Astronauts could orbit Mars in 2020s, provided NASA's budget is boostedSeptember 9th, 2009 LONDON - In a new report, a panel of experts have suggested that humans could orbit Mars in the 2020s, provided NASA's budget is boosted. According to an article in the New Scientist, at its current funding level, the agency will be unable to leave low-Earth orbit for at least the next two decades, according to a summary of the panel's report.
''Moon rock' given to Holland by Armstrong, Aldrin just 'petrified wood'August 29th, 2009 LONDON - A piece of rock from the moon which Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin had gifted to Holland is claimed to be fake. Curators at Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum say that the "lunar rock", valued at 308,000 pounds, is in fact just a petrified wood.
Inflatable shells could ensure safe landings for spacecrafts on MarsAugust 12th, 2009 LONDON - NASA is planning to test inflatable shells for spacecraft traveling to Mars in the future, so as to ensure safe landings on the Red Planet. Before NASA's Mars Science Laboratory alights on the red planet in 2012, the one-tonne rover will have fallen through Mars' thin atmosphere at hypersonic speeds and blistering temperatures.
Asteroid visits could prepare astronauts for Mars landingAugust 12th, 2009 LONDON - A committee appointed by the White House to review NASA's aims has put forward the idea to send astronauts on progressively longer space trips to asteroids, in order to prepare them for a landing on Mars. According to a report in New Scientist, committee member Edward Crawley of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said that the first mission would fly by the moon.
Mysterious Mars "monolith" is just a broken boulderAugust 5th, 2009 LONDON - Scientists have solved the mystery of the rocky Mars "monolith" that resembled the black monolith from Stanley Kubrick's movie "2001: A Space Odyssey", and have determined that it is just a broken boulder. When a high-resolution camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured the monolith last July, speculation was rife that it appeared to show evidence there was once life on the Red Planet.
Mars, a seething cauldron for 100 million yearsJuly 24th, 2009 SYDNEY - Mars may have been a seething cauldron for nearly a 100 million years after its formation, thwarting evolution of life on the planet, according to an analysis of meteorites. The research has shown that the red planet remained excessively hot - with temperatures over 1,000 degrees Celsius - for 100 million years following its formation.
Apollo astronauts dream of trip to MarsJuly 20th, 2009 WASHINGTON - It's been decades since they set foot on the moon, but the pioneers of the Apollo programme remain committed to exploring space with the goal of sending a human to Mars. Seven astronauts from the Apollo programme talked with journalists Monday to mark the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon.
4th spacewalker Alan Bean says US should focus on Mars nowJuly 20th, 2009 LONDON - Captain Alan Bean, the fourth person to walk on the moon, says that it's time of the U.S. to forget about going back, and to join forces with the international community to focus on a mission to Mars instead.
Buzz Aldrin: To the moon and beyondJuly 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Even after his trip to the moon, Buzz Aldrin has led a pretty exciting life. A scientist, engineer, space exploration historian and science-fiction writer, Aldrin guest-starred as himself on "The Simpsons" in 1994, and recorded a rap song with Snoop Dogg and Quincy Jones earlier this year.
Apollo 11 crew planned for their death before leaving on moon missionJuly 12th, 2009 MIAMI - Before leaving on their historic moon mission, the crew of Apollo 11 helped their families plan for their deaths, it has emerged. The first men to walk on the Moon were feted as heroes and praised as pioneers when they set off for the moon in 1969, but memorabilia to be sold commemorating the mission's 40th anniversary revealed that the three astronauts secretly feared they might be on a one-way ticket, The Telegraph reports.
Buzz Lightyear believed by some to be 'first man on Moon', says surveyJuly 8th, 2009 LONDON - Buzz Lightyear, the fictional cartoon character from the film 'Toy Story', is believed by some people to have been the first man on the Moon, revealed a survey. The survey revealed "deeply worrying" levels of ignorance about the Apollo space programme, which sent three men to the moon 40 years ago this month.
Mars shares many similarities with EarthJuly 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Parts of Mars resemble places on Earth, including its landscape, history of water, soil and even its weather, says a study. Mark Lemmon, professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M University, long involved with Mars missions, says last year's Phoenix Mars Lander mission keeps revealing secrets about the planet, answering some questions but raising other big ones.
Space was hardly romantic, says Apollo astronaut Buzz AldrinJune 5th, 2009 NEW YORK - Buzz Aldrin has revealed that not all memories of the historic landing on the Moon 40 years ago were as romantic as portrayed. The second man to set foot on the moon said the July 20, 1969 landing bore another side of reality that the video archives could not translate.
Cold, wet Mars may have been just as hospitable to life as a warm oneMay 21st, 2009 LONDON - A new study has suggested that a cold, wet Mars may have been just as hospitable to life as a warm one. According to a report in New Scientist, the study investigated what would happen to various mineral solutions on Mars.
Methane-producing mineral discovered on MarsMarch 28th, 2009 LONDON - Scientists have reported the discovery of a methane-producing mineral on Mars. According to a report in Nature News, the evidence for the existence of the mineral, known as serpentine, was found by Bethany Ehlmann, a PhD student at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
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