Science News
Meteor Smoke Makes Strange Clouds
Aug. 7, 2012
Science@NASA Headline News — 2012
A key ingredient of Earth's strangest clouds does not come from Earth. New data from NASA's AIM spacecraft proves that "meteor smoke" is essential to the formation of noctilucent clouds.
NASA's Curiosity Rover Caught in the Act of Landing
Aug. 6, 2012
Science@NASA Headline News — 2012
With split-second timing, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has captured an amazing snapshot of Curiosity parachuting to the surface of Mars.
NASA Lands Car-Size Rover Beside Martian Mountain
Aug. 6, 2012
Science@NASA Headline News — 2012
NASA's most advanced Mars rover Curiosity has landed on the Red Planet. The one-ton rover, hanging by ropes from a rocket backpack, touched down onto Mars Sunday to end a 36-week flight and begin a two-year investigation.
The Summer of 2012 -- Too Hot to Handle?
Aug. 3, 2012
Science@NASA Headline News — 2012
Are the heat waves of summer 2012 a sign of climate change, ordinary weather, or some mixture? Earth scientists discuss the possibilities in today's story from Science@NASA.
Curiosity's First Daredevil Stunt
Aug. 2, 2012
Science@NASA Headline News — 2012
When Curiosity enters the Martian atmosphere on August 6th, setting in motion "the seven minutes of terror" that people are buzzing about, the rover will actually be performing the mission's second daredevil stunt. The first was completed in July.
Strange but True: Curiosity's Sky Crane
July 30, 2012
Science@NASA Headline News — 2012
How do you gently lower a massive SUV-sized nuclear-powered rover to the surface of Mars without making an SUV-sized crater? NASA's solution for Curiosity will be attempted for the first time on August 5/6 when they lower the rover to the red sands of Mars using a Sky Crane.
Mars Landing Sky Show
July 29, 2012
Science@NASA Headline News — 2012
On the same night Curiosity lands on Mars, a "Martian Triangle" will appear in sunset skies of Earth. The first-magnitude apparition on August 5th gives space fans something to do while they wait for news from the Red Planet.
Satellites See Unprecedented Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Melt
July 24, 2012
Science@NASA Headline News — 2012
For several days this month, Greenland's surface ice cover melted over a larger area than at any time in more than 30 years of satellite observations. Nearly the entire ice cover of Greenland experienced some degree of melting, according to measurements from three independent satellites.
A Taste of Solar Maximum
July 20, 2012
Science@NASA Headline News — 2012
Forecasters say solar maximum is still a year away. Earlier this month sky watchers got a taste of things to come when a powerful flare sparked Northern Lights over the United States as far south as Arkansas, Colorado and California.
Opportunity Runs the First Martian Marathon
July 18, 2012
Science@NASA Headline News — 2012
More than 8 years after landing on the Red Planet, Mars rover Opportunity is still running. Indeed, mission planners say the tireless robot is poised to complete a full marathon--the first ever long-distance race on an alien planet.