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Laying a Foundation
LAUNCH CONTROL: Main engine start, six engines up and running. And lift-off! Lift-off of the Proton rocket and the Zarya control module. The International Space Station is under way. The International Space Station was born 25 years ago today. The first piece of the station was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It was built…
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A new interactive Visitors Centre brings space exploration to life at Jodrell Bank, UK
The Jodrell Bank Observatory, at the University of Manchester in England, hosts several radio telescopes with over 50 years of intergalactic stories to reveal. As the world’s oldest radio astronomy observatory, the institution has witnessed some of the most groundbreaking intergalactic discoveries since the dawn of the Space Age. In July 2019, the Observatory was…
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World’s First Wooden Satellite Will Not Add to Space Debris » Explorersweb
NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are trying to make space exploration more sustainable by launching the world’s first wooden satellite. The size of a coffee mug LignoSat goes into orbit next summer. Only the size of a coffee mug, it looks like a little wooden box. Wood does not block magnetic fields…
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From Saint John to outer space: These astronomy buffs have a new planetary namesake
Three New Brunswickers are enjoying an astronomical surprise: an asteroid has been named after them. It’s called Mipach — using the first two letters from the names of Saint Johners Mike Powell, Paul Owen and Chris Curwin. “I saw the email and the other two guys hadn’t seen it yet. So I was frantically on…
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The Story Behind Apollo 8’s Famous Earthrise Photo [Video]
The restored image of Earthrise. A high-quality black and white image was colored using hues from the original color photos. Credit: NASA, Apollo 8 Crew, Bill Anders; Processing and License: Jim Weigang, CC BY-SA On December 24, 1968, Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders became the first humans to witness the…
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NICK STROBEL: Watching Jupiter, Saturn in fall sky
The two giant planets of the solar system, Jupiter and Saturn, continue to reign in the evening sky. At sunset, Saturn is already at its highest point in the south as it travels across the sky among the dim stars of Aquarius. The moon is at first quarter tonight, about a fist width to the…
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Expanding Horizons: NASA’s Cold Atom Lab Pioneers Quantum Chemistry in Space
NASA’s Cold Atom Laboratory. Credit: NASA The remotely operated facility aboard the <span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt" data-cmtooltip=" International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large spacecraft in orbit around the Earth that serves as a research laboratory and spaceport for international collaboration in space exploration. It was launched in 1998 and has been…
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New views from space alter perspectives
It was a clear, sunny day on Mars, with just a few streaks of cirrus cloud. A range of low hills defined the horizon. This was one of the images sent back to us by one of the robots we have exploring the Red Planet. Then we have pictures transmitted back from Titan, Saturn’s largest…
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SpaceX Starship’s second test flight ends in loss of megarocket
Editor’s note: A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here. CNN — To say that space is a challenging environment is putting it lightly. During a recent spacewalk outside the International Space Station, a tool bag got away from NASA astronauts…
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SpaceX launch attempt ends in loss of most powerful rocket ever built
(CNN) — To say that space is a challenging environment is putting it lightly. During a recent spacewalk outside the International Space Station, a tool bag got away from NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara. The bag has gone into orbit around Earth and may be visible through binoculars until it disintegrates in our planet’s atmosphere.…