NASA's newest observatory, the Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST, has begun its mission of exploring the universe in high-energy gamma rays. The spacecraft and its revolutionary instruments passed their orbital checkout with flying colors.

NASA has announced that GLAST has been renamed the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. The new name honors Prof. Enrico Fermi (1901 - 1954), a pioneer in high-energy physics.

Opportunity is heading back out to the Red Planet's surrounding plains nearly a year after descending into a large Martian crater to examine exposed ancient rock layers.

"We've done everything we entered Victoria Crater to do and more," said Bruce Banerdt, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Banerdt is project scientist for Opportunity and its rover twin, Spirit.

The next sample of Martian soil being grabbed for analysis is coming from a trench about three times deeper than any other trench NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has dug.

On Tuesday, Aug. 26, the spacecraft will finish the 90 Martian days (or "sols") originally planned as its primary mission and will continue into a mission extension through September, as announced by NASA in July. Phoenix landed on May 25.

ESA's orbiting X-ray observatory XMM-Newton has discovered the most massive cluster of galaxies seen in the distant Universe until now. The galaxy cluster is so big that there can only be a handful of them at that distance, making this a rare catch indeed. The discovery confirms the existence of dark energy.

The newly-discovered monster, known only by the catalogue number 2XMM J083026+524133, is estimated to contain as much mass as a thousand large galaxies. Much of it is in the form of 100-million-degree hot gas. It was first observed by chance as XMM-Newton was studying another celestial object and 2XMM J083026+524133 was placed in a catalogue for a future follow-up.

A new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope tells a tale of life and death amidst a rich family history. The striking infrared picture shows a colorful cosmic cloud, called W5, studded with multiple generations of blazing stars.

It also provides dramatic new evidence that massive stars - through their brute winds and radiation - can trigger the birth of stellar newborns.

The European Space Agency is about to launch the most sophisticated mission ever to investigate the Earth's gravitational field and to map the reference shape of our planet - the geoid - with unprecedented resolution and accuracy.

The Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) will be placed onto a low altitude near sun-synchronous orbit by a Russian Rockot vehicle launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Northern Russia, some 800 km north of Moscow. Lift-off is scheduled to take place at 14:21 UTC on Wednesday 10 September. The launcher is operated by Eurockot Launch Services, a joint venture between EADS Astrium and the Khrunichev Space Centre (Russia).

The Visual Monitoring Camera (VMC) is mounted on Mars Express, ESA's deep-space probe now orbiting the Red Planet. It originally provided simple, low-tech images of Beagle lander separation, and is now back in action as the 'Mars Webcam'.

It's not a scientific instrument, but it does provide fantastic views of Mars - including crescent views of the planet not obtainable from Earth.

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/VMC/

The Hubble Space Telescope has found the answer to a long-standing puzzle by resolving giant but delicate filaments shaped by a strong magnetic field around the active galaxy NGC 1275. It is the most striking example of the influence of these immense tentacles of extragalactic magnetic fields, say researchers.

NGC 1275 is one of the closest giant elliptical galaxies and lies at the centre of the Perseus Cluster of galaxies. It is an active galaxy, hosting a supermassive black hole at its core, which blows bubbles of radio-wave emitting material into the surrounding cluster gas. Its most spectacular feature is the lacy filigree of gaseous filaments reaching out beyond the galaxy into the multi-million degree X-ray emitting gas that fills the cluster.

On 14 August, Rosetta conducted a successful trajectory correction manoeuvre using data obtained from ESA's first-ever optical tracking of an asteroid target, (2867) Steins. Images from the spacecraft's cameras were used to calculate the asteroid's location and optimise its trajectory for fly-by next month.

Rosetta's first major correction manoeuvre in the approach phase took place while the spacecraft was just less than 17 million km from Steins. The spacecraft's thrusters burned continuously for approximately 2 minutes, starting at 11:42 UTC. This achieved a change in Rosetta's speed with respect to Steins of 12.8 cm/sec.

The following new images taken by the Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) on the Cassini spacecraft are now available:

• Beneath the Haze (Released 11 August 2008)
  Swirling clouds drift like phantoms in Saturn's murky depths.
  


