A much-anticipated report lays out the big telescopes that will push scientific discovery during the next decade or two.

[They chose exoplanets, dark energy and infrared.. followed by the search for "long-wavelength ripples in the fabric of space-time. Such ripples represent gravitational waves caused by events such as black hole mergers" Fun stuff.]

Spirit remains silent at her location called "Troy" on the west side of Home Plate. No communication has been received from the rover since Sol 2210 (March 22, 2010). It is likely that Spirit has experienced a low-power fault and has turned off all sub-systems, including communication and gone into a deep sleep, trying to recharge her batteries. There is the additional risk that the rover

There's a mountain-size asteroid on a potential collision course with Earth, and NASA has plans to pay it a visit. The asteroid 1999 RQ36 made headlines last week with the announcement that the space rock could hit our planet in 2182. But a handful of scientists have had their eyes on this asteroid since 2007, planning a sample-return mission designed to help us better predict—and avoid—impact hazards.

The mission, called OSIRIS-Rex (Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer), is one of two finalists in the current competition for funding under NASA's New Frontiers program

If you weren't lucky enough to be in the right place or the right time to see any of the aurorae produced by the Sun's recent spate of activity, skywatchers around the world have started posting videos online of some really spectacular Northern Lights. Above, is the view on August 4, 2010 from Telemark, Norway. Below are more sights, also from August 4, from Latvia and Risør, Norway. These videos were posted on CitizenTube, a newsy version of YouTube.
Aurora Borealis at Telemark 
Nordlys - Risør 4. august 2010
Northern Lights from Latvia

The inside of the moon might not be all wet after all. A new study suggests that, contrary to recent work, the lunar interior is as bone-dry as scientists thought 40 years ago, when NASA astronauts lugged home the first moon rocks.

New analyses of chlorine in those rocks, published Aug. 5 in Science, indicate that the moon contains just one-10,000th to one-100,000th the water that the Earth’s interior does.

Mark your calendar: On Thursday, August 12th, an alignment of planets in the sunset sky will kick off the finest meteor shower of 2010, the Perseids

Mars-o-philes rejoice! New images from Mars galore, including this "after" image of Mars' northern hemisphere which reveals a new crater was created sometime between April 2004 and January 2010. Intriguingly, scientists believe exposed ice is visible in this new image from the HiRISE camera. This is just one of the latest release of hundreds of high-resolution HiRISE images, so go get your fill of Mars at the HiRISE site. But what about that ice? At the center of this view of an area of mid-latitude northern Mars, a fresh crater about 6 meters (20 feet) in diameter holds an exposure of bright material, blue in this false-color image.

Acidalia Planitia is a large basin in Mars' northern lowlands, a dark splotch visible even from Earth telescopes. Many of the greatest canyon systems on Mars -- from Valles Marineris to Kasei, Ares, and Tiu Valles -- can be followed into Chryse Planitia, which must have collected vast amounts of floodwaters that carried on northwards until they reached bottom in Acidalia Planitia. Chryse and Acidalia together make the wide dark splotch ....

NASA teams raced Monday to get ready for two challenging spacewalks to fix a pump module on the International Space Station's cooling system that dramatically failed last week. ISS astronauts will need a minimum of two spacewalks to remove the failed ammonia pump unit and replace it with a new one, with the first to take place on Friday, NASA said. Two astronauts held dry-runs for the sp

As a result of the sea level rising, like the Republic of Kiribati (South Pacific) and Maldives (Indian Ocean), Tuvalu is also in danger of submerging. Tuvalu comprises four coral reefs and five atolls, located about 1,000 km north of Fiji in the South Pacific. Tuvalu, with an area of 26 square kilometers, is the fourth smallest country in the world, larger only than Vatican City, Monaco, and Nauru in the Pacific Ocean.

The face on Mars the conspiracy theorists pointed to as some cover-up is no more.  The HiRiSE camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took a close in hi-res image of the same location and it looks totally different.

Back in 1976 when the Viking1 took images looking for a good landing spot for Viking2 NASA said “it’s just a mesa”.  Oh no, the conspiracy groups were hot on it, gotta love ‘em though – they’re colorful and nobody really takes them seriously.

This isn’t the first photographic proof the “faces are really nothing” and this isn’t even my favorite.  This one is, taken back in 2001 by the Mars Global Surveyor.

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) announced today that it will share leadership for a new science instrument that will probe the atmosphere of Mars in search of biological sources of methane, and consequently, signs of life. The instrument, known as MATMOS (Mars Atmospheric Trace Molecule Occultation Spectrometer), is a partnership between the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), the CSA and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

I've spent a pleasurable hour or so browsing over the latest release of images from Cassini to the Planetary Data System. These releases happen four times a year, as the imaging team archives a quarter's worth of data and makes it available to other scientists (as well as to members of the public, like me). [This post includes links to the latest downloads and catalogs of images from Cassini.]

Although some publications glossed over the uncertainty in announcing the first findings of the planet-hunting Kepler mission, researchers say the overall point remains true: Earth-like planets (meaning that they’re small and rocky, not that they have aliens writing blogs about science) are not only not rare–they’re the most common type of planet in our galaxy.

I have some exciting news! The Space Tweep Society's birdonaut mascot, Meco, is scheduled to travel to the International Space Station this coming March- courtesy of @Astro_Ron! Meco (in the form of one of our Space Tweep Society patches) will be launching on Soyuz and will be on a very long duration expedition. Thanks, @Astro_Ron for taking him along!

Now Meco needs a patch design for his very long duration expedition. In fact, since he is so special, he needs a whole collection of different designs and it is up to you to make them. This isn't a contest; it is just a fun activity for members who want to participate. Patch designs should be your original artwork, ideally produced in a digital format. A drawing that is scanned or photographed is acceptable as well. The designs submitted* will be posted on our website for everyone to enjoy. Kids are also encouraged to participate.

Like proud parents, mission team members gathered in a gallery above a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to watch the Mars Curiosity rover roll for the first time.  Watch the Video of Curiosity's first Rove!

Since it doesn't look like the Rosetta mission is going to be releasing any color versions of their Lutetia close-encounter images any time soon, I figured it was time to make one. The data was out there, in the form of two close-approach images that were black-and-white, and one more distant shot in color, but the assembly effort was beyond my skill. Thankfully, Ted Stryk was willing to take a crack at it, and I think he did a great job!Click ....

NASA-funded researchers searching for extreme environments for life have discovered the world's deepest hydrothermal vent, 5,000 meters below the surface of the Caribbean.[What do the depths of the Caribbean and Jupiter's moon Europa have in common? Hopefully life which uses hydrothermal reactions instead of sunlight for energy.]