Newt Gingrich has absorbed a fair degree of ridicule for his campaign proposal to build an American colony on the moon. Before focusing the laughter solely on Gingrich, however, let's recall that it is the declared policy of the U.S. government to return a human being to the moon by 2020, in preparation for sending a human astronaut to Mars. If Gingrich is wrong (and he is), he's not wrong alone.
Americans were enthralled by fake reports of an alien invasion in the Orson Welles "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast on Halloween Eve in 1938. Hundreds of science fiction movies from the 1902 silent epic "A Trip to the Moon" (featured in the current film "Hugo") to "Star Wars" to this year's "Cowboys and Aliens" have fed a deep curiosity about intelligent beings elsewhere in the universe.
Kepler-22b is the first planet in the "habitable zone" with liquid water on its surface discovered by NASA's Kepler mission.
NASA scientists are slightly more than a week away from launching a Jupiter mission they say will unlock key secrets of how our solar system was formed.
Atlantis, which took off last week on NASA's final space shuttle voyage, won't be the only spacecraft to make significant steps this year.
Space shuttle Atlantis landed here Wednesday, concluding the final mission of its 25-year career.
Space shuttle Atlantis lands safely at Florida's Kennedy Space Center, completing its final mission.
Scientists don't know why, but one of Jupiter's two main cloud belts has disappeared -- again.
The space shuttle Atlantis docked at the international space station on Sunday morning after officials decided there would be no need to perform a maneuver to avoid a piece of debris.
Space shuttle Atlantis docks with the international space station after NASA declared space debris wouldn't be an issue.
The space shuttle Atlantis lifted off Friday afternoon on its final planned mission.
If you're looking for alien life in the solar system, it might be best to start small.
A leap of faith
updated: Wed Apr 07 2010 23:36:00
More than 60 million pilgrims are expected to visit the holy town of Haridwar, India, between January and April.
The Kumbh Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage that is often referred to as the largest religious gathering on the planet. It is celebrated four times every 12 years, with the observance rotating between four different cities in India.
Astronomers announced this week they found a water-rich and relatively nearby planet that's similar in size to Earth.
1. NASA's Ames Research Center -- This Silicon Valley-based complex is ground zero for the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite mission, which climaxes with Friday's lunar crashes. Officials invited the public to spend the night outdoors at the center to watch the crashes occur shortly after 4:30 a.m. California time. Ames staffers' enthusiasm for the LCROSS mission is evident in their breathless tweets, which are full of exclamation points!
Scientists have discovered the first confirmed Earthlike planet outside our solar system, they announced Wednesday.
For one of the farthest, coldest places in the solar system, Pluto sure stirs a lot of hot emotions right here on Earth.
In an unusual step, NASA scientists interrupted testing of the refurbished Hubble Space Telescope to aim the orbiter's camera at Jupiter and capture an image of the planet's mysterious new scar.
© 2013 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
|