NASA

NASA's Stardust-NExT spacecraft is already on its way for its rendezvous with Comet Tempel 1 on Valentine's Day (February 14). The mission will allow scientists for the first time to look for changes in the surface of a comet that occur as a result of an orbit around the Sun.

Exploring the possibilities of farming in space has been a part of scientific studies aboard the International Space Station since its launch into orbit. The latest experiment the astronauts have launched is called Hydro Tropi.

NASA's WISE infrared space telescope has captured a new view of two companion galaxies that show stark morphological differences: a quiet spiral beauty and a fiery, smoky beauty in which new stars form.

Members of NASA's Kepler mission have just confirmed the discovery of their first rocky planet: Kepler-10b. At 1.4 times the size of Earth, it is the smallest planet ever discovered outside our solar system.

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) of ESA and NASA has discovered its comet number 2000, thus becoming the greatest comet hunter of all time. The most curious thing is that it was not designed for this purpose, but to observe the Sun.

The US space agency has compiled a list of the highlights of 2010. "NASA's work this year has made headlines around the world," says agency administrator Charles Bolden. "Most importantly, it has broadened our understanding of the universe and our planet," he adds.

The Mars Odyssey probe this week broke the record for staying on Mars by overcoming more than 3,340 working days on the red planet, since it entered orbit on October 24, 2001. In this way Odyssey surpassed its predecessor Surveyor, which was in orbit from September 11, 1997 to November 2, 2006.

Where does the gold on Earth come from? A series of large random impacts could have provided iron-related elements such as gold, rhenium and osmium to the mantles of the Earth, but also of the Moon and Mars, according to a NASA study.