Space News Headlines - Yahoo! News UK

NASA enlists public in hunt for major asteroids

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:22:52 +0100

NASA announced a Grand Challenge on Tuesday to enlist government agencies, industry, academics and citizen astronomers in the hunt for asteroids that could cause massive destruction.

Winds on Venus have accelerated by a third: scientists

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:58:19 +0100

Already travelling at super-hurricane speeds, winds on Venus have accelerated by an astonishing one-third over the past six years, the European Space Agency (ESA) reported on Tuesday.

Australian team maps Moon's hidden craters

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:00:52 +0100

Australian scientists Tuesday said they had identified a possible 280 additional craters on the Moon, a finding they said could shed light on the history of the Earth's natural satellite.

Four women among new US astronauts

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:49:17 +0100

The US space agency has eight new astronauts - its first new batch in four years.

Plan for modified European rocket gets backing

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:26:17 +0100

Two major figures in the European space industry on Monday backed plans to modify the Ariane 5 rocket to help it shoot larger satellites into orbit.

NASA announces eight new astronauts, half are women

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:04:57 +0100

The US space agency announced the appointment of eight new astronauts on Monday, and a record half of NASA's first astronaut class since 2009 are women.

Final curtain for Europe's deep-space telescope

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:48:43 +0100

The deep-space telescope Herschel took its final bow on Monday, climaxing a successful four-year mission to observe the birth of stars and galaxies, the European Space Agency (ESA) said.

Russia fetes 50th anniversary of first woman in space

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 14:55:39 +0100

Russia celebrated Sunday the 50th anniversary of the maiden flight of the first woman in space -- a Soviet national hero who went by the call name "Seagull" and captured the imaginations of girls around the world.

Europe's space truck docks with ISS

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 18:00:28 +0100

A robot freighter bearing 6.6 tonnes of cargo docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday, the European Space Agency (ESA) said.

China astronauts enter space module

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 09:50:32 +0100

Three Chinese astronauts Thursday entered a space module after carrying out a successful docking manoeuvre, state media said, two days after the launch of the country's longest manned space mission.

Exclusive - U.S. in antitrust probe of Lockheed-Boeing rocket venture

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 03:50:27 +0100

By Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators have opened a probe into whether a Lockheed-Boeing joint venture that launches U.S. government satellites into space has violated antitrust laws through an exclusivity agreement with the maker of engines used in its rockets. ...

Japan mulls hosting global collider project - Nikkei

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 22:00:09 +0100

(Reuters) - The government has decided to solicit construction in Japan of the International Linear Collider (ILC), a next-generation particle accelerator that will allow physicists to explore rudimentary questions about the universe, the Nikkei said. The ILC will complement the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), which confirmed the existence of the Higgs boson - a particle understood to impart mass, the business daily said. The project is seen to measure up to the International Space Station and the ITER nuclear fusion project. ...

DNA code sheds light on world-ranging alga

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 18:38:44 +0100

It's just a tiny thing -- a single-celled organism visible only under a microscope -- yet it is one of the most successful life forms on the planet.

Pulsating stars spark new astronomic class

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 12:56:39 +0100

An intriguing stellar cluster located 7,000 light years from Earth has prompted astronomers to create a new class of stars with "pulsating" brightness, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) said on Wednesday.

New Project Will Send Your Messages to Aliens in Deep Space

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 00:11:04 +0100

The Lone Signal project is asking everyone with an Internet connection to help beam messages into outer space in an attempt to make our presence in the universe known.

China's latest 'sacred' manned space mission blasts off

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 16:46:50 +0100

By Ben Blanchard BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese manned spacecraft blasted off with three astronauts on board on Tuesday on a 15-day mission to an experimental space lab in the latest step towards the development of a space station. The Shenzhou 10 spacecraft was launched from a remote site in the Gobi desert in China's far west at 5:38 p.m. (0938 GMT) under warm, clear blue skies, in images carried live on state television. ...

China's latest spacecraft lifts off

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 12:03:42 +0100

China's latest manned spacecraft has successfully blasted off on a 15-day mission to dock with a space lab and educate young people about science.

China launches longest-ever manned space mission

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 11:08:25 +0100

China began its longest manned space mission yet Tuesday with the launch of the Shenzhou-10, state television showed, as the country steps up an ambitious exploration programme symbolising its growing power.

China's latest manned space mission to launch June 11

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 14:55:06 +0100

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will launch its next manned space flight on Tuesday, carrying three astronauts on a 15-day mission to an experimental space lab, the National Space Administration said, in the latest step towards the development of a space station. The Shenzhou 10 spacecraft will launch from a remote site in the Gobi desert in China's far west at 5:38 p.m. (0938 GMT), Wu Ping, spokeswoman for China's manned space program, told a televised briefing on Monday. ...

China to send second woman into space

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 13:13:06 +0100

China is to send its second woman astronaut into orbit on its longest mission yet, space officials said Monday, as the country works towards building a space station.

