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Sunspots at a 50-year low Apparently, the last year that had a higher count of days in which no sunspot activity was observed on the face of the Sun was way back in 1954. And if less than 50 days between now and the end of the year demonstrate any indication of sunspot activity, 2008 will replace ‘54 as the third-place champion for spotlessness in the last century.

In a few decades, spacecraft might travel by solar sail -- pushed along by nothing more than photons, the tiny packets of light itself. Astronauts might dine on remote-controlled vegetables and breathe oxygen mined from moon dirt, and astronomers could be using X-ray telescopes to see changes in ...

NASA is preparing to test a small satellite propelled by solar sails. It’ll be interesting to see how the experiment turns out. Solar sails are one of the technologies that has been proposed for use in interstellar travel.

NASA unveils moon rocket Ares V design Artist concept of Ares V. Image Credit: NASA NASA is planning and designing hardware and propulsion systems for the Ares V cargo launch vehicle — the "heavy lifter" of America's next-generation space fleet.

NASA unveils moon rocket Ares V design NASA unveils moon rocket Ares V designNASA unveiled a new design of a proposed moon rocket Wednesday, saying the Ares V spacecraft that is to carry astronauts is scheduled to blast off in 12 years, according to media reports Thursday. NASA unve...

NASA engineers and scientists completed a milestone review June 20 that will help determine the systems needed to return humans to the moon and establish a lunar outpost. The three-day Lunar Capability Concept Review capped a nine-month study led by the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at

NASA and Alliant Techsystems, or ATK, reached another milestone Friday with the successful test firing of a critical safety component for the Orion crew exploration vehicle, NASA’s next generation of spaceships. A 36-inch-long igniter for the abort motor of Orion’s launch abort system was fired at ATK’s facility in Promontory, Utah.

Last week Good Morning America began a series about the 7 Wonders of America. Last Monday and Tuesday, I wrote about the 1st wonder: The National Mall and the 2nd wonder: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Things just got busy and I didn’t have time to follow up on the others.

NASA engineers Thursday successfully completed the first series of tests in the early development of the J-2X engine that will power the upper stages of the Ares I and Ares V rockets, key components of NASA’s Constellation Program. Ares I will launch the Orion spacecraft that will take astronauts to the International Space Station and then to the moon by 2020.