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The This Week At NASA crew is on a short mid-year
hiatus -- but we thought we'd leave you with

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a quick look back at some of the big and exciting
news featured so far in 2014 on This Week

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at NASA.

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In March, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden
announced President Obama's Fiscal Year 2015

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budget proposal for the agency ...

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The 17-point-5 billion dollar budget keeps
the agency moving forward on a path that sends

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astronauts to Mars in the 2030s, using a stepping-stone
approach that was showcased in April at a

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public exploration forum.

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The path to Mars starts aboard the International
Space Station, where astronauts are helping

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develop the knowledge and experience needed
for deep space missions.

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... and the Obama Administration's decision
in January to extend use of the ISS until

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at least 2024 means more opportunities for
groundbreaking research on the station.

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An Asteroid Initiative Opportunities Forum
in March provided updates on NASA's plans

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to capture, redirect and send astronauts to
study an asteroid and to identify asteroid

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threats to human life.

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And development of the Orion spacecraft has
been steady, as NASA prepares for the December

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launch of the deep space capsule more than
36-hundred miles into space on Exploration

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Flight Test-1.

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NASA's pursuit of deep space exploration is
also driving development of the technologies

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needed to power tomorrow's missions ...

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Such as solar electric propulsion technology
-- a "key" to reaching deep space destinations.

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In January, Administrator Bolden toured a
Glenn Research Center facility for testing

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this technology.

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In April, high school students from Hampton,
Virigina won NASA's Exploration Design Challenge.

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Their design for a protective radiation shield
for astronauts on deep space missions will

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fly with Orion on Exploration Flight Test-1
...

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Testing of the project Morpheus lander, which
uses automated landing hazard avoidance technology,

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has received high marks ...

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And NASA's Low Density Supersonic Decelerator
project could lead to inflatable spacecraft

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systems capable of safely landing heavier
and larger payloads than ever before on planets

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with atmospheres.

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This is the first year in more than a decade
that NASA is launching five science missions

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to address critical challenges facing Earth
Right Now ...

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Launched from Japan in February, the Global
Precipitation Measurement mission's observations

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of global rain and snow events will increase
our understanding of water and energy cycles.

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In April, NASA celebrated Earth Day with activities
such as the hugely popular online "global

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selfie" postings from around the world to
help promote environmental awareness.

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NASA aeronautics research this year has included
ACCESS II -- an airborne experiment that will

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help the airline industry transition to technologies
to reduce fuel consumption, emissions and

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noise.

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And in May -- following the White House release
of the Third National Climate Assessment,

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Administrator Bolden called 2014 the "Year
of Earth" for NASA -- stressing the importance

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of NASA research in preserving the health
of our home planet.

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NASA has continued its commitment in 2014
to being a catalyst in creating a vibrant

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American commercial space industry.

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Two U.S. companies are making regular cargo
deliveries to the space station for the agency.

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In January, Orbital Sciences delivered more
than 27-hundred pounds of supplies on the

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first contracted mission of its Cygnus cargo
craft ...

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... While the SpaceX Dragon completed the
company's third flight to the station under

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NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract
carrying nearly 2-and-a-half tons of cargo.

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And several American companies are also developing
new spacecraft that NASA intends to use to

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fly astronauts to the ISS from U.S. soil by
2017 -- ending our sole reliance on Russia

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for flights to the station.

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NASA also remains committed to planning, launching
and operating flagship missions that meet

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the challenging objectives of the science
community ...

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2014 began by celebrating the 10 year anniversary
of the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and

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Opportunity. The groundbreaking science enabled
on Mars by them, Curiosity and other current

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and future robotic explorers is helping pave
the path humans will take to Mars.

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In April, data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft
and the Deep Space Network yielded evidence

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that a large underground ocean of water does
indeed exist on Saturn's moon Enceladus -- a

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theory formulated in 2005.

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In May, NASA solicited conceptual ideas for
a mission to Jupiter's moon, Europa to study

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the liquid-water ocean believed to be beneath
Europa's icy crust ...

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And NASA's Kepler Space Telescope discovered
a new Earth-sized planet in April, about 500

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light-years from us that also may have liquid
water.

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That's just a bit of what 2014 has brought
so far. We're back on June 13 with a fresh,