News Headlines for February 2000

Sombrero in space stuns astronomers A dramatic new image of the Sombrero Galaxy has been obtained by the third large telescope to be commissioned at the Paranal Observatory in the Andes. A Twisted Tale of Sunspots Two large sunspots near the Sun's central meridian have developed complex magnetic fields. If solar flares erupt from these regions Earth could be in for stormy space weather. NASA's latest comet hunter won't be left in cosmic dust A mission slated to fly by the nuclei of three comets won't be left in the dust like an earlier robot ship that sputtered near Halley, project managers promise. Museum Sues Tribes Over Planetarium Meteorite The American Museum of Natural History sued an American Indian group today to block its claim to the 15.5-ton Willamette Meteorite, one of the museum’s oldest treasures and a centerpiece of its newly opened planetarium. Blasting through the Northern Lights to find out more about them The Canadian Space Agency launched a rocket into the upper atmosphere on Saturday to learn more about Aurora Borealis. The rocket took off, and 17 minutes later it crashed into the Beaufort Sea. The mission was a success. Gamma Ray Observatory might not be crashed after all NASA may not send an orbiting telescope on a deliberate crash into the ocean this year, officials say, now that engineers have found possible ways to keep the observatory safely in orbit. NEAR image of the day for 2000 Feb 28 See also: Eros Global Map Emerges From Deep Space These color images of Eros was acquired by NEAR on February 12, 2000, at a range of 1800 kilometers (1100 miles) during the final approach imaging sequence prior to orbit insertion. Stanford experiment contradicts 'dark matter' findings See also: Scientists Claim To Have Detected Dark Matter A group of physicists says their Stanford University experiment to detect so-called "dark matter" particles that hold the universe together could contradict earlier findings by an Italian team. Sweeping up Stardust Our solar system is moving through a cloud of gas and dust from between the stars. NASA's STARDUST probe began collecting samples of the cloud last week. History and Math Behind the Gregorian Calendar With all the ulterior motives for the changes that have been made in the calendar over the years, the Gregorian calendar turns out to be an incredibly accurate way of tracking time, says a Temple University math professor. Orbiter moves closer to asteroid Eros See also: NEARer to Eros and NEAR image of the day for 2000 Feb 25 The first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid is gradually descending closer to the space rock known as Eros. The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous robot ship should begin orbiting the oblong asteroid from a distance of 124 miles (200 kilometers) on March 3. Probing meteorites for signs of life Richard Hoover’s search for life elsewhere in the universe has taken him from one end of the Earth to the other. Waiting for Cygnus X-3 One of the brightest x-ray sources in the Milky Way seems about to to erupt in a dazzling flare. By studying the explosion scientists hope to unravel an extragalactic mystery. Beijing Gaining Momentum in Project to Launch Humans Into Space Get ready for the taikonauts. At a secret training center somewhere in western Beijing, a handful of men hoping to become the first Chinese in space are learning how to deal with weightlessness, to combat claustrophobia and to navigate by starlight, as China makes its push to join the exclusive club of nations capable of sending humans into orbit. Putting the brakes on light Physicists have slowed down light to a crawl - they say you can almost touch it. Finding the Signal See also: Watch the search for alien signals Astronomer Seth Shostak heads back to the Arecibo radio telescope to look for signals from alien civilizations. In this dispatch, Seth gives an overview of efforts worldwide to locate otherworldly intelligent life. Adding up the risks of cosmic impact Many scientists believe an asteroid or comet killed off the dinosaurs, but the impact of cosmic collisions on human history is a matter of sharper controversy. Some researchers say computer simulations and historical reviews may shed new light on how common such impacts were in the past — and how much of a threat they could pose in the future. Space Weather Mission Nears Launch An innovative satellite called IMAGE, slated for launch on March 15, 2000, will revolutionize our understanding of Earth's magnetosphere and improve space weather forecasting. NASA Denies Astronaut Trysts in Space See also: ‘No sex, please — we’re NASA’ The U.S. space agency vigorously denied a French astronomer's claim Wednesday that shuttle astronauts conducted test trysts to find optimal positions for sex in zero-gravity. ‘Planet in a Test Tube’ Provides Valuable Data on Atmospheres of Planets and Stars NASA’s "planet in a test tube" experiment has shown that