Try not to panic - Mercury, the smallest resident of our close-knit solar system, is shrinking. Scientists studying data sent back by the Messenger probe, launched in 2004, reveal that it's disappearing; withering away like a long-forgotten prune (not their words).

Before you pack up the car and head over to Aunt Margaret's place in the highlands, you should know that this galactic disaster isn't happening very quickly but at a considerably faster rate than previously suspected. Nonetheless, NASA reckons the old girl could last another few billion years yet.

Ancient space probes sent out on a long-distance research mission during the 1970s are continuing to send back valuable data 30 years after they first launched. The Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft have each now entered a vast region of space on the very edge of the solar system, a point where the solar wind blowing outward meets the interstellar wind blowing in.

You can think of it a bit like a balloon or bubble. The probes each crossed the threshold - excitingly named the Termination Shock (there's a superbly poor taste abortion joke in there somewhere) - at different points a mere 10 billion or so miles from each other. However, the twist is that Voyager 2 reached it considerably closer than its twin, taking scientists by surprise.

Technically, that flying saucer to the left there is known as a wingless electromagnetic air vehicle, or WEAV for short. We'll just scream "UFO!" and run from it in terror, though, if that's OK.

It runs on "magnetohydrodynamics" - a way of propelling vehicles by ionising air with an electrical current then shooting it out at great speed. The thing also spins, to help keep it stable. It is, basically, your archetypal flying saucer.

Three cheers for British entrepreneurs! That man there is Steve Bennett. He's built a rocket called Nova 2.

Steve's rocket is a three-seater, one which he hopes is going to make him one of Britain's first "space tourism" millionaires. He heads up the Space Technology Laboratory (!) of Salford University (!!) and has spent the last ten years planning and building the craft.

Steve will be testing Nova 2 next year - if all goes well (ie, if there are no casualties or fires), the project will head into full production, in preparation to charge people aroung £98,000 to get into space for a few minutes of the year 2013 - as long as he and his company Starchaser can raise the £7m required.

(Via Daily Mail)

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The Phoenix Mars Lander has almost completed its first set of 'wet chemistry' experiments on the red planet's soil and scientists very excited with what they've found. A preliminary analysis of soil samples have found it to be a lot more alkaline than expected, meaning that it could support life.

A single cubic meter of soil was recovered by the lander's robotic arm. Its pH has been measured at between eight and nine, and the instruments have also detected salts components, including magnesium, sodium, potassium, and chlorine.

Now that drama of the sticky Mars mud incident is firmly behind it (results are expected on Friday), the Phoenix Mars Lander is on the lookout for fresh Martian discoveries, and they seem to be in no short supply. Using its robotic arm, Phoenix has been scraping away at the rocky surface and uncovered some mysterious white patches that scientists say are most probably ice.

Adding weight to their belief is the fact that the patches of white have been slowly disappearing over the past week, which would eliminate the other possibility that this was a salt deposit. Scientists explain that water ice can change into water vapour when exposed to air, via a process known as sublimation.

In 2020, humankind is going back to the moon (baby), and what's more we're going to be looking goooood. NASA has picked out a new organisation, Oceaneering International, and awarded it a contract to design and build a next-gen space suit, boringly entitled the Constellation Space Suit System, or CSSS.

The Houston-based organisation defeated a rival bid from the current spacesuit contractor Exploration Systems and Technology. The contract is worth something in the region of $745 million and includes design, testing, evaluation and production of two new types of spacesuits.

It could be one small step for Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, but it could be a giant leap for search-engine-kind.

It seems that Mr Brin wants to take a trip as a space tourist with Space Adventures Ltd, and has already made a five-million dollar down payment to the company. It's not clear whether he's waiting for a $100 million trip around the moon, or will plump for a trip to the international space station instead.

Might Sergey be checking out whether it's possible to put a big "G" on the Moon?

(Via Mashable)

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For today's little nugget of space news, we turn our eyes away from the red planet to one a bit smaller, darker and colder: Pluto.

Pluto has been through a rough patch in its career since it was officially downgraded from its planetary status two years ago. However, sympathetic scientists have decided to give it a much needed publicity boost by using its name as the basis for a whole class of dwarf planets.

Now I know that none of you were even remotely interested in what has been happening in the world of mobile telephony, so I bring you another report from the icy depths of space. Scientists are jubilant this morning because it seems yesterday's desperate battle against Mars' fiendishly 'clumpy' soil has been won and samples are now being delivered to the lander's Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA).

Efforts were originally thwarted when despite soil successfully being scooped up and deposited over one of the single-use TEGA ovens, nothing made it through the fine sieve to reach the sensors. Since that failure, NASA has been affecting a sprinkle motion in the hopes of dislodging a small enough sample to pass through to the sensors. This appears to have worked.

Thanks to an announcement of some important kind of shiny phone handset, it seems that there's little earth-bound technology news left to report. We expect a good three days before we can stop ourselves from spontaneously typing 'IPHONE!', '3G!' or wasting the whole opening paragraphs of our posts providing a connection between utterly unrelated news and said handset announcement. We appreciate your patience.

Thank God, NASA scientists had the forethought to send the Phoenix Mars probe on its perilous mission so that it could beam back useful information at this crucial time. Right now, the hardy little critter is holed up on the surface of the red planet, attempting to secure a soil sample in its Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA). Unfortunately a blockage is preventing the instruments from getting any readings.

