Space
McCain to Bush: Keep Space Shuttle Options Open (SPACE.com)
SPACE.com - WASHINGTON ? Acknowledging that a NASA authorization bill is unlikely to be enacted this year, three Republican senators ? including presidential candidate John McCain (R-Ariz.) ? have written President George W. Bush imploring him to direct NASA to hold off for at least a year taking any action that would preclude the agency from flying space shuttles beyond 2010. Read more…
Mars rover leaving crater after yearlong probe (AP)
AP - The plucky Mars rover Opportunity is driving out of a giant crater nearly a year after a dangerous descent to examine exposed bedrock. Read more…
Mars Rover Begins Climb Out of Vast Crater (SPACE.com)
SPACE.com - NASA's Opportunity rover is slowly but surely hauling itself out of a vast Martian crater after nearly a year plumbing the interior for secrets of the red planet's ancient past. Read more…
Sudanese rebel group denies hijacking plane (Reuters)
Reuters - A spokesman for the Abdel Wahed faction of the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) on Wednesday denied the Darfur group had any role in hijacking a Sudanese passenger plane. Read more…
Holy cow! Cattle possess magnetic compass: study (AFP)
AFP - European scientists who studied satellite images of cows and deer around the world have discovered that these animals tend to align themselves with Earth's north-south magnetic fields while they graze or rest. Read more…
French wine makers look to the skies for help (Reuters)
Reuters - French vinters are turning to outer space to outwit foreign rivals, with new satellite technology giving an overview of vineyards' physical characteristics and potential. Read more…
Scientists See Moon as Research Outpost, Training Ground (SPACE.com)
SPACE.com - MOFFETT FIELD, California — One of the host of challenges facing NASA as the agency plans to rekindle robotic and human exploration of the moon is the development of a corps of investigators and technologies suitable for long-term missions akin to the research stations that dot Antarctica. Read more…
Cows Have Strange Sixth Sense (LiveScience.com)
LiveScience.com - A study of Google Earth satellite images has revealed that herds of cattle tend to face in the north-south direction of Earth's magnetic lines. Read more…
Cows seem to know which way is north (AP)
AP - Talk about animal magnetism, cows seem to have a built-in compass. No bull: Somehow, cattle seem to know how to find north and south, say researchers who studied satellite photos of thousands of cows around the world. Read more…
Giant Galaxy Cluster Seen in Early Universe (SPACE.com)
SPACE.com - Astronomers have glimpsed the largest cluster of galaxies ever seen in the distant, early universe. Read more…
