NASA's Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle

NASA's UFO-esque spaceship - designed to potentially make it all the way to Mars and back.

Like most technology enthusiasts, we're interested in any big announcements around here, and you don't get much bigger than the Orion project.

Spearheaded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (OCEV) will replace the current Space Shuttles when they are retired from service in 2010.

These original Space Shutles (which you'd know immediately for seeing a picture of one) have been flying since the inaugural launch on February 18th, 1977, and have lasted through space probe jettisons as well as standard experimental flights.

They've also had accidents, the most recent being the crash of the Columbia on February 1st 2003, where seven crew members lost their lives.

There comes a time when the tech needs replacing, and NASA have a whole-new design under their belt.

NASA's original Space Shuttle plus launch system