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The Greatest Star Discovery

Most of the exoplanets that have been discovered are Jupiter-like gas giants.

(LAGUNA BEACH, Calif.) - Perhaps the greatest scientific discovery in the last 15 years has been the identification of planets revolving around stars outside our solar system. Over 500 extrasolar planets or exoplanets have been discovered orbiting nearby stars.

Virtually everywhere astronomers look carefully at nearby stars, planets are observed.

NASA Announces Moon `Swimming` With Water - Moonbases Next

Even a lunar soil that contained as little as 1 percent water ice would be sufficient to support the plans to construct lunar bases.

(CHICAGO) - NASA today released data that the Moon has at least enough water to fill 1,500 swimming pools.

Although there'll be no rush by pool manufacturers to fill the lunar void—the Moon is virtually airless and its surface pressure is zero; but the presence of water does pave the way for colonization.

NASA and NSF-Funded Research Finds First Potentially Habitable Exoplanet

(Washington, DC) - A team of planet hunters from the University of California (UC) Santa Cruz, and the Carnegie Institution of Washington has announced the discovery of a planet with three times the mass of Earth orbiting a nearby star at a distance that places it squarely in the middle of the star's "habitable zone."

This discovery was the result of more than a decade of observations using the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii, one of the world's largest optical telescopes. The research, sponsored by NASA and the National Science Foundation, placed the planet in an area where liquid water could exist on the planet's surface. If confirmed, this would be the most Earth-like exoplanet yet discovered and the first strong case for a potentially habitable one.

Mars Hoax

‘NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN’

(NASA) - For the seventh year in a row, the Mars Hoax is infecting email boxes around the world. Passed from one reader to another, the message states that on August 27th Mars will approach Earth and swell to the size of a full Moon. "NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN," the email declares -- always in caps.

The hoax began in 2003 when on August 27th Mars came within 56 million km of Earth the nearest it has been in 60,000 years.

NASA`s LCROSS Mission Will End With A Bang...On The Moon

The Lunar CRater Observing and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission is seeking a definitive answer as to whether or not there is water on the moon.

(CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.) - Earth’s closest neighbor is holding a secret. In 1999, hints of that secret were revealed in the form of concentrated hydrogen signatures detected in permanently shadowed craters at the lunar poles by NASA’s Lunar Prospector.

These readings may be an indication of lunar water and could have far-reaching implications as humans expand exploration past low-Earth orbit.

NASA`s Space Shuttle Endeavour Streaks Through NW Sky (VIDEO)

Video of the Space Shuttle Endeavor passover from Salem, Oregon.

(CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. NASA) - Space shuttle Endeavour and its seven-member crew launched at 6:03 p.m. EDT Wednesday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The mission will deliver the final segment to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory and a new crew member to the International Space Station.

NASA Space Shuttle Endeavour Launch Can be Viewed at OMSI

Oregon Astronaut Don Pettit of Silverton will be onboard.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - On Friday, November 14th, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) will offer space exploration enthusiasts a front-row seat to watch Oregon astronaut Don Pettit launch into space aboard NASA's space shuttle Endeavour STS-126.

Phoenix Spacecraft on Course for Sunday Mars Landing

The spacecraft is in fine health.

(PASADENA, Calif.) - With three days and 3 million miles left to fly before arriving at Mars, NASA's Phoenix spacecraft is on track for its destination in the Martian arctic.

"The latest calculation from our navigation team shows the center of the area where we're currently headed lies less than eight miles from the center of our target area," said Barry Goldstein, Phoenix project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "We may decide on Saturday that we don't need to use our final opportunity for fine tuning the trajectory Phoenix is on. Either way, we will continue to monitor the trajectory throughout Saturday night, on the off chance we need to execute our contingency maneuver eight hours before entry."

Endeavour Roars Towards International Space Station

It will take the STS-123 crew more than two weeks in space and five spacewalks to accomplish the goals of the mission.

(CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.) - Space shuttle Endeavour thundered into orbit early Tuesday morning carrying seven astronauts and Japan's dreams for a space-based laboratory at the International Space Station.

The first module of the Japanese-built Kibo laboratory complex was packed inside Endeavour's cargo bay, along with a Canadian-built robotics system that will enhance the capabilities of the International Space Station's robotic arm.

Endeavour Ready for Tuesday Morning Launch

The current weather forecast calls for only a 10 percent chance atmospheric conditions will delay the launch of Endeavour.

(CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.) - The rotating service structure has been rolled away from space shuttle Endeavour in a major milestone leading up to launch. The liftoff of Endeavour on the STS-123 mission remains on schedule for 2:28 a.m. EDT Tuesday.

The movement of the enclosed gantry clears the way for the loading of about 500,000 gallons of supercold liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants into the orange external tank this evening.