microgravity -- the weightless environment inside an orbiting spacecraft -- helps scientists create more accurate models of planetary atmospheres and oceans. Scientists recently published results from this Space Shuttle experiment in a NASA technical document. Pioneer 10 Performs Maneuver 10 Hours Out Pioneer 10 has successfully been commanded to perform a precession maneuver to repoint the spacecraft towards Earth. The operation was accomplished on February 11-12 with the signal level increasing 0.5-0.75 dBM as result of the maneuver. A Coronal Hole Targets Earth The end of February could mark another good weekend for aurora watchers, thanks to a large coronal hole straddling the disk of the sun. High speed solar wind particles reached the Earth today and began to buffet our planet's magnetosphere. Britain Approaches ESO about Installation of Major New Telescope at Paranal The Executive Board of the UK Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope (VISTA) project announced today [1] that it is aiming at the installation of a new and powerful astronomical telescope at the ESO Paranal Observatory (Chile). NEAR News - February 22, 2000 See also: NEAR Image of the Day - February 22, 2000 The images seen to date provide a tantalizing glimpse of what lies in store as NEAR begins its year-long study of Eros. From the images-of-the-day for February 14-17, there are many hints of an underlying global fabric - the nearly parallel markings, the chains of small craters or pits, the grooves - but our exploration has barely begun. A High-Resolution Look at the Spring Thaw of the Martian South Polar Cap Over the past six months, the southern hemisphere of Mars has passed through spring and into summer. Spring started in early August 1999 and summer arrived toward the end of December 1999. Mars Global Sureyor (MGS) is in a polar orbit, thus the spacecraft's Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) has had an excellent view of the daily changes that have occurred as the south polar frosts sublimed away during spring and into the summer season. Computer simulations reveal workings of the dynamo behind earth's magnetic field Deep in Earth's interior is a dynamo that creates the planet's magnetic field -- a kind of generator driven not by spinning turbines but by swirling flows of liquid iron. The workings of this dynamo cannot be observed, but scientists have used computer simulations to gain powerful new insights into the operation of the "geodynamo" and the behavior of Earth's core. Successful Start of the Historic Interstellar Dust Collection by STARDUST Stardust's aerogel collector was successfully deployed on Feb.222 to begin its interstellar dust collection. Time for Home, But Not Quite See also: High winds prevent shuttle landing and Shuttle cleared for Florida landing Stiff wind prevented space shuttle Endeavour from ending its Earth-mapping mission on time today, but NASA was hopeful the weather in Florida would improve for another try around sunset. Solar storm just a wind up See also: Interplanetary Shock Wave Passes Earth A solar storm that threatened to disrupt communications and power supplies on Earth appears to have passed harmlessly by. ESA Announces contest to “Name the Cluster Quartet” The European Space Agency (ESA) is launching a public competition to find the most suitable names for its four Cluster II space weather satellites. The quartet, which are currently known as flight models (FM) 5, 6, 7 and 8, are scheduled for launch from Baikonur Space Centre in Kazakhstan in June and July 2000. Another Pass By Jupiter’s Io See also: Galileo swoops by volcanic Io NASA’s aging Galileo spacecraft today swept closer than ever before past Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io, surviving the intense radiation without the computer shutdowns that marred previous encounters. Eros is 'no ordinary rock' Data sent back by the Near spacecraft orbiting asteroid Eros are solving some mysteries and posing others. Spacecraft poised to gather stardust A spacecraft on the first mission to collect material from beyond the moon and return it to Earth should begin collecting interstellar dust on Feb.22. NASA’s eyes show Earth’s sprawl Every satellite image tells a story. In the ones released Monday by NASA, the stories about Earth are not pleasant ones. Overhead views of Atlanta indicate growth there is actually creating heat and thunderstorms. And halfway around the world, in Shenzhen, China, a construction free-for-all has nearly wiped out vegetation in the city. A Suicide Dive for Galileo? After five years in orbit around Jupiter, NASA’s Galileo spacecraft has long outlived expectations. But all good things must come to an end, and NASA is considering ending the mission with a bang — a deliberate dive into Jupiter or one of the moons. The deepening mysteries of Mars One thing that Mars has in abundance nowadays is question marks: While NASA puzzles over two failed missions, the only probe