Mars has Ice!
Mars Exploration Rover Video
64 year old Michel Fournier from France will use a helium balloon to elevate himself to the edge of space about 40 km / 25 miles above the Earth and jump out of the safety of his gondola capsule for a record setting jump.
If you thought stabilizing a telescope from earth was tricky, how about trying it from space with nothing to brace against?
NASA has already worked with but now several countries (Canada and Germany, India) are starting to show interest in tiny microsatellites.
A great video showing the ascent of a space shuttle including views from the rockets, land, and inside the shuttle itself.
An Australian farmer was tending to his cattle when he came across a mysterious 'giant ball of twisted metal'.
Until now it was widely believed that gravity played a large role in why boomerangs returned back to the thrower, however a kink in this theory has just been introduced.
Earlier we discussed the coming war in space and China's Moon Strategy, now this interesting article by Michael Moore raises some further interesting points.
NASA's Cassini spacecraft has sent results from the latest fly-by of Saturn's moon Enceladus.
Scientists have found possibly the first Soliton wave in space. Scientists say they have noticed an "unusual electrical disturbance" that is a Soliton wave.
Scientists have found possibly the first Soliton wave in space. Scientists say they have noticed an "unusual electrical disturbance" that is a Soliton wave.
We may never know all the truth but this account by an aid to Thatcher is a very interesting read.
February 20/21 will provide a unique lunar eclipse (where the Sun, Earth, and Moon form a straight line such that the Moon enters Earth's shadow):
German scientists will carry out experiments and advance knowledge by launching fish into space.
Because Earth's Moon rotates around the Earth and shows us nearly the exact same side it is considered to be in "synchronous rotation".
An asteroid will fly by Earth the closest in 22 years, and at 1.4 times the distance between the planet and the Moon.
The internet can be a great resource for teaching us about our Solar System. For example children may enjoy these 2 excellent video's providing a simple comparison view of the size of planets:
How long will it be until you know someone who travelled to space or even the moon? If we extrapolate recent trends one might be lead to believe it won't be that long.
Ubuntu and Thawte founder Mark Shuttleworth was able to parlay some of the fortunes of his sale of Thawte to VeriSign to be one of the first citizens to space but now a 46 year old computer game developer (Richard Garriott) will also travel to the International Space Station (ISS) using a Russian spacecraft.
Sea Launch today launched a satellite using a rocket from a repurposed oil rig in the middle of the Pacific ocean near the equator. The Sea Launch platform was formerly a semisubmersible oil rig in the North Sea that is now repurposed for rocket launches by Sea Launch.
Astronomers hope to further understand dark matter with a recent finding of a rare double Einstein ring.
NASA launched the Messenger space probe back in August of 2004 and now Messenger has arrived closer to its destination and has started taking images of the planet Mercury.
The new batteries and new wide-angle camera that will provide sharper images will have to wait.
The Pentagon is funding research to beam solar energy from mega-orbiter satellites in space back down to Earth.
In support of our previous story on the coming of the war in space comes news of the rocket launch carrying NAVSTAR Global Positioning System Block IIR military navigation satellite.
England is teaming up with NASA to provide an unmanned moon probe mission. The mission will fire four "penetrator" missile darts that will probe the moon and return research data back to Earth. Some of the data the penetrator darts will look for are moonquakes which may provide additional information on the physical structure and composition of the moon. The mission may be ready to launch by 2012.
The plans are for astronauts to live for in space or on the moon for prolonged periods of time. However before humans can start this living in space we need to understand how our bodies will perform.
Rockets are typically used to leave Earth's gravity and to explore space but similar technology is used on earth for propelling purposes. The Air Force are experimenting with a Jet Assisted Take Off (JATO). The interesting detail here is the aircraft it is mounted on - a C130 Hercules aircraft.
Today from the Isle of Man Odyssey Moon announced they are accepting the Lunar X Prize challenge. Not anyone can announce this since it requires a $10,000 registration fee.
In order to determine whether the moon ever contained water ice NASA is planning on bombing the moon with "impactors". The impactors are really rockets and will cause a large impact which will be "analyzed for the presence of hydrated minerals".
Earlier we talked about Wernher von Braun's papers were being auctioned off. The auction has finished and according to this post Wernher von Braun's Phd papers sold for $33k.
Fast Company has an interesting article on how NASA is designing their next space ship Orion to use more off the shelf technology and less inventing from new. This shift in methodology is in the hope of improving costs by borrowing from good old american business sense.
Google has announced the Google Lunar X-Prize for international individuals and companies to compete in a race to be the first to land and operate a craft on the surface of the moon. Bonuses are provided for competitors who achieve various objectives. It is expected that this competition will challenge and motivate engineers to innovate and advance low cost methods for traveling to the moon and beyond.
There are official question and answer for clarification on what is required.
Google last September announced that more than $20 million dollars were available in the Google X Prize for the first team that is able to land a privately funded craft on the moon and be able to move it at least 500 meters with a video (a Mooncast) sent back to humans on Earth.
| Prize Amount | Name | Description |
| $30million | Total | Grand Prize + 2nd Prize + Bonuses |
| $20million | Grand Prize | team must successfully soft land a privately funded spacecraft on the Moon, rove on the lunar surface for a minimum of 500 meters, and transmit a specific set of video, images and data back to the Earth |
| $15million | Grand Prize after Dec 31 2012 | Same as Grand Prize, later date |
Additionally, Google has pulled all the stops in creating this Hollywood-esque promotional video to get people excited about their X-prize:
There are over 18,000 man made objects orbiting the Earth and some say the destruction of a satellite by the chinese earlier this year is a sign of the star wars to come. This comes despite a 40 year old international treaty against such actions.
People with access to intelligence (including Rumsfeld) have come out and warned us about foreign competition. The fact that the U.S. may be less prone to attack from tanks and planes on Earth and more prone to losing strategic technology in space may concern leaders.
Scientists are reporting that the fact Earth has a moon is actually rarer than previously thought.
Last month China launched a lunar orbiter with relatively little fanfare or mainstream press recognition. Now questions have arisen as to what exactly are the Chinese plans for the Moon. NASA has made warnings, speculation has been put forth claiming the Chinese are looking to be the 1st or 2nd most relevant space program.
In relative time the history between Google and NASA is short (2 years), however during this history there have been some worthy highlights including:
Collection of various images of space, the moon, and more...
