May 2005 in science

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May 26, 2005

• The Space Shuttle Discovery is moved back into the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida to be attached to a different tank assembly. (BBC)

May 24, 2005

• Scientists announce that Voyager 1, the most distant man-made object, has entered the heliosheath and is on the cusp of leaving the Solar System and entering the interstellar medium. (BBC)

May 23, 2005

• The Colima volcano in Mexico erupts, shooting ash up to 2 miles into the air. This is the most severe activity of this volcano since 1991. (CBSNews) (San Diego Union Tribune)

May 20, 2005

• South Korean scientists led by Hwang Woo-suk of Seoul National University announce the creation of eleven stem cell lines from cloned embryos. The stem cells were custom-made from the DNA of sick and injured patients. (It was later discovered to be fraud. [1])

May 19, 2005

• The first account of a newly identified species of monkey was published in the journal Science. The species called the Highland Mangabey (Lophocebus kipunji) was discovered in Tanzania. This is the first new African monkey discovered in 20 years. (EurekAlert!)

May 14, 2005

• For the first time, a helicopter lands on top of the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest in Himalaya. The standard production model Eurocopter Ecureuil/AStar AS350 B3, piloted by Eurocopter ex-test pilot Didier Delsalle, landed at the summit at 07:08 NPT (01:23 UTC). After staying for two minutes (to qualify the landing as an official world record), Delsalle lifted off and returned to the base camp at Lukla, Nepal. (MountEverest.net)

May 12, 2005

• Microsoft has officially unveiled the Xbox 360 video game console system to the public. (CNet)
• A new version of the Firefox web browser is released, fixing the flaws announced two days ago. (Wikinews)

May 11, 2005

• The first MARSIS radio boom of the Mars Express Orbiter was deployed successfully after some initial difficulty. Using the Sun's heat to expand parts of the antenna, all segments are now locked into place. This deployment had been delayed due to concerns that the boom might damage parts of the spacecraft during its unfolding. (ESA)

May 10, 2005

• Two "critical security flaws" are found in the open-source Firefox web browser. The announcement initiates intensive work by volunteers to fix these problems. (Wikinews) (BBC)

May 8, 2005

• Motorola has created a carbon nanotube prototype panel of 4.7 inches that can be a part of a HDTV with a 1,280 x 720 resolution. The nanotube emitting displays (NED) are less expensive, bright, fast response time, wide viewing angle, and color almost as good as CRT's. NED's can be in production in two years if adopted quickly by industry. (CNET)

May 5, 2005

• The Mars Global Surveyor probe currently in orbit around Mars finds the landing site of the Viking 2 mars lander and possibly also the landing site of the failed Mars Polar Lander mission. (Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS))
• India's space agency ISRO, using its PSLV-C6 rocket, successfully launches two satellites into orbit from the Sriharikota launch site: the 1560 kg CARTOSAT-1 stereoscopic IRS series Earth observation satellite, and the 42.5 kg HAMSAT amateur radio communications satellite. (SpaceDaily)

May 4, 2005

• Norwegian-American engineer and philanthropist Fred Kavli has created three million-dollar prizes in nanotechnology, neuroscience and astrophysics. The Kavli Prizes will be awarded every two years from 2008 onwards. (Nature)
• Twelve new moons of Saturn are discovered. All but one are circling the planet in the opposite direction to its large moons. (Wikinews) (BBC)
• A new Therizinosauridae dinosaur named Falcarius utahensis is found in Utah. The fossil reveals that the species was omnivorous, which is unusual for the group of predatory dinosaurs that it belongs to. (Nature)

May 3, 2005

• Philanthropist Fred Kavli intends to sponsor three new prizes for scientific achievements, starting in 2008. They will be awarded for the fields of Astrophysics, Neuroscience, and Nanotechnology. (LA Times)

May 1, 2005

• Astronomers have directly confirmed the existence of an extrasolar planet orbiting the brown dwarf numbered 2M1207a. The team says that this is the first-ever infrared view of an exoplanet. (Seattle Times) (ESO) (CP)
• Students from Brown University have invented a device that monitors brain functions in order to wake up its owner only when he has emerged from deep sleep. The clock, called SleepSmart, measures the sleep cycle and waits until its owner is in his lightest phase of sleep before rousing him. (Independent Online) (New Scientist)

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