The commanders of both space shuttle Discovery (STS-120) and the International Space Station (ISS), the two crewed spacecraft now in orbit, are women. So, this week in the interstellar media, headlines gush with a milestone in the annals of gender. "Women set to take charge of space," said...

This month brings the 50th anniversary of two events that changed the world. The first, of course, needs little explanation: On October 4, 1957, the Space Age began with the Soviet Union's launch of the Sputnik 1 spacecraft. I want to talk about the event you probably aren't aware of. The October...

At the veterinarian, they do it with an injection. When astronomers want to "put to sleep" one of their pets, they use a mouse click. Yesterday, astronomers at Johns Hopkins University shut down the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) satellite after 8 years of service. The craft...

The Chang’e-1 lunar probe will explore the Moon from orbit. The mission includes mapping lunar topography, surveying the distribution of chemical elements, and gathering high-resolution photos of the lunar surface in preparation for future surface exploration. China National Space Administration I don't...

There I go again, nattering on about the dangers of spaceflight. Laugh if you will, but this is pretty interesting: Salmonella bacteria grown aboard the space shuttle turned out to be more harmful to its hosts — "virulent," for all the microbiology geeks out there. Salmonella is a leading cause...

On September 11, 2007, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity entered Victoria Crater on the rover's 1,291st martian day, or sol. NASA/JPL-Caltech Note to carmakers: Find out who the people were who built those fantastic rovers on Mars and hire them. They know how to make electric vehicles...

With President Bush’s call for a return to the lunar surface, dozens of titles about the Moon have hit bookstores. From the volumes that have crossed my desk, most are nostalgic or historic accounts that showcase the people behind earlier lunar missions. Robert Godwin has assembled one of the more original...

On January 14, NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft will fly past Mercury. MESSENGER — short for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging — will be making the first close-up observations of the innermost planet in 33 years. This flyby marks the first of three encounters with the planet, providing...

On January 14, NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft flies past Mercury. MESSENGER — short for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging — will be making the first close-up observations of the innermost planet in 33 years. This flyby marks the first of three encounters with the planet, providing...

On January 14, NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft flew past Mercury. MESSENGER — short for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging — made the first close-up observations of the innermost planet in 33 years. This flyby marked the first of three encounters with the planet, providing gravity...