was around 500 million years after the Big Bang.

Though we are more than 13 billion years late, all is not lo... (read more)]]> Wed, 23 May 2012 09:00:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Critical-Data-on-the-Universe-May-Have-Been-Lost-271213.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Critical-Data-on-the-Universe-May-Have-Been-Lost-271213.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Geochemically-Evolved-Rocks-Found-on-Venus-271202.shtml Using data from the Venus Monitoring Camera (VMC) instrument aboard the European Space Agency's (ESA) Venus Express orbiter, scientists have recently determined that the geology present at the planet's equator is more geochemically advanced than researchers first suspected.

This is the first scientific study to be compiled based on VMC da... (read more)]]> Wed, 23 May 2012 08:29:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Geochemically-Evolved-Rocks-Found-on-Venus-271202.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Geochemically-Evolved-Rocks-Found-on-Venus-271202.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Opportunity-Snaps-Wide-Image-of-Endeavour-Crater-271195.shtml Taking advantage of a very low Sun angle at its current location, the NASA Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Opportunity snapped an impressive view of Endeavour Crater, its target for the past three years.

Mission controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), in Pasadena, California, waited for just the right time to snap this image... (read more)]]> Wed, 23 May 2012 08:12:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Opportunity-Snaps-Wide-Image-of-Endeavour-Crater-271195.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Opportunity-Snaps-Wide-Image-of-Endeavour-Crater-271195.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/NuSTAR-Will-Launch-in-About-Three-Weeks-271189.shtml Engineers at the Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), in California, are currently working around the clock to install the NASA Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) inside its nose cone fairing, the topmost segment of a carrier rocket.

The mission is scheduled to be launched to space aboard a Pegasus rocket built by Virginia-based Orb... (read more)]]> Wed, 23 May 2012 07:59:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/NuSTAR-Will-Launch-in-About-Three-Weeks-271189.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/NuSTAR-Will-Launch-in-About-Three-Weeks-271189.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/SpaceX-Launches-Dragon-Spacecraft-to-the-ISS-270983.shtml Hawthorne, California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) has made history earlier today, when it launched the first privately built spacecraft to the International Space Station.

The unmanned cargo ship lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), aboard a Falcon... (read more)]]> Tue, 22 May 2012 09:37:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/SpaceX-Launches-Dragon-Spacecraft-to-the-ISS-270983.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/SpaceX-Launches-Dragon-Spacecraft-to-the-ISS-270983.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/MAVEN-Magnetometers-Completed-at-GSFC-270924.shtml Officials at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), in Greenbelt, Maryland, announce the completion of two magnetometers that will go on the American space agency's Mars Atmosphere And Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft.

The purpose of the two flux gate magnetometers will be to measure the intensity of the magnetic field wherever the ... (read more)]]> Tue, 22 May 2012 07:39:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/MAVEN-Magnetometers-Completed-at-GSFC-270924.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/MAVEN-Magnetometers-Completed-at-GSFC-270924.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Cassini-Sees-Saturnine-Moon-Methone-270917.shtml The NASA Cassini spacecraft has recently carried out a flyby of the small Saturnine moon Methone, as it was positioning itself for its last pass over the large moon Titan. The orbiter is currently getting ready to shift from an equatorial to a polar orbit, which will enable it to observe Saturn's poles in detail.

This change implies that the veh... (read more)]]> Tue, 22 May 2012 07:25:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Cassini-Sees-Saturnine-Moon-Methone-270917.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Cassini-Sees-Saturnine-Moon-Methone-270917.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Quick-Look-at-the-NASA-FINESSE-Spacecraft-270667.shtml Mark Swaim, an expert at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), in Pasadena, California, is the principal investigator of the newly proposed Fast INfrared Exoplanet Spectroscopy Survey Explorer (FINESSE) spacecraft. The satellite's mission will be to analyze exoplanetary atmospheres.

This is the first mission ever proposed for this sp... (read more)]]> Mon, 21 May 2012 07:30:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Quick-Look-at-the-NASA-FINESSE-Spacecraft-270667.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Quick-Look-at-the-NASA-FINESSE-Spacecraft-270667.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/KSC-Ready-to-Assemble-the-First-Orion-MPCV-270604.shtml The Operations and Checkout (O&C) building at the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC), in Florida, is now ready to support the assembly of the first Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV). The capsule is scheduled to carry out its maiden flight in about two years.

Orion will be capable of exploring deeper into space than the Apollo-era capsu... (read more)]]> Sat, 19 May 2012 10:39:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/KSC-Ready-to-Assemble-the-First-Orion-MPCV-270604.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/KSC-Ready-to-Assemble-the-First-Orion-MPCV-270604.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Asteroids-Shaped-Both-Earth-and-the-Moon-270430.shtml Scientists have determined that most of the space impactors that struck Earth, the Moon, Mars, Mercury and Venus, during a time in our solar system's history known as the Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB), were asteroids.

The LHB was a tumultuous period that followed shortly after the emerging solar system's main period of accretion. It was char... (read more)]]> Fri, 18 May 2012 12:49:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Asteroids-Shaped-Both-Earth-and-the-Moon-270430.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Asteroids-Shaped-Both-Earth-and-the-Moon-270430.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/SpaceX-Ready-for-Historic-Launch-Tomorrow-270424.shtml On Saturday, May 19, a single, private spaceflight company may determine the future of this emerging industry. If the corporation succeeds, then the way will be paved for other, similar entities to send cargo to the International Space Station under NASA contracts.

Hawthorne, California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is currentl... (read more)]]> Fri, 18 May 2012 12:32:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/SpaceX-Ready-for-Historic-Launch-Tomorrow-270424.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/SpaceX-Ready-for-Historic-Launch-Tomorrow-270424.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Exoplanet-Is-Being-Vaporized-by-Its-Parent-Star-270371.shtml Using funds from the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada, investigators have recently detected an extrasolar planet that appears to be evaporating under the intense heat of its parent star.

The work was carried out by experts at the Cambridge-based Massachus... (read more)]]> Fri, 18 May 2012 09:40:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Exoplanet-Is-Being-Vaporized-by-Its-Parent-Star-270371.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Exoplanet-Is-Being-Vaporized-by-Its-Parent-Star-270371.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Lobster-Inspired-Transient-X-Ray-Detection-Technology-Under-Development-270324.shtml A device that has the potential to save lives and bring about a revolution in X-ray astronomy is currently being developed by a team of experts from the American space agency. The group got inspired to create the instrument after studying the underlying structure of lobster eyes.

The new technology closely mimi... (read more)]]> Fri, 18 May 2012 07:51:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Lobster-Inspired-Transient-X-Ray-Detection-Technology-Under-Development-270324.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Lobster-Inspired-Transient-X-Ray-Detection-Technology-Under-Development-270324.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Inter-Cluster-Filament-Found-Containing-Billions-of-Stars-270316.shtml Observations conducted with the European Space Agency's (ESA) Herschel Space Observatory have just revealed the presence of a huge, galaxy-filled filament of matter connecting two large galaxy clusters. These structures are on their way to a full-scale merger.

The event will also include a third cluster, which is currently ... (read more)]]> Fri, 18 May 2012 07:35:00 GMT Softpedia News - Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Inter-Cluster-Filament-Found-Containing-Billions-of-Stars-270316.shtml Space http://news.softpedia.com/news/Inter-Cluster-Filament-Found-Containing-Billions-of-Stars-270316.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru)