space exploration
Hey, @aliens! So this is where we are, and this is what we do! KThxBye!
Scientific American dwells on the implications of us – inadvertently AND fully intentionally – sending messages out to aliens:
… Read the rest “Hey, @aliens! So this is where we are, and this is what we do! KThxBye!”We’ve made a few attempts at METI (messaging
Rocket Africa: the next pathway to space.
Voice of America tracks something we were looking forward to here a while back – the blossoming potential of linking together Africa’s own space programs:
… Read the rest “Rocket Africa: the next pathway to space.”Observers looking
Science Art: VASIMR (Variable specific impulse magnetoplasma rocket)
This is one way we might visit that rosy Saturn hurricane from last week.
It’s VASIMR, a rocket engine that uses plasma to go to faraway places without having to haul… Read the rest “Science Art: VASIMR (Variable specific impulse magnetoplasma rocket) ”
“Space Oddity” by Commander Chris Hadfield
If you’re going to say goodbye to the International Space Station….
Smartphone satellites. NASA’s sending phones into orbit.
LA Times reports on the latest low-budget, off-the-shelf NASA experiment, sending three smartphones into orbit:
… Read the rest “Smartphone satellites. NASA’s sending phones into orbit.”The three Google-HTC Nexus One smartphones are circling Earth at an altitude
The best food in space is shrimp cocktail.
The Atlantic reveals a culinary secret of near-Earth orbit. Astronauts love shrimp cocktail – and here’s why:
… Read the rest “The best food in space is shrimp cocktail.”Without gravity to pull blood toward the feet, especially during
Science Art: Exploring the Universe, from Looking Into Science supplements, 1965
This came from a series of supplements in California textbooks in the 1960s – the peak of the Space Race.
This is an image of promise. There is a better tomorrow out there in the void. … Read the rest “Science Art: Exploring the Universe, from Looking Into Science supplements, 1965”
“I.S.S. (Is Somebody Singing?)” by Cmdr. Chris Hadfield, Ed Robertson, Barenaked Ladies & The Wexford Gleeks
Does this sound schmaltzy? Usually things with a full choir and a key change after the bridge sound schmaltzy. I honestly can’t tell – judgement just flew right out the window.… Read the rest ““I.S.S. (Is Somebody Singing?)” by Cmdr. Chris Hadfield, Ed Robertson, Barenaked Ladies & The Wexford Gleeks”
Commander Hadfield gets together with Barenaked Lady.
No, he’s not doing *that* on the ISS. The commander is, like The Postal Service, making music via a long-distance collaboration… only his is with the earthbound Ed Robertson… Read the rest “Commander Hadfield gets together with Barenaked Lady.”
Hello, Mars! This won’t hurt a bit.
New Scientist opens wide to tell us Mars Rover Curiosity is ready to drill into the Red Planet:
… Read the rest “Hello, Mars! This won’t hurt a bit.”Chemical analysis from one of the rover’s remote-sensing cameras shows that the veins
Astronaut Chris Hadfield just wrote and recorded a song in space.
That’s it. Canada’s space hero did this on the International Space Station.
You can hear the slight buzz of the station’s fans in the background.
I DON’T MIND … Read the rest “Astronaut Chris Hadfield just wrote and recorded a song in space.”
Space statistics: Martian astronauts would see a 1-megaton collision
MIT Technology Review crunches the numbers and figures that anyone who spends three years on Mars is going to witness an H-bomb-sized asteroid collision:
… Read the rest “Space statistics: Martian astronauts would see a 1-megaton collision”Today. William Bruckman and pals
Rivers on Titan
SciTech Daily salutes the latest Cassini discovery – first surface liquid spotted on an alien world:
… Read the rest “Rivers on Titan”The international Cassini mission has spotted what appears to be a miniature
NASA beefs up security after laptop theft.
ITProPortal.com reports on a heightened state of alert in the halls of the government offices in charge of the very biggest missiles there are… because somebody just stole a kinda… Read the rest “NASA beefs up security after laptop theft.”