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2013 NASA Space Settlement Design Contest is intended for students in grades 6-12, although younger students may enter. Individual or teams from anywhere in the world propose a design for a space settlement, a permanent community in orbit rather than on another planet or moon. Click here for more information and registration details. Proposals are due March 15, 2013.

"Name That Asteroid! OSIRIS-REx mission NASA / Goddard / University of Arizona OSIRIS-REx is going to fly to an asteroid and bring back some pieces. Right now, the asteroid's name is 1999 RQ36, but we think students can do better! The Planetary Society, MIT's Lincoln Laboratory, and the University of Arizona are asking students around the world to suggest better names for the asteroid. Enter by December 2, 2012 to have a chance to name a piece of the solar system!"

"The Science Planning Team picked three targets to be imaged. Pick your favorite target, and write a persuasive essay describing the scientific merits of your choice. Your decision should be based on which image would yield the most scientific results. Just like actual scientists do, you are to explain what you hope to learn from the image you have selected. The artistic value of the image can be an added bonus to your decision."

"The first humanoid robot in space was sent to the space station with the intention of eventually taking over tasks too dangerous or mundane for astronauts, and the first such task identified for it was monitoring air velocity. Astronauts onboard the space station generally have to measure the air flow in front of vents inside the station to ensure that none of the ventilation ductwork gets clogged or blocked. The task involves holding a gauge in front of vents in five different locations on the station and taking several measurements of the air flow every 90 days or so."

"The Voyager 1 spacecraft's 35th anniversary is proving to be unexpectedly exciting, as scientists gathered this week to examine new hints that the spacecraft is on the verge of leaving our solar system. Voyager 1 is now more than 11 billion miles away from Earth. It blasted off in September 1977, on a mission to Jupiter and Saturn. But it also carried a Golden Record filled with music and the sounds of our planet, in case it encountered intelligent life as it moved out toward the stars."

This is absolutely mind-boggling! Full 360 degree panoramic interactive moving view of Mars as you've never experienced before. Taken by Opportunity Rover and converted into an interactive panorama

"A jackpot of previously unknown black holes across the universe has been discovered by the infrared eyes of a prolific NASA sky-mapping telescope. The cosmic find comes from data collected by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey (WISE) telescope, which scanned the entire sky in infrared light from December 2009 to February 2011. The full catalog of observations by WISE during its mission was publicly released in March, and astronomers are still poring through this celestrial trove for discoveries."

"America's first experimental space station, Skylab, was designed for long durations. Skylab program objectives were twofold: To prove that humans could live and work in space for extended periods, and to expand our knowledge of solar astronomy well beyond Earth-based observations. The program was successful in all respects despite early mechanical difficulties."

"The Best Sites For Learning About The Mars Rover Curiosity: Mars Science Laboratory - interactive is from The Guardian. Meet Curiosity, NASA's New $2.5 Billion Mars Rover is from The Atlantic." ..updated periodically

""From January 2009 to January 2012, there had been a gradual increase of about 25 percent in the amount of galactic cosmic rays Voyager was encountering," said Stone. "More recently, we have seen very rapid escalation in that part of the energy spectrum. Beginning on May 7, the cosmic ray hits have increased five percent in a week and nine percent in a month.""

"re-purposing two NRO telescopes appears to be a wonderful Band-Aid for a tricky space telescope problem. Also, as hardware construction consumes a lot of funds and time ahead of any space telescope mission, these two telescopes would save NASA a lot of cash."

"celestial event that won't occur again for 105 years. On June 5, the second planet in our solar system will crawl across the surface of the sun making an epic journey called the Transit of Venus."

On June 5, the planet Venus will appear to cross in front of the disk of the sun, appearing as a small black dot. The historic skywatching event, called a transit of Venus by astronomers, is among the rarest of predictable phenomena and one that has amazed scientists and observers throughout history.

"NASA's Jupiter-bound Juno spacecraft will carry the 1.5-inch likeness of Galileo Galilei, the Roman god Jupiter and his wife Juno to Jupiter when the spacecraft launches this Friday, Aug. 5. The inclusion of the three mini-statues, or figurines, is part of a joint outreach and educational program developed as part of the partnership between NASA and the LEGO Group to inspire children to explore science, technology, engineering and mathematics. "

"NASA's Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) program (Ebb and Flow), which is creating a high resolution map of the moon's gravitational field, has also captured footage from the dark side of the moon as part of the MoonKAM (Moon Knowledge Acquired by Middle school students) program. MoonKAM will allow US students to study different parts of the lunar surface using imagery from the Ebb and Flow satellites. "

"Space Garbage: The Dark Cloud Above After decades of space exploration, there are now more than 500,000 pieces of artificial debris greater than half an inch in size."

"The Space Foundation Discovery Institute in Colorado Springs, Colo., is the headquarters for the Space Foundation's education team, an education destination for students and a professional development center that provides space-themed training and support for teachers from around the world. It serves as the base for our education programs, and houses classrooms, the AGI Space Missions Simulator, a Mars Yard and a NASA Educator Resource Center."

"Space Watch, the Space Foundation's monthly web and e-newsletter"

"At Camp Kennedy Space Center (KSC), young people experience, imagine and interact through space shuttle mission simulations, tours of Kennedy Space Center and the chance to witness first hand the everyday challenges faced by astronauts. It all adds up to an inspiring week of fun and enriching space activities. "

"The video of the very first moon landing of the apollo 11 mission in 1969! Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the moon with his now legenday words "One small step for man, a giant leap for mankind." This is a truly amazing video and it was in 1969!!! If you think about it, you have orders of magnitude more processing power in your mobile phone than they did in the whole space craft!! Incredible!"