• Pic of the Week: China’s Mars Rover

    This week’s image shows the China’s Zhurong Mars rover on the surface of the Red Planet. Part of the Tianwen-1 mission, the rover landed on Mars May 14, 2021. The photo, tweeted out by the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) Watcher site, was taken by a disposable camera dropped by the rover.

  • Help Wanted to Sift Through Martian Clouds

    NASA is looking for assistance to answer a few questions about Martian clouds: What causes the atmosphere to get cold enough for carbon-dioxide to freeze out? How do clouds change from day to night, or during different seasons, or in some years more than others? What are the clouds made of? You can help by…

  • Television: The Earlier Moon Mission on PBS

    If you really want something interesting to watch regarding the Moon, catch these two PBS programs (stations and times may vary). Yes, they aired earlier, but as noted earlier, I would rather rewatch the good stuff than waste my time on some of the new stuff. American Experience: Chasing the Moon, July 2 at 7pm…

  • Television: Moonhaven is Coming in July

    While NASA is working on the first permanent base on the Moon, the AMC+ television series set 100 years in the future already has a Garden of Eden on the lunar surface. Here is the general story from AMC+ on the new series Moonhaven, which premieres on July 7th: Moonhaven focuses on Bella Sway (Emma…

  • New Double Crater on the Moon

    Remember all of the chatter earlier this year about whether a SpaceX or Chinese rocket booster was about read to hit the Moon? Well, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter recently located the crater created by this object – a strange double crater. NASA reported it found an eastern crater (18-meter diameter, about 19.5 yards) superimposed on…

  • Artemis Rocket Launch Planned for August

    NASA said it is ready for a real test of the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion capsule after multiple dry-runs. Of course, the tests were not perfect, but NASA said it is ready for the next phase. The latest test was on June 20th. Following that, Tom Whitmeyer, deputy associate administrator for common exploration…

  • Fire Damages Kitt Peak National Observatory Buildings

    Earlier this month, a lightening strike led to a fire in Baboquivari Mountains in southern Arizona, home of the Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO). According to news reports, the telescopes themselves are fine, but four “non-scientific” buildings were lost in the fire. Pro-active fire crews were able to prevent greater damage in the area. This…

  • Pic of the Week: Dwarf Starburst Galaxy Henize 2-10

    This week’s photo is from the Hubble Space Telescope. It shows the Dwarf starburst galaxy Henize 2-10, which lies 34 million light years away. NASA notes that “The bright region at the center, surrounded by pink clouds and dark dust lanes, indicates the location of the galaxy’s massive black hole and active stellar nurseries.” The image below…

  • Podcast: Lori Garver on NASA and Commercial Space

    This week’s StarTalk podcast with Neil deGrasse Tyson included an interview with former Deputy Administrator of NASA, Lori Garver. She is author of a new book, Escaping Gravity: My Quest to Transform NASA and Launch a New Space Age, which has a number of reviewer quotes, including the one from Elon Musk below. In addition to…

  • First Photos from James Webb Space Telescope to be Released on July 12th

    NASA recently announced, in partnership with the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency, that the first photos from the James Webb Space Telescope will be released from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center via a televised broadcast beginning at 10:30 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, July 12, 2022. The first images will also be posted…