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All reports suggest that the International Space Stations new robotic handyman will survive, and not freeze into a $209 million junk pile due to a power problem. Astronauts bypassed a faulty cable on Friday, and managed to get power to the robot arm, which will keep it warm, and ready for duty, in the deep cold of space.

Engineers at Johnson Space Center in Houston this week released a design for a rugged lunar vehicle that astronauts could one day drive around the Moon. The truck has six wheels, no doors or roof, all-wheel drive, and it would be ideal for parallel parking.

The Mars Science Laboratory, that souped-up rover thats due to launch for the Red Planet next year, turns out to have a larger price tag than expected. The project has already gone $165 million over its $1.8 billion price tag, and now NASA says it may take an additional $30 million to get things right.

Nanocomp Technologies Inc. of Concord, New Hampshire has managed to make the largest sheet of carbon nanotubing ever, rekindling the long-standing dream of a fantastical space elevator that lifts us into orbit along an ultra-light yet ultra-strong carbon nanotube cable. Sure, at 18 square feet, the sheet is smaller than a beach blanket but it contains a billion billion nanotubes, which makes it 200 times as strong as steel and 30 times less dense.

Enormous supernova explosions, gamma-ray bursts from distant galaxies, the violent birth of stars, and the incredible consequences of collisions between galaxies or black holes: These are some of the most extreme and mysterious events in the universe, yet our largest telescopes and satellites glimpse only their dim afterglow.

Thats why astronomers use the worlds largest supercomputers to transform theories and formulas into animated 3-D simulations of explosions, collapses and collisions.

Sure, it stinks of a slick, smart PR effort to remind us of all the wondrous things that NASA has brought to our world, but we're kind of buying it. NASA has a new interactive feature that re-directs you to 3D renditions of an ordinary house and city and reveals the cool technology spun-off from agency projects over the years.

The highlights include infrared ear thermometers, memory metals, water purifiers, smart clothing, better pillows and sports equipment.

Finally. NASA astronauts installed the $2-billion science laboratory known as Columbus as a new wing of International Space Station on Monday. Yesterday morning, European astronauts officially opened the hatches, and began the process of bringing the computer, cooling and ventilation systems online.

Despite predictions of bad weather, the shuttle Atlantis did launch yesterday—and it was nearly a flawless affair. Some two minutes after yesterday's liftoff, at least three pieces of foam or other debris fell off the shuttle, and now the crew is preparing to inspect the outside of the ship for signs of damage, especially the wings and nose.

The shuttle, which was delayed for two months, will reach the International Space Station tomorrow and deliver the $2 billion Columbus laboratory, a major step towards the eventual completion of the massive rig.

The idea that a presidential debate focused on science will advance the cause of science "is more magical thinking than scientific," according to a new essay by David Goldston in the journal Nature. Momentum around such a debate has been growing since December, when a grassroots, nonpartisan group called Science Debate 2008 started a petition that called for a "public debate in which the U.S. presidential candidates share their views on the issues of The Environment, Medicine and Health, and Science and Technology Policy." The petition now has many thousand signatories [full disclosure: they include both myself and the editor-in-chief of Popular Science, a.k.a. my boss].

This morning, NASA astronauts due to take off on STS-122 suited up and made their way to Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, where the shuttle Atlantis is ready to go. Liftoff is set for 2:45 EST today, but there's only a ten-minute window during which the ship can launch—otherwise it wouldn't effectively rendezvous with the International Space Station.

Replacing a circuit breaker in a dark basement is one thing. But what if you had to climb around the outside of a spacecraft orbiting hundreds of miles above the Earth to do it? This kind of dangerous maintenance work has become fairly common for astronauts aboard the International Space Station, where they spend as much time fixing the $100-billion-plus orbiting science lab as they do performing actual research.

Dopey PR stunt or touching commemoration? You be the judge. On Monday evening NASA will celebrate its 50th anniversary by beaming "Across the Universe," well, across the universe.

A new survey of active-duty astronauts and flight surgeons reveals that there's only been one incident of a NASA crew member under the influence of drugs or alcohol leading up to launch day. And on the day itself, the survey reports that nobody had been guilty of excessive drinking or drug use.

The LA Times has created an interactive map of the devastating wildfires currently blazing through Southern California that details their breadth, and the efforts of firefighters to contain them. Each major fire is pinpointed, with vital statistics on how many buildings it has destroyed, how many acres it covers, and how many firefighters are engaging it.

Combined with images like the one at left, which was captured by NASA's Aqua satellite last night, it's hard not to get a sense of just how massive this disaster is.—Gregory Mone

A day after trading was halted, PopSci got official confirmation from NASA that their COTS agreement with Rocketplane Kistler had not yet been terminated and the stock paid out at $0. A tricky prediction to pin down, the market nevertheless guessed correctly: RKPLOVR was trading at $32.75 when halted.—Abby Seiff