MetaFilter posts tagged with Space and exploration

Spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace!

cthuljew — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 05:17:46 -0800

When the US Department of Energy halted Plutonium 238 production as far back as 1988, things looked grim for the future of space exploration. On Monday, March 18th, NASA's planetary science division head Jim Green announced that production has been restarted, and is currently in the test phases leading up to a restart at full scale.

Portals to the universe

Brandon Blatcher — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 05:44:19 -0800

"A mission scientist with NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, Natalie Batalha hunts for exoplanets — Earth-sized planets beyond our solar system that might harbor life. She speaks about unexpected connections between things like love and dark energy, science and gratitude, and how "exploring the heavens" brings the beauty of the cosmos and the exuberance of scientific discovery closer to us all". (Audio link of interview at top left corner of page, other relevant links at bottom of page)

Property Rights! In! Spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace!

the man of twists and turns — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 01:12:54 -0800

Practical, economic development of space — treating it not as a mere borderland of Earth, but a new frontier in its own right — has not materialized. Still, the promise is as great as it ever was, and, contrary to popular opinion, is eminently achievable — but only if the current legal framework and attitude toward space can be shifted toward seeing it as a realm not just of human exploration, but also of human enterprise.

So high, so low, so many things to know.

zarq — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 14:20:09 -0800

Our Robot/Meatbag Space Future

Artw — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 13:36:13 -0800

Almost Being There: Why the Future of Space Exploration Is Not What You Think

Atomic Rockets

Egg Shen — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 16:49:18 -0800

Atomic Rockets is chock full of stuff to tickle the imagination of anyone who has enjoyed science fiction accounts of space travel. You can move your cursor over the "Show topic list" button in the top right corner of the page and start exploring.

We come in peace for all mankind.

zarq — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 13:09:15 -0800

Google brings its Street View cameras into the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This is their largest special Street View collection to date: 6000 panoramic images, including the Apollo 14 module, the Vehicle Assembly Building, Launch Firing Room #4 and Space Shuttle Orbiters Atlantis and Endeavour. Intro Video. (Via) Other special Street View Collections. Don't miss Art Project.

Is It Moist On Mars?

The Whelk — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 14:54:46 -0800

New report suggests Mars may be full of liquid water - Smithsonianmag.com

Dissecting OV's 103, 104 and 105.

zarq — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:10:02 -0800

Orbiter Autopsies "What NASA will learn from dissecting Space Shuttles Atlantis, Discovery, and Endeavour" before they transition into retirement. (From the May 2012 issue of Smithsonian Air & Space Magazine.)

Can we go Dad, can we?!

Brandon Blatcher — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 14:51:03 -0800

Making the Case for Human Missions to Asteroids

"That View Is Tremendous"

dsfan — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:40:39 -0800

Fifty years ago today, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth. In an recent interview, he lamented the decline of the manned US space program: "It's unseemly to me that here we are, supposedly the world's greatest space-faring nation, and we don't even have a way to get back and forth to our own International Space Station." Surviving Mercury 7 astronauts John Glenn and Scott Carpenter address NASA employees Photos from the mission

"We Stopped Dreaming"

zarq — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 07:26:26 -0800

King of the Cosmos (A Profile of Neil deGrasse Tyson) by Carl Zimmer. (Via) Carl Zimmer's site. (Previously on MeFi) Mentioned in the article: Star Talk Radio (Previously) Neil deGrasse Tyson's Twitter. His 'Ask Me Anything' posts on Reddit: Novembert and December are quite popular. Authors @ Google: 73 minute video interview with him from February 2009 regarding his book, The Pluto Files, which discusses the public's response (hate mail from third graders!) to Pluto's demotion from planet status. A 2010 NOVA special on the subject, also called "The Pluto Files," recently re-aired on PBS on December 14, and can be viewed in its entirety online at their site. Video from the World Science Festival: Why Science Literacy Matters. Interview on SanDiego.com from August. An extensive archive of audio interviews is available at his site. Appearances on Real Time with Bill Maher: February 2011, August 2011. The title of this post comes from a comment he made during the August show. Appearance on Jon Stewart: January 2011.

NASA's new ride

Brandon Blatcher — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 08:41:46 -0800

NASA is designing a spiffy new rocket, the Space Launch System, which will lob people and cargo to the moon, an asteroid and eventually Mars. The rocket and plans for it are a bit controversial. Everything from the price tag, who builds it and even the choice of the SLS have been cause for debate.

New photos of several Apollo landing sites

Brandon Blatcher — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 23:52:42 -0800

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has taken new photos of the landing sites of Apollo 12, 14 and 17. Almost 40 years after the missions, the tracks made by the astronauts and the Lunar Rover are still visible.

