An international panel of former pilots and government officials has called on the US government to reopen its generation-old UFO investigation as a matter of safety and security given continuing reports about flying discs, glowing spheres and other strange sightings. MSN’s reluctant expert probed deeper.

Unique footage taken from the moon give a heavenly view of earth dipping below the horizon. The 'Earthset' was filmed by a high definition television camera from a lunar probe. The images, the first of their kind, were recently unveiled by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.They were taken 236,121 miles from the earth.

Rocky and pockmarked, the surface of Mercury – the sun’s closest neighbour – has proven less colourful than popular science fiction would have us believe.

New images of the planet Uranus have given Earth-based astronomers the first edge-on view of its rings since they were discovered in 1977. Uranus only appears at this angle to the Earth every 42 years as the planet follows a leisurely 84-year orbit around the sun.

Since ancient times, human beings have dreamed about leaving their home planet and exploring other worlds. In the 20th century, that dream became reality. Discover more about space exploration with MSN Encarta.

Discover the wonders of our expanding universe with the National Aeronautics and Space administration, the agency of the US government responsible for developing space exploration and research.

See what goes on behind-the-scenes at Nasa with this spectacular virtual tour from Windows Live Photosynth. These amazing Photosynths show four different aspects of the Shuttle's lifecycle as you've never seen them before.

Oil paintings by notorious gangland killer Ronnie Kray are to go to auction, but how do you rate the artistic endeavours of this infamous East End gangster?

In this exclusive video interview, Hazel Blears tells MSN how Twitter, Facebook and instant messaging could revolutionise British politics.