Washington - The search for extraterrestrial life will take another step in March, when NASA launches its Kepler satellite to systematically look for Earth-type planets orbiting other stars.
The Kepler mission, named after the 17th century German astronomer, is to be launched on March 5 and target 100,000 stars in the Milky Way galaxy that scientists believe could have planets orbiting in a "habitable" zone, NASA scientists said Thursday.
Washington - A team of NASA scientists has found proof of the existence of methane gas on Mars, again raising questions about the possibility of life on the red planet, the US space agency said Thursday.
Washington - NASA has postponed indefinitely the much- awaited repair mission to the Hubble space telescope because of added problems with the orbiting telescope's mechanisms, according to an announcement on its website on Tuesday.
After repeated delays, the Atlantis shuttle was to have launched the risky, precise mission on October 14. That launch has been cancelled.
The next shuttle launch will be of the Endeavour shuttle on November 17 to the International Space Station (ISS), a NASA spokeswoman confirmed.
Washington - The Phoenix Mars lander has found snow falling from clouds above Mars, NASA said Monday.
The snow evaporated before it reached the ground, Phoenix's instruments showed.
"Nothing like this view has ever been seen on Mars," researcher Jim Whiteway of York University in Toronto said. "We'll be looking for signs that the snow may even reach the ground."
Scientists also said they had found calcium carbonate - the main component of chalk - and possibly clay, both of which form only in the presence of liquid water.
Washington - NASA celebrates its 50th anniversary Wednesday, but the US space agency is hardly in the mood for partying.
Even NASA boss Michael Griffin, who is usually rather a cold technician, recently sounded the alarm. After all, the agency's greatest triumphs, notably the first moon landing, took place almost 40 years ago.
In public, Griffin restrains himself, but in private, he bluntly expresses his concern that US dominance in space could soon give way to China.
Washington - The search for extraterrestrial life will take another step in March, when NASA launches its Kepler satellite to systematically look for Earth-type planets orbiting other stars.
Washington - NASA was examining a valve on the space shuttle Discovery on Tuesday a day after pushing the launch back to February 19 at the earliest.
Washington - A team of NASA scientists has found proof of the existence of methane gas on Mars, again raising questions about the possibility of life on the red planet, the US space agency said Thursday.
Washington - NASA has postponed indefinitely the much- awaited repair mission to the Hubble space telescope because of added problems with the orbiting telescope's mechanisms, according to an announcement on its website on Tuesday.
Washington - The Phoenix Mars lander has found snow falling from clouds above Mars, NASA said Monday.
Washington - NASA celebrates its 50th anniversary Wednesday, but the US space agency is hardly in the mood for partying.
