Spaceflight Now

Sunday: March 7, 2004		0331 GMT

Tumbleweed rover goes on a roll at South Pole A balloon-shaped robot explorer that one day could search for evidence that water existed on other planets has survived some of the most trying conditions on planet Earth during a 70-kilometer (40-mile), wind-driven trek across Antarctica. FULL STORY

Research shows heavy smoke 'chokes' clouds Using data from NASA's Aqua satellite, agency scientists found heavy smoke from burning vegetation inhibits cloud formation. The research suggests the cooling of global climate by pollutant particles, called "aerosols," may be smaller than previously estimated. FULL STORY

Saturday: March 6, 2004		0420 GMT

Volcanic rock in Gusev Crater hints at past water NASA's Spirit has found hints of a water history in a rock at Mars' Gusev Crater, but it is a very different type of rock than those in which NASA's Opportunity found clues to a wet past on the opposite side of the planet. FULL STORY

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Friday: March 5, 2004		0001 GMT

Hubble picture of space phenomenon imitates art "Starry Night," Vincent van Gogh's famous painting, is renowned for its bold whorls of light sweeping across a raging night sky. Although this image of the heavens came only from the artist's restless imagination, a new picture from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope bears remarkable similarities to the van Gogh work, complete with never-before-seen spirals of dust swirling across trillions of miles of interstellar space. FULL STORY

Working to understand the very early Universe Using a British radio telescope called the Very Small Array, astronomers have made measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background -- radiation left over from the Big Bang -- which shed new light on events in the first minute fraction of the Universe's existence. FULL STORY

IN OTHER NEWS Additional stories making news today

Attendance at new museum passes half million mark -- The National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center has welcomed more than a half million visitors since the Smithsonian facility in Chantilly, Va., opened to the public Dec. 15.

Thursday: March 4, 2004		0001 GMT

Rosetta's comet target seen from Earth telescope The European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft was launched this week to rendezvous with Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Astronomers using the New Technology Telescope at the European Southern Observatory of La Silla in Chile have imaged the "dirty snowball" comet. FULL STORY

New IMAX 3-D film project goes lunar with Tom Hanks The IMAX Corporation and Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks are making a new IMAX 3-D space film called "Magnificent Desolation." The film will take moviegoers to the moon and allow them to walk side-by-side with the brave astronauts of the Apollo program. FULL STORY

IN OTHER NEWS Additional stories making news today

Soyuz to launch Galileo -- Starsem and Arianespace announced Wednesday at Satellite 2004 the signing with the European Space Agency of the Galileo System Test Bed contract for the launches of two experimental Galileo satellites by two Soyuz launch vehicles. NASA fills key positions -- Two veteran astronauts have been named to key space flight posts at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Robert Cabana, who has flown on four shuttle flights, has been named JSC Deputy Director. Kenneth Bowersox, who recently commanded the sixth expedition to the International Space Station, will replace Cabana as Director of Flight Crew Operations. Astronaut Bloomfield named director of athletics -- Colonel Mike Bloomfield has been named the director of athletics at the Air Force Academy, according to an announcement by Superintendent Lt. Gen. John Rosa. Bloomfield is a 1981 graduate of the Academy and a former Falcon football player.

Wednesday: March 3, 2004		0016 GMT

Rover confirms past liquid water on Mars NASA's Opportunity rover, studying exposed bedrock in the crater where it landed by chance in January, has found clear evidence that Mars once supported a wet, habitable environment, one that would have been suitable for life, scientists announced Tuesday. FULL STORY MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates EARLIER STORY ROVER NEWS ARCHIVE

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Are black holes fuzzballs? In 1997, the three cosmologists made a famous bet as to whether information that enters a black hole ceases to exist -- that is, whether the interior of a black hole is changed at all by the characteristics of particles that enter it. FULL STORY

IN OTHER NEWS Additional stories making news today

NRO mission to be first Atlas 5 flight from upgraded pad -- International Launch Services, a Lockheed Martin Corp. joint venture, has been given the green light for what will be the first Atlas 5 launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The launch will be from Space Launch Complex (SLC) 3-East, which is being refurbished to support a late 2005 launch for this national security mission. Commercial Proton to launch WORLDSAT 3 satellite -- International Launch Services will provide a Russian Proton rocket to launch the WORLDSAT 3 communications satellite, under a contract with Alcatel Space of Paris announced today.

