HOUSTON — NASA’s plans to send astronauts to an asteroid by 2025 moved 10 days closer to being a reality this week, even though the target of that mission has yet to be found in space.

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NASA Simulates Asteroid Mission for Potential 2025 Flight

Neil Armstrong believed NASAs slashed budgets would diminish Americas lead in space, but private industries are already taking up the baton and sprinting with it.

One of my heroes died last weekend.

Neil Armstrongs passing shook me have we really been lunar for so long? but what disturbs me even more is how negatively he and several other prominent astronauts regard private spaceflight visionaries like Elon Musk, Richard Branson and Bob Richards. While frowned upon by yesterdays heroes, these fledgling entrepreneurs hold the greatest hope for future spacefarers and moonwalkers.

After NASA suffered severe budget cuts in 2010, Armstrong voiced his opposition, casting doubt on the ability of private ventures to successfully take to the stars. In a letter that didnt receive nearly as much attention as it should have, Armstrong, along with James Lovell and Eugene Cernan Apollo 13s commander and the last man on the moon, respectively suggested that the death of the government shuttle program and the rise of privatized space flight could spell an end to U.S. dominance in the wild black yonder.

I support the encouragement of the newcomers toward their goal of lower-cost access to space, Armstrong told Congress in 2010. But having cut my teeth in rockets more than 50 years ago, I am not confident.

Are Neil and his cohorts correct? Does an increasing reliance on commercial shuttles leave the United States on a long downhill slide to mediocrity?

Actually, increasing the role of private spaceflight ventures should only enhance Americas dominance in the sky and like it or not, the NASA of the past is not the NASA of the future.

With all due respect to Armstrong, Powell and Cernan, relying on the government to propel humankind into space carries too much uncertainty. After America won the space race, enthusiasm seemed to fizzle out; Cernans final journey to the moon took place all the way back in 1972. That was a full 40 years ago. Four. Zero.

Exploring the final frontier simply isnt a high priority for politicians in a time when economic uncertainty runs rampant and unemployment rates remain floating at high levels. Thats not to say that NASA should be neglected, but its budget ebbs and flows with the public whim. NASAs funds have been (mostly) shrinking since the 1960s and currently stand at around 0.05 percent of the overall Federal budget. Taking inflation into account, the agencys 2012 budget is only half of what it was in Apollos heyday.

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NASA vs. the free market: Which is better for American space dominance?

Living up to its name, NASA's WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) telescope has uncovered millions of black holes and extreme galaxies across the universe.

Recently released images from the telescope reveal millions of dusty black hole candidates, as well as about 1,000 even dustier objects, which scientists believe are among the brightest galaxies ever discovered, and which have appropriately been nicknamed "hot DOGs," or dust-obscured galaxies.

"WISE has exposed a menagerie of hidden objects," WISE program scientist Hashima Hasan said in a statement. "We've found an asteroid dancing ahead of Earth in its orbit, the coldest star-like orbs known and now, supermassive black hole galaxies hiding behind cloaks of dust."

Last year, the telescope put on its night-vision goggles to twice scan the entire sky with infrared light, capturing millions of images that allowed scientists to dig around for new discoveries.

Black holes had better watch their backs, said Daniel Stern, lead author of the WISE black hole study and member of NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab. By combining projects, the WISE telescope can find the monstrous black holes, while the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) provides a new look at their high-energy X-ray light, Stern said.

NASA launched the black-hole hunting NuSTAR in mid-June, which sported a telescope that can see the hottest, densest, most energetic objects, Fiona Harrison, NuSTAR principal investigator at the California Institute of Technology, said in June.

In one case, NASA's device helped astronomers identify about 2.5 million actively feeding supermassive black holes, reaching more than 10 billion light-years away, the space association said in a news release. Generally, dust blocks the objects' visible light, NASA said, but WISE sees their warm dust glowing in infrared light.

One of the main goals of the WISE mission was met when scientists reported finding what they believed were among the brightest galaxies ever known. Despite emitting more than 100 trillion times as much light as the sun, NASA said the DOGs are so dusty that they appear only in the longest wavelengths of infrared captured by WISE.

In this case, the galaxies' eggs may have come before the chickens, WISE project scientist at JPL Peter Eisenhardt said. The lead author of a paper on the first of the DOGs, Eisenhardt said there may be evidence to prove that the galaxies formed their black holes before most of their stars.

"We may be seeing a new, rare phase in the evolution of galaxies," JPL's Jingwen Wu said in a statement.

