LATEST NEWS
Cracks on Mars hint at dried-up lakes
GALLERY: 19:02 16 September 2009
Vanished lakes may have left behind networks of cracks on the floors of Martian impact craters
Too much radiation for astronauts to make it to Mars
THIS WEEK: 18:00 16 September 2009 | 82 comments
Crews could exceed NASA's recommended maximum doses of space radiation before they get anywhere near the Red Planet
NASA faces 'Kennedy or Nixon' moment, former chief says
03:47 16 September 2009 | 40 comments
Mike Griffin tells Congress that the US is facing a choice between following in the footsteps of President Kennedy, who backed the Apollo programme, and Nixon, who later shut it down
Could we create quantum creatures in the lab?
19:39 15 September 2009 | 43 comments
Making living things act like quantum objects could become a reality with a new idea for trapping small objects
Lightning storm on Saturn is longest in solar system
16:10 15 September 2009 | 5 comments
Saturn's eight-month-long thunderstorm has become the planet's longest-running lightning display
Saturn's moon Titan has a foggy bottom
IN BRIEF: 15:18 15 September 2009 | 17 comments
The sighting of methane fog in the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan shows Earth is not the only solar-system body with a 'hydrological' cycle
Students snap images of Earth from space for $150
GALLERY: 22:41 14 September 2009
See the results of an experiment to take pictures of space on the cheap using a weather balloon, a used digital camera and a cell phone
Flying Armadillo has the power to escape the moon
18:12 14 September 2009 | 10 comments
The lunar lander competition heats up as Armadillo Aerospace makes the first successful flight simulating a launch from the moon to lunar orbit
Jupiter had brief encounter with icy companion
13:37 14 September 2009 | 4 comments
For 12 years in the middle of the last century, the giant planet drew a passing comet into orbit before letting it go again
Space robot 2.0: Smarter than the average rover
FEATURE: 10:35 14 September 2009 | 11 comments
Wanted: intrepid individuals to explore new worlds. Must be able to work unsupervised. Humans need not apply
Mock lunar landers set to compete for $1 million prize
19:20 11 September 2009 | 10 comments
Beginning this weekend, three contenders will attempt to win the elusive top prize in a rocket competition that began in 2006
Mighty Mouse takes off – thanks to magnets
19:05 10 September 2009 | 43 comments
Laboratory mice in NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory are being made to levitate to help research into how low gravity affects astronauts
Upgraded Hubble telescope spies cosmic 'dragon'
22:14 09 September 2009 | 25 comments
The first batch of images taken since Hubble's repair in May includes a spectacular portrait of a celestial dragon – a distant galaxy whose light has been gravitationally lensed
Black holes are the ultimate particle smashers
THIS WEEK: 18:00 09 September 2009 | 51 comments
Particles approaching a black hole event horizon collide at energies way beyond those of accelerators on Earth, and could reveal new physics
Astronauts could reach Mars in 2020s, panel says
00:32 09 September 2009 | 99 comments
NASA can't afford to go beyond low-Earth orbit without extra cash, says a review panel – but a funding boost could get crews into orbit around Mars relatively quickly
Rain of meteorites makes the moon hum
18:54 08 September 2009 | 10 comments
The moon is ringing due to a barrage of tiny meteorite impacts – fortunately, the noise won't be loud enough to stymie future missions to peek at the lunar core
Egyptian temples followed heavenly plans
UPFRONT: 10:59 08 September 2009 | 55 comments
A study of 650 temples dating from 3000 BC shows that they were laid out to precisely align with astronomical events
Cargo spaceship meets the catcher in the sky
17:13 07 September 2009 | 23 comments
The space industry is hoping that a new breed of spacecraft will make it easier and cheaper to keep space stations supplied with life's essentials
Earth-sized planets are just right for life
THIS WEEK: 16:20 07 September 2009 | 36 comments
A study of plate tectonics and magnetic fields on rocky planets shows why Earth is the right size for these processes to occur, making it amenable to life
Exomoons and blazing wildfires: the week in space
GALLERY: 00:41 05 September 2009
This week, a huge piece of space junk flew past the International Space Station and a California fire threatened an observatory once used by Edwin Hubble
Why the universe may be teeming with aliens
Hunting for a planet that can support life? There's more to it than looking for Earth's distant twin, says David Shiga
'Interplanetary internet' passes first test
Images were sent between a NASA probe and Earth in the first test of an internet-like data transmission system for space
SPECIAL FEATURE
The most extreme life-forms in the universe
These creatures set records for surviving in the most inhospitable environments on Earth - their existence bodes well for finding extraterrestrial life
SPECIAL FEATURE
Moving the Earth: a planetary survival guide
The Sun is slowly heating up, and in a billion years the oceans will begin to evaporate - moving the Earth is our only hope for survival
