Really Rocket Science

Okay, that headline is the only joke in this post about turning astronaut waste into drinking water. The newly-delivered Water Recovery System uses filters and chemicals to purify astronauts’ perspiration, urine, and station waste water into drinkable H20. NASA photo So please get the “yuck” factor out of your system and read on. Among tons of equipment that the space shuttle Endeavour hauled to the International Space Station (ISS) is a new water purification system that recycles ever

A key question is, how did the ice get there in the first place? The tilt of Mars' spin axis sometimes gets much greater than it is now. Climate modeling tells us ice sheets could cover mid-latitude regions of Mars during those high-tilt periods. The buried glaciers make sense as preserved fragments from an ice age millions of years ago. On Earth, such buried glacial ice in Antarctica preserves the record of traces of ancient organisms and past climate history."

A key question is, how did the ice get there in the first place? The tilt of Mars' spin axis sometimes gets much greater than it is now. Climate modeling tells us ice sheets could cover mid-latitude regions of Mars during those high-tilt periods. The buried glaciers make sense as preserved fragments from an ice age millions of years ago. On Earth, such buried glacial ice in Antarctica preserves the record of traces of ancient organisms and past climate history."

Sites probables d'atterrissage pour la mission Mars Sicence Laboratory en 2009 Sur la carte ci-contre de la surface de la planète Mars, les cercles noirs indiquent les possibles sites d’atterrissage de la prochaine mission, Mars Science Laboratory. Il s’agit à chaque fois de lieux particuliers que les astronomes et géologues spécialistes de la planète souhaitent étudier et approcher davantage ! Le site Eberswalde fut probablement autrefois traversé par une rivière se jetant dans un lac … Tou

It turns out that NASA has discovered that under soil of Mars there are huge glaciers — what cool about this is that it means that a future manned visit to the red planet would be much easier to pull off. Scientists are now trying to figure out just how the ice got there in the first place, but to me that’s yet another argument why NASA should be focusing on a Mars mission instead of returning back to the moon (which China and India are already doing as we speak). Here’s the the full story:

It turns out that NASA has discovered that under soil of Mars there are huge glaciers — what cool about this is that it means that a future manned visit to the red planet would be much easier to pull off. Scientists are now trying to figure out just how the ice got there in the first place, but to me that’s yet another argument why NASA should be focusing on a Mars mission instead of returning back to the moon (which China and India are already doing as we speak). Here’s the the full story:

While it is not a delicious, chewy, fruit flavored galaxy far away, it’s still pretty freaking amazing. Long ago, astronomers spotted a galaxy far away and wondered why it was giving birth to so many stars. Using the Hubble Space Telescope, they have finally figured out the answer to the puzzle: The starburst galaxy turns out to be farther away than they thought. Rather than being all by its lonesome, just 7 million light-years away, the starburst galaxy NGC 1569 is stuck in the middle of c

NASA: Το «διαπλανητικό» internet προ των πυλών Την πρώτη πετυχημένη δοκιμή για ένα νέο τηλεπικοινωνιακό δίκτυο που θα επεκτείνεται στο διάστημα και θα βασίζεται στο μοντέλο του επίγειου Internet, πραγματοποίησε η NASA. Σύμφωνα με τον υπεύθυνο της Αμερικανικής Διαστημικής Υπηρεσίας για το έργο αυτό, Αντριαν Χουκ, «είναι το πρώτο βήμα για τη δημιουργία μιας τελείως νέας υποδομής διαστημικών επικοινωνιών, ενός Διαπλανητικού Ίντερνετ». Διαβάστε περισσότερα » ΕνότηταInternet, Νέα τηλεπικοιν

Rising Above The Occasion By Sam | November 21, 2008 Gravity, of late, has been getting me down. “Let go!” I cry. “I’ve places to be, and they’re not to be found upon the Earth’s firmament.” “Never!” is the general gist of Gravity’s reply. “Please?” “Never!” “Pretty please?” “Never!” “Ugly please?” “Never!” “Not traditionally attractive, but nevertheless appealing in an unusual and unique fashion [...] Topics: The Memoirs of Cornelius Gwypp

Se guardate il video, anche voi sarete dell’idea che devono fare più attenzione a chi mandano sulla luna, perché, oltre a perdersi le cassette degli attrezzi, si perdono anche gli Astronauti!

