The End of the World

I don’t have a Twitter account. I don’t feel I need one, or more specifically I don’t feel I have the time to invest in checking one. It’s much simpler for me to just check my fan sites and be done with it. But if there was anything that would draw me to Twittering it’s Asteroids.

That’s right with @AsteroidWatch your Twitter account can go beyond simple celebrity updates to real important news (sort of). The account is just what it sounds like, AsteroidWatch posts updates of Asteroids that are set to come within a certain distance of earth (and miss us hopefully).

If AsteroidWatch tickles your fancy maybe you’ll also appreciate NASA updates from the likes of the Mars Phoenix Rover (@MarsPhoenix) and other bots. Hey, it’s the most interesting thing I’ve heard from Twitter so far.

Buzz is on his way home

You may remember that I wrote a year ago about Buzz Lightyear blasting into space as part of a NASA shuttle mission.  Disney and NASA teamed up to inspire kids to learn more about science, math and technology.

For the past year, Buzz has been aboard the International Space Station and is now packed aboard the shuttle to make his return trip to Earth. I’m sure he will have stories to tell!

While in space, Buzz has been filming scenes such as being let go by a sleeping astronaut and floating through a chamber followed by a real astronaut. The scenes are part of a NASA educational outreach that will have a Toy Story theme. (Toy Story 3-D is coming in a few months!)

Buzz will get a big homecoming in October when he appears in a ticker tape parade at Walt Disney World along with Buzz Aldrin of Apollo 11.

Happy 40th Apollo 11

40 years ago today the last and greatest frontier opened up as men landed for the first time on the surface of the moon.  Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins became household names on July 20, 1969.

While today is an amazing anniversary it also highlights the fact that we have not returned to the lunar surface any time recently.  The plan is to return man to the moon by 2020 and to set up a permanent base on the ground by 2025.  This would give astronauts a place to study, not only the surface, but also the troubles involved with extended stay on new harsh environments to prepare them for trips to other alien worlds (aka: Mars).

The new Constellation program promises to be exciting and unique (if it gets off the ground) but today it’s about our past even more than our future.  Look what we did 40 years ago, it’ll be crazy to see what we can do now.  “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Universal Real Estate

We’ve seen Mars come and go. The Hubble telescope has continued to supply us with images of the far reaches of space even as the odds of another repair begin to fade.  Now NASA is off in search of the very best science fiction has to offer.

The Kepler spacecraft is off to look for new earth’s (basically any other planet that could contain life, even just bacteria).  Not any small goal.  The Kepler is set to explore “our” sector of the Milky Way for planets in star systems similar to our own.  Imagine what could be found (though it’ll take a bit of time) and think about the possibilities that any discovery would establish for the rest of the universe.  Our galaxy is only one out of many, and we’ve barely explored any of it.

Kepler (if successful) will be a huge step forward in a much larger mission that is exploring the still unknown sectors of our universe.  This isn’t the moment to cut funding, it’s a time to get the stars back on the news and reach out into the frontier that, in expanse, seems anything but final.

Up in the Atmosphere

Methane is the principle component of natural gas, it’s a greenhouse gas and has high global warming capabilities.  Methane can be produced by anaerobic processes and methanogenesis .  Digestion processes too release methane into our own earthly air.  Methane has also been found on Mars.

It’s in the atmosphere, says NASA, and along with ice, the methane gas points again towards the possibility of life (now or at some other point) on our red neighbor.  Geological activity (like volcanoes) or microorganisms could possibly have produced this newest find, and the need to continue exploration is now, as usual, obvious.  Hey, if no one else wants to go, I’m all for the job .

Float On

NASA is asking for the public’s help in their newest experiment.  They are looking for rubber ducks.

That’s right, NASA is searching for rubber ducks, specifically 90 that escaped from them this year.  In an attempt to measure the effects of global warming and glacier movement. NASA put 90 ducks in a hole in the ice up in Greenland to see how fast the ice would melt.  Now, three months later, the ducks are gone.

Supposedly $100 awaits anyone who finds and returns one of the ducks but I think if I found one I might be inclined to keep it.

Interstellar Marketplace

Space, space, space, space.  Problems abound and development continues, there is never a lack of news.  Even in this economic climate you can always count on interest in the last frontier whether or not anyone can actually pay for it.

In recent news Virgin Galactic’s spaceport has gotten the green light to begin construction in New Mexico.  The concept art is pretty fantastic, better than any airport I’ve seen.

In other news NASA is considering selling its shuttles (Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavor) when they are decommissioned.  For a mere 42 million dollars part of space history can be yours.  I’d love one, it’s be a heck of a club house.  I doubt I can afford it.

The Technological Frontier

Lets talk Disruption Tolerant Networking.  I know, it sounds like any network, any plagued internet connections, but this is still something new.

DTN is basically space style internet.  That’s space as in the cosmos.  Information can now be transmitted from NASA to ships about 20 million miles away.  The hitch is the delay.  The connection is not continuous and data is often stalled and late, but hey, it’s still internet in deep space.  And it does put any sluggish earth bound computers in perspective doesn’t it?

Goodnight Mars

After far more than the planned 90 days the Mars Phoenix Lander has seen it’s last martian sunrise.

After seeing everything from red dust to ice and snow .  The lander has at last run out of its last drop of power and is now frozen on the red planet, just like the ice it dug up so many weeks ago.  The Landers mission was successful for the most part, detecting water, observing weather, and doing a whole number of other experiments.  A mission set to last only 90 days lasted nearly 60 more, and that’s a pretty big success as NASA missions go.

We’ve reached Mars by Phoenix, so when will we reach it with men?

Because 1 Ship isn’t Enough

I’ve written about space tourism before but this new concept suborbital vehicle is a little different than designs we’ve seen previously.

It looks like a fish bowl.  It’s just a concept ship right now but it’ll provide one hell of a view.  Quite a leap from those singular port hole windows of yesteryear.  Armadillo Aerospace plans to build a prototype in 2009 for a launch in 2010.  It sure looks funny but I hope it all works out.  Although, for an $100,000 trip price tag, the trip better be pretty incredible.