• A Day in Astronomy: Galileo Warned Away from Heliocentrism

    On this day in 1616, on behalf of Pope Paul V, Cardinal Bellarmine ordered Galileo Galilei to abandon his position on the Earth moving around the Sun. The same year saw the banning of Nicholas Copernicus’ book On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres, which also theorized a heliocentric system. All of this was still…

  • Space Stories: Distant Metalic Mining, Mapping Water on the Moon, and Lunar Cell Phone Service

    Here are some recent stories of interest related to the upcoming Intuitive Machines’ launch to the Moon. —CNN: “A Tiny Spacecraft is Poised to Launch on an Unprecedented Deep-space Mission. The CEO Behind it is ‘Terrified’“ His venture may seem far out, but asteroid mining CEO Matt Gialich has no illusions. The engineer cofounded the bold…

  • Podcast: The Future of Human Mars Exploration

    The Mars Society’s Red Planet Live Podcast will be joined by Dr. Robert Zubrin on March 4th for a discussion about the future of human Mars exploration, what it will take to get boots on the Red Planet, and how we can build our first off-world settlement. Dr. Zubrin is the Founder and President of…

  • Space Quote: More on the ISS “Stranded” Story

    “You know as well as I do, that Butch and Suni are returning with Crew-9, as has been the plan since last September. Even now, you are not sending up a rescue ship to bring them home. They are returning on the Dragon capsule that has been on ISS since last September.” –Comments by Andreas…

  • China is Building Its Own James Webb Space Telescope

    Just as we have competition with China for the next human to visit the Moon, we now have competition for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). China has stated it plans to launch the China Space Station Telescope (CSST) in 2026, which should be as powerful as the JWST while having the extra benefit of…

  • Congressional Letter: Concerns About DOGE at NASA

    Three Democratic Ranking Members of Congress wrote a letter to NASA’s acting Commissioner earlier today about the role of the “so called” Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) at NASA. This letter followed a February 6th letter on the same issue, which received a less than open NASA response. The letter expressed strong concerns about the…

  • Pic of the Week: Super Star Cluster Westerlund 1

    This week’s image from the James Webb Space Telescope was released late last year. It shows Westerlund 1, a colorful “super star” cluster.   Here is the description of what you are seeing from NASA: Super star clusters are young and contain more than 10,000 times the mass of the Sun packed into a small…

  • Upcoming Event: Stories from the Archaeology of a Space Station

    On February 27th, the Archaeological Institute of America’s (AIA) Washington DC Society will be sponsoring an archaeological talk titled “The Past of the Future / The Future of the Past: Stories from the Archaeology of a Space Station.” Professor Justin Walsh from Chapman University and the University of South Carolina has co-directed the first full-scale…

  • Space Stories: Solar Orbiter Encounters Venus, White Dwarf Exoplanets, and the End of Gaia

    Here are some recent stories of interest.. —European Space Agency: “Solar Orbiter Ready for Close Encounter with Venus’“ The European Space Agency (ESA) is ready to guide the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft through its closest encounter with Venus so far. Today’s flyby will be the first to significantly ‘tilt’ the spacecraft’s orbit and allow it to…

  • Space Quotes: Are NASA’s Missions Already Threatened?

    “NASA is about to lose a ton of experienced people who, up until now, have been considered a national asset.” “Our immensely successful research enterprise is under attack.” -Statement in a Washington Post article titled “Under Trump, NASA Meetings are On Hold and Missions are Up in the Air” pertaining to disruptions at NASA related…