NASA's Tasty-Sounding O/OREOS Mission Launches Today to Study Life's Origins In Outer Space
O/OREOS A computer rendering of O/OREOS, NASA's newest CubeSat. NASA A nanosatellite no bigger than a loaf of bread -- and named after cookies -- is set to launch today to study the origins of life in the universe. Its name stands for Organism/Organic Exposure to Orbital Stresses, but the mission is as much about proving small-payload satellites' viability as it is about studying space microorganisms. NASA's O/OREOS satellite, a 12-pound CubeSat hitching a ride on an Air Force rocket, is the space agency's first nanosatellite to have two distinct science experiments on board. When its mission is complete, it will also become the first satellite to use a propellant-less mechanism for de-orbit. The "Space Environment Survivability of Live Organisms" experiment will study the growth, health and adaptability of microorganisms that live in salty ponds and dry soil. After O/OREOS reaches orbit, the experiment will feed and grow three sets of the microbes,...