The frozen desert

The Whelk — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 07:50:23 -0800

Huge cache of frozen carbon dioxide found on Mars.

"You're right. Man, this is beautiful"

garrett — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 06:34:02 -0800

Built as part of the fifth /dev/fort developer retreat, Spacelog.org allows you to explore early space missions via the original NASA transcripts. Currently live are Mercury 6 which made John Glenn the first American in orbit, and the 'successful failure' Apollo 13 (The transcribed key moment and the original). Alongside the transcripts are supporting materials from the NASA archives including photography and descriptions of the mission phases. The developers are looking for help to digitise the Gemini 7, Apollo 8 and Apollo 11 missions.

Space geeks rejoice!

Salvor Hardin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:36:23 -0800

Up above the world so high, what's that spacecraft in the sky? The National Space Science Data Center, a division of NASA, provides a searchable catalog of all spacecraft launched from the planet Earth. The catalog provides access to a wealth of data and information about the spacecraft, the science and people involved, and info about the fruit of the missions. For your convenience: - Search for spacecraft by name, mission type, or launch date (by far this is my favorite part of the site) - Search for experiments aboard spacecraft - Search for (records of) data collections - Search for personnel involved in space missions - Search for publications derived from space missions - Search for (records of) maps made by spacecraft of Mars, Venus or the Moon (by lat/lon) - sorry, no actual maps online - Search for recent data - Search for significant space-mission-related events by keyword or date Not sure where to start having fun? - Try searching for spacecraft launched in 1969 to read about the vehicles involved in the space race! - Check out the spacecraft launched recently in your favorite space-research area, and get a taste of what's to come when they reach their destinations. - Or how about searching for all military spacecraft launched in 2009 and speculate on their classified and indubitably nefarious purposes. - Try searching for all spacecraft-related events in your birth year!

Venera

Marisa Stole the Precious Thing — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 21:24:53 -0800

At a time when the US was turning its attention from the moon and towards Mars, the Soviet Union had an active exploration program for Venus, Venera. Running from 1961 to 1983, the program had setbacks from the first launch, but Venera 9 produced the first ever transmission of images from another planet. So few camera-recorded images of Venus exists because of the planet's conditions. The atmosphere is 90 times heavier than the Earth's, and the surface temperature is 740°C. Many Venera probes were never able to transmit for more than a few seconds before shutting down. Venera 13, for its part, has sent back some amazing images. Catalogue of the entire Venera program. Soviet Venus Images includes a re-working of the Venera 13 photos by having them "remapped to perspective projections and overlayed (using Adobe Photoshop CS2) to produce views that give a better subjective impression of the Venusian surface". (previously)

A proposal to send a "boat" to explore the seas of Titan

Lobster Garden — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 12:44:06 -0800

A proposal will be submitted to NASA to send a "boat" to explore the hydrocarbon seas of Titan

One Way Ticket

william_boot — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:22:52 -0800

In the next few weeks, NASA will present President Obama with options for the near-term future of human spaceflight. A manned flight to Mars is one possibility. But if we do send astronauts to Mars, do we really need to bring them home again?

Spacehack

chrismear — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 08:52:07 -0800

Spacehack "A directory of ways to participate in space exploration. Interact and connect with the space community."

Do we really want that Moon base?

spaceviking — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:01:37 -0800

An election of a new President brings forth new ideas on the Vision for Space Exploration. The Planetary Society is lobbying to remove the Moon from the equation, which prompted Apollo astronaut, ex-senator, and geologist Harrison Schmitt to resign from the board in protest. Meanwhile moon-free plans proliferate. What will Obama do? Interesting hints are given in a position paper written by people associated with his transition team. The Planetary Society Responds. More analysis here.

How to land at the Martian north pole.

Brandon Blatcher — Wed, 14 May 2008 18:22:55 -0800

Seven minutes of terror. A short video on describing how the Phoenix probe will land at the North Pole of Mars on May 25th. Follow updates to the mission via Twitter and the blog. Previously

In tribute to Charlton Heston, Russia has begun a real-life Planet of the Apes.

myopicman — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 12:50:15 -0800

By 2020, Mars may have monkeys, adding to the impressive roster of primates in space.

Moonbase: Alpha

justkevin — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 20:13:00 -0800

NASA Plans Permanent Moonbase. The base, a potential stepping stone for further Mars exploration, will likely be situated near one of the poles. The advantages of a polar site (pdf) include a relatively moderate climate, possible hydrogen and oxygen resources, unexplored terrain and abundant solar power. They have apparently abandoned plans to use nuclear reactors, which is probably for the best.