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26 October 2008
The Science of Chandrayaan: Part 2
Last time I described the Indian-made instruments on the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft. But the mission is a huge international collaboration, and there are six more instruments to talk about made by countries around the world. Let’s take a look: An X-ray image of the moon. Chandrayaan-1 X-Ray Spectrometer (C1XS) – “Wait a second!” I hear you saying. “Didn’t you talk about an x-ray spectrometer last time?” Well, yes, but x-rays have …
16 October 2008
Saturn V Launch in Slow-Motion
It may not be too long before we see launches like this again… I can’t wait! via videosift.com
7 October 2008
Red Mars on TV!
If you are reading this blog, which you are, and you have not read Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson, you should drop everything and go get the book. I read it in high school, before I really knew much about Mars but when I was starting to think about planetary astronomy. It is the story of the first colonists to permanently setlle the red planet, and is more realistic …
1 October 2008
Jules Verne Burns Up!
No, not the pioneering french sci-fi author. The robotic European “space freighter” that autonomously docked with the ISS a while back. It had outlived its use on the ISS, so it was filled with waste, detached and sent into a controlled re-entry. At 20 metric tons, it made for quite the fireworks show:
23 July 2008
Cadavers, Rockets and GPS
Here’s a riddle: What do dead bodies, awesome rockets, and GPS have in common? They are all being used in NASA’s return to the moon. Universe today has three interesting posts with all the details. First, I’ll get to the question that I know you’re asking: What the heck does NASA want with dead bodies? Well, they are in the process of testing the Crew Exploration Vehicle, and deciding how …
21 July 2008
One small step
39 years ago today, the first human set foot on another world. Here’s hoping that we follow in those footsteps sooner rather than later. I don’t have time to say more, but Phil Plait has already said it better than I could, so go see what the Bad Astronomer has to say.
11 July 2008
X-Prize Blog
Hey, remember the X-Prize? Now that the first X-prize has been won, the X-prize foundation is broadening its scope. The next X-prizes include a privately funded mission to the moon, a car that can get 100 miles per gallon, and the ability to sequence 10 human genomes in a day. Even better, there is a new X-Prize blog, where you can keep up with everything X-prize related! Check it out!
8 July 2008
This is your future – Why the Moon?
With all my moon-related posts, you’d think it was Monday!* I just got this in my email, and thought I would share it with all of you space enthusiasts: What would YOU like to ask of young people that work at NASA? On July 20, 2008, members from the younger generation from four NASA Centers will discuss the future of space exploration as part of the Lunar Science Conference at …
The Moon: Then and Now
Boston.com has a fantastic photo-essay showing some of the new hardware that NASA is testing for the return to the moon, plus some classic images from the Apollo missions. You should really check it out, and pass the link on to everyone you know. More people need to know that NASA is serious about returning to the Moon! Here’s a sample picture from the site: These are the All-Terrain Hex-Legged …
4 July 2008
Happy 4th!
A little patriotism from Phoenix: And, from the edge of human exploration: It’s the USA’s spirit of exploration and innovation that has gotten us to these distant places, and let’s keep that spirit alive in the years to come!
