Clues of Ancient Water on Mars, Tatooine-Like Planet And A Super-Earth That Could Support Life
This week we looked for clues into Mars' wetter past, the discovery of a real-life version of Luke Skywalker's home planet of Tatooine and a giant new rocket are just some of the stories that came from space this past week. Vote for your top space story of the week:
China's Space Dreams Ride on Robotic Docking Test
China, a burgeoning power in the world space community, is poised to launch the first module of its first space station soon. The question is, when? [Full Story]
NASA Inks Deal to Help Shuttle Rocket Builder Develop Space Taxis
NASA and the aerospace company ATK have signed a deal that could accelerate the availability of U.S. commercial crew transportation capabilities. [Full Story]
'Super-Earth,' 1 of 50 Newfound Alien Planets, Could Potentially Support Life
The European Southern Observatory announced a new alien planet finding on Sept. 12 from its HARPS spectrograph. The discovery included 50 newfound alien planets, including one in the habitable zone of its star. [Full Story]
US Space Spy Agency to Unveil Hush-Hush Satellites on Saturday
It’s been super-secret for so many years, but for one day only on Saturday (Sept. 17), some of the United States' once-clandestine spy satellites will be seen by public eyes for the first time. [Full Story]
Planet Like 'Star Wars' Tatooine Discovered Orbiting 2 Suns
Astronomers have discovered the real-life version of Luke Skywalker's home planet of Tatooine, the double sun desert wold of Star Wars. NASA's Kepler telescope made the find. [Full Story]
Huge Defunct Satellite Falling to Earth Faster Than Expected, NASA Says
NASA space junk experts have refined the forecast for the anticipated death plunge of a giant satellite, with the U.S. space agency now predicting the 6 1/2-ton climate probe will plummet to Earth around Sept. 23, a day earlier than previously reported. [Full Story]
NASA Unveils New Giant Rocket for Deep Space Missions
NASA has finally revealed its design for the agency's next-generation heavy-lift rocket to carry astronauts on future deep space missions. [Full Story]
Soyuz Space Capsule Lands Safely With US-Russian Crew
A Russian-built Soyuz space capsule landed safely back on Earth late Thursday (Sept. 15), returning an American astronaut and two cosmonauts home after more than five months in space. [Full Story]
Senate Panel Restores James Webb Space Telescope Funding
A U.S. Senate panel has proposed giving NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) about $150 million more for 2012 than the White House requested for the overbudget project, which appropriators in the House of Representatives voted this summer to cancel. [Full Story]
NASA Rover Finds Rare Mars Rock With Clues of Ancient Water
NASA's Opportunity rover, recently arrived at a new crater on Mars, has found an intriguing rock that could offer clues into Mars' wetter past. [Full Story]