In a May 2003 online feature of Popular Science magazine, several potential candidates for replacing NASA's aging space shuttles are examined. Although budget problems have made the outlook somewhat bleak for any new designs in the near future, a number of existing proposals are outlined. An especially eye-catching concept is an enormous flying wing, which would climb to 40,000 feet and serve as a...

In April 2000, NASA released the first collection of images from Terra, "the first satellite to monitor daily -- and on a global scale -- how the Earth's atmosphere, lands, oceans, solar radiation and life influence each other" (discussed in the March 29, 2000 Scout Report for Science and Engineering). Launched in December, Terra has completed its on-orbit checkout and is now officially "open for...

In 1991, NASA launched the Earth Science Enterprise (ESE), a comprehensive program to study Earth System Science: how the Earth's systems of air, land, water, and life interact with each other. The ESE program uses a series of polar-orbiting and low inclination satellites to study long-term global observations of the Earth's land surface, oceans, biosphere, atmosphere, and solid earth. Launched...

This MSNBC website presents the most significant space science news of 2004. After brief synopses of the major occurrences, the website features stories on the Marvels at Mars, SpaceShipOne's Rise, and NASA's Double Vision. Visitors can view several of the best images from 2004 and vote for their favorite. Users can also vote for their top 2004 space story and 2005's top trend. The website offers...

[email protected], contains the latest information and news releases from NASA missions. Visitors can also find out information about NASA's four strategic enterprises: Aeronautics, Human Exploration and Development of Space, Mission to Planet Earth, and Space Science. NASA related sites describe current happenings at NASA and also provide homepages of NASA missions including the Cassini space probe,...

NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe mission attempts to reveal conditions as they existed in the early universe by measuring the properties of the cosmic microwave background radiation over the full sky. Visitors can learn more about the particulars of the mission, explore the subjects of cosmology and the "Big Bang Theory" on the Universe link, view images of the probe and its launch in...