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NASA's WISE Telescope Discovers Millions of Black Holes

Its been a busy seven days in the world of space capsule testing, with both Boeing and NASA taking steps towards the eventual first missions of their CST-100 and Orion spacecraft. NASAs Orion program managed to test phases of the reentry process with a water impact and parachute test of the capsule designed for taking humans beyond earth orbit for the first time since the Apollo era.

Orion is expected to make its first test flight in 2014 with an unmanned mission to a point 3,600 miles from Earth. The test flight will take the capsule about 15 times further out than the International Space Station and is designed to test the heat shield and parachutes at reentry speeds similar to what the capsule will experience after returning from deep space.

The recent water impact test was of an 18,000 pound version of the Orion capsule being used specifically for testing. The spacecraft is dropped into water at different angles from whats essentially a giant swing set at the Langley Water Impact Basin, which has been used for decades for this kind of testing.

Orion will be dropped from different trajectories and different heights to simulate the many ways it may hit the ocean, including a straight impact as well as a sideways velocity that could be experienced if it were swinging underneath the parachutes during the descent.

In the most recent tests Orion impacted the water both with a side angle trajectory and a classic belly flop, straight in the pool.

While one Orion test article was busy practicing its dives, another was high over the desert being pushed out ofa C-130 Hercules to test the parachutes. Its actually less of a capsule and more of a dart-shaped design engineered to be the same basic weight as the Orion to test the drogue, pilot and main parachutes of the Orion re-entry system.

After the smaller drogue and pilot parachutes deploy at 20,000 feet, three main chutes each 116 feet in diameter are deployed to provide the familiar ride back to Earth seen in many spaceflights dating back to the Mercury missions.

In the meantime, Boeing completed a jettison test of its forward heat shield that will protect the parachutes of its CST-100 spacecraft during reentry. The CST-100 is part of NASAs program to use commercial space transportation for future manned missions to low earth orbit.

The jettison testing of the heat shield is a small early step in the development of a complete spacecraft from Boeing capable of carrying humans to the International Space Station and elsewhere in earth orbit.

Boeing is one of three companies, along with SpaceX and Sierra Nevada Corporation, developing spacecraft with funding help from NASA capable of carrying humans into orbit.

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NASA and Boeing Busy Testing Next Generation Space Capsules

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- Twin satellites rocketed into orbit Thursday on a quest to explore Earth's treacherous radiation belts and protect the planet from solar outbursts.

NASA launched the science probes before dawn, sending them skyward aboard an unmanned rocket.

"They're now at home in the Van Allen belts where they belong," said Nicola Fox, the deputy project scientist for the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

It's the first time two spacecraft are flying in tandem amid the punishing radiation belts of Earth, brimming with highly charged particles capable of wrecking satellites.

These new satellites shielded with thick aluminum are designed to withstand an onslaught of cosmic rays for the next two years.

"We're going to a place that other missions try to avoid and we need to live there for two years. That's one of our biggest challenges," said Richard Fitzgerald, project manager for Johns Hopkins.

Fitzgerald wore a black tuxedo for the big event, "my good-luck tux." It's the same suit he wore for the launch of another set of twin science satellites that still are going strong after 10 years. "I'm hoping for the same" with these Radiation Belt Storm Probes, he said.

The Johns Hopkins lab built the radiation belt probes for NASA, and is operating them from Maryland following a week of launch delays.

Scientists expect the $686 million mission to shed light on how the sun affects the Van Allen radiation belts, named after the astrophysicist who discovered them a half-century ago.

Earth's two doughnut-shaped radiation belts stretch thousands of miles into space; these inner and outer belts are full of high-energy particles from the sun and elsewhere in the cosmos, trapped by Earth's magnetic field.

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NASA launches twin satellites to radiation belts

(SPACE.com) NASA's Cassini probe has beamed home stunning images of Saturn and Titan, the ringed planet's largest moon.

The new natural-color Cassini photos, which were unveiled Wednesday (Aug. 29), capture the Saturn system as it undergoes a seasonal shift. The ringed planet and its many moons look quite different today than they did when Cassini arrived on the scene eight years ago, researchers said.

"As the seasons have advanced, and spring has come to the north and autumn to the south throughout the Saturn system, the azure blue in the northern winter Saturnian hemisphere that greeted Cassini upon its arrival in 2004 is now fading; and it is now the southern hemisphere, in its approach to winter, that is taking on a bluish hue," Cassini imaging team leader Carolyn Porco, of the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo., said in a statement.

