Jan 21, 2012 | Blog, Education Station, European Space Agency, Exploration, International Cooperation, Kids Space, NASA, Our Solar System, Space and Science
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has made the closest fly of Saturn’s moon, Dione. Caught by the Cassini image equipment – two smaller moons, Epimetheus and Prometheus, near the planet’s ring system. How did this impressive flyby of the moon stack up overall? This encounter...
Jan 12, 2012 | Ask the Expert, Blog, Education Station, European Space Agency, International Cooperation, Mars, NASA, Planet Earth, Roscosmos, Space and Science
The wayward Russian Marscraft, Phobos-Grunt, is expected to soon dive into the Earth’s atmosphere, destroying itself during a fiery re-entry process. Phobos–Grunt was launched on November 8 of last year, but due to a propulsion failure, the spacecraft was marooned in...
Jan 9, 2012 | Ask the Expert, Asteroid Exploration, Blog, Book Reviews, Comets, Education Station, European Space Agency, Exploration, International Cooperation, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Kids Space, MESSENGER, NASA, Our Solar System, Space and Science, Space Research, The Moon, The Sun
Fifty Years on the Space Frontier: Halo Orbits, Comets, Asteroids, and More by Robert W. Farquhar; Outskirts Press, Inc., Denver, Colorado; (hard cover); $32.36; 2011 There is renewed and growing interest in imaginative use of L-points in space – special spots in...
Jan 4, 2012 | Blog, Education, Education Station, International Cooperation, Kids Space, Space Research
A new 3D IMAX film explores a troubling legacy of more than five decades of lofting satellites into space. Space Junk 3D takes the viewer on a voyage of challenges: How best to face the increasingly crowded Earth orbits that are littered with speeding and dangerous...
Jan 1, 2012 | Blog, Education Station, Kids Space, NASA, The Moon
UPDATE: The second of NASA’s two Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft has successfully completed its planned main engine burn and is now in lunar orbit. Working together, GRAIL-A and GRAIL-B will study the moon as never before. The first of twin...
Dec 29, 2011 | Blog, China, Education Station, Exploration, International Cooperation, Kids Space, Space Race, The Moon
A sweeping look at China’s past and future space agenda has been issued by that country’s State Council Information Office. The white paper issued today is titled China’s Space Activities in 2011, but casts an eye forward as to where the spacefaring nation is headed....
Dec 27, 2011 | Blog, Education, Education Station, Kids Programs Online, Kids Space, Our Solar System
Now available for free is the online publication: 2020 Vision: An Overview of New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics. This colorful booklet summarizes the most recent National Research Council decadal survey of astronomy and astrophysics. It provides...
Dec 26, 2011 | Blog, Comets, Education, Education Station, Exploration, Hubble Space Telescope, Kids Space, Our Solar System, Space and Science, The Moon, The Sun
The explosion in mobile apps in the last few years has meant that many new astronomy applications have become available. Thanks to Andrew Fraknoi of Foothill College in California, a first catalog has been assembled that lists a variety of apps for displaying and...
Dec 25, 2011 | Benefits of Space Exploration, Blog, Canadian Space Agency, Commercial Space, Education Station, Exploration, International Cooperation, International Space Station, Kids Space, NASA, Space Tourism
Just in time for Christmas, there’s a new example of services that the Robotic Refueling Mission on the International Space Station provided Santa Claus. Thanks to the NASA’s Satellite Servicing Capabilities Office, Santa was able to complete all his rounds on...
Dec 13, 2011 | Blog, Commercial Space, Education Station, Exploration, Kids Space, Space Tourism, Spaceports
Billionaire Paul Allen, investor and philanthropist who co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates, introduced today a new project: Stratolaunch Systems promising to provide “any orbit…any time.” The announcement today brought together, once again, Allen with maverick...