I just received a media advisory from James Oberg, a contributor to Astronomy and noted space historian. And I learned something new — something historic. Something I’m a little embarrassed I didn’t know. It appears that many video producers continue to misrepresent Neil Armstrong’s comments the day he stepped onto the Moon (that's Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin pictured at right). Oberg explains it best: The National Geographic Channel is running...

NASA just announced a contest for students to name the Mars Science Laboratory rover that is scheduled for launch in 2009. In cooperation with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures’ movie WALL·E , NASA is inviting students ages 5 to 18 who attend school in the United States to submit essays explaining the reasoning behind their suggested name for this car-sized rover. Essays must be turned in by January 25, 2009, and NASA will announce the winning name...

NASA announced a great new opportunity for teachers to use the space program’s discoveries as educational tools in their classrooms. The NASA Endeavor Science Teaching Fellowship Project will award 40 one-year fellowships to educators during the next 5 years. These fellowships will allow teachers to translate current NASA science and engineering projects into usable information for students in grades K–12. According to NASA, the goal of the project...

Today’s the big day of Endeavour’s STS-126 mission (assuming the weather holds up), and I must admit that I’m pretty excited. I’m not sure why, but I’ve always been fascinated with space travel, specifically the launches. I never actually wanted to be an astronaut (too afraid of flying and not much of a risk taker), so I live vicariously through the men and women who do have the opportunity to be blasted off into space. I can’t even imagine how thrilling...

The discovery and optical imaging of Fomalhaut b , a planet orbiting the nearby star Fomalhaut, has wider implications for exoplanet science. I talked to NASA scientist Marc Kuchner about it. Kuchner works in the Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics Laboratory at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. He uses computer models to study the effect planets have on interplanetary dust. Kuchner (pictured at left below) and Christopher Stark...

I’m a sucker for pretty astronomical images, and the Hubble Space Telescope does not disappoint. In fact, early images from Hubble are a major part of what got me so excited about astronomy in the first place. I was quite bummed when Hubble was down last month, but you can imagine my excitement now that it’s up and running . As you’ve probably heard by now, the fifth (and final) Hubble servicing mission launch date has been pushed back again . Two...

OK, I admit it: I’m a Marsaholic. We’ve been following the mission and writing about it for the magazine. You’ve probably seen the various headlines: Phoenix lands safely; Phoenix confirms water in martian soil; Phoenix detects perchlorate chemicals in martian soil; and, finally, Phoenix runs low on power and shuts down . So what’s this all going to come to? When I was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, dreams of future Mars exploration inspired and...

The November 10 issue of Time featured an article titled, “ The 50 best inventions of the year .” Among the top 50 are four astronomy-related inventions — three even made the top 10. At 18 is the Mars Science Laboratory (pictured at right). Set to launch in the fall of 2009, the robotic explorer will possibly determine if Mars was ever able to support microbial life. Number nine, the Orbital Internet, is new to me. Scientists are working on a connection...

In the United States, the first Tuesday of November (this year, November 4) is a very important day in politics — Election Day (and the day the political ads finally come to an end … Hooray!). For those of you who have some random reason as to why you couldn’t vote early or can’t make it to your voting location on Election Day, NASA has ruined your “good” excuse. How? Well, even the two NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station cast their...

Earlier today, planetary scientists discussed preliminary findings from the MESSENGER spacecraft’s second flyby of Mercury. The October 6 encounter revealed about 30 percent of the planet previously unseen by spacecraft — an area larger than South America. MIT researcher Maria Zuber spoke about results from the laser altimeter used to measure topography. Her biggest surprise: The thin strip of area surveyed seen during the January flyby. Brian Anderson...