Keeping the space theme going, The Big Picture presents 32 photos of the International Space Station, or ISS, to mark its tenth year in Earth orbit.

How about this, the opportunity to spend the day with NASA's design department, if you can find it that is... The thing is, NASA doesn't actually have an industrial design department. They don't even have a design department. Not technically, anyway.

With winter approaching Mars' northern hemisphere, and soon to blanket the planet's Arctic region in months of darkness, the Martian Phoenix Lander will probably meet with a freezing demise, says Barry Goldstein of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It is of course possible, though unlikely, that the probe will manage to reboot itself come springtime though: Phoenix does have a built in reboot program that ... Read full entry

Awesome image gallery made up of photos taken from the Hubble telescope... the universe is truly an amazing place.

Scoring a spot aboard the first crewed vessel to Mars will require prospective astronauts to jump through a number of hoops, which include a two-year "experiment" to determine their suitability for such a mission. Come to think of it, jumping through hoops would probably be far easier than travelling to Mars: "The experiment would consist of placing a crew on the space station for say seven or eight months, then ... Read full entry

Would you be up to spending months, even years, aboard a relatively small space craft, possibly in Earth orbit, or on the Moon, without giving a thought to the foibles and the neuroses of those around you... or yourself? As missions get longer and astronauts are asked to do more, psychologists are looking at ways to help them cope with loneliness and interpersonal conflicts. At Beth Israel Deaconess in ... Read full entry

A stunning set of photos taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

NASA is 50 this year, but rather than being able to revel in the occasion, finds itself possibly having to fend off a challenge from, of all organisations, search engine giant Google. In a lecture at the beginning of this year, for instance, Eric Schmidt, Google's chief executive, exhorted NASA to engage more with the outside world by creating "open systems" that others ... Read full entry

And on the subject of outer space... an incredible collection of photos and short animations of Jupiter, and its four major moons. Stunning.

NASA's first Moon mission in some years, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, launches on 24 November 2008, and while there's no room on the craft for passengers, you can send your name instead though. Names will be collected and placed onboard the LRO spacecraft for its historic mission bringing NASA back to the moon. You will receive a certificate showcasing your support of the mission. You have until Friday ... Read full entry