The LRO has already provided us with a lot of fascinating high-res photos of the Moon’s surface. But photos are just the start.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter also has more instruments aboard and one of them, the Diviner Lunar Radiometer developed and operated by the California Institute of Technology Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is sending back some wild info about the Moon’s surface… → Read More
Microgravity researchers at NASA have used a superconducting magnet that generated a field powerful enough to levitate the water inside a mouse, effectively simulating weightlessness for the rodents, right here on earth! The first floating mouse didn’t seem very happy about the ordeal, so subsequent tests involved sedating the test mice. As should be expected, the doped up mice had a much better… → Read More
It’s laptops in space, people! What is there not to like? → Read More
It’s Friday. We know you really don’t want to work. How about some nerdy space pr0n? → Read More
I don’t care what you say. Astronauts have balls of steel. They strap themselves onto a rocket, shit in a vacuum, and are risking death by space junk tonight. → Read More
NASA already has major budget issues so it’s a damn good thing the agency didn’t turn to AT&T to provide the wireless data coverage for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Because AT&T charges $0.0195 per kilobyte over a 5GB cap, it would cost roughly $231,883 for the daily data transmission of the 461GB. That’s $83,709,763 per year assuming AT&T didn’t come up with some charge for… → Read More
Hopefully John Hodgman was correct in calling Obama the first nerd president. If not, humans might not reach the Moon anytime soon because we all know a jock wouldn’t fund a science project. The current target is 2020 and the development is already underway of the vehicles needed to get people there. But there is one small issue: Money. NASA needs lots of money. → Read More
Eventually man will go back to the Moon and will need a way to travel in style. Goodyear and NASA has just unveiled the tire that will help with that. The Apollo astronauts used basic lunar rovers to explore a small part of the Moon’s surface, but the current NASA plan is to sightsee a whole lot more. Because of the added distance, the original wire-type tire used in the 70′s will not work. The… → Read More
This game is probably a lot more complex than your standard claw game, but it doesn’t look it. I’m sure it uses some fancy pants calibration and high-tech wizardry. Hell, it probably has more computing power than the actual Lunar Lander did way back in 1969. But you know what, as long as it entertains our kids while teaching them a bit of history, it doesn’t matter. It’s a… → Read More
Slate.com did a wonderful job creating this video that clearly demonstrates how the TV media would cover the Moon landing if it happened today. You know the routen. First they would cut to a panel of “experts” and then cut to live cams. And of course, there would be reaction from Twitter. The only thing left out is Glenn Beck crying. → Read More
This is about the best illustration of the Apollo 11 moon walk I have ever seen. It clearly shows the small amount of ground that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin covered during that first trip. Now how ’bout the map of the later missions when the guys went joy riding in a rover. I’m curious to see that to scale. [via PopSci] → Read More
What a great way to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Moon landing by owning an $800 pen. The Fisher Space pen is of course legendary for it’s ability to write in space, but this one packs a little something special. The top of the pen features a bit of thermal insulation used on the Columbia Command Module that’s engraved with a picture of the Moon landing. That’s eff’n cool, but I don’t know… → Read More
This is the very first photo that shows an astronaut’s face while on the Moon as their faces are hidden behind a visor in every other picture. This one is actually a single frame from a video that was being shot from the Lunar Lander and has been converted from film to high-def by Spacecraft Films for Andrew Chailkin’s new book, Voices from the Moon. → Read More
It was exactly 40 years ago today that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin first walked on the Moon. We’ve gathered a collection of videos and new reports that tell the story as well today as they did those years ago. Enjoy. → Read More
There has been a good deal of focus on the Moon lately. First, the LRO sent back high-res photos of the surface, which was followed by the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11 and the release of restored video footage from the Moon. Then the LRO produced the first photos of the equipment left behind from the Apollo missions and Walter Cronkite, the trusted voice who informed America about the events… → Read More
