Russian capsule touches down with space station trio

Space.com: A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying a crew of three space travelers successfully touched down in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, wrapping up a five-month mission to the International Space Station.

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn and Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko landed at about 8:31 a.m. Kazakh time (10:31 p.m. ET Monday). Their return marks the end of the station’s Expedition 35, which Hadfield commanded.

‘Ring of Fire’ eclipse wows Australia

AP: Skygazers across the Australian Outback were among the lucky few to witness a solar eclipse on Friday as the moon glided between Earth and the sun, blocking everything but a dazzling ring of light.

The celestial spectacle, known as a “ring of fire” eclipse, was the second solar eclipse visible from northern Australia in six months. In November, a total solar eclipse plunged the country’s northeast into darkness, delighting astronomers and tourists who flocked to the region from across the globe to witness it.

Photo: Friday’s annular solar eclipse blazes like a ring of fire after sunrise, 45 miles (70 kilometers) south of Newman, Australia. The “second sun” is a lens effect. (Nicole Hollenbeck via SpaceWeather.com)

Monster hurricane spotted on Saturn

Space.com: Spectacular new images from a NASA spacecraft orbiting Saturn have captured the most detailed views ever of an enormous hurricane churning around the ringed planet’s north pole.

The stunning new images and video of the Saturn hurricane, which were taken by NASA’s Cassini probe, show that the storm’s eye is 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers) wide — about 20 times bigger than typical hurricane eyes on Earth.

Photo: The spinning vortex of Saturn’s north polar storm resembles a deep red rose surrounded by green foliage in this false-color image from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft (NASA/JPL-Caltech/SS)

‘Baby picture’ of the universe unveiled

NBC News: The European-led team behind the Planck cosmology probe on Thursday released the mission’s first all-sky map of the cosmic microwave background — a “baby picture” of the universe that could eventually reveal how it inflated in the first moments of its existence, and whether it possesses the extra dimensions that are predicted by some theorists.

“To a cosmologist, this map is a gold mine of information,” University of Cambridge astrophysicist George Efstathiou, a member of the Planck science team, said during a Paris news conference. He joked that not that long ago, cosmologists might have “given up their children” to have such a map in their hands.

Photo: The Planck cosmology probe has produced the most detailed all-sky map to date showing the cosmic background radiation, also known as the afterglow of the big bang. (ESA)

LIVE VIDEO: SpaceX rocket set to launch to Space Station

Watch a live feed from NASA as SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, with Dragon capsule on top, attempts to launch to the International Space Station: http://www.breakingnews.com/topic/spacex-iss-flight-march-2013

The mission is the second of 12 SpaceX flights to resupply the ISS. Launch is scheduled for 10:10 a.m. EST.

Photo: The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with its Dragon spacecraft onboard, is seen shortly after it was erected at Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida today. (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Mars rover confirms 1st drilled Mars rock sample

NASA:

NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity has relayed new images that confirm it has successfully obtained the first sample ever collected from the interior of a rock on another planet. No rover has ever drilled into a rock beyond Earth and collected a sample from its interior.

Photo: Image from NASA’s Curiosity rover shows the 1st sample of powdered rock extracted by the rover’s drill. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)

Watch live video of asteroid’s close fly-by to Earth

Watch live video and commentary from NASA on the expected close fly-by of an asteroid to Earth on BreakingNews.com: http://www.breakingnews.com/topic/asteroid-passes-by-earth-feb-15-2013

The asteroid is half the size of a U.S. football field, flying at nearly 17,500 mph. NASA and astronomers say the chance of asteroid 2012 DA14 colliding with Earth are infinitesimally small.

Photo: A diagram depicting the passage of asteroid 2012 DA14 through the Earth-moon system on Feb. 15, 2013. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)

More than 900 people injured by falling meteor in Russia

More than 900 people have sought medical attention after a huge meteorite streaking through the skies of Russia’s Chelyabinsk region triggered a powerful shock wave.

Calling the injury toll “unprecedented,” British expert Robert Massey said this is the biggest known human toll caused by an object from space, Agence France-Presse reports.

Read more and see additional photos and videos on BreakingNews.com.

Photo: Yekaterina Pustynnikova / Chelyabinsk.ru via AP

Astronaut sends Chinese New Year greeting from space

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield tweeted photos of China, seen from the International Space Station, to celebrate the Chinese Year of the Snake, which begins today.

Space.com reports: Hadfield posted a series of dazzling photos of China from space, including a view of daybreak over Taiwan, a striking image of Shanghai at night, amazing windswept clouds and a view of the city of Hangzhou.

Photo: The dazzling lights of Shanghai, China, shine in this view from the International Space Station by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, who shared the image on Feb. 9, 2013, to mark Chinese New Year. (Canadian Space Agency/Chris Hadfield)

Asteroid to make close approach to Earth next week

Space.com: An asteroid half the size of a football field will make a close approach to Earth next week, but poses no threat of crashing into our planet, NASA officials say.

Asteroid 2012 DA14’s close encounter is a record-breaking celestial event, according to Don Yeomans, the head of NASA’s asteroid-tracking program. An object this large only passes this close to the Earth about once every 40 years, and likely only hits the planet once every 1,200 years, Yeomans says.

Photo: A diagram depicting the passage of asteroid 2012 DA14 through the Earth-moon system on Feb. 15, 2013. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Longest space mission for US astronaut set for 2015

CNN:

Capt. Scott Kelly, a veteran astronaut, will set the record for the longest single space mission for an American, NASA announced today. Kelly and Roscomos cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko will embark on a 1-year mission to the International Space Station in 2015.

The duo will help scientists explore the effects of living in space on the human body, NASA said.

Photo:  NASA astronaut Scott Kelly was a flight engineer on Expedition 25 to the International Space Station. (photo via CNN)

Curiosity rover finds soil similar to Hawaii’s on Mars

BBC News:

NASA’s Curiosity rover has found soil on Mars to be similar to Hawaii’s after sifting and scanning its first sample on the Red Planet.

The robot’s CheMin instrument shook out fine particles of soil and fired X-rays at them to determine their composition.

Photo credit: NASA