June 13th, 2024
Author: 
Book Review: After the Flying Saucers Came: A Global History of the UFO Phenomenon by Greg Eghigian; Oxford University Press, 2024; Hardcover, 400 pages; $29.99. In this highly embraced volume the author explores how individuals, scientists, governments and the media responded to reports of UFO sightings and alien abductions, and what those responses say about […]
Posted in 
That mysterious tiny rover let loose by China’s Chang’e-6 Moon lander has finally been spotlighted. The state-run Xinhua news agency said the roughly 5 kilograms device is an autonomous, intelligent mini-robot, developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). Weighing roughly 11 pounds (5 kilograms), the sporty mini-snooper is far lighter than China’s […]
China has announced selection of new astronaut candidates to ready the country for its future human treks to the Moon. The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced Tuesday that 10 candidates, including eight space pilots and two payload specialists, have been selected as the country’s fourth batch of astronauts. Geology field work Huang Weifen, chief […]
About that five-star red flag now in position on the far side of the Moon – it’s made of basalt, a type of volcanic rock that’s plentiful on the lunar surface. On June 2, China’s Chang’e-6 far side robotic lander touched down in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin on the Moon. Post-landing, […]
Excitement is mounting for the return of lunar samples from the far side of the Moon. China’s on-going Chang’e-6 mission is nearing departure from lunar orbit, making a bee-line for the Earth and delivering a motherlode of Moon materials. Late last week, more than 200 Chinese scientists from 31 domestic universities and research institutes gathered […]
Yet another chunk of SpaceX junk from space has apparently been found in a resident’s yard in North Carolina. As reported by the WLOS television station, this latest incident adds to objects of various sizes and weights being tied to surviving fragments of the jettisoned “trunk” associated with the SpaceX Dragon Crew-7 mission. Katrinka Barnett […]
In classic “wait-a-minute” style, back in mid-April, NASA requested proposals from industry to do a double-take on the costly Mars Sample Return (MSR) initiative to return samples of the Red Planet in the 2030s. NASA is now moving forward with 10 studies to examine more affordable and faster methods of bringing samples from Mars’ surface […]
SpaceX has issued details of the company’s Starship Flight #4. Lifting off on June 6 from Starbase in Texas, Starship “went on to deliver maximum excitement,” explains the posting, “attempting to go farther than any previous test before and begin demonstrating capabilities central to return and reuse of Starship and Super Heavy.” “The payload for […]
China’s Chang’e-6 Moon sampling mission is set to return to Earth, loaded with its cache of far side specimens. According to the China National Space Administration (CNSA), the mission’s orbiter/returner will circle the Moon for a projected 14 days before departure to Earth. The combination will make one to three orbital adjustments over a five […]
China’s Chang’e-6 robotic mission to pluck samples from the Moon’s far side achieved another step in bringing the goods home to planet Earth, targeted for a June 25 parachute landing. At 2:48 PM (Beijing Time) the mission’s ascender vehicle rendezvoused and docked with the Chang’e 6 orbit-return vehicle combination in lunar orbit. The container carrying […]
