Apollo 8: Christmas at the Moon

Christmas Eve, 1968. As one of the most turbulent, tragic years in American history drew to a close, millions around the world were watching and listening as the Apollo 8 astronauts -- Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders -- became the first humans to orbit another world.

As their command module floated above the lunar surface, the astronauts beamed back images of the moon and Earth and took

NASA Hosts Planet-Finding Tweetup in California's Silicon Valle

NASA will give 100 of its Twitter followers an insider look at its planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft and the agency's Ames Research Center on Feb. 11 in Moffett Field in California.

For the first time, NASA's Twitter followers are being invited to Ames to learn about planetary discoveries from Kepler and the science flights of NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA)

Spinoff 2010

 

 
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Office of the Chief Technologist

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National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

Get Ready for the Solstice Lunar Eclipse!

The first total lunar eclipse in two years will grace the sky the night of Monday, Dec. 20, and we want you to be there. Sure, it's a school night, but with winter solstice and a new year upon us, what better time to gather your family and friends to see the moon in a new light?

At NASA, we're pretty excited for this year's lunar eclipse, so we're offering a number of features and

NASA Moves Forward in Commercial Rocket Engine Testing

How long is a minute? It is longer than you think when it is filled with fire, steam and noise – lots of noise.
On Dec. 17, at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center, a team of operators from Stennis, Orbital Sciences Corporation and Aerojet filled 55 seconds with all three during the second verification test fire of an Aerojet AJ26 rocket engine. Once verified, the engine will be placed on

NASA's Odyssey Spacecraft Sets Exploration Record on Mars

NASA's Mars Odyssey, which launched in 2001, will break the record Wednesday for longest-serving spacecraft at the Red Planet. The probe begins its 3,340th day in Martian orbit at 5:55 p.m. PST (8:55 p.m. EST) on Wednesday to break the record set by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor, which orbited Mars from 1997 to 2006. 
Odyssey's longevity enables continued science, including the monitoring

NASA Science Smackdown: Mono Lake 'Discovery' Challenged

"We have cracked open the door to what is possible for life elsewhere in the universe," Felisa Wolfe-Simon of the NASA Astrobiology Institute and U.S. Geological Survey, who led the NASA Mono Lake study, at last week's news conference (on right in image below).

 When NASA announced the discovery of an arsenic-eating microbe in a California lake last week, the agency hailed it as a

Dying Moon Spawned Saturn’s Rings

Saturn’s majestic rings are the remnants of a long-vanished moon that was stripped of its icy outer layer before its rocky heart plunged into the planet, a new theory proposes. The icy fragments would have encircled the solar system’s second largest planet as rings and eventually spalled off small moons of their own that are still there today, says Robin Canup, a planetary scientist at

Did Junk Science Motivate Nasa’s ‘New Life’ Announcement?

Oh, Nasa. If only you could invent a time machine and go back to when you actually had a budget. The agency’s claim last week that it had found a new type of life in a lake in California is now under fire from all sides. Encirclement! One Slate article quotes several skeptical scientists who question the veracity of Nasa’s claims. One even said perhaps the most damming thing one scientist

NASA Apologizes for Not Finding the Aliens

That’s how Mary Voytek, director, Astrobiology Program, NASA Headquarters, actually responded to a USA Today reporter at a press conference today, in response to a question about how doggone annoyed newspaper readers and internet users were that NASA didn’t discover a giant space alien, but only a measly microbe that can live on arsenic alone, a finding that blows apart our definition of Life

NASA-Funded Research Discovers Life Built With Toxic Chemical

NASA-funded astrobiology research has changed the fundamental knowledge about what comprises all known life on Earth.
Researchers conducting tests in the harsh environment of Mono Lake in California have discovered the first known microorganism on Earth able to thrive and reproduce using the toxic chemical arsenic. The microorganism substitutes arsenic for phosphorus in its cell components.
"The

Snowballing speculation over a NASA press conference

I don’t generally like to talk about NASA press conferences before they happen because I don’t want to promote baseless rumor-mongering. In this case, though, I feel I have to write something to prevent speculation! Here’s the scoop: NASA released the news that a press conference will be held on Thursday at 14:00 ET, saying that the conference will "discuss an astrobiology finding that will

SAMMIES Tracker: Environment - 8:28

People know NASA for its space exploration and shuttles but did you know work being done at the agency is helping to prevent famine and predict climate change? Dr. Compton Tucker is a Senior Earth Scientist for the Earth Sciences Division of NASA. His work in these areas was nominated for a Service to America Medal in the Environment category. He joins us now as part of FederalNewsRadio's "

NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis Set to Return to Florida

EDWARDS, Calif. -- After landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California on May 24 following the successful Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, space shuttle Atlantis is about to start its cross-country journey back to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California on May 24 following the successful Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, space

IAEA to hold next discussions on project to construct nuclear reactor in Azerbaijan

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will start negotiating on construction of a nuclear reactor in Baku. "A broad delegation from Azerbaijan will go to the headquarters in Vienna on June 24-25 to discuss five projects which Azerbaijan implements jointly with the IAEA, including building a research nuclear reactor," Adil Garibov, director of the National Academy of Sciences of

UPDATE 1-NASA plans launch invitations to Twittering media

* NASA invitation-only event for new media planned * Astronauts Twittering from orbit * TweetUp slated for August launch (Updates number of invitations, adds bloggers) By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., June 1 (Reuters) - NASA, which has tiptoed into the new world of social media with Twittering astronauts and Facebooking rovers, is taking the next step with an

York native, now an astronaut, to ride space shuttle

The crew of the Endeavor, scheduled for liftoff on Saturday, June 13, includes York High School graduate Christopher Cassidy, shown in the back row, second from left. Other members of the STS-127 crew include, in the front row, Comdr. Mark Polansky (right) and pilot Doug Hurley. In the back row, are, from left, astronauts Dave Wolf, Cassidy, Canadian Space Agency’s Julie Payette, Tom Marshburn

NOTABLE IN NEW SPACE

NASA has announced the full lineup for an independent committee tasked with reviewing the space agency's plans to retire the shuttle fleet, build a new line of spaceships and return to the moon. The panel is headed by retired aerospace executive Norm Augustine, but its members also include a leading space entrepreneur, XCOR Aerospace CEO Jeff Greason. Today's official list also includes two

Find Your Own Place on Mars Nasa Satellite

Summary (Jun 03, 2009): Researchers are adding to the features available on the popular online application, Google Earth. Now users can participate in actual Mars missions by using Google Earth to recommend places of interest to photograph with the THEMIS camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter.Based on an Arizona State University news releaseArizona State University researchers and scientists have

NASA footage sparks UFO paranoia

The release of raw archival NASA footage that allegedly shows UFO activity has sparked new debate about extraterrestrial life — and the enduring power of conspiracy theories. One clip shows a pair of cylindrical lights caught by a shaky hand-held camera while the other one captures what are claimed to be alien craft zig-zagging in front of a space shuttle's window. But while the footage has