SCIENCE IN THE NEWS WEEKLY
Phoenix Discovers Ice Crystals on Mars
NASA's Phoenix spacecraft detected light snowfall on Mars, it was announced last week. The probe has been taking measurements at the planet's north pole since May 25. Meanwhile, Science News reported that the role of water in Martian chemistry is becoming clearer to scientists.
In other astronomy news, Scientific American looked at a new theory on the birth of the universe known as atomic spacetime. But many scientists question whether the concept can even be called scientific.
Wired celebrated the 400th anniversary of the telescope with a series of articles and photo galleries, noting that the telescope could be the single most important scientific instrument of all time.
And the Orlando Sentinel celebrated NASA's 50th birthday in words and pictures. What lies ahead? "NASA is entering a second space age beset by uncertainty and searching for a renewal of 'the right stuff,'" the paper observed.
Finally, after three prior failures, the Falcon 1 rocket developed by California company SpaceX was successfully launched last week from Omelek Island in the central Pacific. It was said to be the first privately developed liquid-fueled launch vehicle to achieve Earth orbit.
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