NASA's Top Space Exploration Stories Of The Year

Dec. 22, 2005

Dean Acosta/David Mould
Headquarters, Washington
(202) 358-1400/1898

RELEASE: 05-449

NASA'S TOP SPACE EXPLORATION STORIES OF THE YEAR

NASA completed a successful year of milestones and discoveries in 2005
as the agency begins to implement the Vision for Space Exploration,
America's long-term plan for returning astronauts to the moon to
prepare for voyages to Mars and other destinations in the solar
system. The year included returning the space shuttle to flight, the
announcement of plans for America's next generation spacecraft and
numerous scientific milestones. Top stories for year in space
exploration include:

SPACE SHUTTLE RETURNS TO FLIGHT
Space shuttle Discovery successfully completed a complex flight, the
first mission since the Columbia accident in 2003, to the
International Space Station. The mission included breathtaking
maneuvers, spacewalks and tests of new procedures and safety
equipment. The flight was successful, but engineers are still
concerned about external tank insulating foam. NASA is committed to
solving this problem before launching the next shuttle mission. (For
images and information visit: http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight)

NASA'S NEXT GENERATION SPACECRAFT
NASA announced plans for its next generation spacecraft and launch
system, which will be capable of delivering crew and supplies to the
International Space Station, carrying four astronauts to the moon and
supporting up to six crewmembers on future missions to Mars. The new
crew vehicle will be shaped like an Apollo capsule, but will be
significantly larger. (For images and information, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/exploration)

DEEP IMPACT ENCOUNTERS COMET
The Deep Impact spacecraft traveled approximately 268 million miles to
meet comet Tempel 1. Its impactor collided with the target's nucleus,
giving researchers the best-ever comet data and images. (For images
and information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/deepimpact)

MARS TWINS KEEP ON ROVING
The Mars exploration rovers continued studying the harsh Martian
environment. The rover Spirit discovered the composition of rock
outcrops altered by water, and the rover Opportunity found evidence
that water once flowed across the Martian surface. Both have
completed a full Martian year of exploration and discovery. (For
images and information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mars)

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION MARKS FIVE-YEAR MILESTONE
NASA and the 15 international station partners marked the fifth
anniversary of continuous crewed operations in November. NASA
scientists have gathered vital information on the station that will
help with future long-duration missions, as the station has a unique
microgravity environment that cannot be duplicated on Earth. (For
images and information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station)

CASSINI/HUYGENS SPACECRAFT ACCOMPLISH MISSION
The Huygens probe successfully descended through the murky atmosphere
of Saturn's largest moon, Titan. Huygens discovered the moon is
remarkably Earth-like. The probe found evidence of methane rain,
erosion, drainage channels, dry lake beds, volcanism and very few
craters. The Cassini spacecraft toured Saturn's moons and sent back
breathtaking photographs of the icy satellites. (For images and
information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/cassini).

NEW MARS RECON CRAFT SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED
NASA's latest Mars mission, launched Aug. 12, will rendezvous with the
red planet on March 10, 2006. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will
view the planet from low orbit and provide more data than all
previous Martian missions combined. (For images and information,
visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mro)

NASA'S VOYAGER REACHES THE FINAL FRONTIER & HEADS FOR DEEP SPACE
Voyager 1 entered the solar system's final frontier. After traveling
approximately 8.7 billion miles from the sun, it entered the
heliosheath, the vast, turbulent expanse where the sun's influence
ends and the solar wind crashes into the thin gas between stars. (For
images and information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/voyager)

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE CONTINUES EXPLORATION & DISCOVERY
Using Hubble, astronomers discovered Pluto may have three moons. The
discovery could offer insights into the nature and evolution of the
Pluto system and the Kuiper Asteroid Belt. Hubble's resolution and
sensitivity to ultraviolet light also helped researchers look for
important minerals on Earth's moon that could be critical for a
sustained human presence. (For images and information, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/hubble)

SPITZER DETECTS FIRST LIGHT FROM AN EXTRASOLAR WORLD
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope captured the first light ever detected
from two planets orbiting stars other than the sun. Spitzer picked up
the infrared glow from the Jupiter-sized planets. The findings mark
the beginning of a new age of planetary science, in which extrasolar
planets can be directly measured and compared. (For images and
information, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/...er-032205.html)

NASA SWIFTLY SOLVES 35-YEAR-OLD MYSTERY
Through coordination of observations from several ground-based
telescopes and NASA'S Swift and other satellites, scientists solved
the 35-year-old mystery of the origin of powerful, split-second
flashes of light called short gamma-ray bursts. The flashes are
brighter than a billion suns, yet last only a few milliseconds. They
had been too fast for earlier instruments to catch. (For images and
information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/swift)

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/podcast


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--
--------------

Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.info

**** You George Bush and Michael Griffin.

Only the rabid neocon IDers think
VSE and ESAS is anything more
than a reason to kill life sciences
research, the ISS and the shuttle.

US - a wholly owned subsidiary of Mao-Mart.

http://cosmic.lifeform.org