President Donald Trump is planning to return U.S. astronauts to the moon by 2020 and go onto Mars soon after, according to leaked internal documents. The documents say Trump wants NASA to launch a “rapid and affordable” lunar mission to the moon by 2020, build privately operated space stations and assist “the large-scale economic development of space.”
Category: Space
NASA Can’t Explain Mysterious ‘Blue Jet’ Spotted Near Space Station [VIDEO]
NASA is cooperating with the European Space Agency to take pictures and video of the jets from the ISS using special cameras. The strange flashes can be more than half a mile wide and typically occur about 11 to 12 miles above the ground.
Daniel J. Scheeres, CU Boulder professor, added to National Academy of Engineering roster
Daniel J. Scheeres joined CU in 2008, and was previously on the faculty at Iowa State University and the University of Michigan, according to a CU news release. He was also a member of the technical staff for the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a visiting fellow at the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science in Japan.
Primitive plants survive almost two years in outer space
Primitive plants are the latest forms of Earth life to show they can survive in the harshness of space, and for many months. Cold-loving algae from the Arctic Circle have joined the space-travelling club, alongside bacteria , lichens and even simple animals called tardigrades .
All you need to know about Dr. Shawna Pandya, the third woman astronaut to be of Indian-origin
Born in Canada with roots in Mumbai, Dr Shawna Pandya will become the third woman of Indian origin to go into the space after Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams. one of two candidates shortlisted from 3,200 people enrolled in the Citizen Science Astronaut program.
Why NASAa s JPL wants to create the coldest place in the universe on the International Space Station
Cold Atom Laboratory project manager Anita Sengupta shows on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017 in a JPL clean room the Cold Atom Laboratory that will be going to the International Space Station this year. The laboratory was created to make the coldest spot on the universe for physicists to study atoms.
Air Force awards STPSat-6 payload integration contract to Orbital ATK
The Space and Missiles Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., awarded a sole-source contract for Space Test Program Satellite 6 payload integration services to Orbital ATK, Feb. 3, 2017. The STPSat-6 spacecraft will be the primary payload on the STP-3 mission expected to launch no earlier than June 2019.
The Magellenic Clouds Stay Connected By A String Of Stars
Astronomers have finally observed something that was predicted but never seen: a stream of stars connecting the two Magellanic Clouds. In doing so, they began to unravel the mystery surrounding the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Small Magellanic Cloud .
‘The Space Between Us’ very universal: Director
Los Angeles, Feb 9 – Director Peter Chelsom says his latest film The Space Between Us is a big movie and is very universal in its theme. When people ask me what the story is, when you get to a line or two people go wow, it’s kind of fun because a lead astronaut on a mission to Mars doesn’t realise she is pregnant and that’s where people go wow, so you have already got a good hook.
Jessica Chastain To Produce, Potentially Star In 1960s NASA Event…
On the heels of the success of Hidden Figures , about female African-American NASA mathematicians’ contributions to Project Mercury, an event series is looking to shine a light on another little known group of women in the early 1960s who were denied a chance to be part of the Mercury space program. In her first foray into TV producing, Oscar-nominated actress Jessica Chastain has teamed with Sully writer Todd Komarnicki and TV producer Christina Wayne for Mercury 13 , an event series project set at ITV Studios America , where Wayne’s Assembly Entertainment has a pod deal.
The Latest: Tornado damages New Orleans NASA facility
An official at NASA’s Michoud facility in New Orleans says it suffered some damage during Tuesday’s tornado but the deep-space equipment being built there does not appear to be damaged. Steve Doering was there when the wind started picking up and says it sounded like a freight train coming down.
Fly Your Satellite
A new opportunity or university teams to participate in ESA’s Fly Your Satellite! programme is now available. The call for proposals is open until 5 March 2017 23:59 CEST.
A Black Hole Feeding Frenzy That Breaks Records
A giant black hole ripped apart a nearby star and then continued to feed off its remains for close to a decade, according to research led by the University of New Hampshire. This black hole meal is more than 10 times longer than any other previous episode of a star’s death.
Critics, audience clash on ‘The Space Between Us’
For movie lovers who often have a hard time choosing between science fiction fantasy tales and romantic comedies, the recently released movie “The Space Between Us” is the perfect marriage of the two genres. The film was released on Feb. 3 by STX Entertainment and was directed by Peter Chelsom.
