April 13th, 2015
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How best to defend planet Earth from menacing near Earth objects? For five days this week you can hear experts on the topic by watching live transmissions from the International Academy of Astronautics 2015 Planetary Defense conference. This event is being held this week – April 13-17 — in Frascati, Italy. Recent progress and plans […]
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Declassified records that trace the hidden interactions between NASA and national security space programs have been posted for the first time by the National Security Archive at The George Washington University. James David, a curator in NASA’s Division of Space History, obtained the documents in the course of researching his newly published book: Spies and […]
The European Space Agency (ESA) has been appraising 3D printing in the Moon’s environment, making use of local resources to build a lunar outpost. Industrial partners including architects Foster+Partners have worked with ESA to test the feasibility of 3D printing using lunar soil. Now on display at the “Hypervital” exhibition at the International Design […]
Remember the time when “pigs in space” was in vogue? But get ready for “spuds in space” – a potato battery to energize a near-space balloon payload. This “galvanizing” idea comes from the creative juices of Ian Webster, a software engineer at a large search company. Previously, he developed spacecraft avionics and ground control systems […]
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover continues to probe exposed mineral veins at “Garden City” – an investigation that tells the story of a wet environment after lake-bed deposits became rock. According to Mars scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. the veins appear as a network of ridges left standing above the now […]
A fact-filled and incredible day at Lockheed Martin on April 6, visiting ultra-clean room facilities in which NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is coming together for a September 2016 liftoff. The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) probe is headed for asteroid Bennu, a carbon-rich body that could hold clues to the origin of […]
Next month there’s an “all-star lineup”…of experts to discuss finding other Earths in the Cosmos. A one-day Cornell University space sciences conference May 9 will inaugurate the new Institute for Pale Blue Dots. Founded in 2014, Cornell’s new institute in Ithaca, New York focuses on characterizing extrasolar planets and modeling habitable, rocky exoplanets. The […]
Things can be a little cramped when stuffed inside a spacecraft. Not only are your crewmates taking up room, but toss in supplies and lots of gear for good measure! And if you’re headed for Mars, elbow room may be at a premium for such a long voyage. The good news is that living and […]
Orbital debris is a menace – that’s a fact. How to de-clutter space from human made junk is an on-going concern by numbers of countries. Space nets, laser blasts, garbage scows, giant foam balls – these and other techniques have been proposed to deal with debris. One imaginative solution to pollution can be found in […]
Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin and celebrity and aviator John Travolta will be launching Aldrin’s nonprofit ShareSpace Foundation – while honoring the Apollo 11 mission! A July 18, 2015 gala is to be held at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex’s Apollo Saturn V Center in Florida. The event will benefit children through the nonprofit […]