"This change is likely due to the reduced intensity of ultraviolet light and the haze it produces in the hemisphere approaching winter, and the increasing intensity of ultraviolet light and haze production in the hemisphere approaching summer," Porco added. [More Spectacular Photos of Saturn by Cassini]

NASA's Cassini spacecraft looks toward the night side of Saturn's moon Titan and sees sunlight scattering its atmosphere, forming a colorful ring. The images were acquired on June 6, 2012, when Cassini was about 134,000 miles from Titan.

Another photo shows Titan's south polar vortex -- an odd mass of swirling gas that Cassini noticed earlier this year -- in clear and dramatic detail. The formation of the vortex is likely related to the seasonal changes occurring on Saturn, Titan and its other moons, scientists have said.

The south polar vortex of Saturn's moon Titan stands out in this natural-color view from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, snapped on July 25, 2012.

Cassini launched in 1997 and has been studying Saturn and its rings and moons since it arrived in orbit around the planet in 2004. Cassini's primary mission ended in 2008, but the probe's activities have been extended twice, most recently through 2017.

NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency have worked together on the mission over the years.

Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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NASA snaps stunning shots of Saturn and Titan

NASA's Cassini probe has beamed home stunning images of Saturn and Titan, the ringed planet's largest moon.

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Spectacular Photos of Saturn and Titan Captured by NASA Spacecraft

NASA launched two satellites into space on Thursday to explore the belts of radioactive particles orbiting the Earth, in a mission that is the first of its kind.

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NASA launches mission to explore radiation belts

Astronomers with NASA's Kepler mission have discovered a star system with multiple planets orbiting two stars.

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NASA Finds Multiple Planets Circling Binary Star System

ScienceDaily (Aug. 30, 2012) NASA's Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP), the first twin-spacecraft mission designed to explore our planet's radiation belts, launched into the predawn skies at 4:05 a.m. EDT Thursday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

"Scientists will learn in unprecedented detail how the radiation belts are populated with charged particles, what causes them to change and how these processes affect the upper reaches of the atmosphere around Earth," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate at Headquarters in Washington. "The information collected from these probes will benefit the public by allowing us to better protect our satellites and understand how space weather affects communications and technology on Earth."

The two satellites, each weighing just less than 1,500 pounds, comprise the first dual-spacecraft mission specifically created to investigate this hazardous regions of near-Earth space, known as the radiation belts. These two belts, named for their discoverer, James Van Allen, encircle the planet and are filled with highly charged particles. The belts are affected by solar storms and coronal mass ejections and sometimes swell dramatically. When this occurs, they can pose dangers to communications, GPS satellites and human spaceflight.

"We have never before sent such comprehensive and high-quality instruments to study high radiation regions of space," said Barry Mauk, RBSP project scientist at the Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md. "RBSP was crafted to help us learn more about, and ultimately predict, the response of the radiation belts to solar inputs."

The hardy RBSP satellites will spend the next 2 years looping through every part of both Van Allen belts. By having two spacecraft in different regions of the belts at the same time, scientists finally will be able to gather data from within the belts themselves, learning how they change over space and time. Designers fortified RBSP with special protective plating and rugged electronics to operate and survive within this punishing region of space that other spacecraft avoid. In addition, a space weather broadcast will transmit selected data from those instruments around the clock, giving researchers a check on current conditions near Earth.

"The excitement of seeing the spacecraft in orbit and beginning to perform science measurements is like no other thrill," said Richard Fitzgerald, RBSP project manager at APL. "The entire RBSP team, from across every organization, worked together to produce an amazing pair of spacecraft."

RBSP was lifted into orbit aboard an Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex-41, as the rocket's plume lit the dark skies over the Florida coast. The first RBSP spacecraft is scheduled to separate from the Atlas rocket's Centaur booster 1 hour, 18 minutes, 52 seconds after launch. The second RBSP spacecraft is set to follow 12 minutes, 14 seconds later. Mission controllers using APL's 60-foot satellite dish will establish radio contact with each probe immediately after separation.

During the next 60 days, operators will power up all flight systems and science instruments and deploy long antenna booms, two of which are more than 54 yards long. Data about the particles that swirl through the belts, and the fields and waves that transport them, will be gathered by five instrument suites designed and operated by teams at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark; the University of Iowa in Iowa City; University of Minnesota in Minneapolis; and the University of New Hampshire in Durham; and the National Reconnaissance Office in Chantilly, Va. The data will be analyzed by scientists across the nation almost immediately.

