• Second US Moon Mission Expected to End Today

    Well, that was quick. Odysseus may run out of power today given its rough landing, prematurely ending the second US mission to the Moon this year, both of which had problems. It is really amazing that we landed humans on the Moon multiple times for days at a time when you consider the wreckage added…

  • Television: Spaceman Premiering on Netflix

    When I hear the name Adam Sandler, I do not think of a serious movie, particularly one about a space. And yet that is what Netflix is throwing our way, or at least it might have been a serious movie until they threw in a giant talking spider. That’s right, Adam and a spider are…

  • A Day in Astronomy: The Mariner 6 Heads to Mars

    On this day in 1969, NASA’s Mariner 6 was launched from Cape Canaveral using the Atlas-Centaur AC-20 rocket. The mission of Mariner 6 was to conduct a flyby of Mars and analyze the Martian atmosphere and surface with remote sensors. This mission, as well as the Mariner 7 launch the following month, provided solid evidence…

  • Look Up: Is That Magnolia Wood?

    The satellite industry may never be the same again. While we hear so much about new metals in our rockets, how often do you hear of simply putting wood into orbit? I guess we should not have been too surprised now that wood is being used to build office towers. And the best part is…

  • The Moon Landing: Imperfect, but Accomplished

    The United States is back on the Moon, even if the trip was bumpy. Plans to have pictures of the landing via the EagleCam were affected by a last minute switch to a NASA instrument that allowed Odysseus to safely land. The seems to be a fair trade, and the EagleCam can still be used…

  • Pic of the Week: Odysseus Approaching the Moon

    This week’s image come from Intuitive Machines and shows the Odysseus lunar lander orbiting the Moon just yesterday before its historic landing earlier today. After more than 50 years, the United States has returned to the Moon. Earlier today, Intuitive Machines stated: After troubleshooting communications, flight controllers have confirmed Odysseus is upright and starting to…

  • Space Stories: Satellite Returns to Earth, Watching the Moon Landing, and Kuiper Belt Surprises

    Here are some recent stories of interest. —BBC: “Pioneering European ERS-2 Satellite Burns Up Over Pacific“ The two-tonne ERS-2 spacecraft burnt up in the atmosphere over the Pacific. So far, there have been no eyewitness accounts of the mission’s demise or of any debris reaching Earth’s surface. ERS-2 was one of a pair of missions launched…

  • More Terra-forming on Earth

    NASA is funding missions looking near and far to understand planets. One such study issued by scientists at Virginia Tech’s Earth Observation and Innovation (EOI) Lab, who used satellite data and ground-based GPS sensors, shows some ongoing changes here on planet Earth. In reference to this study, NASA noted: …the team reported that more than…

  • Volunteers Needed for Mars Study

    Are you a motivated U.S. citizen or permanent resident who is a non-smoker, 30-55 years old, and proficient in English for effective communication between crewmates and mission control? Are you interested in helping NASA with its Mars program? If so, you have until April 2nd to contact NASA and volunteer for its second Crew Health…

  • What is Musk Up to in Ukraine?

    Last year we learned that Elon Musk denied the Ukrainians access to Starlink when operating in the occupied portions of their country. He stated he did not want to be “complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation.” And yet now we learn that Russia may be using Starlink in this same territory…