Gallery: NYC Museum's New Space Show

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Mars Meteorite

AMNH/D. Finnin

Curiosity Mars Rover

AMNH\R. Mickens

The Curiosity rover is scheduled to launch Nov. 25, 2011 and reach Mars in August 2012. Essentially a roving laboratory, Curiosity has the power to explore for years and drive for miles over rugged rocks. It can pick up samples and bring them onboard for testing, fire a laser at objects 30 feet (nine meters) away to see what they’re made of—and it even contains a small weather station.

Space Biosuit

AMNH\D. Finnin

BioSuit, a form-fitting next generation spacesuit prototype by MIT aeronautics and astronautics professor Dava Newman, is on view in the exhibition Beyond Planet Earth: The Future of Space Exploration at the American Museum of Natural History. These suits are made up of a tight, stretchy fabric made of spandex, nylon, and a new, patented polymer that replaces compressed air, making them lighter and more maneuverable. The suits maintain pressure even when torn and are custom-fitted using a laser scanner.

Space.com Staff
Space.com Staff
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Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.