The Smithsonian Museum’s New Exhibits

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The “Discovering Our Universe” gallery at the National Air and Space Museum. (NASM)

If you are looking for something to do this summer inside an air-conditioned building, you may want to visit the Smithsonian Institute’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC to enjoy some of its new exhibits.

On July 1st, a new exhibit called “Discovering Our Universe” opened to the public. It covers the tools used to understand the universe, from early land-based telescopes to the great space telescopes, such as the Hubble Space Telescope. As a result of these tools, the exhibit shares what we have already learned about what it out there as well as the plans to gather even greater amounts of data.

Other space-related exhibit openings include:

  • Living in the Space Age Hall: The display provides insight into space technologies and infrastructure that are largely invisible to the public but have a profound impact on our daily lives.
  • The Art of Air and Space: Interpretations of Flight: The display explores the relationship between art and the transformative power of the experience of flight through the display of the Museum’s permanent collection.

Of course, there is plenty more to see at the National Air and Space Museum as well as others along the National Mall. And it should be easier to get around now that the Fourth of July crowds have departed. And if you still have time, you may want to visit the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA where more aircraft and spacecraft are on display.

Pic of the Week: Fourth of July Colors

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Images from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory that provide a red, white, and blue version of the universe. (NASA/CXC/SAO)

If you are looking for some images for the upcoming Fourth of July celebrations, then this week’s pic will give you everything you need. The red, white, and blue of these images from the Chandra X-ray Observatory should put you in the right spirit.

The images from the top clockwise are Cassiopeia A, the ZwCl 0024+1652 galaxy cluster, spiral galaxy NGC 4736, and nebula NGC 3603. You can learn more about each of these images at this NASA site.

Happy Fourth of July!

Space Quote: Every Day is Disclosure Day

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Image by Smim Bipi from Pixabay

“There’s no effort to keep it secret. If we [get] a signal, it’s going to be out there. The next step is transparency.”

-Statement by Dr. Carol Oliver, as quoted in a Scientific American article titled, “What Disclosure Day Gets Wrong About the Search for Aliens.” Dr. Oliver is a professor of science communication and astrobiology at the University of New South Wales in Australia. She is also involved with the latest version of the SETI Post-Detection Protocols, which establishes procedures for astronomers who believe they have detected evidence of an extra-terrestrial civilization.

Update: For more on Disclosure Day, check out this StarTalk podcast, Disclosure Day with Steven Spielberg & David Koepp.

It Was Quite a Week for Blue Origin

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Explosion of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket at Cape Canaveral on Thursday night, May 28, 2026. (Spectrum News 13/Kevin M. Sackett)

It was certainly a mixed week for Blue Origin. The week started with new lunar contracts and ended with a rocket that could not get off the launch pad. Yesterday’s explosion not only destroyed a New Glenn rocket, but also a launch pad. It was reminiscent of the Roscosmos launch pad explosion late last year, as well as the SpaceX launch pad explosion at Cape Canaveral back in 2016 (which took a year to rebuild).

While Blue Origin must be dizzy, NASA is probably panicking. The Artemis III mission is not very likely in 2027 at this rate. Neither Blue Origin or SpaceX seem anywhere near close to ready for a low-Earth orbit display. The much derided Space Launch System (SLS) is looking better and better as time passes. Maybe the planned phase out of that rocket should be put on hold until Blue Origin and SpaceX have a proven replacement.

Given this mess, one can only hope the Chinese are secretly having problems as well with their Moon mission but keeping mums about it. Otherwise, the race to the Moon may be a little too close for comfort.

In addition the Artemis III worries, NASA will be spending the weekend rethinking its upcoming Moon base plans, which includes Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 Endurance lander being launched to the Moon later this year. The idea of exploring the Moon and starting a Moon base seems more difficult now when multiple missions are relying on Blue Origin hardware. This may mean more work for SpaceX at a time it is still struggling with other lunar tasks.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who only this week announced the details of his Moon base program, will be pretty busy in the weeks ahead. The rest of us, including China, will be very interested in his adjusted Moon mission plans.