Mars Orbiter Finds There Was Liquid Water on Mars An Eon Later Than Previously Thought

Our Best of What's New 2009 winners, all in one place

Who's on top?

Under a night sky in the Mojave Desert, Sir Richard Branson and designer Burt Rutan uveiled SpaceShipTwo – now dubbed "Enterprise" – that should begin ferrying passengers to sub-orbital space in as few as 18 months.

The first butterflies to go from larvae to chrysalis to mature butterfly in a low gravity environment are going strong on the International Space Station.

Robots show off as caretakers, entertainers and industrial muscle at Japan's International Robot Exhibition 2009.