RBSP is the second mission in NASA's Living With a Star (LWS) program to explore aspects of the connected sun-Earth system that directly affect life and society. LWS is managed by the agency's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. APL built the RBSP spacecraft and will manage the mission for NASA. NASA's Launch Services Program at Kennedy is responsible for launch management. United Launch Alliance provided the Atlas V launch service.

For more information about NASA's RBSP mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/rbsp

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NASA launches radiation belt storm probes mission

NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey telescope has spotted millions of 'supermassive' black holes gorging on matter, says the space agency.

A jackpot of previously unknown black holes across the universe has been discovered by the infrared eyes of a prolific NASA sky-mapping telescope.

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The cosmic find comes from data collected by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey (WISE) telescope, which scanned the entire sky in infrared light from December 2009 to February 2011. The full catalog of observations byWISEduring its mission was publicly released in March, and astronomers are still poring through this celestrial trove for discoveries.

"WISE has found a bonanza ofblack holesin the universe," astronomer Daniel Stern of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., said during a news briefing today (Aug. 29). WISE turned up about three times as manyblack holesas have been found by comparable surveys in visible light, offering up a total of 2.5 million new sources across the sky.

These black holes aren't the average tiny, dense objects created by the collapse of dead stars, but rather humongous "supermassive" black holes that have been caught feasting on matter falling into them. Such active black holes are known as quasars, and are some of the brightest objects in the universe, because of light released by the infalling matter. [Photos: Millions of Black Holes Seen by WISE Telescope]

"We expected that there should be this large population of hidden quasars in the universe, but WISE can now identify them across the sky," Stern said. "We think these quasars are really important for shaping how galaxies look today."

In addition to this haul of gorging black holes, WISE has turned up a smaller population of rarer objects researchers are dubbing "hot DOGs," for hot, dust-obscured galaxies.

These galaxies are thought to be extremely bright, but appear very faint to us because their light is shrouded by dust.

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NASA telescope detects 'bonanza' of humongous black holes

Twin satellites rocketed into orbit Thursday on a quest to explore Earth's treacherous radiation belts and protect the planet from solar outbursts.

NASA launched the science probes before dawn, sending them skyward aboard an unmanned rocket.

"They're now at home in the Van Allen belts where they belong," said Nicola Fox, the deputy project scientist for the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

It's the first time two spacecraft are flying in tandem amid the punishing radiation belts of Earth, brimming with highly charged particles capable of wrecking satellites.

These new satellites shielded with thick aluminum are designed to withstand an onslaught of cosmic rays for the next two years.

"We're going to a place that other missions try to avoid and we need to live there for two years. That's one of our biggest challenges," said Richard Fitzgerald, project manager for Johns Hopkins.

Fitzgerald wore a black tuxedo for the big event, "my good-luck tux." It's the same suit he wore for the launch of another set of twin science satellites that still are going strong after 10 years. "I'm hoping for the same" with these Radiation Belt Storm Probes, he said.

The Johns Hopkins lab built the radiation belt probes for NASA, and is operating them from Maryland following a week of launch delays.

AP

Scientists expect the $686 million mission to shed light on how the sun affects the Van Allen radiation belts, named after the astrophysicist who discovered them a half-century ago.

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NASA Launches Twin Satellites

NASA transmitted the first song to be broadcast from Mars on Tuesday, by Grammy-winning US musician will.i.am, as part of efforts to inspire young people to get interested in science.

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NASA teams up with will.i.am to beam first song from Mars

A NASA satellite captured a spectacular photo of what is now Hurricane Isaac from space, a nighttime view showing the then-tropical storm's clouds lit up by moonlight as it approached the U.S. Gulf Coast.

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NASA Captures Amazing View of Tropical Storm Isaac at Night (Photos)

An unmanned rocket turned night into day early Thursday as two heavily armored NASA spacecraft were launched into orbit to study Earth's harsh radiation belts, after a week of delays.

The twin Radiation Belt Storm Probes launched at 4:05 a.m. ET from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, soaring into space atop an unmanned United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. The liftoff had been planned for Aug. 23, but it was pushed back two days due to technical glitches, and then another five days to avoid foul weather from Tropical Storm Isaac.

"It was a wonderful event, a very smooth countdown," NASA launch manager Tim Dunn said after the launch, adding that the Atlas 5 gave NASA's newest science satellites "a great ride."

"We're all thrilled. Just excited as can be," Dunn added.

