Daily Roundup: Universe Today Articles (4)

A mixed bag for today’s Universe Today articles. For starters, NASA has asked the ESA Mars orbiter, Mars Express, to help out when NASA’s Phoenix Mars Mission approaches the Red Planet in May this year. Along with NASA’s Mars Reconnaisance Orbiter and Mars Odyssey missions, Mars Express will aid tracking duties as the lander begins its critical descent. Great international/interplanetary cooperation! But, back on Earth…

…NASA is getting worried about the next big mission in its Mars Explorer Program. The nuclear-powered Mars Science Lab (a massive nine-foot long monster of a rover) is over-running and over-budget… and now the reentry shield has to be redesigned, ouch! Back into the cosmos, it looks like massive stars need the help of their smaller siblings to grow. Turns out star-forming nebulae are too cold for big stars to develop. And back again to Earth, the next Space Shuttle mission is preparing to launch on March 11th…

In a nutshell:

• NASA and ESA Orbiters Join Forces to Prepare for Phoenix Arrival on May 25th, 2008
• Development Problems May Delay Mars Science Laboratory Mission Until 2011
• Massive Stars Need Their Smaller Siblings To Grow
• Shuttle Endeavour to Launch on March 11th; View the STS-123 Interactive Mission Timeline