Left: A shaded relief map shows channelized sedimentary deposits interpreted as an ancient river delta in Aeolis Dorsa, Mars. Right: A modern delta on Earth. (DiBiase et al./Journal of Geophysical Research/2013 and USGS/NASA Landsat) Scientists have spotted more evidence that an enormous ocean on Mars covered much of the planet's surface billions of years ago. (PHOTOS: ) The latest clues were found in photos from NASA's powerful Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter circling the planet. The images show what appears to be...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Now he knows what it's like to be a goldfish in a fishbowl. Two days after his helmet flooded during a spacewalk, astronaut Luca Parmitano relived the experience Thursday, describing how water kept trickling into his helmet until big globs covered his eyes, then his nose. It was hard to see, he said, and he could not hear. "For a couple of minutes there, maybe more than a couple of minutes, I experienced what it's like...

The European Space Agency/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, or SOHO, captured this image of a gigantic coronal hole hovering over the sun’s north pole last week. (ESA/NASA/SOHO) The European Space Agency/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, or SOHO, captured this image of a gigantic coronal hole hovering over the sun’s north pole on July 18, 2013, at 9:06 a.m. EDT. Coronal holes are dark, low density regions of the sun’s outermost atmosphere, the corona. They contain little solar material, have lower...

In this rare image taken on July 19, 2013, the wide-angle camera on NASA's Cassini spacecraft has captured Saturn's rings and our planet Earth and its moon in the same frame. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute) The Cassini spacecraft in orbit around Saturn and the Messenger craft circling Mercury have captured tiny, yet spectacular, images of Earth from 900 million miles away.In the Cassini images captured Friday, Earth and the moon appear as dots -- Earth a pale blue and the moon...

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars toward space from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on March 1, 2013 at 10:10 a.m. EST, carrying a Dragon capsule filled with cargo for the International Space Station. (NASA/Jim Grossmann) Since the Gemini 4 mission blasted off in June 1965, most of NASA’s orbital flights have been controlled from facilities in Texas. But no payloads have ever successfully rocketed to orbit from that state. That may soon change. The private company Space...

This combination of images made available by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center on Thursday, July 25, 2013 shows a comparison between the higher resolution provided by the new ISIS (Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph), right, and the SDO (Solar Dynamics Observatory) spacecraft. (AP Photo/NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center) CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA is getting an unprecedented close-up look at the sun, thanks to a new telescope. (MORE: ) NASA's IRIS spacecraft, launched just a month ago, already is providing detailed...

The 50 United States each received Apollo 11 moon rock displays after the first lunar landing, but 44 years later 11 are missing. (collectSPACE.com) Eleven states' Apollo 11 moon rocks are missing. (WATCH: ) Despite a search that has lasted more than a decade, the current gifted to Alabama, Louisiana, Nevada, New York, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin are still unknown. The eleventh missing display, presented to Delaware, was stolen in 1976. Forty-four years ago Wednesday (July...

The Hubble Space Telescope captured this view of Comet ISON, C/2012 S1 (ISON), on May 8, 2013 as it streaked between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars at a speed of about 48,000 mph. (NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team) It doesn't look like Comet ISON will live up to the considerable hype, one researcher says. ISON has been billed as a potential "," with some experts saying it could blaze as brightly as the full moon around the time of its close...

X-ray of an extravehicular (EV) overshoe that was designed to be worn over the Apollo spacesuit boots while an astronaut was walking on the Moon. (Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum) The familiar exteriors of astronauts' spacesuits often hide all of the ingenuity and mechanics that are built inside the suits, which were first imagined as "wearable spacecraft." Now a new art exhibit, "Suited for Space," opening Friday at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, highlights the creativity behind...

This Sept. 16, 2010 file photo shows engineers working on the Mars rover Curiosity at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, file) LOS ANGELES -- Mount Sharp has beckoned Curiosity since the NASA rover made its grand entrance on Mars exactly a year ago, dangling from nylon cables to a safe landing. If microbes ever existed on Mars, the mountain represents the best hope for preserving the chemical ingredients that are fundamental to all living...

Mars, meet Barbie. A new spacefaring doll from Mattel called "" was released today (Aug. 5), just in time for the one-year anniversary of the landing of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity. The new doll represents Barbie's "2013 career of the year" and was developed with input from NASA. "Barbie consulted with the NASA EVA [extravehicular activity] Suit Team on the design of the doll, to ensure the Mars Explorer Barbie doll captured the spirit and style of space explorers," a...

In this June 4 2013 photo provided by the University of Hawaii, research space scientist Oleg Abramov walks outside simulated Martian base at Mauna Loa, Hawaii. (AP Photo/University of Hawaii, Angelo Vermeulen) HONOLULU -- Six researchers have spent the past four months living in a small dome on a barren Hawaii lava field at an elevation of 8,000 feet, trying to figure out what foods astronauts might eat on Mars and during deep-space missions. They emerged on Tuesday with their...