NASA’s Human Research Program and the National Space Biomedical Research Institute of Houston will fund 29 proposals to help investigate questions about astronaut health and performance on future deep space exploration missions. The selected proposals are from 25 institutions in 11 states and will receive a total of about $26 million over a one- to…

Excalibur Almaz Limited, a commercial aerospace company based on the Isle of Man, United Kingdom, has signed a memorandum of understanding with XCOR Aerospace for suborbital flight services. The agreement signed in conjunction with the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Third European Space Tourism Conference June 20, calls for XCOR to provide suborbital flight familiarization and training…

NASA has selected Space Exploration Technologies of Hawthorne, Calif., to launch the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Jason-3 spacecraft in December 2014 aboard a Falcon 9 v1.0 rocket from Complex 4 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The total value of the Jason-3 launch service is approximately $82 million. This estimated cost includes the…

NASA has selected Analytical Services Inc. of Huntsville, Ala., to provide strategic research and analysis and communications support services at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. The firm-fixed-price contract begins Oct. 1, 2012 with a one-year base period, followed by four, one-year options and one, six-month option that may be exercised at NASA’s…

NASA’s Space Technology Program has selected five technologies that could revolutionize America’s space capabilities. In March, NASA issued a call for proposal focused on sudden and unexpected innovations that hold a potential for providing a “game-changing” impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of the agency’s space capabilities. NASA has selected the following proposals for funding:…

NASA’s Mars Curiosity team is almost finished robotic arm tests in preparation for the rover to touch and examine its first Martian rock. Tests with the 7-foot (2.1-meter) arm have allowed the mission team to gain confidence in the arm’s precise maneuvering in Martian temperature and gravity conditions. During these activities, Curiosity has remained at…

The first Martian rock NASA’s Curiosity rover has reached out to touch presents a more varied composition than expected from previous missions. The rock also resembles some unusual rocks from Earth’s interior. The rover team used two instruments on Curiosity to study the chemical makeup of the football-size rock called “Jake Matijevic.” The results support…

NASA’s car-sized rover, Curiosity, has taken significant steps toward understanding how Mars may have lost much of its original atmosphere. Learning what happened to the Martian atmosphere will help scientists assess whether the planet ever was habitable. The present atmosphere of Mars is 100 times thinner than Earth’s. A set of instruments aboard the rover…