It's only a prototype, but the new EADS Astrium design here is based on the existing unmanned Jules Verne pod already flying about up there, so it could easily take scientists and the odd paying billionaire up into the ionosphere with a bit of tweaking.

Very handy if you've recently applied to be an astronaut or are just generally excited about space things because you haven't had your enthusiasm crushed out of you yet.

Within 10 years, according to EADS, there could be a manned European space programme should the various countries involved not mind coughing up the enormous amount of money - about one billion euros - required.

With the ancient American space shuttles due to be taken out of service in 2010, Europe could well find itself at the forefront of manned space travel. And they're going to need someone to "live blog" from the launches! (Me).

(Via BBC)

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It's of little surprise that the ordinarily starch-collared NASA scientist were whooping with delight yesterday as the Phoenix craft landed safely on Mars.

The probe - still sounds rude - left the Earth nine and a half months ago and I can imagine it would be a bit of bitch to have to wait the best part of a year again if it had ended as space scrap on the surface along with the last 6 out of 11 crafts that have attempted landings on the Red Planet.

The tricky part is that because it takes seven minutes to make it through the atmosphere of the fourth rock from the sun but 15 minutes for radio waves to reach Earth, it simply isn't possible to land anything remotely. Instead the brave little bot is fitted with aeroshell breaking to slow it down, a heat shield to cool the results of friction and a parachute to see it down safe. Luckily for all, this time it worked.

If you fancy being, say, THE FIRST MAN ON MARS, you really ought to head down to the Science Museum today, where the European Space Agency is launching its recruiting programme for the next generation of astronauts.

Anyone can apply, although, ideally, you'll have a degree in science or medicine, be between 27 and 37 and in some sort of decent physical condition. An ability to speak Russian is also an advantage. And we'd imagine smokers are frowned upon.

There are four places on the ESA programme up for grabs. Sadly, there is a series of psychological tests to go through, so that rules me out :(

If you're also unsure if you have got what it takes to head into space, you could always apply for a job as a System Software Engineer at ESA. You'd still be part of the winning team.

(Via ITV)

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Lucky old Yi So-yeon has just popped up into space today making her the first South Korean to hit escape velocity, courtesy of the latest Russian Soyuz mission to the International Space Station.

She's been sponsored by the proud company of her homeland, with Samsung kitting her out with a couple of cameras for the journey. So she gets space AND free cameras. If she comes round here the lucky cow will be greeted by a stony, jealous silence from people NOT in space and having to PAY FOR our new cameras.

At yesterday's CITA Wireless Trade Show, Sir Richard Branson used his keynote to announce a prank partnership with Google, whose purpose is to build a solar-powered spaceship that will take 30 passengers on a one-way trip to Mars.

At the same time, Google's home page provided a link to the new project, called Virgle: The Adventure of Many Lifetimes, complete with an application form and video starring Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

"We're calling it a giant Noah's Ark [...] We're taking animals on board. We're taking beasts on board. And the idea is to head towards Mars with the plan - in our lifetime, hopefully - to actually put people on Mars and build a city on Mars." Branson told the CITA crowd.

Who would hand in a bit of rocket? If I found a bit of rocket, it'd be up on the mantelpiece the same day. Regardless of health implications from cosmic radiation or half-melted fuel cells.

The man in questions is James Stirton. The rocket part in question is unknown, as James has been on the phone to NASA to try and find out exactly what it is he's just found in the outback. They think it might be part of a rocket engine launched by the US last year.

He should at the very least have kept a bit as a souvenir and tried to sell the rest to the Russians for a few million quid. Or, you know, eBay. What is with people who don't only think about their own personal financial gain?

(Via Sydney Morning Herald)

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Forget leaving money to the kids. They'll just waste it on cars and holidays. The gentlemanly way to spend your life savings post-death is clearly having your ashes dumped on the surface of the moon.

Yes. Having your ashes dumped ON THE SURFACE OF THE MOON!

Space burial company Celestis - which already blasts ashes into orbit - reckons that from early next year you'll be able to pay $10,000 to have a small amount of your ashes taken to the moon.

Private companies Odyssey Moon and Astrobotic are providing the lunar landers, which will be stacked up with the charred remains of rich people and blasted moon-wards. Nicely gets around the fact that no one will bother showing up for my funeral, too.

(Via SpaceRef)

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We literally cannot get enough of the burgeoning "space plane" scene. The idea of getting onto a plane and ending up IN SPACE (and surrounded by sexy space stewardesses) is simply too exciting to comprehend.

There's the small matter of the £100k or so it'll cost to get on-board one of these "space planes," but we'll be trying as hard as possible (toast for dinner, no milk in tea, only one lightbulb on it the house at once) to save that much by 2010 - when the XCOR Lynx here is supposed to be ready to go into service.

The tiny little two-seater "space plane" is designed to take off from a regular runway, then fly up to a height of nearly 40 miles - enough to make people and cars on the ground look incredibly small.

(Via CrunchGear)

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Sir Arthur C. Clarke, author of almost 100 books including 2001: A Space Odyssey, passed away at his home in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Wednesday. He was 90.

"He had been taken to hospital in what we had hoped was one of the slings and arrows of being 90, but in this case it was his final visit," Scott Chase, the secretary of the nonprofit Arthur C. Clarke Foundation, revealed in a statement on his official website.