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February 11, 2013

NASA Curiosity Rover Collects First Martian Bedrock Sample
Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 11, 2013
NASA's Curiosity rover has, for the first time, used a drill carried at the end of its robotic arm to bore into a flat, veiny rock on Mars and collect a sample from its interior. This is the first time any robot has drilled into a rock to collect a sample on Mars. The fresh hole, about 0.63 inch (1.6 centimeters) wide and 2.5 inches (6.4 centimeters) deep in a patch of fine-grained sedimentary bedrock, can be seen in images and other data Curiosity beamed to Earth Saturday. The rock is believed to ... read more

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A massive stellar burst, before the supernova An automated supernova hunt is shedding new light on the death sequence of massive stars-specifically, the kind that self-destruct in Type IIn supernova explosions. Digging through the Palomar ... more		Hubble Catches a Side-on Spiral Streak This thin, glittering streak of stars is the spiral galaxy ESO 121-6, which lies in the southern constellation of Pictor (The Painter's Easel). Viewed almost exactly side-on, the intricate str ... more		Direct Infrared Image Of An Arm In Disk Demonstrates Transition To Planet Formation An international team of astronomers led by Satoshi Mayama (Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Japan) and Ruobing Dong (Princeton University, U.S.A.) has made observations with the Subaru Tel ... more
				Forecasting a supernova explosion Type II supernovae are formed when massive stars collapse, initiating giant explosions. It is thought that stars emit a burst of mass as a precursor to the supernova explosion. If this process were ... more		Lockheed Martin Completes Assembly, Begins Environmental Testing of NASA's MAVEN Spacecraft Lockheed Martin has completed the assembly of NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft. The orbiter is now undergoing environmental testing at the company's Space Systems fac ... more

CubeSats, SmallSats and MicroSats

Space Sciences Committee reacts The European Space Sciences Committee (ESSC) today released its position on the perspectives for the European Space Agency's (ESA) scientific programmes. The position statement provides recommendati ... more		NightPod Images Bring Earth to Light From Space Station There is a reason the phrase "shooting in the dark" refers to things that are difficult to do - and night photography is no exception. To account for low-light image scenarios, a photographer needs ... more		Major advancements in US space domain awareness through Space Systems Command Enhancing connectivity and readiness at Space Systems Command Space Systems Command Completes Key Software Upgrade for OPIR Monitoring at FORGE		Landsat Data Continuity Mission Awaits Liftoff When the newest Landsat spacecraft trains its state-of-the-art sensors on Earth's surface, it will provide images of our ever-changing planet in unparalleled clarity. Launched by NASA in partn ... more
				How The World's Saltiest Pond Gets Its Salt; Implications For Water On Mars Antarctica's Don Juan Pond might be the unlikeliest body of water on Earth. Situated in the frigid McMurdo Dry Valleys, only the pond's high salt content - by far the highest of any body of water on ... more		The wings of the Seagull Nebula Running along the border between the constellations of Canis Major (The Great Dog) and Monoceros (The Unicorn) in the southern sky, the Seagull Nebula is a huge cloud mostly made of hydrogen gas. It ... more

Solar systems for home and business installations

CubeSats, SmallSats and MicroSats

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

Earth-like planets are right next door Using publicly available data from NASA's Kepler space telescope, astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) have found that six percent of red dwarf stars have habitable, ... more		Satellite undergoes extreme testing Europe's largest telecom satellite has successfully faced a test recreating conditions it will deal with when it is launched this summer, scientists say. ... more		NASA's ORCA, AirHARP Projects Paved Way for PACE to Reach Space NASA study reveals comprehensive global river water accounting Asterra debuts groundbreaking L-band SAR API for commercial use		In milestone, Mars rover collects first bedrock sample In a first, the Mars rover Curiosity has penetrated a rock on the Red Planet and collected a sample from its interior, the US space agency announced Saturday. ... more
				Ariane 5 delivers record payload off back-to-back launches this week On Thursday, February 7, 2013, Arianespace successfully carried out the 54th Ariane 5 launch in a row, orbiting two telecommunications satellites: Amazonas-3 for Spanish operator Hispasat, and Azers ... more		New NASA Mission To Help Us Better Estimate Asteroid Impact Hazard Every year, sensors designed to detect nuclear explosions see harmless bursts in Earth's upper atmosphere from the breakup of an asteroid a few yards across. Tiny asteroids are much more numerous th ... more

Building a lunar base with 3D printing

US, Europe team up for moon fly-by

Russia to Launch Lunar Mission in 2015

Mapping Mars

Sampling Several Rock Targets

Weekend Test on Mars Was Preparation to Drill a Rock

Supersonic skydiver even faster than thought

Ahmadinejad says ready to be Iran's first spaceman

Iran's Bio-Capsule Comes Back from Space

Reshuffle for Tiangong

China to launch 20 spacecrafts in 2013

Mr Xi in Space

	Near impact: asteroid to narrowly miss Earth Hold on to your hats: an asteroid will zoom within spitting distance of Earth next week, in what NASA said Thursday is the closest flyby ever predicted for an object this large. ... more		A Possible Naked-eye Comet in March Feb. 6, 2013: Far beyond the orbits of Neptune and Pluto, where the sun is a pinprick of light not much brighter than other stars, a vast swarm of icy bodies circles the solar system. Astronomers ca ... more		Lockheed Martin Completes Major GPS III Flight Software Milestone The Lockheed Martin team developing the U.S. Air Force's next generation Global Position System III satellites has completed a key flight software milestone validating the software's ability to prov ... more		Kepler Data Suggest Earth-size Planets May Be Next Door Using publicly available data from NASA's Kepler space telescope, astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics estimate that six percent of red dwarf stars in the galaxy have Earth ... more

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

Scotland's first satellite set to boldly go into orbit		Arianespace Launches Six Globalstar Birds Using Starsem Soyuz		Avoiding a cartography catastrophe		NASA and ATK Complete Avionics and Controls Testing for SLS Booster		WISE Feels the Heat from Orion's Sword
NASA's Deep Impact Spacecraft Eyes Comet ISON		How the DoD Can More Efficiently Acquire Satellite Systems and Capacity		Javelin Demonstrates Extended Range Capability in Recent Tests		New "retention model" explains enigmatic ribbon at edge of solar system		Light-emitting triangles may have applications in optical technology

A spiral galaxy with a secret

Does probability come from quantum physics?

2012: The Webb Telescope's Big Year of Progress

Ariane 5 Arrives At Kourou For 4th Automated Transfer Vehicle Mission

A review of the rapidly evolving field of topological insulator hybrid structures

Enigmatic "Ribbon" Of Energy Discovered by NASA Satellite Explained

Earth-like planets may be closer than thought: study

Largest prime number to date found

Asteroid 2012 DA14 - Earth Flyby Reality Check

Sampling Several Rock Targets

Mapping Mars

Weekend Test on Mars Was Preparation to Drill a Rock

DigitalGlobe and GeoEye Complete Combination

Supersonic skydiver even faster than thought

Hubble Catches the Moment the Lights Went Out

Are Super-Earths Actually Mini-Neptunes?

Cassini Sees Titan Cooking up Smog

BepiColombo Mercury Planetary Orbiter Proto-Flight Mechanical and Propulsion Bus undergoes bake-out

Kerry urges Iran to be serious about nuclear talks

US drones kill nine in Pakistan: officials

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