A returning spacecraft may someday hurtle through Earth's atmosphere bearing evidence of life from Mars. But scientists won't casually crack open the precious payload in any old laboratory. They will need a specially-designed building that not only protects the Martian samples from terrestrial contamination, but also prevents any Martian material or organisms from escaping into Earth's biosphere. Full Story »
AFP/File
LONDON (AFP) - A leading scientist who helped alert the world to the dangers of global warming said on Thursday that climate talks in Copenhagen next week were based on such flawed proposals that he hoped they failed. Full Story »
AP
DAMASCUS, Syria - A blast at a gas station in a Damascus suburb killed three people Thursday, gutting the back of an empty bus and blowing out nearby windows, officials said. Full Story »
All supernova explosions are violent affairs, but this one takes the cake. Astronomers have spotted a new type of extremely bright cosmic explosion they think originates from an exceptionally massive star. Full Story »
Space solar power advocates may soon get their day in the sun, as different projects aimed at beaming energy to Earth from orbit begin to take shape. But at least one space power scientist worries that a U.S.-based project may be promising too much, too soon. Full Story »
A tiny piece of a defunct Russian satellite zipped by the International Space Station Tuesday, but was far enough away that outpost's two-man crew did not have to strap into their lifeboat to wait out the close shave, NASA officials said. Full Story »
Astronomers have discovered hundreds of Jupiter-like planets in our galaxy. However, a handful of the planets found orbiting distant stars are more Earth-sized. This gives hope to astrobiologists, who think we are more likely to find life on rocky planets with liquid water. Full Story »
AFP/POOL
MOSCOW (AFP) - A space capsule carrying a Belgian, a Canadian and a Russian landed safely in the steppes of Kazakhstan on Tuesday after the trio spent half a year on the International Space Station (ISS). Full Story »
A recent image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope reveals the perfect dust laboratory in the sky and could help astronomers pin down the raw ingredients needed to give birth to baby stars. Full Story »
AP
MOSCOW - Astronauts from Canada and Belgium and a Russian cosmonaut landed safely on the Kazakhstan steppes on Tuesday following a six-month stint on the International Space Station. Full Story »
ARKALYK, Kazakhstan (Reuters) - Three astronauts landed safely in the frozen steppe of northern Kazakhstan on Tuesday after six months orbiting the world on the International Space Station. Full Story »
A Canadian, a Russian and a Belgian astronaut left the International Space Station and landed on the icy steppes of Kazakhstan Tuesday aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Full Story »
KOROLYOV, Russia (Reuters) - A Russian Soyuz space capsule carrying three astronauts from the International Space Station landed in Kazakhstan on Tuesday. Full Story »
LONG BEACH, Calif. - The California-based international partnership Sea Launch Co. has successfully launched a satellite for Intelsat customers from its land-launch operation in Kazakhstan. Full Story »
A Canadian, a Russian and a Belgian astronaut have left the International Space Station to begin their journey home aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Full Story »
Astronomers have long wondered which came first, the black hole or the galaxy around it. The leading theory holds that the two co-evolve, starting small and building over time. Full Story »
The International Space Station, which was crowded last week with 12 astronauts onboard, is set to go down to a crew of two Tuesday. Full Story »
The International Space Station won't have to fire its thrusters Saturday to avoid a close call with part of a spent rocket that launched a comet probe 10 years ago, NASA officials said. Full Story »
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