March 2014

Infrared image of the comet C/2014 C3 (NEOWISE) (Image NASA/JPL-Caltech)

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The NEOWISE (Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) Space Telescope discovered his first comet after starting its new mission last year. On February 14, 2014, during one of its scans of space in search of objects that can cross the Earth’s orbit, it found a comet, which has been designated C/2014 C3 (NEOWISE). Astronomers quickly realized that it’s a weird comet because its orbit is retrograde.

Dr. Dennis Morrison with the Microencapsulation Electrostatic Processing System used on the International Space Station (Photo NASA)

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A process called microencapsulation could allow a major step forward in therapies against various forms of cancer. It consists in the production of micro-balloons containing specific combinations of anti-cancer drugs that can be injected into specific parts of the patient’s body to administer therapies targeted with very strong limitations of the side effects. The experiments that allowed the development of this process were carried out on the International Space Station.