Scientists Prepare To Ship Genesis Samples To NASA's Johnson Space Center

Scientists have recovered samples from the Genesis spacecraft that smashed into the Utah desert earlier this month. They'll soon ship them from the U.S. Army Proving Ground in Dugway, Utah, to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

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Canada Celebrates 20 Years Of Human Spaceflight

Twenty years ago, on October 5, 1984, Marc Garneau became the first Canadian astronaut to travel into space. On October 6, 2004, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) will unveil a "specially designed, high-tech, interactive kiosk" to commemorate 20 years of achievement in space.

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NASA Selects ILS To Launch Solar Dynamics Observatory

Lockheed Martin anounced today that NASA has selected Lockheed's Atlas V 401 configuration as the launcher that will lift the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) into space in April 2008. International Launch Services (ILS) will provide the launch service under a contract with NASA.

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Time To Celebrate! Venus Express Complete

To celebrate the completion of the Venus Express spacecraft, Alenia Spazio, Astrium SAS and the European Space Agency (ESA) will host a Venus Express Day in Turin, Italy on 4 October. Venus Express will be the first European probe to visit Venus.

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NASA Seeks Solar System Ambassadors

NASA is seeking volunteers for the Solar System Ambassadors program for 2005. According to Kay Ferrari, national coordinator for the Solar System Ambassadors program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), "Ideal candidates are ambitious and able to actively personalize the space program for their communities,". This outreach program is an important tool for increasing awareness and excitement in math and science among our young people.

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Software From JPL Will Be Adapted For Virtual Medicine

Software used by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to share information about our solar system (the Planetary Data System) will be adapted for use as a "virtual pediatric intensive care unit." The software, called Object Oriented Data Technology Software, will allow doctors around the world to share medical expertise.

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ESO Photographs Near-Earth Asteroid, Measures Distance

The La Silla and Paranal observatories, both part of the European Southern Observatory (ESO), photographed the near-earth asteroid Toutatis simultaneously allowing scientists to measure the distance from Earth using parallax effect, validating orbital predictions.

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Mars Express Communications Resume After Solar Conjunction

Mission controllers resumed high-speed data communications with the European Space Agency's (ESA's) Mars Express orbiter Sunday. Communications with the craft had been limited for nearly a month due to signal interference cause by solar conjunction.

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SpaceShip One Unofficially Completes First Attempt At The X-Prize

Civilian Astronaut Mike Melvill successfully flew into the fringes of space to complete the first flight of Scaled Composite's attempt at the Ansari X-Prize. The flight attempt has not yet been deemed an official success towards the X-Prize.

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New $50 Million Space Prize Announced

Nevada millionaire Robert Bigelow, founder of Bigelow Aerospace, announced the America's Space Prize, "a $50 million race to build an orbital vehicle capable of carrying up to seven astronauts to an orbital outpost by the end of the decade."

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Satellite Imagery Used To Locate Disease Carrying Insects In South America

The Humanitarian Mapping Service (HUMAN) project, funded by the European Space Agency (ESA), has been providing high resolution satellite imagery to humanitarian aid workers in South America in order to find and eliminate insects carrying deadly parasites.

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Canadian Astronaut To Lead NEEMO 7 Mission, Including Telemedecine Demonstrations

Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Dr. Dave Williams will command the next undersea NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) mission, NEEMO 7 (11-21 October 2004). During the mission, the crew will be guided by a land-based surgeon through a number of telemedecine demonstrations.

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Commercial Space Tourist Flights May Soon Be A Reality

A new service, Virgin Galactic, will allow consumers to purchase suborbital flights into space with fares starting at $208,000 (US). Construction of the first craft, VSS Enterprise, will begin next year.

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MER Tracks Spied From Orbit

A special imaging technique has allowed NASA's Mars Global Surveyor to observe tracks from the Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs), as well as the rovers themselves, on the surface of Mars.

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SMART-1 Turns One

The European Space Agency's (ESA's) SMART-1 spacecraft celebrates one year in space today.

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Solar Wind May Be Responsible For Mars' Lack Of Water

Recent findings from the European Space Agency's (ESA's) Mars Express mission indicate that the solar wind may be responsible for the depletion of water on Mars.

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Chandra Shows Supersonic High-Energy Pulsar

Recently released images of "The Mouse" (G359.23-0.82) from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory show a shock wave and a cloud of high-energy particles caused by the young pulsar as it speeds through interstellar space at about 1.3 million miles-per-hour.

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Get Ready For The Vancouver SpaceFest

The Vancouver SpaceFest, "a major gathering of the top space experts, scientists, astronauts agencies and industry," is scheduled for October 4 - 8, 2004 in Vancouver, BC, Canada. The SpaceFest is a public outreach program that coincides with the 55th Annual International Astronautical Congress (IAC). This year's IAC event is hosted by the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute (CASI).

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Lockheed Wins Space Exploration Study Contract

Lockheed Martin was recently awarded a one-year NASA contract to perform space exploration concept studies. The contract may be worth up to $6 million.

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Cimarron Wins NASA's Woman Owned Business Of The Year Award

Cimarron Software Services, Inc. was recently honored with NASA's Woman Owned Business Of The Year Award. Cimarron is a subcontractor to Lockheed Martin for the Mission Support Operations Contract (MSOC) with NASA.

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Possible First Image Of An Extrasolar Planet

A team of American and European astronomers believe they have captured the first image of an extrasolar planet using the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the ESO Paranal Observatory in Chile.

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Mars Exploration Rover Mission Extended

NASA has extended the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission another six months. The twin MERs, Spirit and Opportunity, have already completed their 3-month primary mission and are near the end of their first 6-month extension.

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Orbital Wins Lunar Exploration Study Contract

Orbital Sciences Corporation announced on 10 September that it has been awarded a one year lunar exploration study contract from NASA, potentially worth up to $6 million.

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Mars Exploration Rover Mission Extended

NASA has extended the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission another six months. The twin MERs, Spirit and Opportunity, have already completed their 3-month primary mission and are near the end of their first 6-month extension.

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