Space junk: a conceptual artwork representing defunct satellites, failed missions, and shrapnel orbiting Earth.
“A tipping point” for collisions has been reached with the amount of debris orbiting the Earth, which would in turn generate more of the debris that threatens astronauts and satellites, according to a U.S. study released on Thursday.
Continue reading… “Space junk at a ‘tipping point’: study”
Alpha Centauri or bust.
Darpa, the government agency that helped invent the Internet, now wants to do the same for travel to the stars.
Continue reading… “Darpa seeks plan to send humans to the stars”
We have known for a while now that ice exists on Mars. We have seen a lot of suggestions that liquid water may have once existed on the surface in huge rivers and oceans. But NASA has announced for the first time, they may have actually spotted some flowing, liquid water.
Continue reading… “NASA discovers there may be flowing water on Mars”
Are you ready for the Green Flight Challenge?
Air travel may be time efficient, but based on planes’ carbon emissions, it’s not good for the environment. And while purchasing carbon offsets is a good move, it’s just a drop in the bucket. That’s why Google has teamed up with aircraft technology research group the CAFE Foundation to sponsor the NASA Centennial Challenge competition, called the Green Flight Challenge.
The more than $1 million first place prize will go to the team that designs the aircraft that best shows that the emission-free flight is not only possible, it’s practical…
Continue reading… “Google and NASA team up for a Green Flight Challenge with $1.65M prize”
A Russian Soyuz craft leaves the International Space Station.
Space officials in Russia are hailing the end of the space shuttle era as the beginning of the “Soyuz epoch.” Russian Soyuz craft will serve as the only way to get back and forth from the International Space Station, and NASA will be paying up to $63 million a seat for the ride for at least the next few years.
Continue reading… “Russians hail the end of the space shuttle era”
Green Bank Telescope
In rural West Virginia, a massive radio telescope has begun listening for signs of alien life on 86 possible Earth-like planets, US astronomers said Friday.
Continue reading… “Astonomers Begin Search for Alien Life on 86 Planets”
Rumors of astronauts hooking up in space are the product of overactive imaginations experts say.
Humans have been traveling in space for more than 50 years. But, it’s quite possible we have not performed that most basic of acts — sex — beyond earth.
Continue reading… “No Sex in Space… At Least Not Yet According to Russian Official”
Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO, unveils the Falcon Heavy rocket at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, April 5, 2011.
SpaceX, a private US company, hopes to put an astronaut on Mars within 10 to 20 years, the head of the firm said.
Continue reading… “SpaceX Hopes to Put an Astronaut on Mars in 10-20 Years”
Piezoelectric nanowires are the stuff that make power-generating pants a possibility, and that prodigious potential has drawn the attention of NASA. You see, self-powered spacesuits are awfully attractive to our nation’s space agency, and a few of its finest student researchers have discovered that the current-creating strands of zinc oxide can be made longer and straighter — and therefore more powerful — when freed from gravity’s unrelenting pull. That means nanowires grown in microgravity could lead to higher capacity batteries and the aforementioned juice-generating interstellar garb…
Continue reading… “NASA Makes Longer, Straighter Piezoelectric Nanowires in Microgravity”
Mars is covered with a thin layer of radioactive substances including uranium, thorium and radioactive potassium.
Mars has not always been red. At least that is the theory proposed by a scientist who has discovered a reason as to how the red planet got its rosy color.
Continue reading… “Scientist Explains Why Mars is Red (and How it Could Happen On Earth, too)”
Much more ozone (in red) is shown over the Arctic in the left image than the right image.
Check out the stark difference between these two satellite images, taken on March 19, 2010 and March 19, 2011. The left image shows much more ozone (in red) over the Arctic than the right image. What’s happened?
Continue reading… “Ozone Levels Over the Arctic Dropped By Half in the Past Year”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5c1XoL1KFs&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
NASA generally releases some fairly pretty pictures of things that we humans who don’t have NASA-style funding wouldn’t ever be able to see. Well, it turns out NASA doesn’t necessarily see the things they’re releasing pictures of either, at least, not how they look in said released pictures…
Continue reading… “Ever Wondered How NASA Photoshops Their Images?”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.