NASA to Announce New Class of Planets

Astronomers have discovered four new planets in a week's time, an exciting end-of-summer flurry that signals a sharper era in the hunt for new worlds.

Some appear to be noticeably smaller and more solid - more like Earth and Mars - than the gargantuan, gaseous giants identified before.

Planet-hunting is the hottest field in astronomy. This week three teams in the United States and Europe rushed to announce their discoveries of new exoplanets - those orbiting stars other than our sun.

Experts say it won't be long before astronomers detect planets that are similar to Earth's dimensions and characteristics - perhaps even suitable for sustaining life with an oxygen-rich atmosphere and oceans.

NASA to Announce New Class of Planets

NASA engineers refine Robonaut

Not content to simply stand in one place, NASA's mechanical astronaut has found not one, but two new robotic bodies that will allow it to move across land and space.

Robonaut B, a robot built with human-like hands and television camera eyes, now has the option of rolling around Earth on a modified two-wheeled Segway scooter or grappling the International Space Station with what researchers call a "space leg."

Robonaut B is portable and wireless, its internal systems are much smaller than those of its older brother Robonaut A.

Read the entire article at CNN:
NASA engineers refine Robonaut

Hoax Alert - Mars is NOT about to be spectacular!

Did you get an email about Mars lately? Did it say something like "The Red Planet is about to be spectacular!"?

This month and next, Earth is catching up with Mars in an encounter that will culminate in the closest approach between the two planets in recorded history.

Well this event happened back in August 2003! But since people like to blindly forward emails you can rest assured that every year around August this letter will be circulated!

For more details visit the KC Virus & Hoax Alert! site:

Kahl.net Virus and Hoax Alert - Inform Yourself

Writing the rules to govern the cosmos

Where mankind may go, lawyers are quick to follow - and futuristic as it may seem, some are busily writing the laws they hope will ultimately govern the universe.

To try to ensure that space remains a "common thing," space lawyers have drafted five international treaties under UN direction. The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 provides the basis of all space law with its clear decree that no nation can claim ownership to any part of it, and all nations must agree to its peaceful use. The treaty was signed by all major space powers and remains the guiding light of space initiatives.

Read the full article here:
Writing the rules to govern the cosmos