Aug 29, 2012 | Ask the Expert, Asteroid Exploration, Blog, Education Station, Exploration, NASA, Space Research, The Moon
“The Eagle has landed.” That declaration by Neil Armstrong was heard from Tranquility Base in 1969. But the phrase was used again on August 28th as engineers watched the touchdown of the “Mighty Eagle” – a NASA robotic prototype lander. The craft sailed to an...
Aug 28, 2012 | Exploration, NASA, The Moon, Uncategorized
Friday brings a rare Blue Moon — the definition of a second full moon within a single month. At 31 days, August is one of those months with enough days to host the prospect. Thanks to the Lunar and Planetary Institute, of Houston, the unusual event will also...
Aug 23, 2012 | Blog, Education Station, Exploration, Kids Space, Mars, NASA
If you want to get a feel for touching down on the Red Planet, look at a new movie thanks to NASA’s Curiosity rover mission. The video covers the last two-and-a-half minutes before the rover touches down in Gale Crater. This movie is available courtesy of...
Aug 20, 2012 | Blog, Exploration, Kids Programs Online, Mars, NASA, Space and Science
Just as Curiosity revs up its scientific mission on Mars, NASA has selected a new mission to the Red Planet. The space agency announced that InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) is a NASA Discovery Program mission...
Aug 20, 2012 | International Space Station, NASA, Roscosmos
Russian cosmonauts readied the International Space Station for the eventual addition of a Russian Multipurpose Science Module during a spacewalk on Monday. The big module, “Nauca,” and the European Robot Arm are expected to be launched together in...
Aug 14, 2012 | Blog, Education Station, Exploration, Kids Space, Mars, NASA
Thanks to the NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) the Curiosity rover was sitting on the surface of Mars. This color-enhanced view of NASA’s Curiosity rover on the surface of Mars was taken by the MRO’s High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) as it flew...
Aug 13, 2012 | Benefits of Space Exploration, Education, Exploration, Mars, NASA
President Obama was filled with praise for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory early Monday, when he called the control center for the Mars Science Laboratory from Air Force One to check in on the Curiosity rover. Early Aug. 6, Curiosity settled into Gale...
Aug 13, 2012 | Education, Exploration, International Cooperation, NASA, Planet Earth, Space and Science
NASA was directed by Congress to re-assess its future, as part of the agency’s 2012 appropriations bill. The task, which must be completed soon, was assigned to the National Research Council, an arm of the National Academies. The National Academies serve...
Aug 11, 2012 | Blog, Education Station, Exploration, Kids Space, Mars, NASA
After deploying the Curiosity rover on the surface of Mars, the Sky Crane performed its own aerial acrobatics – crashing in a planned maneuver far away from the rover’s landing zone. Engineers have reviewed images taken by Curiosity’s Hazard-Avoidance cameras finding...
Aug 10, 2012 | Blog, Mars, NASA, NASA News
While the rover will help answer a wealth of questions about Mars, it raises some troubling ones about Earth — and the United States in particular. Why does a country that can pull off this kind of engineering legerdemain have such a hard time doing the easy stuff —...