Discoverys Final Flight, ISS and Beyond: NASAs Memorable 2010
by Nathan Eddy
Space Shuttle Discovery Grounded
During the 11-day STS-133 mission, Discovery will deliver the Permanent Multipurpose Module, on its 39th and final mission.
New Directions
In February, NASA awarded $50 million in Space Act Agreements: The contracts are for the development of crew concepts and technology demonstrations for future commercial support of human spaceflight.
Back to the Moon
New soil data about the moon uncovered by a NASA satellite determined the presence water in the form of mostly pure ice crystals.
Sun Spotting
Photos from the Solar Dynamics Observatory showed extreme close-ups of activity on the sun’s surface.
Coming Close
The EPOXI mission spacecraft successfully flew past comet Hartley 2 in November, providing information about the comet’s volume and material spewing from its surface.
Obama in Orlando
President Obama sought to reassure the space agency it would not be neglected, promising to increase NASA’s budget by $6 billion.
Arsenic and Old Space
NASA-funded researchers conducting tests in Mono Lake in California discovered the first known microorganism on Earth able to thrive and reproduce using the toxic chemical arsenic.
Going Deep
NASA responded in August to a request from the Chilean government for technical advice to assist with the rescue of 33 trapped miners in a copper and gold mine.
Staying Afloat
The second decade of a new era in human history—when not everyone lives on our home planet—began Nov. 2, 2010, as the ISS crossed the 1.5 billion-mile mark of its travels with six residents on board and six visitors en route.
Tracking Oil on Water
Advanced remote-sensing instruments on NASA Earth-observing satellites and aircraft provided data on the Gulf oil spill’s location, oil concentrations and impact on ecosystems in the Gulf.