Well, this is interesting. A little-known Russian island in the North Pacific was home to a massive volcanic eruption in mid-June. The picture you see at left, and the other cool ones you’ll see if you follow the link, were taken by the crew of the international space station, more than 200 miles above the Earth!

The volcano in question is called Sarychev Peak, which is on Matua Island, east of Russia. Thankfully, the island — which has seen a lot of volcanic eruptions dating back to the 1700s — is uninhabited. However, the enormous flume of smoke has forced hundreds of airline flights to re-route in order to avoid the possibility of engine trouble.

Scientists from my home state of Colorado have uncovered the first definitive evidence that a lake once existed on Mars, perhaps as far back as 3 billion years ago.

The research team, based at the University of Colorado, identified shorelines of an ancient lake that would have been roughly the size of Lake Champlain (which straddles the northeastern U.S.-Canadian border). (more…)

Ever wonder how something as complex and high-tech as the International Space Station gets made? USA Today has this very short (but very cool) graphic timeline. It’s worth a few minutes of your time.

Also: the crew of the Expedition 20 is preparing for its June 5 spacewalk. As always, NASA’s got all the information and pictures you could ever want.