PASADENA, Calif., Nov. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- -- NASA will begin transmitting commands to its Mars exploration rover, Spirit, on Monday as part of an escape plan to free the venerable robot from its Martian sand trap. "This is going to be a lengthy process, and there's a high probability attempts to free Spirit will not be successful," said Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Since 2006, Spirit's right-front wheel has been inoperable, possibly because of wear and tear on a motor as a result of the rover's longevity.

The six astronauts who will be aboard space shuttle Atlantis on its STS-129 mission began their pre-launch activities at Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday. The STS-129 mission will be commanded by Charles Hobaugh and piloted by Barry Wilmore. Wilmore, Satcher and Bresnik will be making their first trips into space, NASA said.

The U.S. space agency released a never-before-seen view of the center of the Milky Way galaxy Tuesday in celebration of the International Year of Astronomy. NASA said the composite image commemorates the 400 years since Galileo first turned his telescope to the heavens in 1609. "Each site will unveil a giant, 6-foot-by-3-foot print of the bustling hub of our galaxy that combines a near-infrared view from the Hubble Space Telescope, an infrared view from the Spitzer Space Telescope, and an X-ray view from the Chandra X-ray Observatory into one multi-wavelength picture," NASA said.

NASA has selected a tentative launch date for space shuttle Atlantis' 11-day flight to the International Space Station from the Kennedy Space Center. If the Atlas launch is delayed to Nov. 15, the shuttle's liftoff will move to no earlier than 2:02 p.m. EST on Nov. 17, NASA said. "The STS-129 mission will focus on storing spare hardware on the exterior of the space station," NASA said in a statement.

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif., Oct. 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Imagine the thrill of floating out of the International Space Station and into the emptiness of space and what it would be like to work on the orbiting science laboratory. NASA has developed a new video game, Station Spacewalk, to give young people an "out of this world" virtual opportunity to experience the thrill of working on a mission to the International Space Station from their computers. "It's all about getting the next generation excited about space exploration," said Chris Kemp, chief information officer at NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif. "Players, or 'astronauts,' can virtually navigate their way through mission critical tasks.