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the astronauts will replace all that cargo load with numerous critical experiment samples they have stored during ongoing research activities, as well as no longer needed equipment and trash totaling about 2300 pounds, for the return trip to Earth and a Pacific Ocean splashdown set for March 25

Instead of ice, later researchers chalked up the observations to piles of rubble.

NASA's Lunar Prospector found possible water in 1998 at both of the moon's poles, but the instrument was only able to detect the presence of hydrogen, not other elements

Then in 2008, new lab work on Apollo lunar samples found hydrogen in lunar volcanic glasses

in September 2009, however, three spacecraft orbiting the moon found "unambiguous evidence" of water on the lunar surface

in November 2009, however, scientists for the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission announced the spacecraft had found large deposits of ice at the moon's south pole

Scientists then discovered a trove of ice in the south pole's Shackleton Crater in 2012

Those measurements also allowed the main research team to more accurately measure the three planets orbiting Kepler-37, including the tiny Kepler-37b

Kepler-37b is about 80% the size of Mercury and is the first exoplanet to be found that is smaller than any planet in our own Solar System

Kepler-37b is very likely a rocky planet with no atmosphere or water, similar to Mercury

"The detection of such a small planet shows for the first time that stellar systems host planets much smaller as well as much larger than anything we see in our own Solar System."

rover team plans to have Curiosity sieve the sample and deliver portions of it to analytical instruments inside the rover

The scoop now holding the precious sample is part of Curiosity's Collection and Handling for In-Situ Martian Rock Analysis (CHIMRA)

During the next steps of processing, the powder will be enclosed inside CHIMRA and shaken once or twice over a sieve that screens out particles larger than 0.006 inch (150 microns) across

In response to information gained during testing at JPL, the processing and delivery plan has been adjusted to reduce use of mechanical vibration

The 150-micron screen in one of the two test versions of CHIMRA became partially detached after extensive use, although it remained usable

Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (PanSTARRS) based on the summit of Haleakala on the island of Maui

comet brightened ahead of expectations and was first picked up by an amateur astronomer on March 28th of last year

Comet PanSTARRS is already an impressive sight for southern hemisphere observers

Comet PanSTARRS will then begin curving northward during the last week of February

the comet has a hyperbolic orbit inclined 84.2° degrees relative to the ecliptic

On an 110,000+ year orbit, this is more than likely Comet PanSTARRS first journey through the inner solar system

Comet PanSTARRS will reach an altitude of greater than 5° at dusk for northern hemisphere observers based around 30° north latitude looking low to the southwest starting on March 5th.

The comet will then begin gaining altitude

Keep in mind, Daylight Saving Time begins

looking for the comet around 7:00 pm local on the first week of March, it’ll be at 8:00 pm on the second week

After gaining

elevation from our northern hemisphere vantage point

will then begin running roughly parallel to the western horizon on each successive evening for mid-northern latitude observers

This first half of March is also when Comet PanSTARRS will have the potential to appear at its brightest

best case scenario, we’ll have a comet with a -1st magnitude coma and a tail pointing straight up from the horizon like an exclamation point.

worst case situation, we’ll have a +3rd magnitude fuzzy comet only visible through binoculars

if you observe the comet on no other night, be sure to check it out on the evening of March 12-13th

will be joined by a slim crescent Moon just over a day old.

Comet PanSTARRS will then continue its trek northward

for the remainder of March

By May 1st, Comet PanSTARRS will have dipped back down below naked eye visibility