still operating at the Red Planet is providing new hints about the planet’s ancient mysteries — mysteries that one expert says only humans on the scene can ultimately solve. Solving the riddle of dark energy Saul Perlmutter ignored his view of a russet sunset backlighting the Golden Gate Bridge and pulled down a blue plastic shade to cut the glare. From his command post here in the bayside hills, the physicist was busy directing a quest to understand a mysterious force that seems to be taking over the universe. Infrared VLT Observations Identify Hidden Galaxies in the Early Universe Working with the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the Paranal Observatory, a group of European astronomers has just obtained one of the deepest looks into the distant Universe ever made by an optical telescope.These observations were carried out in the near-infrared spectral region and are part of an attempt to locate very distant galaxies that have so far escaped detection in the visual bands. The first results are very promising and some concentrations of galaxies at very large distances were uncovered. Tribe demands meteorite at center of new planetarium A group of American Indians says a 16-ton meteorite that will be the main attraction at the Museum of Natural History's new planetarium is a holy tribal object and should be returned to Oregon. Spacecraft learn to DIY Nasa scientists are developing equipment for deep space travel that mimics living organisms and copy Mother Nature. A good weekend for aurora watchers? See also: Here comes the Sun and Here comes the Sun At 22:30 Central European Time on 17 February the ESA-NASA SOHO spacecraft spotted a large puff of gas from the Sun. Subsequent images from the LASCO coronagraph on SOHO confirmed that this coronal mass ejection is heading towards the Earth. The gas will reach the Earth's vicinity on Saturday or Sunday, 19 or 20 February. When it hits the Earth's magnetic shield, it is likely to cause a magnetic storm. It may provoke spectacular displays of auroras high in the air over sub-polar regions of the Earth, and perhaps even at lower latitudes in Scandinavia and North America. The forests of Mars See also: Need shelter on Mars? Grow trees, scientist says The key to future space travel lies in biotechnology, not propulsion technology, say experts who have suggested GM trees could grow their own greenhouses on Mars. Shuttle Extends Mapping After saving enough fuel aboard space shuttle Endeavour for nine days of Earth-mapping, NASA decided today to eke out nine more hours. XMM-Newton spies mother Earth An unexpected spin-off from the XMM-Newton commissioning phase, the spacecraft has snapped a picture of mother Earth. The image was taken with one of the two Small Visual Monitoring Cameras (VMC). Newfound quasar is most distant in universe See also: Most distant object in Universe found If Guinness had a Book of Cosmic Records, a newly discovered quasar in the constellation Cetus would make the front page. This distant quasar easily skates past the previous record- holder, placing it among the earliest known structures ever to form in the universe. Mir Lease Signed See also: Mir to be turned into hotel The so-called final frontier opened for business Thursday with the signing of a lease allowing a corporation to put the Russian Mir space station to commercial use. Veteran Galileo ventures to vast volcanic vistas NASA's Galileo spacecraft is trying to go "three for three" as it attempts its third and closest flyby of Jupiter's fiery moon Io, the most volcanic body in the solar system. Mars Polar Lander is dead - official See also: Flaw Found in Mars Lander and Mars lander may have had fatal flaw The mysterious faint signals thought to have come from the stricken Mars Polar Lander (MPL) spacecraft as it lay crippled on the frozen Martian soil were just man-made terrestrial interference. Moon's orbit betrays its violent birth See also: Born of Earth, at an Angle The mysterious tilt of the Moon's orbit around the Earth is probably due to the satellite's violent origin, say scientists writing in the current issue of the journal Nature. Shooting star observed from space Scientists from the United States' Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have obtained the first ever image of a shooting star taken from space in the ultraviolet (UV) part of the spectrum. NEAR Team Digs into Data from Eros See also: NEAR image of the day for 2000 Feb 17 and NEAR image of the day for 2000 Feb 18 Only a few days into the first close-up study of an asteroid, data from NASA's Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) mission indicates that 433 Eros is no ordinary space rock. Old, Cratered, Butterscotch See also: 'Stunning' images hint asteroid broke from a planet , Beautiful Eros sends scientists into orbit and Romantic rendezvous with Eros previews Rosetta's rock show Scientists are gushing over photos taken by the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous spacecraft since it entered orbit around Eros. Take a look, including the first color photo of the asteroid. Chandra Reads the Cosmic Bar Code of Gas Around a Black Hole See also: Cosmic Bar Codes An international team of astronomers has used NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory to make an energy bar code of hot gas in the vicinity of a giant black hole. These measurements, the most precise of their kind ever made with an X-ray telescope, demonstrate the existence of a blanket of warm gas that is expanding rapidly away from the black hole. Mexico’s window on the universe From the top of this 15,060-foot extinct volcano, it seems like you can see forever. And that is exactly what a small group of Mexican and U.S. scientists expect to do with their joint venture to build one of the world’s most advanced telescopes — so powerful and precise, they predict, that it will look to the end of space and the beginning of time. Onset of Titanic Collision Lights Up Supernova Ring See also: Stellar shockwave begins to glow NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is giving astronomers a ringside seat to a never before seen violent celestial "main attraction" unfolding in a galaxy 169,000 light-years away. The knockout event is the collision of the fastest moving debris from an immense stellar explosion seen in Feb. 1987 with the gas ring that circles that site. STARSHINE Returns to Cinder The STARSHINE satellite, launched by space shuttle astronauts in 1999 to study the effect of solar activity on Earth's atmosphere, will fall back to Earth this week. The disintegrating satellite will resemble a slow-moving meteor or fireball. For Shuttle, Fuel vs. Time See also: Shuttle should complete mapping and Halfway point may be critical for fuel-starved shuttle Brainstorming engineers have come up with "nickel, dime, quarter" savings in fuel aboard space shuttle Endeavour, making NASA optimistic the astronauts can complete their Earth-mapping work. Forecast on Jupiter always calls for thunderstorms Thunderstorms more than half the size of the United States seem to drive the weather on Jupiter, scientists report in the current issue of the journal Nature. Astronomical Mission Astronomer Juris Zagars is a man with a mission: to get one of the former Soviet Union’s most powerful telescopes, fallen into disrepair and forgotten by almost everyone else, back searching the heavens. NEAR Delivers a Scientific Sneak Peek See also: NEAR News for Feb.15 The NEAR team has a whole year to study Eros, but its first peek at the data from NEAR's orbit around the asteroid offers an exciting glimpse of what lies ahead. NASA Begins Building Next Mission to Study Comets NASA's Comet Nucleus Tour, or CONTOUR, mission this month took a giant step closer to its launch when the project received approval to begin building the spacecraft. A Copernican Conspiracy? Copies of one of the world’s rarest and most valuable books have been disappearing - a rash of mysterious thefts that have perplexed police from the former Soviet Union to the United States. Aging shuttle fleet worries NASA panel While the Endeavour lifted off successfully Friday, a safety oversight panel has raised concerns over what will happen once the number of space shuttle flights picks up. Happy Birthday Stardust! The Stardust spacecraft blasted into space a year ago on February 7, 1999. Its destination - Comet Wild 2 (pronounced "Vilt 2"). Its mission - to capture interstellar and comet particles before returning to Earth in 2006. First Light from Eros Orbit Close-up images of asteroid Eros are already pouring in just hours after NEAR's historic orbit insertion. Spacecraft fulfils Valentine's date See also: NEAR Begins Historic Orbit Around Eros and First Orbit Around an Asteroid The tiny Near spacecraft has swept into a trouble-free orbit around the asteroid Eros, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid. It fulfilled its Valentine's day date just over a year after its first attempt failed. Thruster problem hits shuttle JThe space shuttle Endeavour's mission to map the world could be cut short due to a problem with a tiny thruster. NEAR Captures Eros' Heart Just in time for its Valentine's Day date with 433 Eros, the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft snapped this photo during its approach to the 21-mile-long space rock. Russians vow to complete key module by early July A week after NASA Administrator Dan Goldin threatened to proceed without them, Russian government officials Friday promised to complete their key International Space Station component by early July. Happy Valentine's from Mars A satellite circling Mars have sent back a valentine's message just in time for Valentine's day. Shuttle passes key test See also: Mapping the Earth and Endeavour deploys 197-foot long antenna mast Space shuttle Endeavour’s 11-day mission is to produce the global topographic maps 30 times more precise that exists