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December 02, 2013

China launches first moon rover mission
Beijing (AFP) Dec 02, 2013
China launched its first moon rover mission early Monday, the latest step in an ambitious space programme seen as a symbol of its rising global stature. The Chang'e-3 mission is named for the goddess of the moon in Chinese mythology and the rover vehicle is called Yutu, or Jade Rabbit, after her pet. The Long March-3B carrier rocket - China's largest such vehicle - blasted off around 1:30 am (Sunday 1730 GMT), live coverage on state broadcaster CCTV showed. As it shot into the night sky, m ... read more

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Helping China To The Moon Shortly after China's Chang'e-3 spacecraft departs Earth to land on the Moon, ESA's network of tracking stations will swing into action, providing crucial support for the vessel's five-day lunar cru ... more		Rock Comet Sprouts a Tail Astronomers have long been puzzled by a certain meteor shower. Every year in mid-December the sky fills with flashes of light shooting out of the constellation Gemini. The Geminids are fast, b ... more		Japanese firm describes proposed 'power belt' for the moon A Japanese company has unveiled its concept of a lunar solar power generation installation that could send 13,000 continuous terawatts of power back to Earth. ... more
				Comet ISON probably did not survive Sun skirmish Comet ISON seems to have perished in a much too-close encounter with the Sun, leaving only a dust trail that will disappear over time, astronomers said on Friday. ... more		Comet ISON vanishes as it circles the sun Comet ISON appears to have flown too close to the surface of the sun Thursday and vanished as it circled the fiery surface, astronomers said. ... more

CubeSats, SmallSats and MicroSats

Countdown to the galactic census On 19 December 2013, Europe's billion-star surveyor is due to be launched into space where it will embark on its mission to create a highly accurate 3D map of our galaxy. By repeatedly observi ... more		Mach 1000 shock wave lights supernova remnant When a star explodes as a supernova, it shines brightly for a few weeks or months before fading away. Yet the material blasted outward from the explosion still glows hundreds or thousands of years l ... more		Denmark closes airspace to civilian drones amid rise in sightings Top diplomats of North Korea, China agree to oppose 'hegemonism' What is the high seas treaty?		Our Galaxy takes its food in pills "Food pills" were a staple of science fiction for decades. For our Galaxy, they may be real. The Galaxy has been making stars for the last 8 billion years. What's kept it going all that time? ... more
				Comet ISON vs. the Solar Storm In 2007, astronomers were amazed when a solar storm hit Comet Encke. NASA STEREO spacecraft watched as a CME (coronal mass ejection) struck the comet head on and ripped off its tail. The same thing ... more		Amidst and Beyond the Rings While the moon Epimetheus passes by, beyond the edge of Saturn's main rings, the tiny moon Daphnis carries on its orbit within the Keeler gap of the A ring. Although quite different in size, both mo ... more

International Conference on Protection of Materials and Structures From Space Environment

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

Black hole jets pack a powerful punch Black-hole jets recycle matter and energy into space and can affect when and where a galaxy forms stars. "Jets from supermassive black holes help determine a galaxy's fate - how it evolves," s ... more		Calm solar cycle prompts questions about impact on Earth The surface of the sun has been surprisingly calm of late - with fewer sunspots than anytime in in the last century - prompting curious scientists to wonder just what it might mean here on Earth. ... more		The first animals on Earth may have been sea sponges, study suggests Wildfire-induced thunderstorms recreated in Earth system models for first time Fengyun satellite strengthens China global weather forecasting capacity		Smartphone app can help track, identify meteors falling to Earth A smartphone app can track meteors as they enter the Earth's atmosphere, sending information back to users about their sightings, its Australian developers say. ... more
				Image of sun shows two areas of sunspots, one arriving and one leaving NASA has released an image of the sun showing two sunspots - one "coming" and one "going" - both the size of Jupiter, astronomers say. ... more		Search for habitable planets should be more conservative Scientists should take the conservative approach when searching for habitable zones where life-sustaining planets might exist, according to James Kasting, Evan Pugh Professor of Geosciences at Penn ... more

The Sounds of New Horizons

On the Path to Pluto, 5 AU and Closing

SwRI study finds that Pluto satellites' orbital ballet may hint of long-ago collisions

Glassy Coating Keeps Viruses Happy In Harsh Environments

No peak in sight for evolving bacteria

Theory of Earth's special place in the universe proven unfounded

Search for habitable planets should be more conservative

NASA Kepler Results Usher in a New Era of Astronomy

Astronomers answer key question: How common are habitable planets?

Deep Space Perils For Indian Spacecraft

NASA poised to launch Mars atmosphere probe

Curiosity Resumes Science After Analysis of Voltage Issue

	Spotlight on China's Moon Rover The upcoming launch of China's Chang'e-3 Moon lander and rover follows a busy year for the Chinese space program. Awareness of China's growing strength in spaceflight is rising throughout the world. ... more		Will comet ISON survive its near brush with the Sun? US astrophysicists are split over what will happen when the comet ISON passes near the sun Thursday, but a majority think it will break apart. ... more		Do Black Holes Come in Size Medium? Black holes can be petite, with masses only about 10 times that of our sun - or monstrous, boasting the equivalent in mass up to 10 billion suns. Do black holes also come in size medium? NASA's Nuc ... more		Scientists Seek Other Scientists for Cosmology Problem How do you measure something that is invisible? It's a challenging task, but astronomers have made progress on one front: the study of dark matter and dark energy, two of the most mysterious substan ... more

NASA ISRO radar satellite beams first Earth images from space

India plans mega-dam to counter China water fears

Breakthrough in UAV swarm intelligence as SRI redefines topology mapping

IceCube provides proof of neutrinos from the cosmos		Evidence of jet of high-energy particles from Milky Way's black hole		We're Going to the Moon!		NASA's Solar Observing Fleet to Watch Comet ISON's Journey around the Sun		Physicist's journey reveals smaller asteroids could cause bigger problems
Searching for Cosmic Accelerators Via IceCube		Chandra Helps Confirm Evidence of Jet in Milky Way's Black Hole		IceCube pushes neutrinos to the forefront of astronomy		NASA, Planetary Resources Sign Agreement to Crowdsource Asteroid Detection		NASA Spacecraft Begins Collecting Lunar Atmosphere Data

Infant Galaxies Merging Near 'Cosmic Dawn'

Monster gamma-ray burst in our cosmic neighborhood

HZDR researchers simulate electrons in astrophysical plasma jets

Whither the teakettle whistle

Revisiting quantum effects in MEMS

Sunspots: Coming and Going

Asteroids should be colonized or used as transport to planets

Comet ISON, hype aside, is an intriguing cosmic visitor

Scientists find that Mars, not Earth, shakes up some near-Earth asteroids

Research uncovers secrets of Mars' birth from unique meteorite

Rediscovered Apollo data gives first measure of how fast Moon dust piles up

Big Boost for China's Moon Lander

Stunning meteorite sheds light on infant Mars

NASA Sees 'Watershed' Cosmic Blast in Unique Detail

Black hole birth captured by cosmic voyeurs

Debris from stellar explosions in the Galaxy's fast lane

MicroObservatory Catches Comet ISON

Quantum state world record smashed

High-energy physicists predict new family of four-quark objects

Comet ISON: What's Next?

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