• Pic of the Week: A View of Home – Turkey & Cyprus

    This image is from the International Space Station (ISS) earlier this week as it passed over the Turkish coast and the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean. The photo was taken by United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi. You can find more of the ISS photos here.

  • One Less Player in the Space Race

    Space company Virgin Orbit, owned by Richard Branson, has filed for bankruptcy after failing to raise sufficient funds to stay afloat. All of this follows a failed rocket launch back in January that set the company back. Dan Hart, CEO of Virgin Orbit, stated in a company press release: The team at Virgin Orbit has…

  • Space Stories: Volcanoes on Venus, Exoplanet Radio Signals, and Bright Baby Jupiter

    Here are some recent stories of interest. —Washington University in St. Louis: “Scientists Share ‘Comprehensive’ Map of Volcanoes on Venus — all 85,000 of Them“ Byrne and Hahn’s new study includes detailed analyses of where volcanoes are, where and how they’re clustered, and how their spatial distributions compare with geophysical properties of the planet such as crustal…

  • Artemis Mission Astronauts Announced

    Another step was taken today to get us closer to a Moon landing. Earlier today NASA announced the names of the four astronauts on the next Artemis II mission: Reid Wiseman, Commander: Victor Glover, Pilot; Christina Hammock Koch, Mission Specialist; and Jeremy Hansen, Mission Specialist (from Canada). The Artemis II mission will require the four…

  • NASA OIG: Artemis Partnerships with International Space Agencies

    I was looking through audit reports from the Government Accountability Office and NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) to see what was being said about NASA’s programs. The only report of interest so far pertained to the Artemis mission and the need for greater coordination among the various partners. Audit reports often make these same…

  • NASA’s Workers are Happy, and Why Not?

    What could be better than studying the planets and stars? Not much, apparently, for the workers at NASA. For the eleventh year in a row, NASA has been rated as the “Best Place to Work in the Federal Government” by its own employees. The rating here applies to large agencies, with NASA being followed next…

  • Space Quote: Dandelion-Like Space Probes?

    “Nevertheless, the coincidences between some orbital parameters of ‘Oumuamua and IM2 inspires us to consider the possibility that an artificial interstellar object could potentially be a parent craft that releases many small probes during its close passage to Earth, an operational construct not too dissimilar from NASA missions. These “dandelion seeds” could be separated from…

  • Pic of the Week: ISS Expedition 68 Resupply

    This week’s image comes from NASA showing a Dragon cargo ship approaching the International Space Station (ISS) earlier this month with supplies for the Expedition 68 crew. In this photo, the Dragon is above the Indian Ocean near Madagascar. It is an amazing image each and every time. What a workplace and what a view.…

  • Good Article: The Sad State of Russia’s Space Program

    Wired magazine’s latest article, “Russia’s Space Program Is in Big Trouble,” summarizes a sad trend since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. With all of the nation’s attention on an unnecessary war, the space program, like many things nowadays in Russia, has taken a back seat. Problems can be seen with the spacecraft – two Russian capsules…

  • Space Stories: An Exoplanet’s Atmosphere, A Cosmic Explosion, and Stars Halfway to the Andromeda Galaxy

    Here are some recent stories of interest. —WebbTelescope.org: “Weather Report: Expect Scattered, Patchy Clouds Made Up of Silicates on Planet VHS 1256 b“ Ever had hot sand whip across your face? That’s a soothing experience compared to the volatile conditions discovered high in the atmosphere of planet VHS 1256 b. Researchers using NASA’s James Webb Space…