The Aurora Programme intends to contribute to the European Space Agency's goals by exploring the solar system, Mars, the Moon, and asteroids with robotics and humans, as well as search for life beyond Earth. The website provides the executive summary, Aurora Programme brochure, and other directorial materials to introduce users to the organization. Visitors can learn why Mars exploration is...

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has undertaken the Autonomous Sciencecraft Experiment (ASE) to "demonstrate the potential for space missions to use onboard decision-making to detect, analyze, and respond to science events, and to downlink only the highest value science data." The website features ASE updates, publications, and a list of the potential impacts of this research. Users can discover...

Through the use of Macromedia Flash Player, this NASA website revisits the key NASA space exploration events and missions of 2004. Users can view videos illustrating the Vision for Space Exploration and articles describing the advances to help make the vision a reality. The website discusses the redesigning of the Shuttle External Fuel Tank and its significance in flight missions. Visitors can...

Recent news coverage on the Mars Rover has sparked a renewed interest in robotics. Projects like the Personal Exploration Rover (see under Education in this report) are bringing this technology to K-12 classrooms, while others are exploring the ways scientists can match the technology to the needs of people. This Topic in Depth offers a closer look into research on robotics and the many uses of...