Exploring Auroras, Search for Life on Mars and Sun's Sibling Stars
From an expedition to explore auroras to sun's sibling stars, it's been a busy week in space. Vote for the week's best space story.<br><br>FIRST STOP: Sun's Sibling Stars Could Host Cousins of Earth Life
Sun's Sibling Stars Could Host Cousins of Earth Life
Earth may have seeded life on other planets if DNA traveled from our world to another via an impacting asteroid that later landed on an alien planet. Astronomers are searching for siblings of the sun -- stars born from the same parent star cluster -- that might have planets impregnated with Earth life. [<a href=http://www.space.com/15192-sun-siblings-asteroids-earth-life.html>Full Story</a>]
<br><br>NEXT: Mystery of Saturn's Walnut Moon Cracked?
Mystery of Saturn's Walnut Moon Cracked?
The giant ridge around the middle of Saturn moon's Iapetus that makes it resemble a gigantic walnut may have essentially formed as a hug from a dead moon, researchers say. [<a href=http://www.space.com/15195-saturn-moon-iapetus-ridge-formation.html>Full Story</a>]
<br><br>NEXT: Distant Galaxies Confirm Accelerating Growth of Universe, Dark Energy
Space Station Crew Set to Welcome 1st Private Cargo Ship
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station are preparing for the historic arrival of a privately built robot cargo ship, the first ever to visit the orbiting laboratory, later this month. [<a href=http://www.space.com/15249-space-station-astronauts-spacex-launch.html>Full Story</a>]
<br><br>NEXT: North Korea Long-Range Rocket Launch Fails: Reports
Distant Galaxies Confirm Accelerating Growth of Universe, Dark Energy
The pesky reality that the universe's expansion is accelerating — an observation that prompted astronomers to invoke an unknown entity called dark energy to explain it — has been further confirmed by new measurements. [<a href=http://www.space.com/15247-universe-acceleration-dark-energy-quasars.html>Full Story</a>]
<br><br>NEXT: Space Station Crew Set to Welcome 1st Private Cargo Ship
North Korea Long-Range Rocket Launch Fails: Reports
A defiant North Korea attempted to launch its new long-range rocket early Friday despite international warnings to stand down, but the vehicle failed to reach space and apparently crashed into the sea, according to press reports. [<a href=http://www.space.com/15258-north-korea-rocket-launch-fails.html>Full Story</a>]
<br><br>NEXT: Pulsing Stars Could Probe Space-Time Around Black Holes
Pulsing Stars Could Probe Space-Time Around Black Holes
A new study demonstrates that pulsars found around the Milky Way’s black hole, Sgr A*, could permit a detailed investigation of the spacetime of the supermassive black hole. The constant flash of a single pulsar could provide opportunities to test general relativity. [<a href=http://www.space.com/15260-pulsars-probe-space-time-black-holes.html>Full Story</a>]
<br><br>NEXT: How NASA Moves Space Shuttles: The Ultimate Piggyback Ride
How NASA Moves Space Shuttles: The Ultimate Piggyback Ride
A look at the complicated mechanics of transporting the retired space shuttles, atop Boeing jets, to their future museum homes. [<a href=http://www.space.com/15263-space-shuttle-ferry-flights-explained.html>Full Story</a>]
<br><br>NEXT: Billionaire Elon Musk Opens Up About Private Spaceflight Challenges
Billionaire Elon Musk Opens Up About Private Spaceflight Challenges
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk discusses the challenges of preparing for the company's upcoming flight of the robotic Dragon capsule to the International Space Station. [<a href=http://www.space.com/15267-elon-musk-private-space-challenges.html>Full Story</a>]
<br><br>NEXT: Search for Life Guides NASA's New Mars Mission Plan
Search for Life Guides NASA's New Mars Mission Plan
NASA's new Mars exploration strategy will be guided by an old goal: searching for signs of life on the Red Planet. [<a href=http://www.space.com/15271-nasa-mars-exploration-life-search.html>Full Story</a>]
<br><br>NEXT: Comet Demolition Derby Around Star Surprises Scientists
Comet Demolition Derby Around Star Surprises Scientists
A young star that is home to at least one alien planet is also ringed by a vast, dusty cloud of comets, like our own solar system. But there's a big difference: There may be as many as 83 trillion comets there, with collisions destroying thousands each day, a new study suggests. [<a href=http://www.space.com/15255-comet-massacre-fomalhaut-star.html>Full Story</a>]
<br><br>NEXT: Now Boarding: Inside NASA's Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft
Now Boarding: Inside NASA's Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft
NASA's modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), has come a long way since it first took to the air in the 1970s as an American Airlines passenger jumbo jet. [<a href=http://www.space.com/15266-nasa-shuttle-carrier-aircraft-explained.html>Full Story</a>]
<br><br>NEXT: Exploring the Northern Lights: Alaska Aurora Expedition Coverage
Exploring the Northern Lights: Alaska Aurora Expedition Coverage
A team of scientists is launching instrument-laden weather balloons to the edge of Alaska's dazzling northern lights this week under Project Aether: Aurora. Follow SPACE.com's complete coverage of the expedition in this story archive. [<a href=http://www.space.com/15199-northern-lights-aurora-expedition-archive.html>Full Story</a>]
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