Scientists continue to find fragments of the biggest meteorite to hit Earth since 1908. Both impacts amazingly occured in Siberia. The latest happening on September the 25th last year.

Scientists have been looking for "ground zero" And have found a zone of some 40 square miles of flattened tree's. Tremors were felt 60 miles away in this remote region of the Earth. The space rock exploded before it hit our planet, so technicaly it is not an impact site. However, if this occurance had happened over London for example and not remote Siberia. The UK would no longer have a capital city. Just as nuclear missiles are designed to detonate above ground level. A meteorite can often cause more widespread damage doing the same. As was the case here.

I wonder why this amazing story has not been widely reported on, and covered more fully? maybe we're being kept in blissful ignorance of such invaders from space?

----------------------------------------------------------------------- Space Station Mystery!

NASA is trying to identify a small object seen floating outside the International Space Station. Astronaut Ed Lu spotted the object outside the window of the U.S. laboratory and took pictures of it.

"He described it as a rectangular-shaped piece of metal about 5 centimeters long," NASA spokeswoman Kylie Moritz said at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Ground controllers are analyzing Lu's photos but don't yet have enough information about the object's direction of travel to determine where it came from. Based on the objects apparent small mass it would be unlikely to seriously damage the station.

There were no immediate plans to use the station's robot arm to inspect the station's surfaces. And the most likely explanation is a metal label from a Russian supply craft which docked sometime before the sighting.

----------------------------------------------------------------------- Solar Probe crisis. The Sun-observing SOHO spacecraft is experiencing a serious problem that reduces its ability to transmit data to Earth and could threaten its mission.

The craft's high-gain antenna does not move properly. In an internal NASA memo an official warned scientists to prepare for up to six weeks without images and data from the probe.

SOHO is a valuable tool for warning against extreme space weather i.e Solar flares. Which can cause massive disruption to communications on Earth and can damage sophisticated electrical componants onboard satelites in orbit. As well as expandinding Earths atmosphere, and creating drag on spacecraft. Such drag brought about the demise of NASA's "Skylab" space station in the 1970's. The international space station would be warned via SOHO and its orbit increased in altitude to avoid potential disaster. So any period without the Solar probe is a frustrating one indeed.

----------------------------------------------------------------------- Summer on Mars

Mars is very much in everybodies minds right now within the space community. This summer will see the planets at its closest to Earth in 80 years. And its about as close as it will ever get this August. Meaning this summer is the time to get along to your local astronomical society and grab a free look at the surface of another world!!! Members will be happy to help you see our neighbour in space.

Meanwhile the armada of space craft leaving Earth bound for mars increases. With Japanese, European, British and NASA craft all heading for a christmas rendevous with the Red planet.