Curiosity Mars rover shoots spectacular full-circle panorama - Christian Science Monitor

On Sept. 1, Curiosity drove an additional 98 feet (30 meters) and tested its "visual odometry" system, which enables the rover to determine the distance it has traveled by analyzing its own images, agency officials said. On its wheels, the rover has imprints of the Morse Code symbols for "JPL" â€" the abbreviation for California's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which houses Curiosity's mission control. As the rover drives over Mars, it leaves patterns in the Martian dirt that scientist can study to calculate how far it has traveled.
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<br />http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2012/0904/Curiosity-Mars-rover-shoots-spectacular-full-circle-panorama

Neil Armstrong Has Private Memorial - ABC News

Two of Armstrong's fellow Apollo astronauts, James Lovell and Eugene Cernan, spoke at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center this morning, where a research fund was to be set up in Armstrong's memory. The Armstrong family also urged people to donate to scholarship funds organized by the Telluride Foundation and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

A private memorial service, in suburban Cincinnati not far from Armstrong's last home, was attended by family, longtime friends and fellow astronauts. Some of them spoke publicly or released statements before or after the service. Sen. Rob Portman, the Ohio Republican who counted Armstrong as a friend, delivered the eulogy, said NASA.
<br />http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/neil-armstrong-memorial-cincinatti-private-service-man-moon/story?id%3D17127166

Genome of ancient Denisovans may help clarify human evolution - Los Angeles Times

The new genome gives scientists a sense of just how much of our genomes we owe to our extinct relatives. About 3% to 5% of the DNA in people native to Papua New Guinea, Australia, the Philippines and other islands nearby came from Denisovans, the study found, confirming reports based on a draft version of the Denisovan genome. The authors of the study didn't find any significant contribution of Denisovans to the DNA of people from mainland Eurasia, however.The advance hinged on new techniques designed to investigate scant and highly degraded genetic material found in fossils. Their application to these and other specimens promises to draw back the curtain on our species' complicated and much-debated history, said John Hawks, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, who wasn't involved in the study.<br />http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-denisovan-genome-20120828,0,75940.story

Mars rover beams back spectacular photos, NASA greeting - Christian Science Monitor

&quot;As Curiosity continues her mission, we hope the words of the administrator will be an inspiration to someone who's alive today, who will become the first to stand upon the surface of the planet&nbsp;Mars,&quot; Lavery told reporters today (Aug. 27). &quot;Like the great Neil Armstrong, they'll be able to speak aloud â€" in first person at that point â€" of the next giant leap in human exploration.&quot;For the next two years, Curiosity is slated to explore Gale and the crater's 3.4-mile-high (5.5 kilometers) central peak, the mysterious&nbsp;Mount Sharp. The $2.5 billion rover is outfitted with 10 different science instruments to aid its quest, including a rock-zapping laser and gear that can identify organic compounds â€" the carbon-containing building blocks of life as we know it.<br />http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2012/0828/Mars-rover-beams-back-spectacular-photos-NASA-greeting

Goodbye to the last American hero - Battle Creek Enquirer

He did not allow his image to show up on lunch boxes (if he had, I'd have had one). He would not do guest shots on "The Brady Bunch" or "Laugh-In." In later years, he would never have shown up on "Dancing With the Stars" as, unfortunately, his moon-mate Buzz Aldrin, did. But I guess that's what you do when you're the second man to walk on the moon.The word "hero" is thrown around today the way we throw around a Frisbee. Anyone who does something well is suddenly a hero. Anyone who agrees with what you think is a hero. Anyone who follows through on something they say they were going to do, well, they must be a hero too.<br />http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20120826/NEWS01/308260021/Goodbye-last-American-hero?odyssey%3Dtab%257Ctopnews%257Ctext%257CFrontpage

Spectacular new NASA video shows Curiosity Mars rover's daring touchdown (+video) - Christian Science Monitor

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Other milestones follow, such as parachute deploy and ignition of the engines on Curiosity's &quot;sky crane&quot; descent stage, which lowered the 1-ton rover to the Martian surface on cables. Audio from mission control at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., plays over the video, describing the nail-biting action.&nbsp;<br />http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2012/0824/Spectacular-new-NASA-video-shows-Curiosity-Mars-rover-s-daring-touchdown-video

Panorama Shows Every Mars Landing in One Beautiful Shot - Wired

The Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, arrived at Mars in 2004. Opportunity touched down at the Meridiani Planum while Spirit explored the region around Gusev Crater, both providing incredible data about Mars&#8217; watery past during their missions. Spirit&#8217;s first Pancam image is also the highest resolution picture taken on the surface of another planet. The rover, which sadly stopped operating in 2010, also provided the breathtaking sunset image in the panorama above. Opportunity is still roving around the Martian surface.In 2008, NASA brought the Phoenix lander to the surface of Mars, touching down in the Martian Arctic for the first time. Digging into the soil with its trench, Phoenix uncovered evidence for shallow subsurface ice in the Martian poles. The lander also observed snow falling from Martian clouds and helped characterize the planet&#8217;s surface chemistry. After Phoenix spent a Martian winter in safe mode, engineers at JPL mission control!
tried to resume communication with the lander in 2010 but were unable.<br />http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/08/mars-landing-panorama/