NASA to Begin Attempts to Free Sand-Trapped Mars Rover

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NASA to Begin Attempts to Free Sand-Trapped Mars Rover:

"NASA will begin transmitting commands to its Mars exploration rover, Spirit, on Monday as part of an escape plan to free the venerable robot from its Martian sand trap.

Spirit has been lodged at a site scientists call 'Troy' since April 23. Researchers expect the extraction process to be long and the outcome uncertain based on tests here on Earth this spring that simulated conditions at the Martian site."

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Poisk Poised For Live NASA TV Space Station Docking

Poisk Poised For Live NASA TV Space Station Docking

"The Mini Research Module-2, known as "Poisk," which means "explore" in Russian, will deliver 1,800 pounds of cargo to the station. Poisk is scheduled to automatically dock to the station's Zvezda Service Module at 9:44 a.m.

"The 8-ton module is scheduled to launch at 8:22 a.m. Nov. 10 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The combination docking port and airlock will ride atop a Soyuz booster rocket. The Soyuz launch will not be broadcast on NASA TV.

"The module will be used as an additional docking port for Russian vehicles, as an airlock for Russian-based spacewalks and as a platform for external science experiments. Its first use will be as a docking port during the relocation of a Soyuz crew vehicle in January."

Soyuz Landing Caps Historic Space Station Increment

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Soyuz Landing Caps Historic Space Station Increment:

"WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- International Space Station Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Michael Barratt landed their Soyuz TMA-14 spacecraft on the steppes of Kazakhstan Sunday, wrapping up a six-month stay. Joining them was spaceflight participant Guy Laliberte, who spent 11 days in space.

Padalka, the Soyuz commander, guided the spacecraft to a parachute-assisted landing at 12:32 a.m. EDT at a site northeast of the town of Arkalyk."

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LCROSS Reveals Target Crater

NASA's LCROSS Reveals Target Crater for Lunar South Pole Impacts

"MOFFETT FIELD, Calif., Sept. 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA has selected a final destination for its Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, after a journey of nearly 5.6 million miles that included several orbits around Earth and the moon. The mission team announced Wednesday that Cabeus A will be the target crater for the LCROSS dual impacts scheduled for 7:30 a.m. EDT on Oct. 9, 2009. The crater was selected after an extensive review as the optimal location for LCROSS' evaluation of whether water ice exists at the lunar south pole.

"LCROSS will search for water ice by sending its spent upper-stage Centaur rocket to impact the permanently shadowed polar crater. The satellite will fly into the plume of dust left by the impact and measure the properties before also colliding with the lunar surface. The LCROSS team selected Cabeus A based on a set of conditions that include proper debris plume illumination for visibility from Earth, a high concentration of hydrogen, and mature crater features such as a flat floor, gentle slopes and the absence of large boulders."

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reBlog from mashable.com: Apollo 11 Moon Landing: A YouTube Timeline

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I found this fascinating quote today:

We felt compelled to find some way to pay tribute to the 40th anniversary of when man first stepped on the moon. We showed you last week How To Experience the Apollo 11 Moon Landing in Realtime, but we’re taking it a step further, by taking you step-by-step through that mission utilizing YouTube as a medium. This is the Apollo 11 mission, from Kennedy’s famous speeches to Apollo 11’s recovery, in the form of YouTube videos.mashable.com, Apollo 11 Moon Landing: A YouTube Timeline, Jul 2009

You should read the whole article.

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LRO Snaps Its First Pics of Apollo Sites

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NASA's LRO Spacecraft Gets Its First Look At Apollo Landing Sites:

"WASHINGTON, July 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, has returned its first imagery of the Apollo moon landing sites. The pictures show the Apollo missions' lunar module descent stages sitting on the moon's surface, as long shadows from a low sun angle make the modules' locations evident.

"The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera, or LROC, was able to image five of the six Apollo sites, with the remaining Apollo 12 site expected to be photographed in the coming weeks.

"The satellite reached lunar orbit June 23 and captured the Apollo sites between July 11 and 15. Though it had been expected that LRO would be able to resolve the remnants of the Apollo mission, these first images came before the spacecraft reached its final mapping orbit. Future LROC images from these sites will have two to three times greater resolution."

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Endeavour is GO!

NASA'S Shuttle Endeavour Launches to Complete Japanese Module

"CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., July 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Space shuttle Endeavour and its seven-member crew launched at 6:03 p.m. EDT Wednesday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will deliver the final segment to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory and a new crew member to the International Space Station.

"Endeavour's 16-day mission includes five spacewalks and the installation of two platforms outside the Japanese module. One platform is permanent and will allow experiments to be directly exposed to space. The other is an experiment storage pallet that will be detached and returned with the shuttle. During the mission, Kibo's robotic arm will transfer three experiments from the pallet to the exposed platform. Future experiments also can be moved to the platform from the inside of the station using the laboratory's airlock."

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NASA Tests Alternate Launch Abort System for Astronaut Escape

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NASA Tests Alternate Launch Abort System for Astronaut Escape:

"WALLOPS ISLAND, Va., July 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA has successfully demonstrated an alternate system for future astronauts to escape their launch vehicle. A simulated launch of the Max Launch Abort System, or MLAS, took place Wednesday morning at 6:26 a.m. at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va."