A Japanese mission to clear up space junk has failed
Once attached, the tether would slow down the object, forcing it to re-enter into Earth’s atmosphere where it would burn up.JAXA, the Japanese space agency, had launched the KITE experiment aboard the HTV-6, a spacecraft which had first docked with the International Space Station , bringing supplies for the crew. After dropping off the goods and being refilled with ISS trash, the spacecraft was to deploy a 2,300-foot-long tether to lasso space junk and drag it back to Earth.
Orbital ATK sues Pentagon over plans to award a space robots contract to a Canadian-owned firm
Orbital ATK, a Dulles-based aerospace manufacturer, is suing the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency over plans to award a Canadian firm a $15 million contract to build a fleet of space-faring robots capable of repairing government and commercial satellites. Orbital argues the federal program, called the Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites, would unfairly compete with its own privately funded effort, a system called the Mission Extension Vehicle 1, backed by at least $200 million from investors.
Black Hole’s Decade-Long Feeding Frenzy Sucks Down Star
A black hole’s decade-long feeding frenzy on a star almost billion light years from Earth has been going on 10 times longer than any other known episode, according to researchers who keep track of space phenomena. The location of the hungry black hole, known by its abbreviated name of XJ1500+0154, is in a small galaxy, a new University of New Hampshire study .
Astronobeads: Jewelry inspired by space
a local woman has a jewelry line that’s pretty out of this world- even an astronaut thinks so. Dana Dean is here to tell us about astronobeads.
Tornado hits New Orleans East, dozens injured, NASA Michoud Assembly Facility reportedly damaged
NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility reportedly sustained some damage, as well. This is where crews are assembling NASA’s Space Launch System.
Japan’s Space Junk Collection Mission Ends in Failure
Japan’s experimental mission to remove trash from orbit around the Earth has failed miserably. The cargo spacecraft which was supposed to return with space junk reentered the Earth’s atmosphere on Sunday unloaded and burned up harmlessly over the Pacific Ocean.
Cerritos College, Rio Hondo selected for NASA fellowship program
Students attending Cerritos College and Rio Hondo College in Whittier can look forward to studying computing and circuitry with the ultimate goal of presenting experiment results to NASA personnel. The California Space Grant Consortium, which in this state runs NASA’s National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, has selected the two schools for a program in which participating students will be able to employ Arduino microcomputers to further their studies.
Dassault Systemes sets eyes on space exploration, faster transport
Los Angeles, Feb 7 – From collaborating with engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory for designing a next-generation space exploration device to cut the distance barrier between cities, the global 3D design company Dassault Systemes is busy working on ideas to herald a new era for millennials. According to Gian Paolo Bassi, CEO, SOLIDWORKS, Dassault Systemes, new space exploration devices will further expand our knowledge about the universe.
Space Pioneer Award for Special Merit: a oeMACa s Old Teama
“MAC’s Old Team,” consisting of former employees of the McDonnell Aircraft, McDonnell-Douglas and Boeing Companies in the St. Louis area, is the winner of the National Space Society’s 2017 Space Pioneer Award in the Special Merit category. This award recognizes the exemplary work this team did building our nation’s historic Mercury and Gemini spacecraft beginning 59 years ago! The National Space Society invites the public to join them in presenting the Pioneer Award to MAC’s Old Team on Saturday, May 27, 2017 at the 36th NSS International Space Development ConferenceA .
Are solar storms causing mysterious whale beachings?
Why do otherwise healthy sea creatures end up stranded along coastal areas around the world? NASA scientists are searching for the answer. Whales, dolphins and porpoises – known collectively as cetaceans – partially use magnetic-field sensing to navigate.
Uber Elevate just poached NASA’s flying car expert
Uber has poached a flying car specialist from NASA, as it schemes new ways of transportation under its Uber Elevate brand. Mark Moore had been employed at NASA for three decades, most recently leading the space agency’s work on electric flying vehicles for on-demand mobility.
Japan’s fishing line experiment in space fails to make a catch
After a trash-laden Japanese cargo spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station in late January it still had one task to perform before it burned up in the atmosphere-test an innovative space debris removal technology. The HTV-6 spacecraft left the station on January 27 after delivering 5 tons of food, water, experiments, and more.
