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Approach to Saturn
Composite image, Cassini Orbiter
9 February 2004, NASA JPL
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Lunar and Planetary Science
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC),
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA)
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USGS Astrogeology Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS),
U.S. Department of the Interior
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PHOENIX MARS MISSION
Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL),
The University of Arizona (UA), &
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA
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Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
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STARDUST - NASA’s COMET SAMPLE RETURN MISSION
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL),
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) &
California Institute of Technology
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Explore Mars
THEMIS - Mars Odyssey Mission
Thermal Emission Imaging System,
Arizona State University (ASU)
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FULL CIRCLE: NASA’s Stardust Probe Returns Home with Comet Samples
SPACE.com, Imaginova Corp.
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Now they find water on Mars: Meteorites uncover ice
which could point to life
Claire Bates,
Mail Online,
Associated Newspapers Ltd.
[ 27 September 2009 ]
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Widespread water may cling to moon’s surface
Rachel Courtland, Space,
New Scientist, Reed Business Information Ltd.
[ 24 September 2009 ]
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New NASA temperature maps provide
‘whole new way of seeing the moon’
PhysOrg.com
(Source: University of California Los Angeles)
[ 17 September 2009 ]
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Scientists unravel the chemistry of
Titan’s hazy atmosphere
PhysOrg.com
(Source: University of Hawai`i at Manoa)
[ 15 September 2009 ]
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Scientists predict greater longevity for planets with life
PhysOrg.com
(Source: California Institute of Technology)
[ 13 June 2009 ]
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First extragalactic exoplanet may have been found
Stephen Battersby, Space,
New Scientist, Reed Business Information Ltd.
[ 10 June 2009 ]
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Einstein Effect Reveals Icy Exoplanet
David Biello,
Scientific American.com,
Scientific American, Inc.
[ 15 March 2006 ]
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Comet from coldest spot in solar system has material from hottest places
Science and Tech, UW Office of News and Information,
University of Washington (UW)
[ 13 March 2006 ]
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Does Titan’s methane originate from underground?
ESA News, European Space Agency (ESA)
[ 1 March 2006 ]
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Titan’s long-sought sea revealed by radar
David L. Chandler, Space,
New Scientist, Reed Business Information Ltd.
[ 17 September 2005 ]
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NASA’s Durable Spirit Sends Intriguing New Images
From Mars
PhysOrg.com [ 2 September 2005 ]
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New images reveal volcanic hotspot on Mars
Maggie McKee, NewScientist.com,
New Scientist, Reed Business Information Ltd.
[ 2 March 2005 ]
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Martian water clues go wider and deeper
David L. Chandler, NewScientist.com,
New Scientist, Reed Business Information Ltd.
[ 18 February 2005 ]
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Merging Saturnian Storms
Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations (CICLOPS),
Space Science Institute [ 8 April 2004 ]
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How Long Does It Take for Earth’s Magnetic Field to Reverse?
NSF PR 04-044, Directorate for Geosciences (GEO),
National Science Foundation (NSF)
[ 7 April 2004 ]
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Most Distant Object in Solar System Discovered
2004 News Releases, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL),
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) &
California Institute of Technology
[ 15 March 2004 ]
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Earth’s Magnetic Field Weakens 10 Percent
Andrew Bridges, Associated Press
courtesy of Space.com [ 12 December 2003 ]
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Radioactive potassium may be major heat source in Earth’s core
Robert Sanders, UC Berkeley NewsCenter,
University of California - Berkeley
[ 10 December 2003 ]
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Odyssey Studies Changing Weather and
Climate on Mars
2003 News Releases, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL),
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) &
California Institute of Technology
[ 8 December 2003 ]
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Darwin - The Infrared Space Interferometry Mission
C.V.M. Fridlund, Space Science Department,
ESA Directorate of Scientific Programmes,
European Space Agency (ESA)
(ESA Bulletin 103)
[ 1 August 2000 ]
(Adobe PDF file)
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Spaceflight, still in its infancy, promises Mankind the ability to one day travel
to the stars and colonize other planets. While we are far from
achieving this lofty goal, the pace of space exploration is accelerating.
With the formation of
The Spaceship Company by Sir Richard Branson
and Burt Rutan and subsequent construction of SpaceShipTwo, private
sector commercial suborbital flight will commence. The dream so many of
us had as children of traveling into space will become reality for a far
greater number than our select few heroic astronauts and cosmonauts.
The long-anticipated manned exploration of Mars is actively being pursued.
With visionary groups of citizens and scientists like
The Mars
Society and President Bush’s new space initiative for NASA
driving the effort, it appears the goal is coming within reach, although
technologies are yet to be developed that will make it truly feasible.
While some may argue that the cost of space exploration is too dear,
what price do you place upon a dream? The cost of human exploration
has always been high, both in lives and in resources. Columbus nearly
failed to discover the New World for lack of funding, yet the avenues
opened to Europeans once its existence was known were immense.
Columbus in his quest sought riches in the form of spices, gold and precious
gems. Physical riches may indeed abound in space; mining of asteroids
is being contemplated by NASA scientists. As the commercial sector
becomes actively engaged in space exploration, this too will become a
reality, perhaps relieving our planet of the environmental burden some
forms of mining cause it to endure. In an age of increasing population,
dwindling resources and potential environmental changes that may threaten
the stability of our climate, the imperative to push into space is
paramount to our survival as a species.
The quest for space we have embarked upon offers a goal capable of moving us
far beyond that of mere acquisition of resources. The two attributes
humans possess which set us apart from all other animals on Planet Earth
are our insatiable thirst for knowledge and our ability to imagine greater
things. The pursuit of knowledge for its own sake has always resulted
in advances in technology which ultimately advance the human condition,
although admittedly a few steps back may sometimes be taken in the process.
A handful of earthbound and space telescopes and robotic probes sent to
distant planets has yielded within the last decade a greater wealth of
information about our solar system and the cosmos than had been acquired
throughout the entire history of Mankind. Our scope of discovery and
understanding has progressed from the range of our unaided eye inward
from microscopic worlds to the quantum level of matter and outward first
to the horizons of our planet and now near the edges of the universe and
the depths of time itself. Within these great expanses lie a plethora
of secrets remaining to be revealed. Exploration of space is the key
that will unlock the myriad of unanswered questions confronting Mankind
and assure our continuing evolution.
Authored by Kenneth L. Anderson.
Original article published 27 August 2005.
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