By ratifying the nuclear test-ban treaty, such key countries as China and Indonesia would build pressure on the U.S. Senate to do the same, treaty advocates said Friday at a U.N. conference promoting the pact. [More]
Iran Is Warned Over Nuclear Deception — David E. Sanger and Helene Cooper —New York Times — Sep 24, 2009
President Obama and leaders of Britain and France accused Iran on Friday of building a secret underground plant to manufacture nuclear fuel, saying the country has hidden the covert operation from international weapons inspectors for years. [More]
The discovery of water on the moon announced this week could make our celestial neighbor a more attractive candidate for a future manned mission. [More]
The discovery of widespread but small amounts water on the surface of the moon, announced yesterday, stands as one of the most surprising findings in planetary science. Three spacecraft picked up the signature of water, not just in the frigid polar craters where it has long been suspected to exist, but all over the lunar surface, which was previously thought to be bone dry. [More]
Why We Should Be Concerned About Venezuela's Nuclear Ambitions — Nima Gerami —New Republic — Sep 23, 2009
The author details how Venezuela's pursuit of nuclear power is moving forward in ways that are increasingly worrisome and possibly illegal. [More]
Momentum is building towards an official U.S. policy to defend Earth against asteroids with a US National Research Council panel that by year's end will recommend a strategy to better address the threat from near-Earth objects. That study, along with the air force's report on its asteroid impact exercise, is intended to help the White House develop an official policy on the near-Earth object hazard by October 2010, which Congress has requested. [More]
Wasted Space: U.S. Military Looking for Ideas on How to Curb the Threat of Orbiting Junk — John Matson —Scientific American — Sep 21, 2009
The U.S. military's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) posted a notice last week soliciting ideas on how to shrink the growing debris cloud in Earth orbit. [More]
Global Network Detects Sign of Atomic Bomb Testing — Edith M. Lederer —Associated Press — Sep 18, 2009
An update on the international monitoring system, an internationally distributed network of sensors for detecting nuclear explosions, that was created to support the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and has currently grown to 340 sensors around the world, even in Iran and Israel. [More]
The White House will shelve Bush administration plans to build a missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, according to people familiar with the matter, a move likely to cheer Moscow and roil the security debate in Europe. [More]
Japanese Space Agency Plans to have Solar Power System in Space by 2030 — Renewable Energy Magazine — Sep 15, 2009
Researchers at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have begun to develop a Space Solar Power System (SSPS) consisting of giant solar collectors in geostationary orbit 36,000 kilometres above the Earths surface. [More]