[Thursday, July 6, 2006] For the first time, NASA scientists using space-based measurements have directly monitored and measured the complete cycle of water movement for an entire continent.

[Friday, July 7, 2006] A significant milestone has just been reached in the MetOp launch campaign as the delicate task of mating the spacecraft and the Fregat upper-stage engine was successfully carried out.

[Sunday, July 9, 2006] NASA will test concepts for future space exploration next month by sending three astronauts and an oceanographer on a mission to an underwater laboratory off the coast of Florida.

[Tuesday, July 11, 2006] MetOp-A, the first member of a new family of European satellites designed to monitor the Earth’s atmosphere from low Earth orbit, is to be launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on 17 July.

[Tuesday, July 11, 2006] NOAA accounts for about half of the Department of Commerce's (Commerce) acquisition spending, over $851 million in fiscal year 2005 alone. In recent years however, NOAA has experienced instances of poor contract management.

[Wednesday, July 12, 2006] Nukuoro Atoll, Federated States of Micronesia is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 13 crewmember on the International Space Station.

[Wednesday, July 12, 2006] The Solar X-ray Imager (SXI) instrument, designed and built by Lockheed Martin at its Space Systems Advanced Technology Center (ATC) has produced its first image.

[Thursday, July 13, 2006] When the Earth formed 4.6 billion years ago, it was a red-hot molten sphere and pulverized by meteors. In other words, not the sort of place you'd want to raise kids. In fact, Earth was hostile to life for almost a billion years after its formation.

[Thursday, July 13, 2006] NASA scientists have determined the formation of clouds is affected by the lightness or darkness of air pollution particles. This also impacts Earth's climate.

[Saturday, July 15, 2006] ALOS captured this image over Cardiff on 15 June with its Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometer type-2 instrument, which is designed to chart land cover and vegetation in visible and near infrared spectral bands, with a resolution of 10 metres.

[Saturday, July 15, 2006] The Alps could lose 80% of their glacier cover by the end of this century, if summer air temperatures rise by three degrees C. And if temperatures increase by five degrees C, the Alps would become almost completely ice-free by 2100.

[Saturday, July 15, 2006] An team of scientists will explore the seafloor near Papua New Guinea later this month with remotely operated and autonomous underwater vehicles, investigating hydrothermal vents and the formation of mineral deposits.

[Sunday, July 23, 2006] Scientists from 60 countries will be conducting research during International Polar Year 2007-2008. For the first time during an International Polar Year, they will be armed with satellite measurements.

[Sunday, July 23, 2006] Gas escaping from the ocean floor may provide some answers to understanding historical global warming cycles and provide information on current climate changes.

[Monday, July 24, 2006] Researchers running computer simulations for four nearby systems that contain giant planets about the size of Jupiter have found one that could have formed an Earth-like planet with the right conditions to support life.

[Monday, July 24, 2006] The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation spacecraft known as CALIPSO is returning never-before-seen images of clouds and aerosols, tiny particles suspended in the air.

[Tuesday, July 25, 2006] NASA-funded researchers have identified a possible cause of giant bubbles that often form above the equator in the electrically charged upper atmosphere.

[Tuesday, July 25, 2006] "We ended up spending a good amount of time going over our timeline and choreography for the mission. In comparison to Space Shuttle training, which normally lasts a year after crew assignment, our two weeks of training was rather abbreviated."

[Tuesday, July 25, 2006] "The first order of business for all Aquarius aquanauts is a full safety and familiarization tour. We learned the habitat's important valves, switches (red shunt trip breaker) and procedures."

[Tuesday, July 25, 2006] "Today at 10:21 am Koichi Wakata, Karen Kohanowich, Karen Nyberg, and Drew Feustel joined an elite group of people in this world who have spent 24 hours under the sea in "saturation", making them the world's 4 newest aquanauts."

[Wednesday, July 26, 2006] "We envision that one of the first tasks for a crew returning to the Moon to live will be to survey and map the immediate area around their new home."

[Wednesday, July 26, 2006] A team of international researchers using NASA satellite images compiled an updated inventory of all "marine protected areas" containing coral reefs and compared it with the most detailed and comprehensive satellite inventory of coral reefs.

[Wednesday, July 26, 2006] Scientists from NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, universities and international agencies will study how winds and dust conditions from Africa influence the birth of hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean.

[Thursday, July 27, 2006] Evidence of atomic nitrogen in interstellar gas clouds suggests that pre-life molecules may be present in comets, a discovery that gives a clue about the early conditions that gave rise to life.

[Thursday, July 27, 2006] A chronological study of extraterrestrial dust in Antarctic ice has shown that this amount has remained constant over the past 30,000 years, a finding that could help refine efforts to understand the effects of changes in the Earth's past climate.

[Thursday, July 27, 2006] The remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) on this NEEMO mission performs the role of the robot. It can be a surface rover, or a free flyer (resembling the end of a robotic arm.) It can be controlled by the control center in Houston, or the in situ crew.

[Thursday, July 27, 2006] The aquanauts took advantage of an extra hour of sleep and then got ready for their last dive of the mission. For K2 and Drew, it was also the longest at four hours. The dive started a little late because of helmet communications problems.

[Monday, July 31, 2006] Four university teams will provide experiments and supporting hardware for a future NASA mission to study near-Earth space radiation. This type of radiation is hazardous to astronauts, orbiting satellites and aircraft flying high altitude polar routes.