• Space Mission: Saudi Arabians to Visit the International Space Station

    While the Biden Administration appears to have its issues with Saudi Arabia, this is not stopping the visit of two Saudi Arabian private astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). Space News reports that NASA has confirmed that a male and female astronaut from Saudi Arabia will travel to the ISS next spring aboard a…

  • RIP: Astronaut James A. McDivitt

    Back on October 13th we lost another Apollo astronaut. James McDivitt, age 93, passed away in his sleep. Mr. McDivitt, a veteran fighter pilot from the Korean War, was a key part of the Gemini and Apollo missions. Part of NASA’s second class of astronauts, he was commander of the Gemini IV mission in June…

  • Movie: Good Night Oppy

    Here is a new space movie that should keep the crowds happy, and it is based on a true success – our mission to Mars. Good Night Oppy, produced by Amazon Studios, is the story of NASA’s Opportunity Mars rover. You can watch a preview here. Amazon Studies has this preview: Good Night Oppy tells…

  • Pic of the Week: Marian Dust Devils

    This week’s image is from earlier this year when NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover captured whirling dust on the Red Planet’s surface. Here is more on the dust devils from NASA: During its first couple hundred days in Jezero Crater, NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover saw some of the most intense dust activity ever witnessed by a…

  • Space Stories: A New Martian Crater, the Final Piece of China’s Space Station, and the Falcon Heavy Flies Again

    Here are some recent stories of interest. —NASA: “NASA’s InSight Lander Detects Stunning Meteoroid Impact on Mars“ NASA’s InSight lander recorded a magnitude 4 marsquake last Dec. 24, but scientists learned only later the cause of that quake: a meteoroid strike estimated to be one of the biggest seen on Mars since NASA began exploring the…

  • Look Up, Again: An Asteroid is Really Coming

    Yes, you have heard it all before – a “planet killer” asteroid is coming our way. Well, in this case it appears to be true, but the 1.1km to 2.3km asteroid will only cross our path rather than hit us, at least for now. The asteroid, named the ever-boring 2022 AP7, is among the top…

  • Space Mission: ESA’s Euclid Telescope

    To follow up on the previous post, Russia also lost out on launching the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Euclid spacecraft. Russia was supposed to launch it on a Soyuz-ST/Fregat rocket this December, but the country’s invasion of Ukraine led to a change in plans. SpaceX will now be launching the spacecraft next year. Euclid was designed…

  • Has Russia Lost its Space Mojo?

    Marina Koren’s article in The Atlantic, titled “The Russian Space Program Is Falling Back to Earth,” has plenty to say about the state of Russia’s space program. Her assessment is pretty bleak outside of the continued collaboration related to the International Space Station (ISS). She notes: Beyond the ISS, though, Russia’s space portfolio isn’t all…

  • A Day in Astronomy: Visit to Asteroid Gaspra

    On this day in 1991, NASA’s Galileo spacecraft flew by asteroid Gaspra, which is located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Galileo conducted a quick fly-by while flying towards Jupiter and its moons. The spacecraft also visited the asteroid Ida. Asteroid Gasprawas first discovered back in 1916 by Russian astronomer G. N. Neujmin, who decided to…

  • Space Quote: Starlink Threatened by the Russians

    “Quasi-civilian infrastructure may be a legitimate target for a retaliatory strike.” -Statement to the United Nations by Russian senior foreign ministry official Konstantin Vorontsov in reference to attacking SpaceX’s Starlink satellites being used by the Ukrainian military as it pushes back the Russian invasion. In a Reuters article, “Russia’s Anti-satellite Threat Tests Laws of War in Space,”…