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| Image credit: NASA |
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| New Method for Finding Life on Mars |
| Oct 10, 2003 - A team of scientists from the University of Glasgow have developed a method they believe will help detect evidence of life in ancient rocks - perhaps helping uncover if there's life on Mars. With their technique, the rocks are crushed to release tiny amounts of liquid water, and then special detectors are used to search for the presence of biomolecules in the water. Once the technique has been proven to work, the researchers believe it could be miniaturized and flown aboard future Mars landers. |
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| Image credit: NASA |
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| Laser Powered Plane Takes Flight |
| Oct 10, 2003 - A team of NASA researchers have created a remote control plane that gets its power from a ground-based laser that tracks it as it flies around. The model plane has a 3.5 metre wingspan, and only weighs 300 grams. It collects energy from a bank of photovoltaic cells to power its propeller. Although this is just a prototype, future versions could be much larger and fly above a city indefinitely providing telecommunications services - it could be an inexpensive replacement for satellites. |
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| Image credit: NASA |
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| Chase Planes Could Let the Shuttle Launch at Night |
| Oct 10, 2003 - NASA is considering sending two WB-57F research planes to chase the space shuttle when it launches at night to watch for trouble. Ground cameras can't see the shuttle clearly at night because of the bright glow from the solid rocket boosters. NASA is also modernizing its current imaging systems, spending $3.2 million on new computers, software and cameras - they're adding at least 11 new cameras at various places around the Kennedy Space Center. |
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| Image credit: Chinese Space Agency |
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| China Finally Reveals Launch Plans |
| Oct 10, 2003 - After years of secrecy, the Chinese government has finally revealed details of its upcoming launch. As predicted by media and industry insiders, Shenzhou 5 will launch some time between October 15 and 17. The flight will last between 14 orbits, or 21 hours - not the single orbit previously reported. They revealed that there are three astronaut candidates at the launch facility, but not the number that will actually ride in the spacecraft on this first flight. |
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