Space & Spaceflight

Why You’d Want To Go On A One-Way Trip To Mars

Mars Oneis the program that’s planning on sending four humans on a one-way trip to Mars to establish a human colony. Applications are in, a shortlist has been made, and all that’s left to do is um fly to Mars, build a colony, and die a lonely death among the stars. The Guardian has asked…

Imagine Your Workstation Had This View of the Galaxy

Being an astronomer working at the Very Large Telescope is probably one of the best jobs in the world. Just look at the view this office has. It’s full of stars! The VLT is a giant telescope operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. The…

This Is What a Spiral Galaxy Looks Like Side-On

This is a rare glimpse of a spiral galaxy seen directly along its edge. The image of NGC 7814, known as the “Little Sombrero” to its buddies, was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. Measuring 60,000 light-years across, NGC 7814 has a bright central bulge and a bright halo of glowing gas which extends outwards…

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Looks Like a Tiny Rivet on Mars’ Surface

Do you see it? That incredibly tiny dot in the center of that blue perimeter. That is NASA’s $2.5 billion rover, steadily working away and analyzing the Martian soil. This image was captured on Dec. 13, 2014 by the HiRISE camera housed inside NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover can be seen at…

No, this isn’t some hi-tech torture dungeon: it’s the Maxwell Test Chamber at the European Space Agency in the Netherlands. It’s used to simulate the dead of space for satellites. Inside, no-one can hear you scream. The spikes are made of foam, and serve to absorb any internal signals from satellites that are being tested.…

The Long, Spiraling Path NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft Will Take to Ceres

Over the next few months, NASA’s Dawn spacecraft will be slowly spiraling down toward Ceres, a dwarf planet out in the asteroid belt. Ceres’ gravity and Dawn’s ion drive will work together to pull the spacecraft into a tighter and tighter orbit, which is rather mesmerizing traced out in full like this. Dawn is already…

In This Breathtaking Image, Three Moons Transit the Face of Jupiter

In this recent image from space-based telescope Hubble, we see something extraordinary. The moons Europa, Callisto, and Io transit the planet Jupiter, casting shadows on its roiling clouds. One day, humans will have this view from their windows. For now, we can dream. Image: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) On the Hubble…

RIP Giant Machine That Put Space Shuttles on Top of 747s

It’s a great American tradition. When something is old and less useful than it once was, we just tear it down to make room for new and more useful things. That’s exactly what’s happened to the Mate-Demate Device (MDD) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. It used to mount Space Shuttles on 747s. Now it’s scrap…

This Gorgeous Art Show Celebrates Our Favourite Space-Bound Heroes

I think it’s safe to say we’re all fans of sci-fi in a variety of forms around here – we love not just the majesty of space, but all the heroes who trek out into the black in pursuit of adventure. So what better way to celebrate them than with this beautiful gallery exhibition from…

NASA May Soon Send This Spacecraft to Jupiter’s Moon Europa

With massive oceans buried under six kilometers of ice, Jupiter’s moon Europa has long been a dream destination for astronomers. It’s possible that those oceans, warmed by undersea volcanoes, could harbor microbial life. NASA’s wanted a closer look for 15 years, and now they’re getting it. In NASA’s 2016 budget, the plan to explore Europa…

America Is Already Planning to Regulate Business on the Moon

The Federal agency that regulates civil aviation in America is planning to use its framework for licensing space launches to licensing business on the Moon, according to a scoop from Reuters this morning. Are we facing a lunar land grab? Not exactly. The report takes the form of a letter from the Federal Aviation Agency…

A Giant Telescope Will Search The Stars For ‘Planet X’

For years, astronomers have been searching (pointlessly?) for ‘Planet X‘, a rumored Earth-size planet said to live in the outer reaches of the Solar System (and which is going to collide with Earth and kill us all, if you listen to the truthers). NPRhas taken a look at the search for ‘Planet X’, and the…

Six Busy Days (and Nights) With Some of the World’s Largest Telescopes 

Night falls in the Atacama Desert, but the day is far from over. In this wonderful little timelapse, sent along to us by the photographer Enrico Sacchetti, we get a sense for the constant work being done at the European Southern Observatory. Sacchetti visited the Atacama this fall and spent six days shooting two of…

Why It’s Impossible to Design a Perfect Spacesuit

The first factor that needs to be considered in the design of a space suit is “what will the suit be used for?” There is no universal suit. The suits are designed for particular mission needs. For example, technically the Russian Sokol suit is a space suit, but it is not designed for use outside.…

The ESA’s New Space Shuttle Gets Dressed For Its First Trial Outing

The European Space Agency’s Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV), a new wingless space plane, is set to be tested on February 11th. Here, it’s show during fairing encapsulation in preparation for the launch. During the test, the craft will undertake a 100-minute mission without a crew, reaching 420km above Earth. You can read more about the…

Here Is What War Looks Like From Space

This image, taken by Expedition 41 aboard the International Space Station, looks like the fine artwork of some extra-terrestrial, but it’s actually decades old scarred earth and entrenchments of warfare along the Iraq/Iran border. NASA’s Earth Observatory writes: Systems of large curved earthworks, circular gun emplacements, and straight connecting roads run parallel to the international…

This Video Lets You Travel at the Speed of Light (Sort Of)

Riding Light is a 45-minute short film/animation that attempts to recreate what it would be like to hitch a ride on the back of a photon and travel from the core of the sun to beyond the orbit of Jupiter. Be prepared to feel completely insignificant. All of humanity has a close up in the…

That Time Soviet Russia Sent Dogs Into Space

The dog Laika, the first living being to orbit the Earth, lives on in our memories along with her lethal Sputnik 2 mission, on which she was an unwitting pioneer in the USSR’s space program more than 57 years ago. Her story is central to Lasse Hallström’s 1985 movie, “My Life as a Dog,” and…

Beautiful New Photo of the Mouth of the Beast Nebula

The European Southern Observatory has published a new Very Large Telescope photo of the cometary globule CG4 or, as they call it, The Mouth of the Beast. https://gizmodo.com/beautiful-new-photo-of-the-mysterious-mouth-of-the-beas-1682532580