Tuesday: March 2, 2004		1035 GMT

Rosetta soars on ambitious comet intercept mission Embarking on its epic voyage to gain new insights into comets and the history of our solar system, the Rosetta spacecraft was successfully launched Tuesday to rendezvous with a cosmic snowball and deploy a tiny lander onto its icy heart. FULL STORY MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates

Enigmatic X-rays may point to new class of black holes Mysterious, powerful X-ray sources found in nearby galaxies may represent a new class of objects, according to data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. These sources, which are not as hot as typical neutron-star or black-hole X-ray sources, could be a large new population of black holes with masses several hundred times that of the sun. FULL STORY

Monday: March 1, 2004		1655 GMT

Mars atmosphere discovery Astronomers have detected hydrogen peroxide in the atmosphere of Mars for the first time. This is the first time that a chemical catalyst of this sort has been found in a planetary atmosphere other than the Earth's. Catalysts control the reactions of the most important chemical cycles in the Earth's atmosphere. FULL STORY

Rosetta's voyage to comet poised to launch tonight Delayed several days to replace a patch of foam insulation on the Ariane 5 rocket, launch of the Rosetta comet probe has been rescheduled for early Tuesday. FULL STORY MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates ROSETTA FACT SHEET LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE

Observatory's new optics show how stars form Astronomers have taken advantage of a recently mounted laser guide star system at Lick Observatory to obtain sharp, twinkle-free images of the faint dusty disks of distant massive stars. The images clearly show that stars two to three times larger than the sun form in the same way as solar-type stars -- inside a swirling spherical cloud that collapses into a disk, like that from which the sun and its planets emerged. FULL STORY

IN OTHER NEWS Additional stories making news today

JPL announces new exploration office, management changes -- In a move designed to align the lab with NASA's new exploration agenda outlined by President George W. Bush, Dr. Charles Elachi, director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., has announced personnel changes and the formation of a new office at JPL. NASA creates management office -- NASA's Deputy Administrator, Fred Gregory, named Jeffrey E. Sutton as the agency's Assistant Administrator, Office of Institutional and Corporate Management. The new office (Code O) will provide technical expertise, policy oversight and overall leadership for NASA's institutional, corporate, infrastructure and management systems activities.

News Archive
Feb. 23-29: Rover shows sunset on Mars; Cassini captures stunning view of Saturn; Nearest, youngest star with planet nursery found; Two simultaneous 'naked-eye' comets expected; Suit problem forces early end to station spacewalk; Scientists watch neutron star explosion in real time.

Feb. 16-22: Next shuttle flight delayed as rescue scenario formed; Shuttle tank modifications more complex than expected; Planetoid found in Kuiper Belt, maybe the biggest yet; Prime mission half over, Spirit looks for bonus time; Farthest known galaxy in the Universe discovered; Was Einstein right about dark energy after all?

More news See our weekly archive of space news.

Columbia Report

A reproduction of the official accident investigation report into the loss of the space shuttle Columbia and its crew of seven.

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Mars Panorama

DISCOUNTED! This 360 degree image was taken by the Mars Pathfinder, which landed on the Red Planet in July 1997. The Sojourner Rover is visible in the image.

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Apollo 11 Mission Report

Apollo 11 - The NASA Mission Reports Vol. 3 is the first comprehensive study of man's first mission to another world is revealed in all of its startling complexity. Includes DVD!

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Rocket DVD

If you've ever watched a launch from Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Vandenberg Air Force Base or even Kodiak Island Alaska, there's no better way to describe what you witnessed than with this DVD.

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An insider's view of how Apollo flight controllers operated and just what they faced when events were crucial.

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Soviet Space

For the first time ever available in the West. Rocket & Space Corporation Energia: a complete pictorial history of the Soviet/Russian Space Program from 1946 to the present day all in full color. Available from our store.

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Viking patch

This embroidered mission patch celebrates NASA's Viking Project which reached the Red Planet in 1976.

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Apollo 7 DVD

For 11 days the crew of Apollo 7 fought colds while they put the Apollo spacecraft through a workout, establishing confidence in the machine what would lead directly to the bold decision to send Apollo 8 to the moon just 2 months later.

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Gemini 12

Gemini 12: The NASA Mission Reports covers the voyage of James Lovell and Buzz Aldrin that capped the Gemini program's efforts to prove the technologies and techniques that would be needed for the Apollo Moon landings. Includes CD-ROM.

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Soviet Space

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Viking patch

This embroidered mission patch celebrates NASA's Viking Project which reached the Red Planet in 1976.

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Apollo 7 DVD

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Gemini 12

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Expedition 18 patch & pin

The official embroidered patch and lapel pin for the International Space Station Expedition 18 crew is now available to from our stores.

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Ares patch

The Ares Project will develop two new rockets to launch astronauts back to the Moon under NASA's Vision for Exploration. The Ares 1 will employ a single space shuttle solid rocket booster to loft the Orion crew capsule. The gigantic Ares 5 will haul the equipment and cargo needed for such lunar voyages. This is the Ares emblem.

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Apollo patches

The Apollo Patch Collection: Includes all 12 Apollo mission patches plus the Apollo Program Patch. Save over 20% off the Individual price.
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Columbus mission patch

The official astronaut embroidered patch of Atlantis' STS-122 mission that launched the Columbus science lab in February is available to U.S. customers from our store.

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