After a 60-day commissioning period on orbit, the radiation-tracking spacecraft will begin the science phase of their two-year mission, which aims to help scientists understand how Earth's two doughnut-shaped Van Allen radiation belts affect our planet's space weather.

Such information could have considerable practical applications, researchers said, since extreme space weather can knock out satellites and disrupt GPS signals, radio communications and power grids.

"RBSP will be able to predict the extremes and the dynamic conditions of space weather," Mona Kessel, program scientist for the $686 million mission at NASA Headquarters in Washington, told reporters during a prelaunch briefing on Aug. 20. [Launch Photos: NASA's Radiation Probes Blast Off]

Mysterious radiation belts The twin solar-powered probes will ply the Van Allen belts, where trillions of high-energy charged particles from the sun have been trapped by Earth's magnetic field. These fast-moving particles can damage satellites and potentially pose a threat to orbiting astronauts.

To deal with this harsh radiation environment, critical components on each RBSP spacecraft are shielded by 0.33 inches (8.5 millimeters) of aluminum.

The inner Van Allen belt usually extends from the top of Earth's atmosphere to about 4,000 miles up (6,437 kilometers), while the outer one runs from around 8,000 to more than 26,000 miles above our planet (12,874 to 41,842 kilometers). The belts are dynamic, however, and can expand greatly during solar storms.

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NASA launches probes to study radiation belts

Mars rover: NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has beamed home some extraordinary images of Mount Sharp, the three-mile-high mountain near the rover's landing site. Curiosity has also sent back a greeting from NASA administrator Charles Bolden, the first human voice ever to be broadcast from another planet.

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has beamed home the first human voice ever sent from another planet, as well as some spectacular new images of its Martian environs.

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The 1-tonCuriosity roverbroadcast a greeting from NASA administrator Charlie Bolden, who congratulated the mission team for getting the huge robot to Mars safely. While the significance of the audio accomplishment is largely symbolic, NASA officials hope it presages a more substantial human presence on the Red Planet down the road.

"With this, we have another small step that's being taken in extending the human presence beyond Earth, and actually bringing that experience of exploring the planets back a little closer to all of us," said Curiosity program executive Dave Lavery, invoking the famous linelate astronaut Neil Armstronguttered from the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969.

"As Curiosity continues her mission, we hope the words of the administrator will be an inspiration to someone who's alive today, who will become the first to stand upon the surface of the planetMars," Lavery told reporters today (Aug. 27). "Like the great Neil Armstrong, they'll be able to speak aloud in first person at that point of the next giant leap in human exploration."

The mission team also unveiled today a stunning 360-degree panorama of Curiosity's Gale Crater landing site, showing in crisp detail some of the landforms scientists want the six-wheeled robot to explore. [Video: Curiosity's Martian Panorama]

Curiosity touched downinside Mars' huge Gale Crater on the night of Aug. 5, tasked with determining whether the Red Planet could ever have supported microbial life.

For the next two years, Curiosity is slated to explore Gale and the crater's 3.4-mile-high (5.5 kilometers) central peak, the mysteriousMount Sharp. The $2.5 billion rover is outfitted with 10 different science instruments to aid its quest, including a rock-zapping laser and gear that can identify organic compounds the carbon-containing building blocks of life as we know it.

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Mars rover beams back spectacular photos, NASA greeting

Broadcast from NASA's Curiosity rover, 'Reach for the Stars,' by rapper will.i.am, is the first human song ever played from Mars.

The first song ever played from Mars was broadcast today (Aug. 28) from NASA's Curiosity rover on the Red Planet.

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The concert represented the world premiere of the appropriately named song "Reach for the Stars," by rapper and songwriter will.i.am. It was beamed via radio signal about 150 million miles (241 million km) back to Earth from Curiosity's landing spot on Mars' Gale Crater at 1 p.m. PDT (4 p.m. EDT).

"The point of the song is to remind people that anything is possible if you discipline yourself and dedicate yourself and stand for something," the musician said today from Curiosity's mission control center at NASA'sJet Propulsion Laboratory(JPL) in Pasadena, Calif.

The music arrived there during an educational event held for students from the Los Angeles neighborhood where will.i.am grew up.

"There's no words to explain how amazing this is," will.i.am. said. "These kids here are from Boyle Heights, the same neighborhood I'm from. We don't have to just end up in the 'hood. But it's a hard thing. The hardest thing is discipline."

Students and rocket scientists alike bobbed their heads and clapped as the song's strains came back to Earth.

