Swedish astronaut triggers space fever Dec 7, 2006, 14:45 GMT Stockholm - A running clock in the left-hand corner of a television screen on a Swedish breakfast television programme Thursday was the latest indication that Sweden is gripped by space fever. ....more

Women push back space frontiers with first 'tourist' Sep 14, 2006, 2:44 GMT Moscow - Lipstick to hand, womankind will make another giant cosmic leap Monday as pioneering female 'space tourist' Anousheh Ansari launches on a ten-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS). ....more

Geologists force astronomers to rethink Pluto plan Aug 18, 2006, 15:05 GMT Prague - Scientists who peer under rocks and gaze into space were clashing Friday over the astronomical question of the year: Is Pluto really a planet? ....more

Russians spice space tourism with 35-million offer Jul 23, 2006, 16:25 GMT Washington - Bored with just the flight to the International Space Station (ISS)? ....more

Two celebrations in space: Viking craft and John Glenn Jul 20, 2006, 16:11 GMT Washington - Two major characters in US space exploration celebrated birthdays this week: John Glenn, the first US astronaut to orbit the earth, turned 85; and the Viking 1 lander celebrated its 30th anniversary since touching down on Mars, the first successful mission to the red planet. ....more

NASA plays it safe in launch of Discovery Jun 27, 2006, 6:20 GMT Washington - The US space agency NASA is playing it safe with Saturday's launch of the space shuttle Discovery. ....more

Background: Shuttle's external tank is spacecraft's Achilles heel Jun 27, 2006, 6:20 GMT Washington - A piece of foam insulation that broke off the external fuel tank of the space shuttle Columbia at liftoff in January 2003 led to the destruction days later of the spacecraft and the deaths of the seven-member crew. ....more

Mission to Venus enters moment of greatest danger Apr 7, 2006, 19:36 GMT Darmstadt, Germany - After a voyage of 400 million kilometres across space, the Venus Express craft that left Earth last November begins next week the riskiest phase of its mission: entering orbit around Venus. ....more

20 years since U.S. space disaster Jan 28, 2006, 16:35 GMT Washington - Even today, 20 years later, debris occasionally washes up on Florida's coasts from a U.S. space disaster that counts as one of the 20th century's most tragic events. ....more

Preview: Pluto spacecraft to probe mysterious edge of solar system Jan 15, 2006, 12:53 GMT Washington - Pluto, the only planet that routinely eludes amateur and even professional astronomers, is the destination for NASA's next major space exploration - the first trip ever to the mysterious, cold, dark edge of the solar system. ....more