You are browsing the archive for Ryan Anderson.
1 May 2008
NASA Video Game?
Apparently NASA is looking to reach out to the video game generation by developing it’s own Massively Multiplayer Online game (MMO). I think this a fantastic idea – if it’s done well. I’ve played many a video game in my day and I can vouch for their educational potential. I learned loads about ancient and medieval history from the Age of Empires games, and Warcraft and Starcraft taught me more …
Carnival of Space #52
Happy Birthday to the Carnival of Space! Today is the one year anniversary of the first carnival, and it is being hosted by the originator of the carnival, Henry Cate at “Why Homeschool”. Go take a look at the fantastic entries for this week!
30 April 2008
Opportunity Update: Sols 1515-1516
Opportunity is still sitting on the slope of Victoria crater, doing diagnostics on her arthritic arm. I’m afraid I don’t have any pretty pictures to post today; Pancam has a light load lately. I do have some news about the arm though. I am not deeply involved in the diagnostics process, so take my updates with a grain of salt. It sounds like only one joint is acting up (as …
DARPA is Working on What?!
Arthur C. Clarke was a brilliant man and was known for coming up with ideas that were not only astounding, but also plausible in the near future. He was one of the first to propose communications satellites in geostationary orbits. He also invented the concept of a space elevator that would lift cargo from the surface of a planet all the way out to space. People are now actively working …
29 April 2008
The Man Who Invented Mars
The Boston Globe has a nice article about Percival Lowell (of Martian canal fame), life on Mars, and the upcoming Phoenix lander mission. Check it out.
Opportunity Update: Sols 1513-1515
Hey folks, I’m on downlink duty again this week, once again working with Opportunity. When I last posted an update, Opportunity was making her way to the tantalizing layers in the Cape Verde cliff face. Unfortunately, we’ve made little progress since then. First a small sand trap held us in place for a week or so, but we escaped that. Now we’re sitting still for something more serious: arthritis. Opportunity’s …
25 April 2008
Carnival of Space #51
The 51st Carnival of space is up over at AstroEngine. It is huge, and chock full of hearty space goodness. Go check it out!
24 April 2008
The Search for Life on Mars: Part 1
Pre-Space Age The prospect of life on Mars has tantalized humans for centuries. We long to find some proof that we are not alone, that the universe is not as empty as it seems, and so we look to the most Earth-like planet in our solar system for signs of life. Early astronomers quickly noticed that Mars shares some properties with the Earth. In 1783, William Herschel discussed the similarities …
21 April 2008
Sand Dunes near the North Pole
Take a look at this new HiRISE image of sand dunes near the north pole on Mars: Click to go to the HiRISE site and learn more (and for much higher resolution)!
17 April 2008
Carnival of Space #50
Grab yourself a corndog and some cotton candy and head over to the Carnival of Space! Ok, so it’s not an actual carnival, but there are some really interesting posts about everything from racing rockets to dark matter to an episode of Firefly. So go check it out. You can eat cotton candy and corndogs while doing so, if you want. I won’t tell.
