• Space Quote: NASA Funding is Coming, Someday

    “Is it easy to convince people? People want resources spent on things where they see the immediate benefit…And space exploration is something where the benefits, while they are current, a lot of what we’ll see is what’s anticipated in the future.” –Statement by U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, the top Republican appropriator for NASA in the…

  • Podcast: Are We Ready to Start Settlements Off-Planet?

    You may want to tune into another episode from The Planetary Society’s podcast Planetary Radio is you are pondering space settlements on the Moon and Mars. The recent program, A City on Mars, is a discussion with authors Kelly and Zach Weinersmith who wrote “A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have…

  • Is Elon Musk Experiencing a Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly?

    SpaceX may have suffered a rocket loss yesterday, but everyone agrees that this is part of the process when trying something big. What can we then say about Mr. Musk creating a second loss last week, but in this case it was a loss of confidence in his leadership at Twitter (yes, the site is…

  • Starship Self-Destructs on Second Launch Attempt

    Earlier today, SpaceX lost contact with its Starship rocket about 10 minutes into the launch. This happened after the second-stage separation, so while a successful landing of the rocket did not occur, the rocket had more success than the launch earlier this year. After what appeared to be a self-detonation of the Starship rocket, the…

  • AI Shown to be Useful for a Mars Mission

    While the media is continually writing about artificial intelligence (AI) doing a kid’s homework and then destroying the world, maybe AI does have some utility in preparing us for a second world. A study published in Nature Synthesis found that AI may be useful in finding ways to extract oxygen from water on Mars. Scientists…

  • Pic of the Week: Telescope Teamwork with MACS0416

    This week’s image combines the talents of the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope to create a dazzling show of light. The galaxy cluster, known as MACS0416, is about 4.3 billion light-years from Earth. Here is much more from the European Space Agency: The image reveals a wealth of details that are…

  • Starship May Launch on Saturday

    The Federal Aviation Administration has given SpaceX a green light to move forward with its next test of the Starship rocket. SpaceX may attempt the launch as soon as Saturday. Let’s hope SpaceX can get back on track with its rocket. NASA is counting on the Starship as part of its Artemis III mission returning…

  • Space Quote: A Nasty Hit to Our Ozone Layer from 1.9 Billion Light-Years Away

    “The ozone was partially depleted — was destroyed temporarily.” –Statement by Pietro Ubertini, an astronomer at the National Institute of Astrophysics in Rome, regarding supernova gamma rays that hit the Earth’s upper atmosphere in October 2022. The supernova explosion was 1.9 billion light-years away. You can read the paper on this event in Nature. An…

  • Space Stories: Name-dropping on Europa, Flying Toolboxes, and Space Veggies

    Here are some recent stories of interest. —NASA JPL: “Time is Running Out to Add Your Name to NASA’s Europa Clipper“ Six weeks remain for you to add your name to a microchip that will ride aboard the spacecraft as it explores Jupiter’s moon Europa. It’s not every day that members of the public have the…

  • Where is This? November 13, 2023 Quiz

    Take a look at the image above. Can you determine where this image originated? Take a guess and then check your answer by going to the “Where is This? The Answer Sheet” page.