A Guide to NASA's Mars Mission Lingo - 8/3 KQED Science News Roundup

MSL, EDL, HUH? Guide to NASA's Mars Mission LingoPASADENA, Calif. (AP) -- Fascinated by NASA's latest Mars mission and planning to tune in? Well, good luck understanding the space agency's everyday lingo, which resembles a sort of Martian alphabet soup. In the highly specialized world of spacecraft engineering, there are many moving parts and pieces - not to mention processes.

Mental Side of Sports: It's Not Just For OlympiansNEW YORK (AP) -- Now that you've been watching the world's top athletes compete in London, you may be inspired to go out and pursue your own sport at, um, less than an Olympic level. But even without their talent or practice regimens, you can take a lesson from what Olympians know: The mental game matters, too.

As drought worsens, Congress can't agree on farm reliefWASHINGTON - Even as the drought worsened in the Midwest and Great Plains, Congress proved unable to provide relief for farmers and ranchers before leaving for a month of campaigning. The House on Thursday approved a scaled-down $383-million package primarily to help ranchers whose livestock losses and feed costs are mounting as arid conditions make land unusable for grazing.

Santa Cruz group helps Palau save reefOneReef, a U.S. conservation group based in Santa Cruz, has brokered an agreement between North American benefactors and the state of Hatohobei, Palau, to help finance reef protection. In return, the Palauans agree to establish no-take or catch limits, monitor the reef and keep the community informed and engaged.

Brown pelicans get a new lease on life after Sausalito release - San Jose Mercury NewsA group of 16 California brown pelicans was released at Fort Baker near Sausalito on Wednesday morning after a month of rehabilitation in what has been a tough year for the species.