Life Survived Catastrophic Space Rock ImpactMinerals Needed for Life Found on MarsBits of Ancient Earth Hidden on the MoonHuge Impact Created Mars Split PersonalityStudy Mars Had Drizzle and DewAstronomers on Verge of Finding Earth s TwinPhoenix La: related news

Life Survived Catastrophic Space Rock ImpactMinerals Needed for Life Found on MarsBits of Ancient Earth Hidden on the MoonHuge Impact Created Mars' Split PersonalityStudy: Mars Had Drizzle and DewAstronomers on Verge of Finding Earth's TwinPhoenix La

From the far reaches of teh solar system, a giant asteroid or comet plunged into Earth near what is now the Chesapeake Bay 35 million years ago (shown in this artist's conception). Credit: © The Virginian-Pilot.

Bits of Ancient Earth Hidden on the MoonHuge Impact Created Mars' Split PersonalityStudy: Mars Had Drizzle and DewAstronomers on Verge of Finding Earth's TwinPhoenix Lander Prepares to Taste Martian DirtBlack Holes All Eat the Same Way

Meteorites have been found in Antarctica that are believed to come from Mars. Similarly, some scientists now believe that material ejected from the early Earth may have arrived as meteorites on the moon. Credit: NASA

Huge Impact Created Mars' Split PersonalityStudy: Mars Had Drizzle and DewAstronomers on Verge of Finding Earth's TwinPhoenix Lander Prepares to Taste Martian DirtBlack Holes All Eat the Same Way

This artistic representation of a giant impact on Mars was created from simulations by Marinova et al. (Nature, 2008). Mars is shown using a combination of Viking color images and shaded relief from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA). Credit: Jeff Andrews-Hanna

NASA shoots down Mars rumors: we're not sure what we've got

Over the weekend, rumors started rebounding around the Internet: initial work from the Mars Phoenix lander had found something that was evidence relevant to the possibility of life on Mars, and the President had been briefed. Before the jokes regarding the President and intelligent life had subsided, other rumors suggested that NASA had found a toxin that was incompatible with life. NASA decided to end the speculation, and dragged members of the Phoenix team into an early-afternoon press conference. Phoenix may have found an abundance of a specific chemical on Mars, but the researchers involved aren't even sure what it is yet.

Study: Mars Had Drizzle and DewAstronomers on Verge of Finding Earth's TwinPhoenix Lander Prepares to Taste Martian DirtBlack Holes All Eat the Same WayCollisions Fuel Black Hole Feeding FrenziesProof! Water Ice Found on Mars

Cracks caused by the contraction of sulfate are evident in this image of the surface of Mars' Meridiani Planum site by NASA's Opportunity Rover. Credit: NASA

Huge Tunguska Explosion Remains Mysterious 100 Years LaterOpportunity Rover Eyes Cliff Face on MarsWill NASA Ever Find Life on Mars?SOHO Spacecraft Finds 1,500th CometLife Survived Catastrophic Space Rock ImpactMinerals Needed for Life Found on MarsB

The Tunguska explosion flattened some 500,000 acres of Siberian forest on June 30, 1908. This image is from the Leonid Kulik expedition in 1927.

If Life Exists on Venus, Could it be Blown to Earth?

We've heard about the possibility of extraterrestrial life arriving on Earth from another planet, asteroid or comet, but the mode of transport usually includes a chunk of rock falling through the atmosphere as a meteorite. But there could be another form of interplanetary transportation. What if there are microbial forms of alien life floating in the upper atmosphere of Venus (the planet's clouds contain compounds that could indicate presence of micro organisms)? Could they make the trip to Earth? Apparently it is possible, if Earth and Venus are correctly aligned, the solar wind may carry microbes from the upstream Venus to downstream Earth in a matter of days…

Pieces of Ancient Earth May Be Hidden On the Moon

swestcott brings us a story from Space.com about the possibility of finding evidence for ancient Earth life on the moon. A team of scientists has published work confirming that meteorites originating from Earth could have remained sufficiently intact while colliding with the moon to allow the survival of biological evidence for life. Quoting: "Crawford and Baldwin's group simulated their meteors as cubes, and calculated pressures at 500 points on the surface of the cube as it impacted the lunar surface at a wide range of impact angles and velocities. In the most extreme case they tested (vertical impact at a speed of some 11,180 mph, or 5 kilometers per second), Crawford reports that 'some portions' of the simulated meteorite would have melted, but 'the bulk of the projectile, and especially the trailing half, was subjected to much lower

NASA Scientist: Reports of Mars Life Finding Are 'Bogus'NASA Now Looking for Life's Building Blocks on MarsLiving on Mars Time: Scientists Suffer Perpetual Jet LagSkywatchers Marvel at Solar EclipseHow the First Stars Were BornSigns of Life Found Ins

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NASA Spacecraft Shows Diverse, Wet Environments on Ancient Mars

WASHINGTON, July 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Two studies based on data from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have revealed that the Red Planet once hosted vast lakes, flowing rivers and a variety of other wet environments that had the potential to support life. One study, published in the July 17 issue of Nature, shows that vast regions of the ancient highlands of Mars, which cover about half the planet, contain clay minerals, which can form only in the presence of water. Volcanic lavas buried the clay-rich regions during subsequent, drier periods of the planet's history, but impact craters later exposed them at thousands of locations across Mars. The data for the study derives from images taken by the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars, or CRISM, and other instruments on the orbiter.