As soon as the new Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter sent back the first high-res photos of the moon a few days ago, I was eager to see the Apollo landing sites. It’s not that I didn’t believe that man walked on the moon 40 years ago, but rather out of simple nerd curiosity. Well, NASA made good on its promise and just released images showing the landing sites of Apollo 11, 14, 15, 16, and… → Read More
Lowry Digital in Burbank has been restoring old Apollo footage for a while now and NASA just released a small sample of the work. Now, the restoration doesn’t do wonders to the 40 year old stock, but it’s at least better than nothing. Maybe now we can make out that damn coke can more clearly as it bounces across the “Moon surface.” (kidding) More footage will be released… → Read More
Hurry, open a new tab and direct your web browser to WeChooseTheMoon.org to experience the Apollo 11 mission as if it was happening live. Right now, the site is counting down to lift-off which will happen at 9:30am EST. If you can’t have the flash-heavy site open, at least listen to the Mission Control audio that’s being streamed by Shoutcast. Or you can follow everything on Twitter. Or use the… → Read More
Question: What do you do with a 654,000 pound space station with no budget past 2015? → Read More
NASA is gearing up for a trip back to the moon and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is one of the first steps. This satellite will orbit the moon at only 50 km and send back high resolution, 3D images of the lunar surface to map out potential landing sites . And yes, it will be able to get clear photos of the Apollo gear left behind, which will no doubt send conspiracy idiots scrambling for more… → Read More
The Space Shuttle Endeavour was suppose to deliver the final piece of Japan’s Kibo laboratory today. She was suppose to take seven astronauts into space, including four that had never made the trip before. But that was before a hydrogen leak was found, which delayed the launch. → Read More
Nasa (NASA?) has selected Saft, a French company, to develop its next-generation batteries, batteries that will power tomorrow’s rovers, landers, and all sorts of space-related goodies. The batteries will be of the Lithium-ion type, like the kind inside your cellphone (but not the new MacBook Pro—that’s a Lithium-ion polymer.) → Read More
Are you planning on going into space any time soon? No? Maybe it’s hot where you are, though. Yes? Then you need some of this stuff! The Right Stuff, a NASA-developed sports drink/zero-calorie electrolyte liquid concentrate, was designed to basically be the greatest drink on or off the planet. I mean, it’s astronaut proven, probably the highest standard ever. Check out the stats:
Developed as a… → Read More
Mike Massimino, an astronaut on space shuttle Atlantis, is going to have to do some explaining to the Twitter community when he lands today at Kennedy Space Center. Turns out Massimino wasn’t really tweeting from space on the @Astro_Mike account.
It was actually a NASA employee doing the micro-updating for him, and not even in real-time: Massimino writes his updates in space and then e-mails them… → Read More
In case you didn’t check out the Space Shuttle Atlantis launch live on NASA TV, here it is. This video is nothing considering the launch is being filmed in IMAX 3D, which should be absolutely eff’n spectacular. Anyway, we have two videos after the jump: one is of the NASA TV feed and another one through the eyes of a random spectator. → Read More
“I find it frightening that the first alien contact we might make could be a tweet.”
Truer words have never been spoken by a YouTube commenter.
NASA astronaut Mark Polansky, who will be commanding the next mission to the International Space Station, has just posted a video to NASA’s official YouTube channel inviting YouTubers and Twitter fans to take part in his next mission, submitting video… → Read More
BMW is out to improve its vehicles efficiencies and has turned to NASA for help. The car company plans on equipping thermoelectric generators on upcoming models to power secondary systems and therefore improving gasoline economy. Now, this update to BMW’s Efficient Dynamics isn’t a huge leap forward, but rather an evolutionary step towards the space age. Some satellites employ similar… → Read More
Flight of the Navigator 2? Nope. → Read More
A little more than you were probably planning on spending this holiday season, but… if you’re in the market for a slightly used space shuttle and have the space for it (climate control is a must), you’re not going to find it for any cheaper than this. Even on Craigslist. Sorry, main engines are not included (available separately for $400,000-$800,000). The shuttle itself is… → Read More
The forces of nature can be awesome. The sheer size and power of Hurricane Ike was witnessed by millions here on Terra Firma, but a select few had a dry view high up in the sky. These Astronauts aboard the International Space Station saw massive Ike from 220 miles up and took some amazing pictures of the storm from this vantage point. The kind folks at Nasa were nice ‘nough to make the… → Read More
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