Science and Technology

Apr 14, 2009

University of Arizona Scientist Thomas Swetnam testifed before the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in 2007. He told the House subcommittee that more place-based scientists are needed in the nations public lands to work with agency…

Mar 3, 2009

Ares I-X Forward Skirt Extension Separation Test - A full-scale separation test of the forward skirt extension for the Ares I-X flight test at its facility in Promontory, Utah on January 29, 2009. (Image credit: NASA/ATK) CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. --…

Mar 3, 2009

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Lip reading is a critical means of communication for many deaf people, but it has a drawback: Certain consonants (for example, p and b) can be nearly impossible to distinguish by sight alone. Tactile devices, which translate sound waves…

Feb 22, 2009

--Plasma thruster is small, runs on inexpensive gases CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Satellites orbiting the Earth must occasionally be nudged to stay on the correct path. MIT scientists are developing a new rocket that could make this and other spacecraft maneuvers much less…

Feb 17, 2009

Gamma-rays flares from SGR J1550-5418 may arise when the magnetars surface suddenly cracks, releasing energy stored within its powerful magnetic field. Photo Credit:NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab WASHINGTON -- Astronomers using NASAs Swift satellite and Fermi Gamma-ray Space…

Feb 17, 2009

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- During a review of space shuttle Discoverys readiness for flight, NASA managers decided Tuesday to plan a launch no earlier than Feb. 19. The new planning date is pending additional analysis and particle impact testing associated…

Feb 3, 2009

Photo courtesy/ISRO/NASA/JHUAPL/LPI/Cornell University/Smithsonian This image is a Mini-RF synthetic aperture radar (SAR) strip overlain on an Earth-based, Arecibo Observatory radar telescope image. Taken Nov. 17, 2008, the south-polar SAR strip shows a part of the moon never seen before: a…

Jan 20, 2009

WASHINGTON -- A NASA-funded study describes how extreme solar eruptions could have severe consequences for communications, power grids and other technology on Earth. The National Academy of Sciences in Washington conducted the study. The resulting report provides some of the…