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New - Discovery is bringing the Space Station crew home - follow
the flight at the STS-102 Mission Journal page!
Other Shuttle flights are detailed at the new Missions
page!
31 January 2001 - Mars probe mission extended! reports:
Successful Mars Spacecraft's Mission Extended NASA's
spacecraft, which has collected more information about the Red Planet than
all previous missions combined, completed its primary science mission
yesterday and began a new era of continued exploration. Mars Global
Surveyor's extended mission--to continue its extraordinary mapping
capabilities to acquire data for the selection of future landing
sites--has been approved through April 2002. The robotic orbiter was
launched on Nov. 7, 1996, and arrived at Mars on Sept. 12, 1997. The
spacecraft began its primary mapping mission in March 1999 and has
collected data for a full Martian year, equivalent to about two Earth
years. Those comprehensive observations are proving invaluable to
understanding the seasonal changes on Mars.
28 January 2001 - It's been . CNN's John Zarrella recalls . Where were you that day?
Today In Space History - Today marks the of the in the of the Space Program: The . On , lost their when exploded just after . Mission Fact sheet
; Crew info
;
Image collections
and .
Mission
was the , and it
the first "",
. The ,
(),
was the , and had
9 (starting with
in ) before the , which was
by
in the right becoming in the
. The
accident and became of an . The
of some
were with honors at , and the
of the is sealed in a at . NASA for more than while were made. The , dedicated to , were in
of the crew. the
brave of
and Apollo 1!
[Date: ]
27 January 2001 - On the eve of the Challenger
anniversary, residents of 's hometown which occurred fifteen years ago tomorrow.
A Progress spacecraft, Russia's unmanned cargo ship, made a with the Mir space station, in preparation for its
destruction. Mir will be pushed out of orbit, and is scheduled to crash into
the Pacific ocean on March 6th.
Today In Space History - Today marks the of a tragic day in the race for the moon: the . On , three astronauts on the at Cape Canaveral during a in
for what would have been the in the . , , and perished when a
ignited the of the Apollo at .
Details
[requires free ]; Crew info ;
Image collections
and . The loss
of
caused a delay of nearly two years in the Apollo program, resulting in many
to the spacecraft design. In December 1997, nearly 31 years after the
accident, President Clinton awarded the to the fallen astronauts (their
accepted the medals). Never forget the
of space exploration!
[Date: ]
04 January 2001 - The orbiting
is nearing the . NASA (in collaboration with ) wants it to go out
with a bang by on the . They cite the chances of success
at one percent (the ), but they say that
the main goal is not the landing itself, but to get in close enough to take
super-detailed pictures before its fuel runs out.
A will be over Europe, Asia, and Africa. Stargazers in the northeastern
US and Canada may .
You are here: An "X"-shaped gas cloud where a is forming new stars. The discovery was announced today be
scientists working on the . NASA reports:
The
saying 'X' marks the spot holds true in this NASA (HST) image where Hubble-X marks the location of a
dramatic burst of star formation, very much like the Orion Nebula in our
Milky Way galaxy, but on a vastly greater scale. Hubble-X sits in a glowing
gas cloud in one of the most active star-forming regions within galaxy NGC
6822, one of the Milky Way's closest neighbors. For more about Hubble X,
including fast facts, a comparison with the Orion Nebula, and information on
the astronomers studying it, . Hubble-X was discovered by E. E. Barnard in 1881. Edwin P. Hubble,
after whom the HST is named, used the then-new 100-inch telescope at Mount
Wilson Observatory in 1925 to make the first detailed photographic
investigation of NGC 6822.
Today In Space History - We're going waaaaay back for this one! It's been
(4 Jan 1610) since
(inventor, artist, etc) first used a telescope he built to observe our solar system. [Date: ]
More Space History - On 4 Jan 1958, , the world's , re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and , after its short but historic mission.