"Why do they say the sky is the limit When I've seen footprints on the moon And I know the sky may be high But baby it ain't really that high And I know that Mars might be far But baby it ain't really that far Let's reach for the stars"

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NASA's Mars rover beams will.i.am song back to Earth

PASADENA, Calif., Aug. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Earlier today during an education program hosted by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), 53 high school students from the i.am College Track Center in Boyle Heights/East Los Angeles, VIP guests and NASA and JPL officials, and Curiosity mission members paid tribute to the legacy of Astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the Moon. During the event, the group also celebrated the successful delivery of the world's first song from The Red Planet, Mars, back to Earth.

Concurrently, will.i.am's i.am.angel Foundation and Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital resources to K-12 classrooms proven to impact student achievement, announced a groundbreaking youth engagement initiative to bring STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) education to life for millions of students nationwide. The program, i.am.STEAM, which features NASA assets such as the Mars Curiosity Rover, is designed to inspire and cultivate the next generation of problem-solvers and innovators. The program will be made possible by the financial contributions of the i.am.angel Foundation and its partners, and will be executed by Discovery Education.

"Reach For The Stars (Mars Edition)," an original composition by musician and philanthropist will.i.am, traveled hundreds of millionsof miles roundtrip to Mars and back to Earth. NASA scientists and engineers explained the technical process by which the song was placed on the Mars Science Lab Curiosity rover, now on Mars, and then brought back to Earth.

Designed to inspire young people everywhere to reach for their dreams and to embrace STEAM education and careers in the field, will.i.am composed and produced "Reach For The Stars (Mars Edition)", which included two youth choirs who joined him in the studio, and includes additional vocals by recording artist Lil Jon. The school choirs included the Oasis Academy Hadley School Gospel Choir in Northeast London (Enfield, UK) and the Southfields Academy Choir in Southwest London (near Wimbledon, UK). Both the Oasis Academy Hadley School and the Southfields Academy schools offer STEM-focused curriculum. Young people from the Agape International Center Children's Choir also participated in studio rehearsals with will.i.am in Los Angeles. Recording took place at the Record Plant in Los Angeles and Metropolis Studios in London.

"Today is about inspiring young people to lead a life without limits placed on their potential and to pursue collaboration between humanity and technology through STEAM education. I know my purpose is to inspire young people, because they will keep inspiring me back," said will.i.am.

"In 1969, when Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon, he inspired a generation.It is still all about inspiration. I want to thank everyone who believes that and is working with NASA education to spread the message that a brighter tomorrow begins by inspiring dreamers, creators and explorers today," said Leland Melvin, Astronaut and Associate Administrator for Education at NASA.

"Discovery has a 25-year commitment to education and igniting peoples' curiosity, rooted in our very DNA. The foundation's goals around STEAM education are in perfect synch with Discovery Education's experience, solutions, tools and resources to drive interest and excellence in STEAM subjects and eventually, careers," said Bill Goodwyn, CEO, Discovery Education. "We are thrilled to partner with the i.am.angel foundation and will.i.am on this groundbreaking initiative and together, prepare the next generation of STEAM leaders."

Program speakers included: Charles Bolden, NASA Administrator (via video message); Adam Steltzner, JPL lead engineer for entry, descent and landing of the Curiosity rover; Mike Meyer, Lead Scientist, Mars Exploration Program; Leland Melvin, Astronaut and Associate Administrator for Education at NASA; will.i.am, musician, philanthropist and STEM education advocate; Bill Goodwyn, CEO of Discovery Education.

Prior to the official program remarks that were televised on NASA TV (www.nasa.gov/ntv), the 53 students from the inaugural i.am College Track Boyle Heights Center and teachers from Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights, CA participated in a guided tour of the JPL campus, viewing model rover spacecraft and learned about STEM careers from NASA and JPL scientists and engineers. Students and teachers also discussed the educational coursework requirements and high school and college internships available at NASA and JPL.

"Reach For The Stars (Mars Edition)" is now available at iTunes http://smarturl.it/RFTSMars

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NASA and will.i.am Bring Music Back From Mars: Curiosity Rover Successfully Delivers First Music and Song "Reach For ...

NASA transmitted the first song to be broadcast from Mars on Tuesday, by Grammy-winning US musician will.i.am, as part of efforts to inspire young people to get interested in science.

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Planet pop: NASA beams first song from Mars

NASA's now on-duty Mars rover, Curiosity, is on the hunt to judge whether the Red Planet ever had an environment capable of supporting microbial life.

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Does NASA's Curiosity Rover Have the Smarts to Find Life on Mars?