President Barack Obama will name former space shuttle commander Charles Bolden to lead NASA, the White House said on Saturday, in the midst of a major shift in the U.S. human space program. Bolden, 62, a retired Marine general, flew on four shuttle missions before leaving the U.S. space agency in 1994 to return to the military. Bolden, who would become the 12th administrator in NASA’s 51-year history and its first black head, is seen as a strong advocate for human space flight. “I think it’s good news and good for the agency,” said Frank Siezten, a Washington-based space consultant. – from AFP

President Obama yesterday nominated a former Marine aviator and space shuttle astronaut to become the new head of NASA and oversee a broad review of the agency’s ambitions for manned and robotic space exploration. Retired Maj. Gen. Charles F. Bolden Jr. will become the first African American to run the space agency if approved by the Senate. In addition to his long résumé of military and NASA experience, Bolden served more recently as chief executive of a defense and aerospace consulting firm. He briefly worked as an aerospace lobbyist. – From Washington Post

At first glance it looks like a rocky desert – but this image of the Mars landscape has got space-gazers talking. An oddly shaped space boulder appears to show eye sockets and a nose leading to speculation it might be a Martian skull. Internet forums are full of chatter about the picture, taken by a panoramic NASA camera known as Spirit. – from Telegraph

Right about now in outer space, three men are crouched in a node of the International Space Station, watching J.J. Abrams’ reboot of “Star Trek” on a laptop. They chose the node, said NASA spokeswoman Nicole Cloutier, because it was “dark and quiet” and would be “a good spot” for three “Star Trek” fans to hunker down for the ultimate viewing experience. “They just ended their crew day,” said Ms. Cloutier, “so they’re watching it now, or just finishing it up. They can go all day without seeing each other, so this is a good chance to get together.” – from NYTimes

The world-renowned Harlem Globetrotters, who have already left their indelible mark on 120 countries and six continents during their 83-year history, will now expand their historic travels to outer space.

The Globetrotters will become the first basketball team to send a ball to the Hubble Space Telescope when they launch an authentic Spalding Harlem Globetrotters ball from Kennedy Space Center in Florida today on board the space shuttle Atlantis – part of NASA’s fifth and final shuttle mission to the Hubble.

The team’s signature red, white and blue ball, a Globetrotters’ staple since 1985, will accompany the seven-member Atlantis crew on their 11-day mission to service the 19-year-old observatory, which orbits 350 miles above Earth.

“It is only fitting that the team that has seen more of the world than any other in history would have a presence beyond the stratosphere,” stated Globetrotters CEO Kurt Schneider. “This Globetrotters basketball will serve as an intergalactic symbol of accomplishment.”

NASA has taken pieces of historical and pop culture significance on an array of voyages in their 50-plus-year history. The Wright Flyer got only a few feet off the ground during its maiden flight in 1903, but wood and fabric from the Flyer was carried to the moon 66 years later by Apollo 11. A lightsaber prop used by Mark Hamill in his role as Luke Skywalker in “Return of the Jedi” was taken on Discovery’s trip to the International Space Station in 2007. And, of course, there are the two golf balls that astronaut Alan Shepard carried to the moon on Apollo 14 in 1971 and hit with a makeshift club.

Upon its return from space, the Globetrotter basketball will be placed in the team’s exhibit at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, where the Globetrotters are one of only six teams ever to be inducted.

The Harlem Globetrotters will soon have a presence in space. On board shuttle Atlantis when it lifts off Monday on a repair mission to the Hubble Space Telescope will be a pair of basketballs. One belongs to the Globetrotters. The other, on loan from the University of Chicago, was once handled by Edwin Hubble, the astronomer for whom the telescope is named. Astronaut John Grunsfeld, an alumnus, is taking it up. Hubble tossed the ball around in a 1909 victory against Indiana University. Hubble was a star forward on the University of Chicago’s Big Ten champion teams of 1907-1908 and 1908-1909. – from MSNBC

In a dramatic series of spacewalks in 1993, astronauts fitted Hubble with corrective lenses, restoring its vision and NASA’s pride. In the years since, astronauts have visited three more times, improving the telescope’s capability and cosmic reach by yanking old instruments, putting in new ones and performing other tasks — many of which were not originally meant to be performed by astronauts wearing the equivalent of boxing gloves. – from NYtimes

The space shuttle Discovery lifted off Sunday evening on a mission to the international space station, where Discovery will deliver supplies needed to expand the station’s crew to six people. The shuttle launched at 7:43 p.m. Sunday, after NASA engineers repaired a leaky gas line. The hydrogen leak caused the cancellation of Wednesday’s planned launch. Lead shuttle flight director Mike Moses said repairs on the hydrogen gas vent line went smoothly. The line funnels flammable hydrogen away from the launch pad so it does not present a fire risk during takeoff. – From CNN

A rocket carrying a NASA global warming satellite landed in the ocean near Antarctica after an early morning launch failure Tuesday.

Perhaps global warming caused the crash?

A NASA satellite designed to track carbon dioxide emissions failed to reach orbit and landed in the ocean early Tuesday in a mishap that could jeopardize its mission to better understand climate change. The Taurus XL rocket carrying the Orbiting Carbon Observatory blasted off as planned at 1:55 a.m. PST (4:55 EST) from Vandenberg Air Force Base on California’s Central Coast. Several minutes into the flight, launch managers declared a “contingency plan” after the payload fairing failed to separate from the launch vehicle. The fairing protects the spacecraft as the launch vehicle flies through the atmosphere. – From MSNBC

The U.S. government’s first attempt to map carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere from space ended early on Tuesday after a botched satellite launch from California, officials said. The $278 million (192 million pounds) Orbiting Carbon Observatory blasted off aboard an unmanned Taurus rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 4:55 a.m. EST (9:55 a.m. British time), headed for an orbital perch about 400 miles (645 km) above the poles. – From Reuters