News & Features
Follow mission news or learn about exciting new discoveries from NASA centers and research partners.
LRO Observes Final Lunar Eclipse of the Year
Dec. 9, 2011
Orbiting 31 miles above the lunar surface, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft will get a front-row seat to the total lunar eclipse on Dec. 10, 2011.
New Tool for Touring Mars Using Detailed Images
Dec. 8, 2011
An improved tool debuts today for viewing channels, dunes, boulders and other features revealed in the huge image files from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Ten Successful Years of Mapping the Middle Atmosphere
Dec. 8, 2011
TIMED were designed to provide a comprehensive overview of the composition of this mesosphere and lower thermosphere/ionosphere (MLTI) region of Earth's atmosphere, and to watch how it changes over time.
SuperEarths Made of Diamond
Dec. 7, 2011
A new study suggests that terrestrial planets containing up to 50 percent diamond could exist in the Milky Way.
Oxygen's Stops and Starts
Dec. 7, 2011
Based on studies of rock cores, geoscientists have determined that oxygen did not appear in Earth's atmosphere in a single event.
New DAWN Visuals Show Vesta's 'Color Palette'
Dec. 6, 2011
New color data from NASA's Dawn mission give scientists an inside look at the chemical composition of giant asteroid Vesta.
'Merging Tsunami' Doubled Japan Destruction
Dec. 6, 2011
NASA and university researchers have discovered the tsunami generated by the magnitude 9.0 quake off northeastern Japan in March 2011 was a long-hypothesized "merging tsunami".
Voyager Hits New Region at Solar System Edge
Dec. 6, 2011
Voyager 1 spacecraft has entered a new region between our solar system and interstellar space, which scientists are calling the stagnation region.
Buried Ice on Mars
Dec. 5, 2011
Radar probing of the Phlegra Montes region on Mars suggests large volumes of ice water sit below the surface.
18 New Planets Discovered Orbiting Massive Stars
Dec. 5, 2011
Astronomers have announced the discovery of 18 new extrasolar planets.