On Episode 100 of This Week In Space, Tariq and Rod welcome back Dr. Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute to share what it’s like to fly on a private spaceplane. Alan, a planetary scientist and principal investigator of NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto and beyond, launched on a suborbital spaceflight in November 2023 on Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity space plane. He dishes on what that experience is like, what it promises for future space science, and more. Tariq and Rod also discuss Intuitive Machines’ private Odysseus moon…
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Our solar system
Immerse yourself in the total eclipse 2024 with ‘The Eclipse App’ from The Eclipse Company
A total solar eclipse is coming on April 8, 2024. It’s time to ensure you maximize your eclipse viewing experience with The Eclipse Company‘s carefully curated “The Eclipse App”. “Experiencing totality is a life-changing event for many people. The splendor is incomparable to anything else. We wanted to build an app that brings clarity around such a spectacular event.” The Eclipse App co-founder Stephen Watkins said in a press statement. The Eclipse App is a great resource for people wanting to connect with local communities that lie within the path…
Read MoreCould tardigrades have colonized the moon?
This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Laurent Palka is a microbiologist at France’s National Museum of Natural History. Just over five years ago, on 22 February 2019, an unmanned space probe was placed in orbit around the Moon. Named Beresheet and built by SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries, it was intended to be the first private spacecraft to perform a soft landing. Among the probe’s payload were tardigrades, renowed for their ability to survive in even the harshest climates.…
Read MoreHeaviest pair of black holes ever seen weighs 28 billion times more than the sun
Two supermassive black holes found in collision-created “fossil galaxies” are so massive that they refuse to collide and merge. The discovery could explain why, although supermassive black hole mergers are predicted theoretically, they have never been observed in progress. The supermassive black hole system is located in elliptical galaxy B2 0402+379. Together, the two black holes have a joint mass that is 28 billion times larger than that of the sun, making this the most massive black hole binary ever seen. Not only that, but the binary components of this…
Read MoreWill NASA be able to return Mars samples to Earth? New audit raises doubts
NASA’s bold plan to get pristine samples of Mars to Earth for analysis is facing major challenges, according to a new report. Design, cost and scheduling are all significant obstacles, an audit report of NASA’s Mars Sample Return (MSR) Program by the agency’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) finds. MSR aims to return Martian geological samples to Earth for scientific study. It involves landing on Mars to collect samples taken by the Perseverance rover and launching those samples to rendezvous with an orbiter, which will haul them to Earth. Related: NASA’s…
Read MoreAdam Sandler’s ‘Spaceman’ used NASA artifacts to create sci-fi film’s spaceship
There is a scene in the new science fiction film “Spaceman” where Adam Sandler, playing a Czech astronaut, floats by a brown duffle bag attached to one of the walls of his spaceship. There is nothing particularly notable about the scene and, in the context of the movie, there is nothing special about the bag. It is one of many such items that have come to be expected aboard a spacecraft. What sets it apart is that the bag is a real piece of space equipment. “That is a NASA…
Read MoreOukitel BP2000 power station review
KEY SPECIFICATIONS Power: 2048WhCapacity: 640,000 mAhOutput ports: 15 (5x AC, 4x USB-A (2x 12W, 2x 18W), 2x USB-C PD 100W, 1x car 12V/10A, 1x 24V/10 AV, 2x 12V/3A DC5521)Charging time: 80% charge in 53 mins using ACIP rating: NoneWeight: 50.7 lbs (23 kg)Dimensions: 480 x 296 x 322 mm We’ve reviewed several of the best power stations over the past few years, and we frequently receive requests from brands to review their products. The Outkitel BP2000 (aka FF power BP2000) caught our attention for a specific reason, which might sound…
Read MoreChina names the spacecraft that will put its astronauts on the moon (video)
China’s human spaceflight agency has given names to spacecraft being developed to put astronauts on the moon. Mengzhou is the name for the spacecraft that will take astronauts beyond low Earth orbit, while the lunar lander has been named Lanyue. Lanyue means “Embracing the Moon,” referencing the Tang dynasty poet Li Bai. China’s human spaceflight Agency, CMSA, said in a press statement that the chosen name appears in a Mao Zedong poem. Mengzhou, meanwhile, means “Dream Vessel” and fits into the naming style for China’s Shenzhou and Tianzhou spacecraft, which…
Read MoreSpaceX Starship docking system readies for moon missions in tests with NASA
Practice makes perfect, which is especially true for moon missions with astronauts on board. That’s why SpaceX and NASA recently completed more than 200 docking scenarios together with Starship hardware. Starship is the landing system that will bring astronauts to the lunar surface with the Artemis 3 mission, no earlier than 2026. Engineers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center spent 10 days using hardware from the Starship lander and NASA’s Orion orbiter (designed by Lockheed Martin) at “various approach angles and speeds,” NASA officials said in a release. “These real-world results,…
Read MorePrivate Odysseus moon lander broke a leg during historic touchdown. ‘He’s a scrappy little dude.’ (new photos)
Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus moon lander overcame a number of hurdles during its epic touchdown last week, including one or more broken legs. The 14-foot-tall (4.3 meters) Odysseus settled onto the gray dirt near the moon‘s south pole on Thursday (Feb. 22), pulling off the first American lunar landing since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. But Odysseus’ touchdown was a bit rough. Thanks to an issue with its navigation equipment, the six-legged lander came down faster than expected, onto a patch of lunar ground that was higher in elevation than…
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