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"NASA's Spacecraft 3D is an augmented reality (AR) application that lets you learn about and interact with a variety of spacecraft that are used to explore our solar system, study Earth, and observe the universe. Using a printed AR Target and the camera on your mobile device, you can get up close with these robotic explorers, see how they move, and learn about the the engineering feats used to expand our knowledge and understanding of space. Spacecraft 3D will be updated over time to include more of the amazing spacecraft that act as our robotic eyes on the earth, the solar system and beyond!"

"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. "

"Being in space is not at all like being on Earth. It's usually very hot or very cold. There's no air. There's very little gravity. And the radiation is terrible! Suppose you are a very smart spacecraft engineer. You have invented a new material to use for the fuel tanks on the spacecraft. But before you send your new material into the harsh environment of space, you must test it on Earth in a space-like situation. "

"The Juno spacecraft is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V-551 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., in Aug. 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit Jupiter 32 times, skimming to within 3,100 miles (5,000 kilometers) above the planet's cloud tops, for approximately one year. "

"On June 30, 2004, the Cassini spacecraft entered orbit around Saturn to begin the first in-depth, up-close study of the ringed planet and its domain. As expected, the Saturn System has provided an incredible wealth of opportunities for exploration and discovery. With its initial four-year tour of the Saturn system complete as well as an initial two-year extended mission called the Cassini Equinox Mission, the spacecraft is conducting a second extended mission called the Cassini Solstice Mission. "We're looking at a string of remarkable discoveries -- about Saturn's magnificent rings, its amazing moons, its dynamic magnetosphere and about Titan's surface and atmosphere," says Dr. Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist. "

"Essentially, trail formation means one aircraft (or spacecraft in this case), follows directly behind the other. Ebb and Flow, the twins of NASA's GRAIL (Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory) mission, are by no means the first to synch up altitude and "air" speed while zipping over the craters, mountains, hills and rills of Earth's natural satellite. "

"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."

"Pima Air & Space Museum, where history takes flight, is one of the largest air and space museums in the world, and the largest non-government funded aviation museum. You'll see more than 300 aircraft and spacecraft including many of the most historically significant and technically advanced craft ever produced, both from the United States and throughout the world."

On Sept. 3, 1976, the unmanned U.S. spacecraft Viking 2 landed on Mars to take the first close-up, color photographs of the planet's surface.

"A new study analyzing data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft suggests that the lake, known as Ontario Lacus, behaves most similarly to what we call a salt pan on Earth. "

"On May 5, 1961, only 23 days after Yuri A. Gagarin of the Soviet Union became the first man in space, Shepard was launched at 9:34am EST aboard the spacecraft he named Freedom 7 (MR-7) powered by a Redstone booster (MR-3).19 He was launched suborbitally to an altitude of over 116 miles, 303 statute miles down range from Cape Canaveral. His 15 minute 28 second flight achieved a velocity of 5,134 miles per hour and pulled a maximum of 11G's.20 Freedom 7 splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean where the aircraft carrier Lake Champlain awaited his arrival."

"On May 5, 1961, in the Freedom 7 spacecraft, he was launched by a Redstone vehicle on a ballistic trajectory suborbital flight--a flight which carried him to an altitude of 116 statute miles and to a landing point 302 statute miles down the Atlantic Missile Range."

NASA education specialist Julie Clift and her new blog, "Julie's Journey: Rocket City to Russia." On May 8, 2012, Clift will leave Huntsville, Ala., for Russia and then Kazahkstan, where she'll see her friend Joe Acaba embark on a space-bound adventure. Astronaut Acaba, a former classroom teacher, will be on a Soyuz spacecraft when it launches to the International Space Station. Acaba will become a member of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews. Follow along with Julie's international adventure. We will post blog entries as she prepares for the trip and throughout her journey.

"Long distance space travel could create the ultimate 'killer entrance', devastating your destination and anything around the arriving spacecraft, according to calculations by Professor Geraint Lewis and two honours students from the University of Sydney."

"After a flawless launch on May 22, the SpaceX Dragon capsule has become the first commercial spacecraft to berth at the International Space Station. After a flyby last night, the capsule approached the station, and station flight engineers Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers brought the vehicle to berth with the station's robotic arm. The capsule was bolted to the station's Harmony module at 12:02 p.m. Eastern Time."

New at spaceplace.nasa.gov One type of Earth-observing spacecraft is the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites, also known as GOES, built by NASA and operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. The GOES are workhorse satellites doing everyday tasks; they watch and warn of developing severe weather, monitor events such as floods and fires, and monitor solar storms that can have damaging effects on Earth.

"Principal architect and lead programmer for NASA's "Eyes on the Solar System" software, which uses video-game technology to recreate the solar system and the spacecraft that explore it within a web-browser."

"Beyond Planet Earth: The Future of Space Exploration launches visitors into the exciting future of space exploration as it boldly speculates on humanity's next steps "out there" in our solar system and beyond. The exhibition features a full-size recreation of a lunar habitat, a model of an elevator reaching up into space, a walk-through diorama of the Martian surface, and challenging computer interactive exhibits. See authentic equipment and models of historic spacecraft from select voyages in the past. "

The suborbital commercial tourist spaceship VSS (Virgin Spaceship) Enterprise-also known as SpaceShipTwo-owned by Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic company completed its first unpowered glide test Oct. 10. A video of the flight is on Virgin Galactic's website. Space tourism pioneers to speak at Summit The spacecraft was released from its launch aircraft, WhiteKnightTwo also known as Eve, at 45,000 feet and spent 11 minutes testing systems (including the release mechanism), making a practice approach at a high altitude, and landing at Mojave Air and Space Port in California.

This film documents the first historic flight of a space shuttle, the U.S. spacecraft Columbia, which launched on April 12, 1981. The footage highlights liftoff, the onboard activities of astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen, as well as the landing in Rogers Dry Lake bed in California. -