NASA TV to Broadcast Space Station Crew's Move of Return Craft

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NASA TV to Broadcast Space Station Crew's Move of Return Craft:

"Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineers Mike Barratt of NASA and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will undock the Soyuz TMA-14 return spacecraft, from the Zvezda service module and fly a short distance to the Pirs docking compartment. The flight is expected to take about 30 minutes."

NASA Moon Impactor Successfully Completes Lunar Maneuver

NASA Moon Impactor Successfully Completes Lunar Maneuver:

"MOFFETT FIELD, Calif., June 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, successfully completed its most significant early mission milestone Tuesday with a lunar swingby and calibration of its science instruments. The satellite will search for water ice in a permanently shadowed crater at the moon's south pole.

"With the assist of the moon's gravity, LCROSS and its attached Centaur booster rocket successfully entered into polar Earth orbit at 6:20 a.m. PDT on June 23. The maneuver puts the spacecraft and Centaur on course for a pair of impacts near the moon's south pole on Oct. 9."

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NASA Lunar Mission Successfully Enters Moon Orbit

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NASA Lunar Mission Successfully Enters Moon Orbit:

"GREENBELT, Md., June 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- After a four and a half day journey from the Earth, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, has successfully entered orbit around the moon. Engineers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., confirmed the spacecraft's lunar orbit insertion at 6:27 a.m. EDT Tuesday."

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New NASA Missions to Reach Moon Tuesday

New NASA Missions to Reach Moon Tuesday, Sending Back Live Video:

"After a four and a half day journey to the moon, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, will be captured by the moon's gravity and prepare for the commissioning phase of its mission on June 23. NASA TV live coverage of LRO's orbit insertion begins at 5:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday, with the actual engine burn to begin orbit insertion starting at 5:47 a.m."

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LCROSS Is Go!

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NASA Successfully Launches Lunar Impactor:

"CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., June 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA successfully launched the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, Thursday on a mission to search for water ice in a permanently shadowed crater at the moon's south pole. The satellite lifted off on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., at 5:32 p.m. EDT, with a companion mission, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO."

NASA Chooses Three New Flight Directors to Lead Mission Control

NASA Chooses Three New Flight Directors to Lead Mission Control:

"HOUSTON, June 12 /PRNewswire - USNewswire/ -- NASA has selected three new flight directors who will manage and carry out shuttle flights and International Space Station expeditions. Dina Contella, Scott Stover and Ed Van Cise will join a select group of individuals who lead human spaceflights from Mission Control at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston."

NASA Details Plans for Lunar Exploration Robotic Missions

NASA Details Plans for Lunar Exploration Robotic Missions:

"WASHINGTON, May 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA's return to the moon will get a boost in June with the launch of two satellites that will return a wealth of data about Earth's nearest neighbor. On Thursday, the agency outlined the upcoming missions of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS. The spacecraft will launch together June 17 aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

"Using a suite of seven instruments, LRO will help identify safe landing sites for future human explorers, locate potential resources, characterize the radiation environment and test new technology. LCROSS will seek a definitive answer about the presence of water ice at the lunar poles. LCROSS will use the spent second stage Atlas Centaur rocket in an unprecedented way that will culminate with two spectacular impacts on the moon's surface."

NASA Connects Atlanta Students to Astronauts on Space Station

NASA Connects Atlanta Students to Astronauts on Space Station:

"WASHINGTON, May 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Students from the Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy in Atlanta will participate in an out-of-this-world learning experience on Tuesday, May 5, when they receive a call from astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink will air live worldwide on NASA Television and also be available on NASA's Web site. This is the second event of its kind to be held in the state of Georgia.

A live in-flight education downlink with the crew will take place between 11:15 a.m. and 11:35 a.m. EDT at the Fernbank Science Center in DeKalb County. The 20-minute question-and-answer event will feature astronauts Mike Barratt and Koichi Wakata, who are flight engineers aboard the Expedition 19 mission to the station."

Hubble Repair Mission Countdown

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NASA Announces Shuttle Prelaunch Events and Countdown Details:

"CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., May 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- News conferences, events and operating hours for the news center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center are set for the upcoming launch of space shuttle Atlantis. The shuttle's STS-125 mission to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope is scheduled to lift off at 2:01 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 11."

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Expedition 20 Briefing May 6

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NASA Officials to Preview Start of Six-Person Crew on Space Station:

"On May 27, Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, European Space Agency astronaut Frank De Winne and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Bob Thirsk will launch on a Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. They will arrive at the station on May 29 to join the station's Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineers Mike Barratt and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The six men will form the Expedition 20 crew, the station's first six-person crew. This mission also will be the first time crew members are aboard representing all five International Space Station partners."

New Phase of Orion Landing Systems Testing

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NASA Begins New Phase of Orion Landing Systems Testing:

"HAMPTON, Va., April 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va., began a new phase of testing today for the Orion crew module, NASA's next generation spacecraft. Now under development, the Orion crew exploration vehicle will carry astronauts to the International Space Station and be part of the space flight system to conduct sustained human exploration of the moon."

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New ISS Solar Arrays Online

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Final Pair of Massive Lockheed Martin Solar Arrays Begin Providing Power to International Space Station:

"SUNNYVALE, Calif., March 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The fourth and final pair of massive solar arrays, built by Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) at its Space Systems facility in Sunnyvale, have been installed on the International Space Station by the crew of the space shuttle Discovery. The two new arrays have been deployed and are generating electricity."