http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/default.aspxA community driven jumping off point for reaching space<BR><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6em">Knowledge Management and Collaboration Platform</SPAN>en-USCommunityServer 2.1 SP2 (Build: 61129.2)http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/nasa-decision-afoot-in-congress.aspxFri, 30 Jul 2010 00:25:43 GMT8d2aeb7f-d0ae-42f0-976d-e3fff4a27850:53618Universe Today0The US House of Representatives are preparing to vote on H.R. 5781, their version of NASA&#039;s $19 billion budget authorization for fiscal year 2011, and several groups are calling for a &#034;no&#034; vote, or at the very least, a delay in the vote, currently scheduled for Friday, July 30. The House version would cut much [...] Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! | live it!...(<a href="http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/nasa-decision-afoot-in-congress.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://community.terraninstitute.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=53618" width="1" height="1">NASANASA Budgethttp://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/ring-around-rhea-probably-not.aspxThu, 29 Jul 2010 21:50:09 GMT8d2aeb7f-d0ae-42f0-976d-e3fff4a27850:53615Universe Today0Back in 2005, a suite of six instruments on the Cassini spacecraft detected what was thought to be an extensive debris disk around Saturn&#039;s moon Rhea, and while there was no visible evidence, researchers thought that perhaps there was a diffuse ring around the moon. This would have been the first ring ever found around [...] Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! | live it!...(<a href="http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/ring-around-rhea-probably-not.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://community.terraninstitute.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=53615" width="1" height="1">SaturnMissionsCassiniRheahttp://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/antarctic-observatory-finds-weird-pattern-of-cosmic-rays.aspxThu, 29 Jul 2010 21:00:25 GMT8d2aeb7f-d0ae-42f0-976d-e3fff4a27850:53616Universe Today0From a University of Wisconsin press release: Though still under construction, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole is already delivering scientific results — including an early finding about a phenomenon the telescope was not even designed to study. IceCube captures signals of notoriously elusive but scientifically fascinating subatomic particles called neutrinos. The telescope [...] Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! | live it!...(<a href="http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/antarctic-observatory-finds-weird-pattern-of-cosmic-rays.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://community.terraninstitute.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=53616" width="1" height="1">Astronomyhttp://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/goes-13-satellite-sees-severe-storms-strike-u-s-east-coast.aspxThu, 29 Jul 2010 18:51:17 GMT8d2aeb7f-d0ae-42f0-976d-e3fff4a27850:53608NASA Earth Observatory02010-07-27 - One of the most destructive storms in years struck Washington, D.C. and the surrounding area on July 25, 2010. Strong winds downed trees and power lines, leaving hundreds of thousands of residents without power, stopping elevators, and darkening malls and movie theaters. Falling trees killed at least two people. The following morning, crews were working furiously to restore power to homes, traffic lights, and even a water treatment plant. Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg...(<a href="http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/goes-13-satellite-sees-severe-storms-strike-u-s-east-coast.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://community.terraninstitute.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=53608" width="1" height="1">http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/commercial-spaceflight-supports-rally-to-stall-vote-on-nasa-bill.aspxThu, 29 Jul 2010 17:29:02 GMT8d2aeb7f-d0ae-42f0-976d-e3fff4a27850:53617SPACE.com0A flurry of behind-the-scenes maneuvering took place late Wednesday as opponents of a NASA authorization bill fought back efforts by lawmakers to push for a floor vote on the measure before they break for the summer district work period Aug. 2. Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! | live it!...(<a href="http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/commercial-spaceflight-supports-rally-to-stall-vote-on-nasa-bill.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://community.terraninstitute.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=53617" width="1" height="1">http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/mars-rover-opportunity-finally-sees-martian-dust-devil.aspxThu, 29 Jul 2010 15:29:04 GMT8d2aeb7f-d0ae-42f0-976d-e3fff4a27850:53611SPACE.com0After six-and-a-half years roaming the surface of Mars, a NASA rover has spotted its first dust devil on the red planet. Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! | live it!...(<a href="http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/mars-rover-opportunity-finally-sees-martian-dust-devil.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://community.terraninstitute.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=53611" width="1" height="1">http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/brilliant-star-in-a-colourful-neighbourhood.aspxThu, 29 Jul 2010 14:30:05 GMT8d2aeb7f-d0ae-42f0-976d-e3fff4a27850:53561Space News From SpaceDaily.Com0Paris, France (SPX) Jul 29, 2010 A spectacular new image from ESO's Wide Field Imager at the La Silla Observatory in Chile shows the brilliant and unusual star WR 22 and its colourful surroundings. WR 22 is a very hot and bright star that is shedding its atmosphere into space at a rate many millions of times faster than the Sun. It lies in the outer part of the dramatic Carina Nebula from which it formed. Very massive sta Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! |...(<a href="http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/brilliant-star-in-a-colourful-neighbourhood.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://community.terraninstitute.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=53561" width="1" height="1">http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/goes-13-satellite-sees-severe-storms-strike-us-east-coast.aspxThu, 29 Jul 2010 14:30:05 GMT8d2aeb7f-d0ae-42f0-976d-e3fff4a27850:53562Space News From SpaceDaily.Com0Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jul 29, 2010 One of the most destructive storms in years struck Washington, D.C. and the surrounding area on July 25, 2010. Strong winds downed trees and power lines, leaving hundreds of thousands of residents without power, stopping elevators, and darkening malls and movie theaters. Falling trees killed at least two people. The following morning, crews were working furiously to restore power to homes, Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! |...(<a href="http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/goes-13-satellite-sees-severe-storms-strike-us-east-coast.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://community.terraninstitute.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=53562" width="1" height="1">http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/james-webb-space-telescope-completes-cryogenic-mirror-test.aspxThu, 29 Jul 2010 14:30:05 GMT8d2aeb7f-d0ae-42f0-976d-e3fff4a27850:53563Space News From SpaceDaily.Com0Huntsville AL (SPX) Jul 29, 2010 Recently, six James Webb Space Telescope beryllium mirror segments completed a series of cryogenic tests at the X-ray and Cryogenic Facility at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. During testing, the mirrors were subjected to extreme temperatures dipping to -415 degrees Fahrenheit, permitting NASA contractor engineers to measure in extreme detail how the shape of the mi Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! |...(<a href="http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/james-webb-space-telescope-completes-cryogenic-mirror-test.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://community.terraninstitute.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=53563" width="1" height="1">http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/panel-considers-cost-of-space-tourism.aspxThu, 29 Jul 2010 14:30:05 GMT8d2aeb7f-d0ae-42f0-976d-e3fff4a27850:53564Space News From SpaceDaily.Com0Sunnyvale, Calif. (UPI) Jul 27, 2010 U.S. space tourists hoping to buy a ticket for a suborbital flight could expect to pay between $50,000 and $100,000 by 2014, analysts say. For prices to drop that low, the commercial space tourism industry would have to reach the point of offering thousands of flights per year, SPACE.com reported Tuesday. Some in the field are optimistic the industry could be offering that many f Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! | live...(<a href="http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/panel-considers-cost-of-space-tourism.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://community.terraninstitute.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=53564" width="1" height="1">http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/hypatia-4th-century-woman-astronomer.aspxThu, 29 Jul 2010 14:30:05 GMT8d2aeb7f-d0ae-42f0-976d-e3fff4a27850:53565Space News From SpaceDaily.Com0Washington DC (SPX) Jul 29, 2010 The new movie Agora chronicles the life, challenges and death of Hypatia, a 4th Century woman astronomer whose contribution influenced and shaped modern science and our understanding of the world and the universe. Mabel Armstrong, author of the award-winning book Women Astronomers: Reaching for the Stars, tells Hypatia's story with the joy that a great science teacher (which she was) can bring t Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick...(<a href="http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/hypatia-4th-century-woman-astronomer.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://community.terraninstitute.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=53565" width="1" height="1">http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/planets-in-unusually-intimate-dance-around-dying-star.aspxThu, 29 Jul 2010 14:30:05 GMT8d2aeb7f-d0ae-42f0-976d-e3fff4a27850:53566Space News From SpaceDaily.Com0Pasadena CA (SPX) Jul 29, 2010 Hundreds of extrasolar planets have been found over the past decade and a half, most of them solitary worlds orbiting their parent star in seeming isolation. With further observation, however, one in three of these systems have been found to have two or more planets. Planets, it appears, come in bunches. Most of these systems contain planets that orbit too far from one another to feel each Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! | live...(<a href="http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/planets-in-unusually-intimate-dance-around-dying-star.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://community.terraninstitute.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=53566" width="1" height="1">http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/iss-commander-responds-to-love-letter-from-earth.aspxThu, 29 Jul 2010 14:30:05 GMT8d2aeb7f-d0ae-42f0-976d-e3fff4a27850:53567Space News From SpaceDaily.Com0Moscow, Russia (RIA Novosti) Jul 29, 2010 International Space Station (ISS) Commander Alexander Skvortsov responded to a love letter he received in space from a 17-year-old girl from Moscow. The young girl sent a letter to the 44-year-old cosmonaut under the ISS mailbox campaign. With permission from the girl, her parents and Skvortsov himself, RIA Novosti has published parts of the cosmonaut's reply. "Of course, I am flatte Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it!...(<a href="http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/iss-commander-responds-to-love-letter-from-earth.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://community.terraninstitute.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=53567" width="1" height="1">http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/icecube-spies-unexplained-pattern-of-cosmic-rays.aspxThu, 29 Jul 2010 14:30:05 GMT8d2aeb7f-d0ae-42f0-976d-e3fff4a27850:53568Space News From SpaceDaily.Com0Madison WI (SPX) Jul 29, 2010 Though still under construction, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole is already delivering scientific results - including an early finding about a phenomenon the telescope was not even designed to study. IceCube captures signals of notoriously elusive but scientifically fascinating subatomic particles called neutrinos. The telescope focuses on high-energy neutrinos that trav Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! | live...(<a href="http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/icecube-spies-unexplained-pattern-of-cosmic-rays.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://community.terraninstitute.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=53568" width="1" height="1">http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/huge-satellite-to-become-space-junk.aspxThu, 29 Jul 2010 14:30:05 GMT8d2aeb7f-d0ae-42f0-976d-e3fff4a27850:53569Space News From SpaceDaily.Com0Paris (UPI) Jul 27, 2010 The European Space Agency is set to become the owner of what could become the most dangerous piece of space debris orbiting the Earth, officials say. The agency will take control of the Envisat satellite, at more than 17,000 pounds the biggest non-military Earth observation satellite ever built, SPACE.com reported Tuesday. When the Envisat mission ends in 2013, the retired satell Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! | live it!...(<a href="http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/huge-satellite-to-become-space-junk.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://community.terraninstitute.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=53569" width="1" height="1">http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/space-walk-successful-despite-lost-parts.aspxThu, 29 Jul 2010 14:30:05 GMT8d2aeb7f-d0ae-42f0-976d-e3fff4a27850:53570Space News From SpaceDaily.Com0Houston (UPI) Jul 27, 2010 Two Russian cosmonauts on the International Space Station have successfully completed a space walk despite losing a tool and a washer, U.S. controllers said. Fyodor Yurchikhin and Mikhail Kornienko spent almost 7 hours outside the orbiting facility replacing a broken camera and installing cables on a Russian module to help outfit it as a new docking port, SPACE.com reported. At o Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! | live it!...(<a href="http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/space-walk-successful-despite-lost-parts.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://community.terraninstitute.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=53570" width="1" height="1">http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/dlr-investigates-the-existence-of-liquid-salt-solutions-on-mars.aspxThu, 29 Jul 2010 14:30:05 GMT8d2aeb7f-d0ae-42f0-976d-e3fff4a27850:53571Space News From SpaceDaily.Com0Bonn, Germany (SPX) Jul 29, 2010 Is it possible that there are salt solutions on Mars that remain liquid despite the extremely low temperatures - a class of fluids known as cryobrines? Research findings at the German Aerospace Center have shown that this is a theoretical possibility. Experiments and modelling have indicated that the required conditions exist, especially during the Martian northern summer at higher latitud Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! |...(<a href="http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/dlr-investigates-the-existence-of-liquid-salt-solutions-on-mars.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://community.terraninstitute.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=53571" width="1" height="1">http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/astronomer-manned-missions-less-likely.aspxThu, 29 Jul 2010 14:30:05 GMT8d2aeb7f-d0ae-42f0-976d-e3fff4a27850:53572Space News From SpaceDaily.Com0London (UPI) Jul 27, 2010 Future manned space exploration will be the province of adventurers rather than state-backed missions, Britain's astronomer royal says. In an interview 40 years after the first manned moon landing, Cambridge University Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics Martin Rees said most future space mission would likely be robotic, BBC News reported Tuesday. Manned space exploration wou Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! | live it!...(<a href="http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/astronomer-manned-missions-less-likely.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://community.terraninstitute.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=53572" width="1" height="1">http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/grail-spacecraft-takes-shape.aspxThu, 29 Jul 2010 14:30:05 GMT8d2aeb7f-d0ae-42f0-976d-e3fff4a27850:53573Space News From SpaceDaily.Com0Pasadena CA (SPX) Jul 29, 2010 Engineers have conducted a fuel tank check of one of NASA's GRAIL mission spacecraft (Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory), scheduled for launch in 2011. Confirming the size and fit of manufactured components is one of the steps required prior to welding the spacecraft's fuel tanks into the propulsion system's feed lines. The image was taken on June 29, 2010, during the propulsi Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! | live it...(<a href="http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/grail-spacecraft-takes-shape.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://community.terraninstitute.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=53573" width="1" height="1">http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/sea-launch-signs-agreement-with-echostar.aspxThu, 29 Jul 2010 14:30:05 GMT8d2aeb7f-d0ae-42f0-976d-e3fff4a27850:53574Space News From SpaceDaily.Com0Long Beach CA (SPX) Jul 29, 2010 Sea Launch Company, a leading provider of launch services to the commercial satellite industry, has signed an agreement with a subsidiary of EchoStar Satellite Services L.C.C., a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation (Nasdaq: SATS), providing EchoStar with the ability to launch up to three satellites on the Sea Launch system. Sea Launch expects to launch the satellites using the Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! |...(<a href="http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/sea-launch-signs-agreement-with-echostar.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://community.terraninstitute.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=53574" width="1" height="1">http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/more-than-30-000-trapped-by-floods-in-china-s-northeast.aspxThu, 29 Jul 2010 14:30:05 GMT8d2aeb7f-d0ae-42f0-976d-e3fff4a27850:53575Earth News, Earth Science, Energy Technology, Environment News0Beijing (AFP) July 28, 2010 More than 30,000 people are thought to be trapped by floodwaters in a town in northeast China, state media said Wednesday, as torrential rain that has killed over 300 in two weeks continues. China is struggling with its worst flooding in a decade tat has left 1,405 dead or missing since the beginning of the year and caused at least 26 billion dollars in damage, and authorities have warned of Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! | live...(<a href="http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/more-than-30-000-trapped-by-floods-in-china-s-northeast.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://community.terraninstitute.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=53575" width="1" height="1">http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/un-declares-access-to-clean-water-a-human-right.aspxThu, 29 Jul 2010 14:30:05 GMT8d2aeb7f-d0ae-42f0-976d-e3fff4a27850:53576Earth News, Earth Science, Energy Technology, Environment News0United Nations (AFP) July 28, 2010 The UN General Assembly on Wednesday recognized access to clean water and sanitation as a human right, a move hailed by water advocates as a momentous step toward a future treaty. After more than 15 years of contentious debate on the issue, 122 countries voted in favor of a compromise Bolivian resolution enshrining the right, while the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and 37 other Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it!...(<a href="http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/un-declares-access-to-clean-water-a-human-right.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://community.terraninstitute.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=53576" width="1" height="1">http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/now-that-s-what-i-call-a-rat.aspxThu, 29 Jul 2010 14:30:05 GMT8d2aeb7f-d0ae-42f0-976d-e3fff4a27850:53577Earth News, Earth Science, Energy Technology, Environment News0Victoria, Australia (SPX) Jul 29, 2010 Archaeological research in East Timor has unearthed the bones of the biggest rat that ever lived, with a body weight around 6 kg. The cave excavations also yielded a total of 13 species of rodents, 11 of which are new to science. Eight of the rats weighed a kilogram or more. "East Indonesia is a hot spot for rodent evolution. We want international attention on conservation in the area," C Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick...(<a href="http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/now-that-s-what-i-call-a-rat.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://community.terraninstitute.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=53577" width="1" height="1">http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/declining-algae-threatens-ocean-food-chain-study.aspxThu, 29 Jul 2010 14:30:05 GMT8d2aeb7f-d0ae-42f0-976d-e3fff4a27850:53578Earth News, Earth Science, Energy Technology, Environment News0Paris (AFP) July 28, 2010 A century-long decline in tiny algae called phytoplankton could disrupt the global ocean food chain, including the human consumption of fish, according to a study released Wednesday. The microscopic organisms - which prop up the pyramid of marine animal life from shrimps to killer whales - have been disappearing globally at a rate of one percent per year, researchers reported. Since 19 Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! | live it!...(<a href="http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/declining-algae-threatens-ocean-food-chain-study.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://community.terraninstitute.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=53578" width="1" height="1">http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/divers-plumb-the-mysteries-of-sacred-maya-pools.aspxThu, 29 Jul 2010 14:30:05 GMT8d2aeb7f-d0ae-42f0-976d-e3fff4a27850:53579Earth News, Earth Science, Energy Technology, Environment News0Champaign IL (SPX) Jul 29, 2010 Steering clear of crocodiles and navigating around massive submerged trees, a team of divers began mapping some of the 25 freshwater pools of Cara Blanca, Belize, which were important to the ancient Maya. In three weeks this May, the divers found fossilized animal remains, bits of pottery and - in the largest pool explored - an enormous underwater cave. This project, led by University of I Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! |...(<a href="http://community.terraninstitute.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/07/29/divers-plumb-the-mysteries-of-sacred-maya-pools.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://community.terraninstitute.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=53579" width="1" height="1">