Asteroid the size of a small truck buzzes Earth: NASA

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 15:29:42 +0100

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - An asteroid the size of a small truck zoomed past Earth four times closer than the moon on Saturday, the latest in a parade of visiting celestial objects that has raised awareness of potentially hazardous impacts on the planet. NASA said Asteroid 2013 LR6 was discovered about a day before its closest approach to Earth, which occurred at 12:42 a.m. EDT (0442 GMT on Saturday) about 65,000 miles over the Southern Ocean, south of Tasmania, Australia. The 30-foot-wide (10-metre-wide) asteroid posed no threat. A week ago, the comparatively huge 1. ...

Second rover finds hint of a life-friendly ancient Mars

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 01:20:16 +0100

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A Martian rock analyzed by NASA's rover Opportunity contains clays formed in non-acidic water, an environment potentially suitable for the chemistry of ancient life to brew. The solar-powered Opportunity landed on Mars in January 2004 for what was expected to be a 90-day mission to look for signs there was once water. It, and a twin rover, Spirit, which succumbed to the harsh Martian environment three years ago, had both found rocks altered by highly acidic water. ...

Aging Mars rover makes new water discoveries

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 20:11:14 +0100

Scientists on Friday called NASA's Opportunity rover gimpy and arthritic, but hailed its new discoveries about early water on Mars made almost 10 years after it was launched toward the Red Planet.

First woman in space ready for 'one-way flight to Mars'

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 13:27:37 +0100

Russia's Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to go to space, said on Friday she was ready to score another coup and fly to Mars, even if it would be just a one-way trip.

Chile observatory discovers 'comet factory'

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 03:37:45 +0100

A "dust trap" surrounding a young star could help explain how planets are formed, astronomers with Chile's ALMA space observatory said.

Justin Bieber books space voyage on Virgin Galactic

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 00:26:41 +0100

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Canadian pop star Justin Bieber is the latest celebrity to reach for the stars, signing up to go into space with Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic. British entrepreneur Branson announced on Twitter on Wednesday that Bieber, 19, and his manager, Scooter Braun, were the latest "future astronauts. ...

Peanut butter, pyjamas, parmesan launched into space

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 14:45:51 +0100

A special delivery of peanut butter, pyjamas and parmesan cheese was blasted into the cosmos to bring some earthly indulgences to the astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS).

Europe launches record cargo for space station

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 01:10:03 +0100

A record 6.6 tonnes of cargo were hurtling towards the International Space Station after being blasted into orbit by a European rocket from French Guiana.

Curiosity heading to Mars mountain

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 22:20:37 +0100

Ten months after landing on Mars, the Nasa rover Curiosity is finally about to pack up and head toward a mountain.

Europe set for record-breaking space launch

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 12:08:10 +0100

Nearly 40 years ago, European countries worried by US and Soviet dominance of space gave the green light to the first Ariane rocket, a small launcher capable of hoisting a satellite payload of just 1.8 tonnes -- the equivalent mass of two small cars.

Rocket to study galaxy creation

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 12:48:51 +0100

A rocket set to launch from Virginia's Wallops Island Flight Facility is to study how the first galaxy was formed.

In feat, telescope directly spots lightweight exoplanet

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 18:55:48 +0100

Breaking new ground in the detection of planets beyond our solar system, European astronomers on Monday said they had recorded the most lightweight world to be discovered so far through direct observation.

China to launch 'manned space mission in June'

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 09:59:11 +0100

China will launch three astronauts into space this month to dock with an experimental space-module, state-media said Monday, marking the latest step towards the country's aim of building a space station.

Massive asteroid with moon to pass Earth today

Fri, 31 May 2013 14:58:24 +0100

An asteroid nearly two miles (three kilometers) wide is set to pass by Earth Friday with no risk of impact, offering scientists a rare chance to study a massive flying object with its own moon.

Pebbles find fuels Mars life hopes

Thu, 30 May 2013 19:07:22 +0100

Scientists have discovered pebbles on Mars, showing that a stream has flowed on the planet - and giving more weight to the theory that it was once able to support life.

Radiation on trip to Mars near lifetime limit

Thu, 30 May 2013 18:35:55 +0100

Astronauts who travel on future missions to Mars would likely be exposed to their lifetime limit of radiation during the trip, not to mention time spent on the Red Planet, scientists said Thursday.

Asteroid mining company wants to put your face in space

Thu, 30 May 2013 02:46:27 +0100

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A privately owned asteroid mining firm, backed in part by Google Inc's founders, launched a crowd-funding project on Wednesday to gauge public interest in a small space telescope that could serve as a backdrop for personal photographs, officials said. Planetary Resources, based in Bellevue, Washington, plans to build and operate telescopes to hunt for asteroids orbiting near Earth and robotic spacecraft to mine them for precious metals, water and other materials. ...

International trio takes shortcut to space station

Wed, 29 May 2013 05:34:17 +0100

An international trio flying in a Russian capsule docked with the International Space Station on Wednesday with a busy schedule full of space walks and an encounter with a pioneering US cargo craft.

Moon may harbour alien minerals, study says

Sun, 26 May 2013 19:06:16 +0100

Minerals found in craters on the Moon may be remnants of asteroids that slammed into it and not, as long believed, the satellite's innards exposed by such impacts, a study said Sunday.

Ecuador satellite hits Soviet-era space junk

Fri, 24 May 2013 02:49:39 +0100

A tiny Ecuadoran satellite that collided in space with the remains of a Soviet rocket survived the crash, but was damaged and is not transmitting, according to Quito's space agency.