Topic: Unmanned Space Exploration
Top galleries, list articles, quizzes
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Kepler epitaph? Eight most intriguing finds of troubled telescope.
Kepler, the space telescope designed to help us find other Earth-like planets, is on the fritz. Scientists hope they will be able to fix it remotely, but if they can't, its brief, brilliant career could be over. Here are eight of its most important discoveries.
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Briefing
How dangerous are near-Earth asteroids? 5 key questions answered.
On Feb. 15, asteroid 2012 DA14, discovered a year ago, cleared Earth by a scant 17,200 miles. The same day, a smaller, unrelated asteroid that no one saw coming exploded 12 to 15 miles above Russia’s Chelyabinsk region. Events that day highlight the risk that near-Earth objects (NEOs) can pose – although to some extent, humans can counter them.
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Man and Mars through history
A look back over centuries at man's attempt to uncover information about the 'Red Planet.'Sources: NASA, American Museum of Natural History, and Scientific American
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What makes a planet livable? Five things scientists look for.
Scientists have so far detected at least 550 planets outside the solar system – and another 2,000-plus await confirmation. But how to pick out the ones that may be Earth-like havens for life? Here's what one team looks for in assessing any planet's potential habitability and its similarity to Earth's properties.
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In Pictures: China's space program
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Mars Curiosity Rover soon to be available as a Hot Wheels toy (+video)
Mattel has recreated a 1:64 scale miniature of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, which is scheduled to touch down on the Red Planet on Saturday night, a part of the company's line of Hot Wheel toy cars. The die-cast replica will hit stores in September.
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Where to watch Curiosity's Mars landing? Times Square.
It's not New Year's Eve, but just beneath the ball's usual spot sits a screen which will feature NASA's coverage of the landing of its Mars probe, Curiosity, on Sunday night. Other sites around the country will also provide viewings of the landing.
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'Star Trek' actors star in new Mars rover landing videos (+video)
William Shatner and Wil Wheaton, the 'Star Trek' icons who portrayed Captain Kirk and Wesley Crusher, appear in two new NASA videos promoting the Curiosity Mars rover, which is scheduled to land on Mars on Aug. 5.
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Five essential facts about NASA's Mars Curiosity rover (+video)
NASA's Mars Curiosity rover is the most sophisticated robot ever sent to another world. Here are five facts about NASA's most audacious robotic mission yet.
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Curiosity's Mars exploration: Is it worth the money? (+video)
The search for life on Mars has captivated the imaginations of many, but it is costly. Some say it's time to cut spending on NASA's Mars missions, while others say the research is important in the quest for understanding the 'meaning of life.'
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Mars rover 'hardest NASA robotic mission ever attempted,' says NASA (+video)
At 10:30 p.m. PDT on Aug. 5, the one-ton, $2.5 billion Curiosity rover is scheduled to touch down on Mars, in what experts are calling a risky landing.
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Mars Curiosity rover to seek signs of life on Red Planet (+video)
In a week, if the landing goes as planned, NASA's Mars Curiosity rover will be looking for signs of methane and other organic compounds in the atmosphere and the soil, which could turn up new clues in the search for life there.
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Huge landslides spotted on tiny moon (+video)
Scientist studying Saturn's icy moon of Iapetus have detected several 50-mile-long landslides, a phenomenon that they attribute to flash heating.
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NASA Curiosity rover to seek water on Mars (+video)
If NASA's Curiosity Mars rover successfully lands on Sunday, it will use a neutron detector to scan for hydrogen below the Red Planet's surface.
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Why we keep going back to Mars (+video)
The Mars Curiosity Rover scheduled to touch down on Aug. 5 represents mankind's 40th attempt to explore the Red Planet over the past 50 years. What is it about the Mars that keeps calling us back?
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NASA promotes new rover landing with synthetic 'Mars rocks'
NASA is sending synthetic 'Martian' rocks to eight cities in its national 'Get Curious' campaign to promote the Curiosity Mars Rover, which is scheduled to touch down on the Red Planet on Aug. 6.
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What will NASA's Mars rover do when it gets there? (+video)
If NASA's Mars Curiosity rover lands successfully, it will look for signs of habitability. The rover will also keep an eye on the weather.
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Odyssey successfully positioned for new Mars Rover's landing, NASA says
NASA announced the 11-year-old Mars Odyssey, which recently suffered a malfunction, has been successfully positioned to provide confirmation of Curiosity's August 5 landing.
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Mars rover's crazy-looking landing plan is technically sound, says NASA (+video)
NASA scientists say that the Mars Curiosity rover's audacious August 5 landing plan, which involves a hypersonic parachute, retrorockets, and a hovering 'sky crane' system is exactly what is needed for the $2.5 billion rover.
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Why is NASA's latest Mars Rover biggest and best yet? (+video)
NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover, expected to land on the Red planet in three weeks, is NASA's most advanced robotic mission yet.
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NASA probe spots bizarre lightning storm on Saturn
NASA's Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn has spotted intense blue daytime lightning on the ringed planet. Previously lightning had only been detected on Saturn's night side.
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Scientists find new alien planet, smaller and hotter than Earth
The NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope reveals astronomers a new alien planet possibly covered with molten lava.
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Multi-telescope view two million times sharper than human eye reveals black hole
Scientists spaced thousands of miles apart discovered a super massive black hole inside a quasar some five billion light-years from Earth
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NASA says Mars Odyssey orbiter will likely recover from glitch (+video)
The 11-year-old orbiter tasked with monitoring Curiosity's landing has lost the use of one of its three reaction wheels, but NASA says it will be fine.
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Will NASA's Mars rover land safely? Glitch could delay news. (+video)
NASA's Curiosity rover is due to touch down on the Martian surface on August 5, but a malfunction in another NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars will mean we'll all have to wait longer to find out if the landing is successful.
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NASA's free video game for Xbox Live: 'Mars Rover Landing' (+video)
Three weeks before the Mars Curiosity rover is scheduled to touch down on the Red Planet, NASA had unveiled a new video game that takes players through the spacecraft's 'seven minutes of terror.'
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Future Mars rover mission could rely on new supersonic parachutes, atomic clocks (+video)
As NASA's planetary exploration budget is squeezed, NASA scientists are finding new ways to lower the costs of future Mars rover missions.
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Fifth moon discovery reminds us how little we know about Pluto (+video)
Orbiting at outskirts of the solar system some three billion miles from Earth, Pluto remains shrouded in mystery.
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Hubble spots fifth moon orbiting ex-planet Pluto
Scientists have announced the discovery of a fifth moon of Pluto. Dubbed P5 for now, it is the smallest moon yet detected orbiting the frigid dwarf planet.
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Pluto's fifth moon: five fascinating facts (+video)
Using data from the Hubble telescope, SETI scientists spotted a fifth moon orbiting the icy dwarf planet Pluto.
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