Space

To Infinity And Beyond: Would-Be Astronauts Keep Faith In Uncertain Era

4:58pm February 10, 2013

by NPR Staff

As NASA moves away from manned missions, the private sector is taking on the task. Those hoping for a ride are as eager as ever, and space exploration hasn't lost a bit of its luster.

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Science

Researchers Point To The Demise of the Dinosaurs

1:35pm February 08, 2013

The idea that a comet or asteroid impact led to the downfall of the dinosaurs has been around for years. Now, Paul Renne and colleagues report in Science that they've narrowed down the timing of that collision. It's practically simultaneous with dinosaur extinction.

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NASA Needs Your Help To Feed The Astronauts

9:14am January 25, 2013

Researchers from the University of Hawaii and Cornell University are asking you to send them long-lasting recipes. They want to help NASA determine an extremely durable menu to keep astronauts fed, should the agency send people on a four-month journey to Mars.

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Science

Simulating The Red Planet, On The Pale Blue Dot

1:03pm January 11, 2013

What's it like to live--and cook--on Mars? To find out, researchers are simulating Mars missions in Russia, and on the slopes of a Hawaiian volcano. Kim Binsted talks about her study to whip up tastier space food. Porcini mushroom risotto, anyone? And sleep expert Charles Czeisler talks about how humans adapt to the 24.65-hour Martian day.

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The SciFri Book Club Tours 'The Planets'

11:36am December 26, 2012

The SciFri Book Club is touring the solar system, with Dava Sobel's 2005 The Planets. Call in with a review of the book. Plus Jim Green, director of planetary science at NASA, joins the club to give an update on what's happened planet-wise since the book was published.

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Science

Shooting Stars: Capturing The Night On Camera

11:36am December 26, 2012

Photographer Colin Legg makes time-lapse movies of celestial scenes, from auroras to eclipses. Photographing mostly in remote parts of Australia, where human-made light doesn't compete with starlight, Legg describes some of the challenges of this type of photography: from babysitting cameras for days and nights on end to running electronics in the backcountry.

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A section of the Sutter's Mill meteorite, dubbed "Darth Vader," is studied at a lab at the University of California, Davis. The meteorite is made of carbonaceous chondrite, which contains materials that formed the planets of the solar system.

Science

In Calif. Gold Country, A Rush That's Out Of This World

10:18pm December 20, 2012

by Richard Harris

When a meteorite crashed down in April on the exact spot where gold was discovered in 1848, professional and amateur meteorite hunters alike fanned out to collect small chunks. Now more than 50 scientists have published an analysis of the rare space rock.

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At the operations center at JPL, the spacecraft's status was posted on the wall.

Science

50 Years After First Interplanetary Probe, NASA Looks To Future

10:27am December 17, 2012

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Mariner 2's 1962 mission to Venus was the first time any spacecraft had gone to another planet. Before the mission, very little was known about the planets, and much of what was believed to be true turned out to be wrong.

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Science

Curiosity 2.0? NASA Announces New Mars Rover Plans

1:03pm December 07, 2012

It has been an exciting week for planetary scientists, ranging from the discovery of water ice on Mercury to the announcement of a new Mars rover mission in 2020. Jim Green, director of NASA's planetary science division, and scientist Matthew Siegler discuss the latest news.

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Science

Ask an Astronaut: NASA Spaceflyers Open Up

1:03pm December 07, 2012

For the latest in our "Ask an Expert" series, current NASA astronaut Donald Pettit and former astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman chat about their spaceflight experiences. From brushing your teeth to weightless dreams, the astronauts discuss the many curiosities of living in space.

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