NASA - News, Features, and Slideshows

News

• NASA: Asteroids might have brought water to Earth

  The discovery of water ice on the surface of an asteroid has NASA scientists conjecturing that asteroids and comets could have delivered enough water to a primordial Earth to fill its oceans.

• NASA: Key antenna fails as Discovery enters orbit

  After a successful launch early this morning, NASA officials later discovered a snag when the space shuttle Discovery entered its orbit around the earth.

• NASA listens for signs of life from Mars Lander

  Ever hopeful, NASA engineers are trying once again to listen for contact from the robotic Phoenix Mars Lander, which is feared frozen to death on the Red Planet.

• NASA's Mars rover starts to think for itself

  After seven years of working on the surface of Mars, NASA's Mars rover Opportunity has been upgraded to allow it to make some of its own decisions.

• NASA, cosmos community turn up volume on International Space Station

  While NASA budget-keepers focus on setting future priorities for the space agency, many in the world space community is trying to turn attention to the benefits a mostly complete International Space Station will provide global science.

• NASA space shuttle gearing up for big phase out

  While politicians banter about NASA’s budget and the future of manned space flight, the space agency is prepping the critical technology its remaining four space shuttle missions will deliver to complete the International Space Station.

• Obama to defend new NASA mission at April summit

  In an effort to curb rising resistance in Congress to a new NASA strategy, President Barack Obama will hold a summit next month to explain his vision for America's future in space.

• Twitter to Major Tom: NASA lets public tweet astronauts

  Ever wanted to ask an orbiting astronaut what it's really like up there? Is the food any good? Can you sleep well in zero-g? And, of course, is that urine recycler still acting up?

• NASA building cloud service for climate modeling

  NASA is aiming to improve its climate research capabilities by creating a software-as-a-service interface for scientists and students who need to build complex climate models.

• Hello? Hello? NASA's Mars Lander remains silent

  All was silent this week as NASA listened intently for signs of life from its long-frozen robotic Lander, sitting in the cold and dark near the northern pole of Mars.

• For sale: NASA slashes price on used space shuttles

  Looking to buy a new vehicle at a bargain price?

• NASA to seek signs of life from its Mars Lander

  More than a year after the Phoenix Mars Lander appeared to effectively freeze to death on the surface of the Red Planet, NASA is getting ready to listen for signs that it's still alive.

• Cerf urges standards for cloud computing

  Vint Cerf, a co-designer of the Internet's TCP/IP protocols and considered a father of the Internet itself, emphasized the need for data portability standards for cloud computing during an appearance on Thursday evening.

• NASA telescopes watch cosmic violence, mysteries unravel

  In the past few days there has been a burst of new photos and information from all manner of NASA's spacecraft and telescopes. The devices, ranging from the Hubble to Kepler the Spitzer telescopes, are delivering new information on everything from massive supergiant stars to new planets. Here we've gathered up some of them for a quick look.

• NASA's next frontier: Venus, the moon or an asteroid?

  NASA is in the process of deciding on the focus of its next major space venture, which would cost about $650 million and take about eight years.