NASA rover finds methane, organic chemicals on Mars.
European Space Agency spaceship Rosetta lands on a comet moving at a rate of 44,000 miles per hour and over 300 million miles from Earth. European comet lander Philae 'sniffed' organic molecules containing the carbon element that is the basis of life on Earth before its primary battery ran out and it shut down, German scientists said.
Mid September India's Mars Orbiter Mission successfully entered Mars' orbit, becoming the first nation to arrive on its first attempt and the first Asian country to reach the Red Planet.
The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space has taken a step toward combating the asteroid threat. A special U.N. action team on near-Earth objects (NEOs) has recommended the creation of an International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN), which is designed to gather and analyze NEO data and provide timely warnings to national authorities if a potentially hazardous NEO were to threaten Earth.
Rosetta launched in 2004 and arrives at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on 6 August. It is the first mission in history to rendezvous with a comet, escort it as it orbits the Sun, and deploy a lander to its surface. Rosetta is an ESA mission with contributions from its member states and NASA. Rosetta's Philae lander is provided by a consortium led by DLR, MPS, CNES and ASI.