From MSNBC

"The moon is once again a popular destination, as several space-faring nations are talking about setting up bases there. One reason would be to mine fuel for future fusion reactors.

The fuel in this case is helium-3, a lighter isotope of the helium used in balloons. In high energy collisions, helium-3 fuses with other nuclei to release more energy and less waste than the reactions in traditional nuclear reactors.

"If we can show that we can burn helium-3, it is a much cleaner and safer energy source than other nuclear fuels," said Gerald Kulcinski, director of the Fusion Technology Institute at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. "

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NASA hosted a media teleconference Monday, Aug. 11 to brief reporters about ongoing assessments regarding the budget and schedule for the Constellation Program.

NASA managers discussed evaluations being made as part of an annual budget planning cycle that considers program design and development activities in relation to available funds.

Teleconference participants included:
- Doug Cooke, deputy associate administrator, Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington
- Jeff Hanley, Constellation program manager, NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston

 Replays of the call will be available until Sept. 1 by dialing 888-568-0902.   The passcode is "Constellation." 

For more information regarding the Constellation program, click here.

Fly Me to the Moon is hitting the movie screens August 15 - a space adventure of the third kind. That is, it’s in 3D.
 
Fly me to the Moon combines the Apollo 11 mission with a whimsical twist involving three flies who hop aboard the spacecraft for their own giant leap for the insect world.
 
This is a G-rated family film that will take the viewer back to the history-making mission of Apollo 11 and planting the first footprints on another world.
 
Plus, there's a live action/animation cameo by Apollo 11's Buzz Aldrin, a member of the Coalition's Board of Advisors.
 
For a sneak peek at this fascinating new look at the Apollo 11 mission of exploration, go to:
http://www.flymetothemoonthemovie.com

ATTENTION EDUCATORS!  

Here's the link to the Fly Me to the Moon Teacher's Guide for students in grades 2 thru 6:
http://www.flymetothemoonthemovie.com/educatorsandexhibitorsarea/FMTTM_2D_Teacher_Guide.pdf
 
 
                                                 - Posted by Leonard David & Barbara David
 

NASA has little prospect, even with additional funding, of narrowing a five-year gap between the space shuttle's 2010 retirement and the first missions of its replacement, top space agency officials said Monday.

"The window of opportunity for us to accelerate (the moonship) is closing. In fact, this summer with the re-alignment of our schedule it's closed," said Jeff Hanley, the program manager for the Constellation program, NASA's effort to develop the Orion moonship and Aries rocket that will send it aloft.

"If the money is not there," he said, "it's not there."

With that acknowledgment, the space agency said it was shifting an internal target date for the earliest possible launch of the new spacecraft to September 2014, a one-year delay from a previous target.

The first mission of Orion to the international space station with a half-dozen astronauts will remain set for March 2015, a date NASA Administrator Michael Griffin has told Congress could be advanced if additional millions are appropriated.

In Monday's conference call, Hanley and NASA's Doug Cooke, the agency's deputy exploration chief, said work now would be slowed to match anticipated resources.

If Congress and the White House have a change of heart, they said, NASA will be prepared to respond. But the two officials admitted there is a greater likelihood the financial picture may grow worse.

With the fall election looming, Congress could choose to reject President Bush's 2009 budget proposal for the federal government. Lawmakers could agree to hold spending at 2008 levels until a new administration presents a spending plan well into next year.

In a separate development Monday, NASA's independent Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel issued a report raising concerns over the lunar development effort.

The panel was troubled that NASA was not establishing firm criteria for crew-safety systems. In some some cases, the nine-member panel said, safety systems are being compromised to keep the spacecraft within the weight that can be launched by the Aries rocket.

Hanley defended the design process, which he said was in its early stages.

mark.carreau@chron.com

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From MSNBC

"Would Martian soil be good for living things, or bad? After going back and forth on the question, the scientists behind NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander say it could be either.

The most surprising thing is that some of Phoenix's soil samples appear to contain chemicals that are found in rocket fuel — and in the natural soil of Chile's Atacama Desert, one of the places on Earth considered most like Mars.

That was the mixed message emerging from Tuesday's teleconference for journalists, which NASA organized in the wake of leaked reports that the Phoenix team had come upon unexpected findings about Mars' potential habitability."

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