Hidden Figures dares too little
AP Taraji P. Henson , Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae in the movie Hidden Figures. I wasn’t around for the 1960s, but everything I’ve seen from the time period confirms two things.
Celestial bodies: The Kelly twins offer a vital sign for space travel
When astronaut Scott Kelly returned to Earth after nearly a year on the International Space Station, he was 2 inches taller than his twin brother, astronaut Mark Kelly. When Scott left for the mission, he and his earthbound brother were the same height.
Review: “The Space Between Us”
Gary Oldman plays Nathaniel Shepherd, the visionary head of a company that specializes in space exploration. His goal is to form a colony on Mars called East Texas.
‘Split’ leads box office for third week, tops ‘Rings’ and ‘The Space Between Us’
For the third week in a row, Universal’s “Split” landed in the No. 1 box office spot, beating out new releases, Paramount ‘s “Rings,” STX Entertainment’s “The Space Between Us” and Sony’s “The Comedian.”
‘Split’ leads box office for third week, tops ‘Rings’ and ‘The Space Between Us’
For the third week in a row, Universal’s “Split” landed in the No. 1 box office spot, beating out new releases, Paramount ‘s “Rings,” STX Entertainment’s “The Space Between Us” and Sony’s “The Comedian.”
Juno Buzzes Jupiter a mere 4,300 Km’s above the Cloud Tops
On July 4th, 2016, NASA’s Juno spacecraft made history when it became the second mission to establish orbit around Jupiter – the previous being the Galileo spacecraft, which orbited the planet from 1995 to 2003. Since that time, it has circled the massive gas giant three times, collecting data on the gas giant’s composition, interior and gravity field.
How Profitable Is SpaceX, Really?
Last year, prior to the big SpaceXplosion — which kind of knocked SpaceX off the rails — we spent a lot of time digging into SpaceX’s finances. We asked: How does SpaceX make money ? And we answered the question: ” How profitable is SpaceX ” when it makes all that money? Much of this was based on educated guesswork, however, as we extrapolated what we knew about the finances at SpaceX rivals Boeing , and applied it to what we thought that might mean for SpaceX’s own finances.
Veteran Astronaut Story Musgrave
Former astronaut Story Musgrave is a veteran of six space shuttle flights on five different orbiters. He has seven academic degrees, including a doctorate in medicine.
Trailer & Superbowl Spot: “Life”
While there’s plenty of big blockbusters scoring Superbowl commercials tomorrow, one of the smaller-medium films also airing one just put its new spot online. Daniel Espinosa’s space thriller “Life,” starring Ryan Reynolds, Jake Gyllenhaal and Rebecca Ferguson – released both a new full trailer and Superbowl commercial today which you can see below.
One of a kind: Hubble telescope captures the death of a star
The demise of a low-mass star located over 5,000 light years away from Earth was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, Sputnik reported. The image recorded by the telescope and posted on NASA’s official website depicts the star in question, a red giant, rapidly transforming into a planetary nebula by blowing its outer layers of dust and gas into the surrounding space.
Used SpaceX Booster Set for Historic 1st Reflight is Test Fired in Texas
SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage previously flown to space is test fired at the firms McGregor, TX rocket development facility in late January 2017. Credit: SpaceX The once fanciful dream of rocket recycling is now closer than ever to becoming reality, after successful completion of the static fire test on a test stand in McGregor, Texas, paved the path to relaunch, SpaceX announced via twitter.
This Friday, get ready to join the dark side a ” of a penumbral lunar eclipse
Prod the kids outside, give them hot chocolate and gaze toward the moon in the east. Enjoy the evening penumbral lunar eclipse on Friday.
An Inuit Actor Contemplates A Big Break Gone Small
When Orto Ignatiussen landed a part in a Hollywood blockbuster in 2011, he thought it might be his big break. At the time, he was the director of a community theater in the small town of Tasiilaq, Greenland, already middle-aged and still hoping he might have a career as a serious actor.
An Inuit Actor Contemplates A Big Break Gone Small
When Orto Ignatiussen landed a part in a Hollywood blockbuster in 2011, he thought it might be his big break. At the time, he was the director of a community theater in the small town of Tasiilaq, Greenland, already middle-aged and still hoping he might have a career as a serious actor.