asteroids

Life on Earth first came out of the oceans, but the water itself may have originated from extraterrestrial space rocks. A new study points to a turbulent period when the solar system's giant planets hurled chunks of icy rubble in Earth's direction.

This goes against the more favored scientific theory that Earth's oceans and atmosphere formed from elements within the planet interior, around 4.5 billion years ago. The Nature study argues that the primordial temperatures never dropped enough to condense both volatile elements and water alike, and that the waters of our blue planet must have arrived during a later period of planet building, about one hundred million years after Earth was formed.

Water bears, the tiny creatures that have already been proven to survive direct exposure to the vacuum of space, were slated for launch to a Martian moon this month. But Russian officials chose to delay their first interplanetary mission in more than a decade due to safety and technical issues, until the next launch window opens in 2011.

After months of research, public hearings, and debate, the NASA Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee, also known as the Augustine Committee, has finally submitted its recommendations to the White House.

NASA astronauts Edward Lu and Stanley Love first proposed using a robotic spacecraft to nudge space rocks away from Earth using the gentle force of gravity a few years ago. Now a European aerospace giant has begun seriously investigating the concept.

Some people may think locking some volunteers in a tin can for a couple of months is enough preparation for a flight to Mars, but the NASA panel reviewing the agency's manned space program envisions a more ambitious set of training wheels: docking with asteroids and a flyby of Venus.

Nearly four billion years ago, the Earth was pummeled by asteroids -- some as large as the state of Kansas -- during an episode known as the "Late Heavy Bombardment." Now, scientists believe that bombardment phase may have jump-started early microbial life. The results also lend support to the possibility of extreme microbial life on other planets like Mars, and perhaps even on Earth-like planets in other solar systems that may have undergone similar bombardment phases.

Partly to help explain solar eclipses, the ancient Egyptians had a story about the serpent god Apep, the Uncreator, who tried to swallow the sun god Ra as he crossed the sky.

Apep -- the Greeks called him Apophis -- personified death, destruction and chaos. His opponent was the goddess Ma'at, who represented all that was light and truth.

Now, a group of NASA scientists is hoping Ma'at will once again help humans ward off the harbinger of destruction.

Asteroid 2008HJ is not only a "superfast rotator," it's the fastest of the superfast. According to the British amateur astronomer Richard Miles, who clocked the asteroid using the remotely operated Faulkes Telescope South, 2008HJ makes a full rotation every 42.67 seconds—almost twice as fast as the previous record holder.

In 2009, Canada plans to launch a suitcase-sized spacecraft that will be charged with spotting asteroids that could be on a collision course with Earth. There's already a big ground-based program underway. NASA regularly identifies and tracks asteroids, calculating the likelihood that they could at some point run into our pale blue dot.