• Reshaping the Craters (Released 12 August 2008)
  Craters on Enceladus tend to be modified by a couple of different processes that are visible in this view.
  


• Scattered Sunshine (Released 13 August 2008)
  Saturn's icy rings shine in scattered sunlight in this view, which looks toward the unilluminated northern side of the rings from about 15 degrees above the ringplane.
  


• Profile of Janus (Released 14 August 2008)
  This shadowy scene is one of the Cassini spacecraft's closest views of Saturn's moon Janus.
  


• F Ring Channels (Released 15 August 2008)
  A train of diagonal channels in Saturn's F ring follows behind the moon Prometheus. Each of these features was created during a previous close approach of Prometheus to the ring.

The following new images taken by the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft are now available:

• Buvinda Vallis (Released 11 August 2008)
  This VIS image shows lava flows and a portion of Buvinda Vallis, a channel located at the base of Hecates Tholus.
  


• Tempe Terra (Released 12 August 2008)
  The eastern margin of Tempe Terra is dissected by channels of many sizes, like the one at the top of this image.
  


• Big Blast (Released 13 August 2008)
  East of Jovis Tholus and in the midst of the Tharsis Volcanic field this dark, rayed spot is seen.
  


• Linear Ridges (Released 14 August 2008)
  This complex surface, with intersecting linear ridges is located to the north of Nili Fossae.
  


• Auqakuh Vallis (Released 15 August 2008)
  This VIS image shows a portion of Auqakuh Vallis.

The following new images taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft are now available:

• Fresh 5-Kilometer Diameter Rayed Crater
  The crater featured in this scene formed on top of ejecta from a nearby rampart crater, located to the north.


• Craters in Southeastern Syria Planum
  This image shows two landforms that appear similar, but are the result of two very different geologic processes.


• Cerberus Fossae Fissures
  This image shows a part of the Cerberus Fossae, a system of aligned fissures east of Elysium.


• Transverse Dunes in the Northern Lowlands
  The Vastitas Borealis region, or northern lowlands, is a large area of low-lying surface that surrounds Mars' North Pole.


• Mid-Latitude Gullies in Crater
  Based on MOC image M17-01035, the gullies visible in this southern hemisphere crater were thought to occur on top of dunes.

In commemoration of the Hubble Space Telescope completing its 100 000th orbit around the Earth in its 18th year of exploration and discovery, scientists have aimed Hubble to take a snapshot of a dazzling region of celestial birth and renewal.

During Hubble's 100 000th orbit around the Earth it peered into a small portion of the nebula near the star cluster NGC 2074 (upper, left). The region is a firestorm of raw stellar creation, perhaps triggered by a nearby supernova explosion. It lies about 170 000 light-years away near the Tarantula nebula, one of the most active star-forming regions in our Local Group of galaxies.

The following new images taken by the Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) on the Cassini spacecraft are now available:

• Dance of the Clouds (Released 4 August 2008)
  Myriad dark vortices, some large and some small, twirl in the high southern latitudes of Saturn.
  


• Cloudflow (Released 5 August 2008)
  The Cassini spacecraft observes wispy whorls and streams of clouds as they flow across the face of Saturn.
  


• Dione's Bright Streaks (Released 6 August 2008)
  Bright fractures adorn the trailing side of Saturn's moon Dione.
  


• Limb Scan (Released 7 August 2008)
  This bizarre scene shows the cloud-streaked limb of Saturn in front of the planet's B ring.
  


• Against a Hail of Stars (Released 8 August 2008)
  Tethys appears here, against a background of star trails, in a view acquired as the icy moon exited Saturn's shadow.

The following new images taken by the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft are now available:

• Northern Layers (Released 4 August 2008)
  Many regions in the northern plains show evidence of layered materials.
  


• Tharsis Lavas (Released 5 August 2008)
  The many lava flows in this VIS image are part of the extensive Tharsis volcanic complex.
  


• Melas Chasma (Released 6 August 2008)
  This VIS image shows part of the layered deposits found in Melas Chasma.
  


• Syria Planum (Released 7 August 2008)
  This image shows some of the extensive lava flows that make up Syria Planum.
  


• Dunes and Gullies (Released 8 August 2008)
  A small dune field covers the floor of this unnamed crater, while gullies are located on the interior of the western rim.