Rumor has it that the launcher (a Soviet ) survived its re-entry and in December 1957 - but no one's talking... [Date: ]
03 January 2001 - The is planning for a in 2001.
has released a document (Adobe Acrobat )
detailing their short- and long-term plans for space exploration. Their statement here:
Strategic Plan 2000 Charts NASA's Course NASA's
recently released Strategic Plan 2000 charts the agency's trajectory into
the frontiers of flight, space, and knowledge. It includes both near-term
priorities--flying the Space Shuttle safely and building the International
Space Station--and longer-term investments in America's future--developing
more affordable, reliable means of access to space and conducting
cutting-edge scientific and technological research. It describes our vision
for expanding air and space frontiers, serving America, and improving life on Earth.
has joined the thousands of people who will be in a sort of time capsule, .
More on the that appeared in a Seattle park [see yesterday].
Just in case you're not sick of comparisons to the "real" 2001
and the ,
here's an ...
Today In Space History - Two years ago
today, (), the
ill-fated (with its
two )
was
from 's , aboard
a .
The spacecraft successfully, but it was
during its to the Martian surface.
[Source: ]
02 January 2001 - A in a Seattle park yesterday, prompting
comparisons to the one in the 1968 .
No ape-like creatures or aliens were reported in the area, however.
Shuttle Atlantis is due to launch on 19 Jan 2001, to , the "Destiny" lab. Follow the
on our new STS-98 Mission Journal.
being observed now may mean the universe is than previously thought.
Digital radio is on its way - beamed to your car or home .
may be gearing up for a of their , capable of carrying astronauts (possibly 3 or 4) !
More on (that's ,
depending on what time zone you're in). Shooting stars should also be
visible .
Today In Space History - Today marks the
42nd anniversary () of the launch of , the to exceed and leave the Earth's orbit. The
space was on the
surface, but
and went into a solar orbit instead (becoming, accidentally, the to and to the ).
[Date: ]
01 January 2001 -
Happy New Millennium!! (yeah, we know we were saying that last
year. Why celebrate once when you can celebrate twice?)
President-elect has picked to be his
. He is in favor of - a very controversial issue.
Mir had - and the date for its demise is set - February 27th-28th!
What are the ? No, it's not the latest boy band on MTV. They (it?) is a meteor
shower that comes around every January. Bundle up and check it out !
on 's
close .
What caused last week's of
a
carrying six satellites for Russia's military? It may have been
a .
Today In Space History - It is the of the
of
, the
, and , known
. On
,
Italian astronomer
observed . Thousands been
, mostly the Sun
of
and
.
[Date: ]
More Space History - Seventy-six
years ago today (), American astronomer (yes,
they named after) announced that he had observed
nebulae outside of , which made people
start believing that there is a universe beyond the .
[Date: ]
NASA's
spacecraft, which has collected more information about the Red Planet than
all previous missions combined, completed its primary science mission
yesterday and began a new era of continued exploration. Mars Global
Surveyor's extended mission--to continue its extraordinary mapping
capabilities to acquire data for the selection of future landing
sites--has been approved through April 2002. The robotic orbiter was
launched on Nov. 7, 1996, and arrived at Mars on Sept. 12, 1997. The
spacecraft began its primary mapping mission in March 1999 and has
collected data for a full Martian year, equivalent to about two Earth
years. Those comprehensive observations are proving invaluable to
understanding the seasonal changes on Mars. 
The
saying 'X' marks the spot holds true in this NASA (HST) image where Hubble-X marks the location of a
dramatic burst of star formation, very much like the Orion Nebula in our
Milky Way galaxy, but on a vastly greater scale. Hubble-X sits in a glowing
gas cloud in one of the most active star-forming regions within galaxy NGC
6822, one of the Milky Way's closest neighbors. For more about Hubble X,
including fast facts, a comparison with the Orion Nebula, and information on
the astronomers studying it, . Hubble-X was discovered by E. E. Barnard in 1881. Edwin P. Hubble,
after whom the HST is named, used the then-new 100-inch telescope at Mount
Wilson Observatory in 1925 to make the first detailed photographic
investigation of NGC 6822.
NASA's
recently released Strategic Plan 2000 charts the agency's trajectory into
the frontiers of flight, space, and knowledge. It includes both near-term
priorities--flying the Space Shuttle safely and building the International
Space Station--and longer-term investments in America's future--developing
more affordable, reliable means of access to space and conducting
cutting-edge scientific and technological research. It describes our vision
for expanding air and space frontiers, serving America, and improving life on Earth.