currently. Mars Polar Lander Mission Status February 11, 2000 Initial analysis of data taken on Tuesday by radio telescopes in the Netherlands and Italy has shown no obvious signal from Mars Polar Lander, but exhaustive review of the data is continuing with a final report due next week. Kamikaze Comets Ninety-two sungrazing comets discovered by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory appear to have come from the breakup of a single gigantic comet more than 2000 years ago. SOHO's 100th - 102nd comet discoveries came just this week. Cassini cameras photograph asteroid 2685 Masursky See also: Cassini image advisory Images taken by Saturn-bound Cassini spacecraft cameras last Jan. 23 have given planetary scientists first size estimates on asteroid 2685 Masursky and preliminary evidence that it may be different in material properties than previously believed. The top factoids about asteroids See also: NEAR image of the day for 2000 Feb 10 , UA scientist part of NEAR mission about to rendezvous with an asteroid and Eros or Bust A Valentine’s Day “rendezvous” with an asteroid named for the Greek god of love? We’re sure this is coincidence. But the yearlong study of Eros is no accident. Asteroids have a lot to teach us about where we came from. The debate over life beyond Earth How common is intelligent life in the universe? For decades, radio astronomers have been hunting for signals from alien civilizations. But in a new book, two scientists argue that the emergence of higher life forms would be exceedingly rare — and that there’s almost no chance of contacting other civilizations in our galaxy. Japan’s X-ray observatory lost Japan’s struggling space program suffered another setback Thursday when a $107 million observation satellite failed to attain its proper orbit and may have burned up in the atmosphere. A Close Look at an Asteroid A little space probe has its eyes set on an asteroid named Eros and is all ready to arrive on Monday for an interplanetary date with the peanut-shape rock. Stargazing - ESA's 3rd XMM-Newton competition At the press conference to present XMM-Newton's first images, ESA announced its third XMM-Newton competition, Stargazing. This competition is open to young Europeans between 16 and 18 years old, in the final two years of secondary school. The challenge is to make a proposal for a scientific observation with ESA's XMM-Newton Space Observatory. Shuttle soars to map the world The space shuttle Endeavour has lifted off on its 11-day Earth-mapping mission. Its rockets blasted six astronauts into space from the Kennedy Space Centre, Florida at 1743GMT on Friday. Doubling the Hipparcos star count: the Tycho-2 Catalogue The success of ESA's Hipparcos satellite in mapping many stars with amazing accuracy takes another stride this week. The Tycho-2 Catalogue, giving positions, motions, brightness and colours of 2 539 913 stars, more than doubles the number of stars in the original Tycho Catalogue. Included are 99 per cent of all stars down to magnitude 11, which means almost 100 000 times fainter than the brightest star, Sirius. 'Little Bang' creates cosmic soup See also: The Little Big Bang Scientists have created what they describe as a "Little Bang" inside which are the conditions that existed a thousandth of a second after the birth of the Universe in the so-called Big Bang. In Space, No One Can Hear … One might expect the weightless isolation of a space station to offer calm serenity. It doesn’t. Columnist Lee Dye writes about how the International Space Station may be loud enough to deafen its future residents. Asteroid detection receives upgrade Botched predictions of an Earth-shattering asteroid have many people scratching and shaking their heads. But, one U.S. observatory has plans to address the issue - a new high-speed computer network that would make asteroid tracking much faster. Jupiter's thunderous rising damp See also: Planet Power Astronomers studying the latest images from the Galileo mission believe that the motions of Jupiter's atmosphere are driven by similar processes to those which drive the weather on Earth. Inflatable shields look good See also: Reusable, But Lost The Russians say they have successfully tested a new upper stage on their Soyuz rocket and have brought it back to Earth using a revolutionary re-entry device. Europe gains faster Internet access to JPL images A mirror site across the Atlantic is giving faster access to a wealth of images from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif. Photos from spacecraft traveling the solar system provide a visual feast of planets, moons, comets, asteroids and spacecraft for online viewers. Space X-ray images revealed See also: First XMM Images and Eye-openers from XMM-Newton One of the most powerful X-ray telescopes in space has been switched on, allowing scientists to get a new perspective on galaxies that are millions of light years from our own. NASA can jump-start America's space program