pace Chimps is an intergalactic comedy that highlights the antics of astronaut chimps with the “wrong stuff.” Ham III (Samberg), the slacker grandson of the first chimp blasted into space before manned spaceflight, joins two other astronaut chimps for a dangerous mission through a black hole to an inhabited planet. When they’re stranded there, the chimps must help the inhabitants rid themselves of a tyrannical leader, and then figure out how to get back to Earth.

The discovery last week of water ice just under the surface of Mars has researchers buzzing, given that water is a key ingredient for life. The finding, by the Phoenix Mars Lander, is the most recent hint that the Red Planet might be habitable to microbes.

Results of soil analysis made by the Phoenix Mars lander on a scoop of Martian dirt showed the Red Planet's surface has no carbon but has other elements that can grow a backyard plant.

What comes to your mind when you think of the Milky Way? Well, the Milky Way is a galaxy among the billions of galaxies in the universe. A galaxy refers to a cluster of billions of stars and other heavenly bodies, including solar systems like ours.

A remake of the classic arcade space shooting game.

Technology trends in component miniaturization and large-scale manufacturing have led to a proliferation of low-cost GPS receiver components. GPS receivers are embedded in many of the items we use in our daily lives. These items include cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and automobiles. Applications range from the provision of a reference time source for synchronizing computer networks to guidance of robotic vehicles. Market forecasts estimate Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) 2018 product sales and services to be $290 billion.

Astronaut Ron Garan works on assigned tasks during the last scheduled spacewalk of the STS-124 mission specialist.

Recent years have witnessed significant progress on the miniaturization of mass spectrometers for a variety of field applications. This article describes the development and application of mass spectrometry (MS) instrumentation to support of goals of the U.S. space program. Its main focus is on the two most common space-related applications of MS: studying the composition of planetary atmospheres and monitoring air quality on manned space missions. Both sets of applications present special requirements in terms of analytical performance (sensitivity, selectivity, speed, etc.), logistical considerations (space, weight, and power requirements), and deployment in perhaps the harshest of all possible environments (space). The MS instruments deployed on the Pioneer Venus and Mars Viking Lander missions are reviewed for the purposes of illustrating the unique features of the sample introduction systems, mass analyzers, and vacuum systems, and for presenting their specifications which are impressive even by today’s standards. The various approaches for monitoring volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in cabin atmospheres are also reviewed. In the past, ground-based GC/MS instruments have been used to identify and quantify VOCs in archival samples collected during the Mercury, Apollo, Skylab, Space Shuttle, and Mir missions. Some of the data from the more recent missions are provided to illustrate the composition data obtained and to underscore the need for instrumentation to perform such monitoring in situ. Lastly, the development of two emerging technologies, Direct Sampling Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry (DSITMS) and GC/Ion Mobility Spectrometry (GC/IMS), will be discussed to illustrate their potential utility for future missions.