Science

In NASA’s first Space Launch System testflight, 13 shoebox-sized satellites called CubeSats will be sent into deep space to learn, among other things, how the environment will affect astronauts on a future Mars mission.

A manned mission to Mars is a little closer after a big move from NASA on Monday. A Super Guppy cargo jet was used to transfer the Orion spacecraft pressure vessel from Louisiana to Florida, where it will conduct a test flight in 2018.

Anyone watching for Santa Claus tonight is more than likely to see a giant space rock. NASA snapped some dashing images of the 3,600-foot asteroid, which will fly close enough to see with a telescope, but thankfully won’t be any trouble for the man with all the toys.

NASA fans have long begrudged Congress for insufficiently funding space exploration, but there was only astonished excitement for lawmakers Wednesday, who proposed budget increases surpassing President Barack Obama’s request by nearly a billion dollars.

Three billion miles away, Pluto’s contrasting landscapes can now be seen as if they were half a city block away. NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft captured the “sharpest” images of the dwarf planet in July, but it wasn’t until Friday that they arrived.

China looks set to build the world’s biggest cloning factory, with dogs, cows and horses expected to be replicated amid planned investment of $30 million (200 million yuan).

Scientists are marveling at a keenly evolved canine, not only because of its physical qualities, but for the rapid expansion of the population as well. One key question remains unsettled by biologists with regards to the coywolf: Is it actually a different species?

When NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory determined a 99.9 percent likelihood for a magnitude 5.0 earthquake or higher within Los Angeles before April 2018, the US Geological Survey stepped in saying NASA wasn’t “clear” about the science behind its finding.

When Earth gets paid a visit, Earthlings appreciate some advance warning. Typically that’s a year or more, but NASA was only able to give three weeks’ notice in the case of asteroid 2015 TB145, which is scheduled to make a close pass by on Halloween.