New Evidence for Water Ice on Mercury

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NASA Spacecraft Finds New Evidence for Water Ice on MercuryA NASA spacecraft studying Mercury has provided compelling support for the long-held hypothesis the planet harbors abundant water ice and other frozen volatile materials within its permanently shadowed polar craters. The new information comes from NASA's MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft. Ice Sheet Loss at Both Poles Increasing, Major Study Finds An international team of experts supported by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) has combined data from multiple satellites and aircraft to produce the most comprehensive and accurate assessment to date of ice sheet losses in Greenland and Antarctica and their contributions to sea level rise. First-ever Hyperspectral Images of Earth's Auroras Hoping to expand our understanding of auroras and other fleeting atmospheric events, a team of space-weather researchers designed and built NORUSCA II, a new camera with unprecedented capabilities that can simultaneously image multiple spectral bands, in essence different wavelengths or colors, of light. A Multi-Wavelength View of Radio Galaxy Hercules A Some two billion light-years away, the yellowish elliptical galaxy in the center of the image appears quite ordinary as seen by Hubble in visible wavelengths of light. The galaxy is roughly 1,000 times more massive than the Milky Way and harbors a 2.5-billion-solar-mass central black hole that is 1,000 times more massive than the black hole in the Milky Way. But the innocuous-looking galaxy, also known as 3C 348, has long been known as the brightest radio-emitting object in the constellation Hercules. Photo: North Patagonia Ice Field and the Arenales Glaciers As Seen From Space One of the Expedition 33 crew members aboard the International Space Station took this photograph of Chile featuring the North Patagonia Ice Field and the Arenales Glaciers. NASA's First Minisatellite Mission Comes to Successful End After two successful years of on-orbit operations, NASA's Fast, Affordable, Science and Technology Satellite, or FASTSAT, mission is coming to an end. FASTSAT successfully demonstrated a capability to build, deploy and operate a science and technology flight mission at lower costs than previously possible. Rep. McCarthy Seeks to Rename Dryden Flight Research Center as the Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center Congressman Kevin McCarthy today announced legislation to redesignate the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Dryden Flight Research Center as the Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center and the Western Aeronautical Test Range as the Hugh L. Dryden Aeronautical Test Range. Joining Congressman McCarthy in introducing this legislation are Congressman Buck McKeon, Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, Congressman Ken Calvert, Congressman Lamar Smith, Congressman Steven Palazzo, and Congressman Adam Schiff. Canadian Independent Aerospace Review Report Released An independent Aerospace Review mandated by the Canadian government in its 2011 budget has completed an 11 month review of Canada's aerospace sector and released its recommendations today. The two volume report, one focusing on the aerospace sector, the other on the space sector, could have far reaching consequences depending on whether the government pays heed to the recommendations. Subscribe to Space Quarterly Magazine $19 per year for the digital edition! STATUS REPORTS For more status reports click here Application Deadline Extended for Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology NASA Solicitation: Interstellar Boundary Explorer Joint USAF/NOAA Solar Geophysical Activity Report and Forecast 29 November 2012 NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 29 November 2012 Hybrid fluid/kinetic modeling of Pluto's escaping atmosphere Pluto's Seasons: New Predictions for New Horizons A 3D general circulation model for Pluto and Triton with fixed volatile abundance and simplified surface forcing Halfway Between Uranus and Neptune, NASA New Horizons Cruises On to Pluto NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter HiRISE Images - November 28, 2012 NASA Mars Rover Opportunity Update: November 19-28, 2012 NASA Mars Rover Opportunity Update: Nov 15-19, 2012 NASA MODIS Image of the Day: November 29, 2012 - A clear Thanksgiving across the eastern United States Photo: North Patagonia Ice Field and the Arenales Glaciers As Seen From Space Nine Radar Images of Asteroid 2007 PA8 Astrobiologist Dale Andersen Status Report 29 November 2012, Lake Untersee, Antarctica Image: Cloud Vortices Off Saint Helena Island