NASA is once again faced with an unforeseen challenge due to technical and political realities beyond its control. The Russian Proton rocket fiasco has put a crimp in the International Space Station construction, and as a result shuttle construction and supply flights. By launching NASA's Interim Control Module in December, Administrator Dan Goldin has finally taken the necessary steps to move forward with construction of the outpost with or without help from the Russians. Earth survives asteroid 'threat' For the fifth time in two years, a report of an Earth-threatening asteroid was proven wrong within days of being announced. Meteorites reveal deep secrets Geologists find two very rare meteorites which reveal the inner secrets of planet Earth. Hello? Is Anyone There? The latest attempt to detect a signal from NASA’s Mars Polar Lander so far has been inconclusive, but radio telescopes around the world will make another try this week. Police investigate Copernicus theft A rare copy of one of the greatest science books ever published has been stolen from a St Petersburg library. NEAR image of the day for 2000 Feb 8 Eros image sequence reveals major landforms On February 4, the NEAR Multispectral Imager (MSI) took this image sequence as it approached within 4620 miles (7700 km) of Eros. The images were acquired every 15 degrees of rotation for one Eros "day", which is 5.27 hours long. Imagine - Webcasts from deep space Imagine watching live on your computer as an unmanned spacecraft flies over the poles of the moon to search for frozen water that could one day provide fuel for deep-space voyages or sustain a human lunar colony. Picture a live asteroid fly-by, or a view from 20 miles above Mars’ mysterious shifting polar ice caps, beamed directly to your home. It could happen by the end of 2001, say the Boeing Co. and its new deep-space partner, SpaceDev. Year later, and wiser, Cornell spacecraft team prepares for first orbit of an asteroid on Feb. 14 In deep space, there are very few second chances. But one year later and one year wiser, a team of Cornell University astronomers and researchers is preparing for the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid, named 433 Eros, on Valentine's Day. 100 and counting: SOHO's score as the world's top comet finder Calculations completed today confirm that a comet spotted by a Lithuanian astronomer on 4 February is a previously unknown object, making it the 100th comet discovered with the SOHO spacecraft. Asteroid 2000 BF19 Has Small Earth Impact Probability In 2022 Italian scientist Andrea Milani has announced that the recently discovered close Earth approaching asteroid 2000 BF19 has a very small Earth impact probability in the year 2022. NEAR image of the day for 2000 Feb 7 Approximately one day after its first rendezvous burn, NEAR imaged Eros every 15 degrees of rotation over a period of about 5.8 hrs. At this time the distance between the asteroid and spacecraft was approximately 4638 miles (7730 km). New Japanese-U.S. X-ray satellite will be cool, really cool See also: Colder than Space Besides showcasing an entirely new technology in X- ray detection, a Japanese-U.S. satellite observatory will earn the distinction of being the coldest known object in space. NASA portion of President Clinton's budget shows $14 billion provided for agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): The budget provides $14.0 billion for new and ongoing NASA activities, a three-percent increase over 2000. Ulysses gets ready for new solar polar adventure Ulysses, the joint ESA/NASA spacecraft to explore the region of space above the Sun's poles, is poised on the edge of new discoveries as it prepares to pass over the poles of the Sun for the second time in its ten year lifetime. Moon, California The city fathers of a California town plan to build the world’s first lunar colony, but they will skip the tricky part of going to the moon to do it. Major flare erupts on Sun See also: Small Sunspot, Big Flare The most powerful solar flare for years erupts on the surface of the Sun. Solar Smoke Rings The Sun put on a dynamic show this week with a series of swirling coronal mass ejections that expelled billions of tons of hot gas into interplanetary space. Space weather forecasters expect more of these events as the solar maximum approaches. Rock hunter finds second Mars meteorite known in U.S. When Bob Verish picked up two dark stones on a hike in California's Mojave Desert 20 years ago, the rock hunter didn't realize the rarity of his find. He does now. They represent only the second confirmed Mars meteorite discovery in the United States, NASA scientists announced this week. Launch — or Never Mind See also: Space station at 'moment of truth' The head of the space agency hopes the Russians will launch a service module to the International Space Station this year, but if they fail, he says, the United States will put up its own. The crystalline revolution: ISO's finding