Astronomy

Scientists believe that Mars was once full of benign seas that could have been suitable for living creatures. “There was apparently pervasive water present during the first 600 to 700 million years,” said geologist John Mustard from Brown University.

Mustard’s team studied data returned by the Compact Reconnaisance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars, an instrument designed to find traces of minerals that interact with water. Earlier studies have found evidence of ancient gushers, and the Mars Phoenix Lander recently found ice. But Mustard’s analysis provides the clearest picture yet of planet-wide hydrological impacts - and, most tantalizingly, CRISM showed widespread deposits of clay-like minerals that form only at relatively low temperatures.

NASA set the final space shuttle mission for May 31st, 2010. This is exactly four months before the shuttle’s fleet is set to retire. According to NASA the fleet has exactly 10 more missions left.

President Bush ordered that this missions be retired by September 30th, 2010. Five more flights this year have been scheduled, five more in 2009, and three in 2010. At this time the space agency is working on creating a new spacecraft that will be able to take astronauts back to the moon.

European researchers discovered what looked to be three ‘super-Earths’ orbiting around a star and two other solar systems that contained small planets. They believe that these large Earth-like planets are more common then we think.

“Does every single star harbor planets and, if yes, how many?” asked Michel Mayor of Switzerland’s Geneva Observatory. “We may not yet know the answer but we are making huge progress towards it,” Mayor said in a statement.

The Mars Phoenix Lander was able to deliver a detailed view of the soil on Mars back to NASA. It took pictures of clumps of dirt that consisted of what looked like minerals and fine grains.

Scientists stated that the dirt that was picked up and placed on the microscope and was described as having a orange-reddish hue. When zooming in, scientists noticed green particles that could be olivine, a mineral usually associated with volcanic eruptions. The soil also contained round, black glassy specks that could be volcanic glass, said mission scientist Tom Pike of the Imperial College in London.

It hasn’t even been a week and already NASA’s Phoenix lander has taken some interesting pictures of Mar’s surface and discovered a lump of ice or a Martian rock on the surface. Now NASA has ordered the Phoenix to dig up the dirt around it and analyze the material.

The Phoenix Mars Lander from NASA is making its towards the surface of Mars and is scheduled to land in less than two weeks. During landing the probe will try to avoid the crash landing that its predecessor – the Mars Polar Lander – experienced.

“This is not a trip to grandma’s house,” said Ed Weiler, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. “Putting a spacecraft safely on Mars is hard and risky.”

We have known for many years that Venus is made from the same substance that Earth is made out of. The only difference is that Venus is dry and is hot enough to melt lead with its thick atmosphere. Astronomers have tried spending time trying to figure out why Venus is like this. It seems that one scientist has discovered the answers that they have been searching for.

Scientists have studied Venus (and every other planet) for years and have made some interesting discoveries. They believe that it is exactly like Earth and yet different in its own ways.

In a news conference at the Paris headquarters of the European Space Agency, the scientists, working on the agency’s Venus Express mission, played up the Venus-as-Earth’s-twin angle in presenting their newest findings, including signs of lightning, surprising swings of temperature and additional evidence that Venus could have once had oceans the size of Earth’s. “They’re really twins which are just separated at birth,” said Dmitri Titov, the mission’s science coordinator. “The key question is why those twins are so different.”

Mars (the Red Planet) is the fourth planet from the Sun and the only planet that NASA has sent rovers to try to find some sort of life. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, Mars has surface features reminiscent both of the impact craters of the Moon and the volcanoes, valleys, deserts and polar ice caps of Earth. It is the site of Olympus Mons, the highest known mountain in the solar system, and of Valles Marineris, the largest canyon. In addition to its geographical features, Mars’ rotational period and seasonal cycles are likewise similar to those of Earth.

If you have a wish to go into outer space, but are not sure how then this is the perfect thing for you. O.k. so it may not be real, but it is still something that people would want to try. The European Space Agency is trying to find people, with the desire to broaden their horizons, as volunteers for a simulated mission to Mars. This is said the be one of the most challenging space experiments yet.