Meet the Astronauts for the Crew-1 Mission
When SpaceX launches the Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft atop it from historic Launch Complex 39A, the Commercial Crew Program (CCP) will finally have reached fruition. Aboard Resilience will be three NASA astronauts and one JAXA astronaut, all heading to the International Space Station for a six-month stay at the orbiting …
QuizMe: Mars Exploration
During the past 60 years humanity has been sending mission after mission to Mars in order to learn more about our neighbor. Now it is your turn to test your knowledge about those missions that have failed to turn up any sign of the little green Martians once popular in science fiction. This edition of …
OSIRIS-REx is bringing home a piece of an asteroid
Upon first hearing the name OSIRIS-REx, a picture of an unknown carnivorous dinosaur may come to mind. But OSIRIS-REx (Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource Identification-Security-Regolith Explorer) is actually an acronym that names an upcoming asteroid exploration mission. The spacecraft will travel to an asteroid target in a near-Earth orbit, perform scientific experiments, and become the first U.S. mission that …
Life on a moon? Exploring Europa
On a clear night, you can see the planet Jupiter with nothing more than your eyes, as it shines steady and bright against the background of glittering stars. If you take a closer look through a telescope, you can see tiny specks surrounding it. What if I told you that there may be life on …
Flowing water exists on surface of Mars
Today, NASA made an exciting announcement about Mars. New information out of NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) confirms that sporadic salty water movement is taking place on the red planet. It had been previously speculated that dark downhill flowing streaks (known as recurring slope lineae (RSL)), occurring seasonally on the slopes of Mars, were somehow …
Kepler has found Earth’s older, larger cousin
Some of the very fundamental questions about our existence – why we are here, what is out there, if we will ever find another planet similar enough to ours to live on – have come another step closer to being solved, today. The latest exciting Kepler Space Telescope planet-hunting discovery was announced by NASA this …
Al Worden on the honor of being an astronaut
“Do you know what they did down on the Moon? What those guys’ primary job was? They picked up rocks and dirt. Now, myself, in lunar orbit…” — Al Worden, Apollo 15 CMP USAF Colonel Alfred Worden served as Command Module Pilot for Apollo 15 – the fourth manned lunar landing mission. He also holds the …
Teams vie for $20 million lunar prize
The race to the Moon is on. However, this race isn’t a pride-filled competition between nations. Now it is several teams consisting of engineers, entrepreneurs, and anyone with a vision, racing to build a moon roving robot – to the tune of $30 million in prizes. The Google Lunar X Prize is a next-generation competition …
Brian Greene and the challenges of physics
Have you ever stared up at the night sky contemplating how the universe works? Have your thoughts ever drifted off into the realm of the infinite? Theoretical physicist Brian Greene not only ponders these questions, but his research into String Theory could one day prove successful in answering them. Greene is an author, professor, creator …
World Science U launches online learning for everyone
World Science U is an up and coming web-based school that offers massive open online courses (MOOC). It was created by Dr. Brian Greene, Theoretical Physicist, so that top researchers and educators could guide any student’s way through the expansion of their scientific knowledge at whatever level they are most comfortable approaching. There are no …