Scientists Set Record Straight on Martian Salt FindNew Data Suggest Mars Soil Not As Life-Friendly As ThoughtDark Energy Signs Seen in Giant Clusters and VoidsNASA Scientist: Reports of Mars Life Finding Are 'Bogus'NASA Now Looking for Life's Buildin

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Infrastructure needed for future space exploration

The United States is facing a crisis in its human space program. The huge investments in the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS) programs are leveling off, but the replacement for the Space Shuttle and the new space exploration architecture plans for future visits to the Space Station and missions to the Moon and Mars (called the “Vision for Space Exploration� or VSE) are still in early development. A “gap� in the ability of the United States to provide human and cargo transportation to and from the ISS is now of grave concern as the fleet of Space Shuttles is reaching the end of its operational life. This type of unfortunate situation has happened before (1975 to 1981) between the end of Saturn-Apollo rocket operations and initial operations of the Space Shuttle.

Scientists Eager for Hubble's FaceliftHuge Tunguska Explosion Remains Mysterious 100 Years LaterOpportunity Rover Eyes Cliff Face on MarsWill NASA Ever Find Life on Mars?SOHO Spacecraft Finds 1,500th CometLife Survived Catastrophic Space Rock ImpactM

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope maintains its orbit around Earth. The space agency hopes to upgrade the aging observatory some time in 2008. Credit: NASA

Ancient Mars had diverse, wet environments

Mars once hosted vast lakes, flowing rivers and a variety of other wet environments that had the potential to support life, according to two new studies based on data from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) and other instruments on board NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).

An Alien View of the Moon Transiting Earth

Ever wonder what an approaching alien spacecraft would see as it comes within tracking range of our Earth/Moon system? NASA's EXPOXI mission, which uses the old Deep Impact spacecraft, has created a video of the moon transiting (passing in front of) Earth as seen from the spacecraft's point of view 50 million kilometers (31 million miles) away. Scientists are using the video to develop techniques to study alien worlds. "Making a video of Earth from so far away helps the search for other life-bearing planets in the Universe by giving insights into how a distant, Earth-like alien world would appear to us," said astronomer Michael A’Hearn, principal investigator for the Deep Impact extended mission, called EPOXI. The video is pretty amazing and there's actually two versions of the video; the first one uses a red-green-blue filter, showing

Where Do Meteorites Come From?

If you've ever held a real meteorite in your hand, you probably wanted to know, "Where has this rock been in space and where did it come from?" Until now, no one has been able to definitively establish where the majority of meteorites found on Earth came from because of the changes that occur in meteorites after they are ejected from the asteroids they were originally part of. The most common type of meteorite found on Earth, about 75% of those identified, are chondrites, stony bits of space rocks that didn't undergo any melting while out in space. Two astronomers say have determined that most of these meteorites come from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Using the GEMINI telescope, they found that asteroids in that region are similar to chondrites found on Earth.

Mars Polar Lander - Space Probe, USA

The Mars Surveyor '98 Programme was comprised of two spacecraft launched separately: the Mars Climate Orbiter (formerly the Mars Surveyor '98 Orbiter) launched in 1996, and the Mars Polar Lander (formerly the Mars Surveyor '98 Lander).

Phoenix on Mars Life - Message From MECA

According to Craig Covault of Aviation Week & Space Technology, he is reporting that the White House has been alerted to some new info regarding the “potential for life� on the red planet - some data that relates to why the Phoenix Mars lander was sent to its arctic landing spot in the first place: To learn about whether or not Mars could be or has been an address for life.

11th Annual Mars Society Convention on 14th-17th August

Next week, Boulder, Colorado will play host to the eleventh annual Mars Society conference. There will be a huge array of speakers, lectures and workshops anyone can get involved in to learn more about the future of manned exploration on Mars. The Mars Society is an international organization working to raise public awareness about the opportunities we have on Mars and push for eventual manned settlements. Primarily, the Mars Society is pushing for better governmental spending in planetary missions, but there is an increasing awareness that many aims can only be achieved through private enterprise. The organization doesn't limit itself to political activities. For years the organization has managed a series of "Mars Analogues," isolated habitats where volunteers carry out extended experiments, studying everything from human psychology in

Journey to the Center of the Earth with THQ's New Game for Nintendo DS(TM)

Handheld Gamers Can Experience All of the Excitement from the Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D Film From New Line Cinema AGOURA HILLS, Calif.--(Business Wire)-- THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) today announced that Journey to the Center of the Earth(TM) has shipped to retailers worldwide. The game is based on the upcoming film Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D by New Line Cinema and is available exclusively for Nintendo DS(TM). In Journey to the Center of the Earth, players can use the Nintendo DS stylus to search for a passage to the surface of the earth while navigating through all seven of the exotic underground worlds from the movie. A wide variety of mini-games will allow players to rock climb, dig for dinosaur bones and raft across an ancient sea.

NASA denies rumors of finding life on Mars

NASA has denied media and internet speculation that the Phoenix Lander has found life on the 'Red Planet', Mars and has also denied that the White House in the United States has been briefed on such matters that would lead up to an announcement by NASA later this week. This comes just after NASA stated on July 31, that Phoenix confirmed the presence of water-ice on Mars.

NASA Denies Rumors Of Finding Life on Mars

NASA has denied media and internet speculation that the Phoenix Lander has found life on the 'Red Planet', Mars and has also denied that the White House in the United States has been briefed on such matters that would lead up to an announcement by NASA later this week. This comes just after NASA stated on July 31, that Phoenix confirmed the presence of water-ice on Mars.

Minerals Needed for Life Found on Mars

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander found evidence of mineral nutrients essential to life in Martian dirt, mission scientists announced Thursday.

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