ehlepedia lesezeichen: Terraforming manchmal wird mir beim lesen eines wikipedia artikels bewusst das mein irdisches leben viel zu kurz ist. so geschehen bei dem Terraforming artikel. schade, dass ich einen vollständig terrageformten mars wohl nie sehen werde, mit glück aber vielleicht die anfänge davon und naja das ist ja schonmal was. sehen wir erstmal was uns die mondstation bringen wird die irgendwann gebaut werden soll. den armen mond hatte man bisweilen ja schon fast vergessen. lusti

NASA World Wind is an incredible software. It is the most wonderful exploratory tool. It is free, absolutely free. Just type the name in place finder and within seconds, you will be zooming into that place. Using the mouse, you can navigate through the software. A 2-button mouse is sufficient to control the software. This open source project allows zooming from satellite altitude to any location on Earth. It makes use of several data sources to provide historical as well as current informatio

La NASA ha informado que el SHARAD, radar para el análisis del terreno de Marte con el que va equipado la Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, ha descubierto un enorme glaciar subterráeno que podría servir como un importante recurso para futuras misiones tripuladas al planeta. Jim Head, geólogo planetario de la Brown University, ha declarado que este descubrimiento podría añadir nuevas posibilidades en la búsqueda de vida en el Planeta Rojo: “Si hay vida en Marte, este tipo de hielo podría haber pre

Interesante experimento Las compañías aeronáuticas están continuamente investigando para mejorar las características de los aviones que nos llevan de aquí para allá, con el objetivo de hacer nuestros vuelos más seguros y confortables. En estos dos vídeos científicos grabados en las instalaciones de la NASA en Langley, podemos apreciar a cámara super-lenta, las evoluciones del vórtice de aire provocado por el paso de un avión. Harto curioso!! Click here to view the embedded video. Click here t

Un incidente così banalmente 'terrestre' nella storia della Stazione Spaziale Internazionale non era mai accaduto: un'astronauta che all'esterno di ISS stava procedendo con previsti lavori di manutenzione ha banalmente perso la borsa degli attrezzi. Che, in assenza di gravità, ha cominciato a vagare per lo spazio, intorno alla stazione orbitante. E' successo a Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper nel corso della prima delle quattro passeggiate spaziali previste nell'ambito della attuale missione di En

Racers Get Ready! NASA’s Great Moonbuggy Registration Begins November 21st, 2008 HUNTSVILLE, Ala., (NASA) - Registration is open for NASA’s 16th annual Great Moonbuggy Race, taking place April 3-4, 2009, in Huntsville, Ala. Each year, NASA challenges high schools and colleges across the country and the world to design and build lightweight, human-powered moonbuggies. Innovative students put their own spin on the historic lunar rovers that carried Americans across the surface of the mo

Second STS-126 Spacewalk Complete November 21st, 2008 (NASA) - STS-126 mission specialists Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper and Shane Kimbrough completed the second of the mission’s four spacewalks at 7:43 p.m. EST Thursday. The two astronauts relocated two crew and equipment translation aid carts, lubricated the Canadarm2 end effector, and continued cleaning and lubrication of the starboard solar alpha rotary joint. Read the rest of this entry » Posted in Space Race News, NASA |

Dawn Glides Into New Year November 21st, 2008 (NASA) - NASA’s Dawn spacecraft shut down its ion propulsion system today as scheduled. The spacecraft is now gliding toward a Mars flyby in February of next year. “Dawn has completed the thrusting it needs to use Mars for a gravity assist to help get us to Vesta,” said Marc Rayman, Dawn’s chief engineer, of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. “Dawn will now coast in its orbit around the sun for the next half a year before we aga

Hubble Resolves Puzzle about Loner Starburst Galaxy November 21st, 2008 (NASA) - Astronomers have long puzzled over why a small, nearby, isolated galaxy is pumping out new stars faster than any galaxy in our local neighborhood. Now NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has helped astronomers solve the mystery of the loner starburst galaxy, called NGC 1569, by showing that it is one and a half times farther away than astronomers thought. Read the rest of this entry » Posted in Space Race News, N

STS-126 Flight Day 7/8 Planned Activities November 21st, 2008 13:55 GMT (8:55 am EST) – Endeavour / ISS Crew Wake Up 16:10 GMT (11:10 am EST) – EFBM Checkout 17:00 GMT (12:00 pm EST) – MPLM Transfers Resume 17:10 GMT (12:10 pm EST) – Endeavour Reboost Of ISS Read the rest of this entry » Posted in Space Race News, NASA |