Expedition 70 Flight Engineers Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara

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iss070e003191 (Oct. 12, 2023) — Expedition 70 Flight Engineers (from left) Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara, both from NASA, pose for a portrait in front of the International Space Station’s Cold Atom Lab. The physics research device observes the quantum behavior of atoms chilled to about one ten billionth of a degree above absolute zero — much colder than the average temperature of deep space. NASA

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NASA’s Psyche Spacecraft, Optical Comms Demo En Route to Asteroid

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A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket with the Psyche spacecraft onboard is launched from Launch Complex 39A, Friday, Oct. 13, 2023, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s Psyche spacecraft will travel to a metal-rich asteroid by the same name orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter to study it’s composition. The spacecraft also carries the agency’s Deep Space Optical Communications technology demonstration, which will test laser communications beyond the Moon. NASA/Aubrey Gemignani NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is on its voyage to an asteroid of the same name, a metal-rich world…

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In the search for alien life, should we be looking for artificial intelligence?

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Is biological life common in the universe, or should we be looking for artificial, robotic intelligence in the search for alien life?  An increasing number of scientists suspect that if we ever do make contact with alien life, we will be communicating with a computer. This thinking revolves around an event called the singularity. This term, borrowed from mathematics, signifies a point where our knowledge of math and physics breaks down and we can no longer accurately characterize what we’re trying to describe. A black hole singularity is a good…

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‘Loki’ season 2 episode 2 review: Time to flex the acting muscles

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After last week’s remarkable season 2 premiere, we were wondering if Loki would be able to maintain its modus operandi of putting characters over plot in most instances. In many of the Marvel Studios-produced TV shows, sometimes it’s hard to find some breathing room amidst all the action and adventure. It’s not a coincidence that the most respected Marvel TV shows are the ones able to slow things down a bit and let the actors dive deep into who their characters are and where they come from. WandaVision, Loki, Hawkeye,…

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Larry Young Receives AIAA Wright Brothers Lectureship Award

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In June 2023, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) awarded the 2023 AIAA Wright Brothers Lectureship in Aeronautics to Larry Young, a researcher in the Aeromechanics Office at NASA Ames Research Center.  As part of this award, Mr. Young delivered a lecture titled “NASA Aeronautics Contributions to the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter” at the 2023 AIAA AVIATION Forum in San Diego, CA.  More information is at https://www.aiaa.org/news/news/2023/05/15/2023-aiaa-wright-brothers-lectureship-in-aeronautics-awarded-to-larry-a.-young-nasa-ames-research-center. YouTube video of the lecture can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vnxDNdyMD0. Larry A. Young, Aerospace Engineer, NASA Ames Research Center NASA

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65 Years Ago: First Factory Rollout of the X-15 Hypersonic Rocket Plane

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On Oct. 15, 1958, the first X-15 hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft rolled out of its factory. A joint project among NASA, the U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Navy, the X-15 greatly expanded our knowledge of flight at speeds exceeding Mach 6 and altitudes above 250,000 feet. Between 1959 and 1968, 12 pilots completed 199 missions, achieving ever-higher speeds and altitudes while gathering data on the aerodynamic and thermal performance of the aircraft flying to the edge of space and beyond and returning to Earth. The X-15 served as a platform…

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‘Ring of fire’ solar eclipse on Oct. 14: Will the weather cooperate?

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Almost all of North America will experience a weird and dramatic event on Saturday (Oct. 14), when a partial eclipse of the sun will be visible. Depending on where you are, the sun will appear slightly dented, deeply crescent shaped or even ring-shaped.  But skywatchers across the U.S. who are looking forward to viewing Saturday’s solar eclipse may run into a problem thanks to several unsettled weather systems that will predominate over the east-central part of the country, as well as along the Pacific coast. Along a path averaging 127…

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