• Space Quote: The White House’s View of the Moon

    “Lunar orbit would be filled with many more satellites, including a lunar GPS network and a human space station capable of housing human astronauts that serves as a rest stop before they land on the moon’s surface. While there are no plans for a lunar city, there are proposals for a permanent outpost on the south…

  • Pic of the Week: Distant Stellar Nursery

    This week’s image comes from the Hubble Space Telescope. It shows a distant cloud of gas and dust known as CB 130-3. Such clouds can create new stars, as explained by the European Space Agency: CB 130-3 is an object known as a dense core, a compact agglomeration of gas and dust. This particular dense…

  • Space Stories: Chinese Lunar Nuclear Station, Helium Exoplanets, and the UAE Lunar Rover

    Here are some recent stories of interest. —Republic World: “China Plans Development Of New Nuclear System To Power Its Bases On Moon By 2028“ China is developing a nuclear system that will be used to power its lunar station planned to be developed on the Moon’s South Pole. Wu Weiren, chief designer of the Chinese lunar exploration…

  • Orion Spacecraft: Successful Flyby of the Moon

    The Artemis I mission is going well. On day six (November 21), the Orion capsule had a successful flyby of the moon and traveled to within 81 miles of the lunar surface. After a slow start to the launch, NASA engineers must be somewhat relieved. NASA provided an update on the mission yesterday. You can…

  • Television: The Origin of All Life via Netflix

    Tomorrow, Netflix will premiere a new science program that ties together life on Earth and the origin of the universe. The six-part program, Our Universe, is a BBC project narrated by Morgan Freeman. You can see a trailer of new show here. We have already had a Blue Planet, a Green Planet, and even an…

  • Japan Supports the ISS Through 2030 and Expands Support for the Lunar Gateway

    Late last week, the White House announced that Japan plans to support the operations of the International Space Station (ISS) through 2030 as well as further collaborate with the United States on the Artemis Lunar Gateway platform that will orbit the Moon. On November 17, Vice President Kamala Harris stated: The United States welcomes Japan’s…

  • Space Quote: The James Webb Space Telescope Keeps its Name

    “In conclusion, to date, no available evidence directly links Webb to any actions or follow-up related to the firing of individuals for their sexual orientation. However, the research and this report make clear that the Lavender Scare was a painful chapter in our national history. Every effort was made to be as thorough in research…

  • Space Stories: Early Galaxies, Early Life on Mars, and Gold-Rich Stars

    Here are some recent stories of interest. —NASA: “NASA’s Webb Draws Back Curtain on Universe’s Early Galaxies“ With just four days of analysis, researchers found two exceptionally bright galaxies in the GLASS-JWST images. These galaxies existed approximately 450 and 350 million years after the big bang (with a redshift of approximately 10.5 and 12.5, respectively), though…

  • Pic of the Week: Hickson Compact Group 40

    This week’s image is from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. It shows an amazing collection of five galaxies in close proximity to one another in what is known as the Hickson Compact Group 40. In about one billion years they are expected to coalesce into one large galaxy. Here is the summary from the Hubble…

  • Artemis I Has Launched

    After multiple attempts, NASA’s Artemis I mission started earlier today when the Space Launch System took off from the Kennedy Space Center carrying the uncrewed Orion spacecraft. It was a successful start to 25 day mission. For a third time now, I am providing the mission facts, which are more meaningful given that we have…