• In Case You Missed It: Hubble Finds Water on an Exoplanet

    The recent James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) images included hot gas giant exoplanet WASP-96 b, with NASA noting that the space telescope “…has captured the distinct signature of water, along with evidence for clouds and haze, in the atmosphere surrounding a hot, puffy gas giant planet orbiting a distant Sun-like star.” The same NASA article…

  • JWST: An Impressive List of Priorities

    I think we are all eager for more amazing photos from the James Webb Space Telescope, but we need to remember that the space telescope has a long list of priorities and these were not simply random images. An international committee with representatives from NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA),…

  • Good News for US/Russian Space Relations

    Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos (seal shown above), has been removed from this position. He has been in this position since May 2018. After his endless squabbles with NASA as well as juvenile behavior, relations between the two space agencies now have a chance to heal. The new head of…

  • Space Quote: Elon, It’s All in Your Hands

    “It would be nice to have a bit more free time on my hands, as opposed to just working day and night from when I wake up till when I go to sleep seven days a week. It’s pretty intense.” -Statement by Elon Musk from last year, as quoted in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal story,…

  • SpaceX and Russia: Shuttle Swaps

    It wasn’t that long ago U.S. astronauts were completely dependent on Russian rockets to get to the International Space Station (ISS). NASA was paying about $60 million per seat on the Soyuz spacecraft. Well, times have certainly changed with SpaceX now ferrying astronauts, Boeing working on its own crewed Starliner capsule, and Northrop Grumman already…

  • Pic of the Week: The Carina Nebula

    This week’s image is an amazing view of the Carina Nebula from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). It is one of the first images released by NASA this week. More of the early images are available here. Here is NASA’s description of what you are seeing in this image: This landscape of “mountains” and…

  • SpaceX Starship: Booster Issues

    Earlier this week, SpaceX conducted another test of its Starship. However, the booster was damaged by an explosion during a pre-launch test and will now need to be inspected to determine whether it can be used in the inaugural launch of the Starship later this summer. For more on the Starship, check out the Cool…

  • European/Russian Rover Coordination Now Dead

    The European Space Agency (ESA) has decided to terminate cooperation with Russia on the ExoMars rover mission. The joint mission, planned for September 2022, was suspended earlier this year after Russia invaded Ukraine. The ESA has now cut all links on the project and hopes to work with NASA on some aspects of the mission.…

  • JWST: An Early Image of Galaxies

    Earlier today, President Biden released one of the first images (shown above) from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWSP). A full release is scheduled for tomorrow at this location: https://www.nasa.gov/webbfirstimages. The image shows galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, which represents thousands of galaxies in a patch of sky approximately the size of a grain of sand…

  • Video/Radio: Martian Life is “Not Bonkers”

    Last week on the The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X, Dr. Brian Cox responded to a call in question about life on Mars. He noted that NASA’s Perseverance rover may find signs of life in an ancient river delta where it is now drilling. He said he would not be surprised if Martian microbes…