opens a new research field, 'astro-mineralogy' Silicate crystals, the most abundant minerals on Earth, are also found in great quantities around old stars and in protoplanetary discs -the discs where planets form. This finding, presented today at a press conference at ESA's Villafranca station in Madrid, is considered by experts in space chemistry as one of the main results of ESA's infrared space telescope, ISO. International Mars group looks for future options Over the next five years, four space agencies will be sending spacecraft to Mars, with many others hitching rides. Their representatives converged on the British National Space Centre in London last week for the first meeting of the International Mars Exploration Working Group (IMEWG) since the loss of NASA's Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander last year. NEAR craft changes course for upcoming asteroid rendezvous See also: NEAR image of the day for 2000 Feb 4 The first spacecraft expected to orbit an asteroid performed a key breaking and trajectory change maneuver Thursday, mission operators said. The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous vehicle is now only about 5,000 miles (8,000 km) away from Eros, which it should reach as planned on February 14. Quiet please, we're listening to Mars The mighty Jodrell Bank radio telescope will make a sensitive search for signals from the crippled Mars Polar Lander (MPL) on Friday - but scientists hope that journalists will keep their distance. Huygens fifth checkout successfully completed during night of 2 February The fifth in-flight Huygens checkout was successfully completed during the night of 2 to 3 February. Light and Shadow in the Carina Nebula See also: Hubble looks through the keyhole Previously unseen details of a mysterious, complex structure within the Carina Nebula (NGC 3372) are revealed by this image of the "Keyhole Nebula," obtained with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. ESA's X-ray space observatory XMM takes first pictures The European Space Agency's X-ray space observatory has taken its very first pictures giving new views on the Universe. The commissioning images confirm that the XMM spacecraft, its X-ray telescopes and science instruments are functioning perfectly, to the great satisfaction of all involved. Red Moon Rising The January 20, 2000 total lunar eclipse put on a beautiful show for sky watchers from Europe to the Pacific. This article presents new photographs of the event and explains what the red Moon and the blue sky have in common. Countdown for Chinese astronaut See also: Will A Dragon Celebrate New Year In Orbit? Speculation is growing that China may attempt a manned space flight to usher in the Year of the Dragon which begins on 5 February. Planetarium unveils a virtual universe When the new Hayden Planetarium opens to the public Feb. 19, it will not only show kids the heavens but take them there, too. The American Museum of Natural History showed off on Tuesday what it says is “the most powerful virtual reality simulator in the world,” with a show that seems to transport visitors to the edge of the known universe. Sand avalanches stir up trouble on Mars Driven by dust devils and sand storms, avalanches have pushed around dunes on Mars as recently as the past few months, as dramatically illustrated in a series of graphic images released by NASA this week. The Sun's magnetic field has a good memory By compiling all the solar wind data gathered in the space age, NASA scientists have concluded that even though the solar magnetic field is constantly changing, it always returns to its original shape and position. Earth turns its ears to Mars See also: Listening for Mars Polar Lander European radio scientists are to join the hunt for the Mars Polar Lander (MPL) which has been missing since it entered the atmosphere of the Red Planet on 3 December last year. Roaming Galileo returns to heart of Jupiter system Galileo is heading back toward the central part of the Jupiter system after reaching in its oblong orbit the farthest point away from the gaseous giant, NASA announced this week. Computer grounds Endeavour Nasa has put back the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour by a week because of a technical problem with the onboard computer. The Technology of Deep Space The general impression most people seem to have of the "Deep Space 1" mission - the first of NASA's series of "New Millennium" space missions designed to test out new technological systems in space so that they can then be utilized on operational missions - is that it ended as something of a fiasco. That's not quite true. Bacteria In Murchison/ Efremovka Meteorites At a conference in Denver, July 20-22, 1999, a pair scientists from the Russian Academy of Sciences presented sharp images that look very much like fossilized microorganisms taken from fragments of several carbonaceous meteorites.

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