Europe launcher puts Spanish and S. Korean satellites into orbit

An Ariane 5-ECA heavy rocket lifted off from Europe's space base on French Guiana Wednesday and put into orbit the South Korean Koreasat 6 and Spanish Hispasat 1E telecommunications satellites. The launch from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou was the Ariane 5 launcher's sixth and last mission of the year. Lift-off was delayed by about 24 hours because of high winds. 

"It is the 41st successful mission in a row of Ariane 5. In 2010 we launched 12 satellites from a world total of 20." said Arianespace chief Jean-Yves Le Gall.

Galileo pathfinder GIOVE-A achieves five years in orbit

ESA's GIOVE-A satellite - the first prototype of Europe's Galileo satellite navigation system - is still working well after five long years in space. It was launched on 28 December 2005 from Kazakhstan.

On 27 April 2008 GIOVE-B joined older brother, equipped with an ultra-precise passive hydrogen maser design.

"Both satellites had a design lifetime of 27 months each", said Valter Alpe, managing GIOVE activities for ESA. "It is a pleasent surprise, therefore, to have GIOVE-A still fully operational after 60 months in orbit. GIOVE-B, meanwhile, is showing no sign of problems after 33 months in space."

GIOVE-A, Image credit: ESA

NASA TV!

From now, you can relax and enjoy in NASA space TV channel on STARFAR!

Taking on Titan! Carrie Anderson

True life story of Carrie Anderson. When she was little girl she dreamed of becoming an astronomer. Now, as a space scientist at NASA GODDARD Space Flight Center, Carrie studies the atmosphere on Titan: one of Saturn's moons, second largest moon in the solar system, just behind moon Ganymede, Jupiter's follower. Let's see what Carrie want us to hear..

WISE Sees an Explosion of Infrared Light

WISE - Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer saw a circular rainbow around an exploded star. When massive stars die, they explode in BIG blasts, called supernovae, which send out shock waves. The shock waves sweep up and heat surrounding gas and dust, creating supernova remnants like the one pictured  here. The supernova in IC 433 happened somewhere between 5000 and 10000 years ago. More about this topic on www.nasa.gov.

This oddly colorful nebula is the supernova remnant IC 443 as seen by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA

New Topographic Map of Moon

Let's first see how LOLA (Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter) works. LOLA sends a pattern of five laser pulses to the lunar surface, and computes distance and elevation by measuring how long takes for the pulses to return. Credit: NASA/Goddard/Chris Meaney

Now check new topographic map comparing to an old one - much better!

Expedition 26 Holiday Message!

The Expedition 26 crew sends holiday greetings to Earth from the International Space Station. Watch...

Cassini Spots Potential Ice Volcano on Saturn Moon

NASA's Cassini spacecraft has found a possible ice volcanoes on Saturn's moon Titan. Those volcanoes are similar in shape to those on Earth. Technologic inovations have enabled scientists to make the best case yet in the other solar system for an Earth-like volcano landform that erupts ice. Scientists name that volcanoes Cryovolcanoes. Enjoy in video...

Cassini Takes Close-Up of Encelandus Northern Hemisphere

NASA's Cassini spacecraft will be making its close flyby of the northeren hemisphere of Saturn's moon Enceladus today, Monday, Dec. 20. The closest approach will take place at 5:08 PM PST (8:08 EST) on Dec. 20, or 1:08 AM UTC on Dec. 21. The spacecraft will be on an altitude of about 48 kilometers (30 miles) above the icy moon's surface. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit nasa.gov

Dramatic Views of Rhea

Newly released for the holidays! Images of Saturn's second largest moon Rhea. Images was obtained by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. You can see the dramatic views of fractures cutting through craters on the moon's surface, revealing a history of tectonic rumbling. Those images are the most quality ones obtained of Rhea. More about this topic on nasa.gov.

Rhea

Rover Opportunity Reached a New Crater

On Dec. 16, 2010, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity make a new conquer! Little smart robot reached a crater about the size of a football field (about 90 meters (295 feet) in diameter). The rover team will use cameras and spectrometers during the next few weeks to examine rocks exposed at the crater. You can see image frames taken by Opportunity's navigation camera on Dec. 16 

A football-field-size crater, named "Santa Maria"

Picture - Rover Opportunity, Image credit: NASA

Phobos Passes in Front of Sun's Face

The larger of the two moons of Mars, Phobos, passes in front of the Sun in this approximately true-speed movie simulation using images from the panoramic camera. Enjoy in view...

Life Built With Toxic Chemical

"The definition of life has jus expanded" said Ed Weilerm NASA's associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at the agency's Headquarers in Washington.

Researchers conducting tests in the harsh environment of Mono Lake in California have discovered the first known microorganism on Earth able to thrive and reproduce using toxic chemical arsenic. More on NASA.gov (pictures of Mono Lake and microorganisms GFAJ - 1) (Image credit: Jodi Switzer Blum).

First Carbon - Rich Planet

Astronomers have discovered a huge searing-hot planet orbiting another star is loaded with an unusual amount of carbon! The planet name is WASP - 12b. It is the first carbon - rich planet astronomers ever observed. It's discovered by using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.

"A carbon - dominated terrestrial world could have lots of pure carbon rocks, like diamond or graphite, as well as carbon compounds like tar." said Joseph Harrington of the University of Central Florida, in Orlando, principal of the research. More about this topic on NASA.gov

This artist's concept shows the searing-hot gas planet WASP-12b (orange orb) and its star. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech