Upcoming Space Missions for 2012

"will use a crane to gentler lower it to the ground" -- GENTLER..? does anyone proofread these things

It looks pretty slim. 2012, wish we had a little of that giant defense budget, even 2% could go a long way for NASA and exploration.

our media has not been doing a good job informing us of missions launched by other nations. There is a lot of activity out there.

I cant believe we have to "hitchhike" a ride to space from the Russians. How does this make the US look? A third world country.

❤NASA❤

USA #1

More than 75% of Americans could: name at least 2 dozen current celebs without thinking about it, text you off their smartphone,tell you what tebowing means, tell you who kim kardashians ex is and what he does for a living, tell you at least 1 movie that has came out in the last month, use a computer,explain to you how to use facebook, show you how to download ringtones and change ringtones etc...

But couldnt: tell you the difference between a philosophical theory and a scientific one, name all the planets in the solar system.. in order from the sun, tell you the most abundant element in the universe, name 50 elements off the periodic table, explain to you the earths carbon cycle, name 12 scientific fields, tell you what causes seasons, tell you what protects the earth from harmful radiation, what the greenhouse effect is, how much of the earths surface is water, how much of the human body is water, what species that is currently living are we most closely related too, what carbon dating is, what causes earthquakes, the speed of sound, what an AU is, what the largest planet in the solar system is, what the smallest planet in the solar system is, tell you what causes the ocean tides, etc....

I could go on an on. American education is pathetic. Everything i listed in the second paragraph should be basic knowledge to anyone that has a GED/high school diploma.

Can we send a 'probe' to Capital Hill in search of intelligent life forms? Pretty please NASA?

I love Space Exploration ! America needs to be the leaders !

Like they are doing any thing except spying on us !!

We need to get back to being number 1. China is going to take over and leave us in the dust to do their bidding. Come on NASA, get with it!

Anyone who thinks China is not America's enemy, read this article again.

"If this capsule history of our progress teaches us anything, it is that man, in his quest for knowledge and progress, is determined and cannot be deterred. The exploration of space will go ahead, whether we join in it or not, and it is one of the great adventures of all time, and no nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space.
Those who came before us made certain that this country rode the first waves of the industrial revolution, the first waves of modern invention, and the first wave of nuclear power, and this generation does not intend to founder in the backwash of the coming age of space. We mean to be a part of it--we mean to lead it. For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace. We have vowed that we shall not see space filled with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding." *****John F. Kennedy

Why does the HUMAN race NEED to go to outerspace? Well duh, it's simple, makind needs to inhabit other planets if the human race is to survive. Our earth is a finite place and the more we (mankind) abuse it the faster it will run out or resources, ergo, space is the only other place that we can move once we've finished devistating our beautiful planet. Don't forget science fiction ALWAYS becomes science FACT!

Sadly missing from this list is anything by Russia ... too bad Phobos Grunt didn't make it.

NASA funding is a drop in the bucket compared to other government revenue loss, like meaningless wars overseas, food conglomerate subsidies, bank bailouts, and tax loopholes for the rich. We could completely stop the space program and it wouldn't make any difference on the U.S. budget deficit. We might as well keep exploring.

For all of you worried about cost, consider this: we spend more in Iraq in one day than the cost of the entire Dawn mission. Which is a better investment of our money, another day in Iraq, or a probe to explore the asteroids?

"The SUV sized Mars rover will touch down with that will use a crane to gentler lower it to the ground after having its descent slowed by retro rockets and a parachute. "

Who the hell wrote this? LOL. Grammar check pls...

I can't help myself; just wish I had a red pen. I stopped about half way through the article.

As 2011 draws to a close, the year ahead, (repeating the year 2012 is not necessary; already implied) 2012, promises to be a year when some (passive writing, not necessary) greatly anticipated space missions are scheduled to take place. They can be divided into unmanned, commercial, and international. (why the list?)
Unmanned Missions for 2012
The twin NASA GRAIL probes will arrive in lunar orbit on New Year's Day for a three month mission to examine the moon's gravity, as well as its interior and formation. The two satellites will create a map of the moon's variable gravity field by measuring the changes in distance between them due to gravitational variations. (why are you repeating what you already told the reader?)
The Dawn spacecraft, currently in orbit around the asteroid Vesta, will complete that (?)phase of its mission in July. It will blast out of orbit (redundant) and head toward the largest known asteroid, Ceres, where it is due to arrive in Feb 2015.
Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity is scheduled to land on the Martian surface (if its going to land on Mars, isn't that the surface) on August 6 (should be phrased the 6th of August, or is an incomplete sentence). The SUV sized Mars rover will touch down with that will use a crane to gentler lower it to the ground (?)after having its descent slowed by retro rockets and a parachute. (the order of equipment used on the decent are first, the parachute, then the retro rocket, not the other way around). If it successfully touches down, it will provide the most sophisticated and extensive unmanned examination of Mars yet (yet what? Where is the rest of the sentence?).
Commercial Missions for 2012
If all goes well (Ugh. More filler), the first cargo version of SpaceX's Dragon will launch on Feb 7 on board a Falcon 9 rocket. A few days later the cargo Dragon will rendezvous with the International Space Station. The crew of the ISS will take hold of the Dragon with a remote manipulator arm and berth it to an airlock. If all is successful, a new era of commercial cargo space missions will have been born, presaging crewed flights scheduled to take place in 2017.
Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo has so far been engaged in glide tests, after having been dropped by its carrier plane, WhiteKnightTwo. It is hoped that powered flights of the SpaceShipTwo will commence sometime in 2012, bringing closer that era of paid passenger space flights to low Earth orbit.
International Space Missions for 2012
While NASA astronauts are compelled to pay for rides (the astronauts don't actually pay for the rides, but the U.S. Taxpayer; how is this relevant?)on the Russian Soyuz, due to the end of the space shuttle program, the Chinese space program will quicken its pace with two missions to its space station module prototype, the Tiangong-1. These missions will be the Shenzhou 9 and the Shenzhou 10. It is anticipated, pending an analysis of the unmanned mission of the Shenzhou 8, that one or both of these flights will carry a crew. That being the case (filler, not necessary), the crew of each mission will spend about two weeks docked to the Tiangong-1, according to Space Daily. One of the members of the Shenzhou 10 may well be China's first female astronaut.

No planned human exploration passed the Van Allen radiation belt this year? I'll be darn.

bring it on. can't wait