A former NASA engineer and now-YouTuber has created a viral sensation with a video documenting efforts to send an egg to near space to test if it cracks up on landing.
An interactive map of the evolutionary links between all living things known to science. Discover your favourites, see which species are under threat, and be amazed by the diversity of life on earth.
How small the selection we have today, and how precious.
To supplement my previous post on the progress we’ve made imaging the far side of the Moon, here are a number of snapshots from the Artemis I Orion flyby.
I am working on story edits today and found myself needing to look up a lunar technicality. Next thing I know, I was reading a detailed account of the first lunar spacewalk at Tranquillity Base. I thought you might enjoy it too.
July 20, 1969: The day began on the farside of the Moon. Armstrong, Aldrin and crewmate Mike Collins flew their spaceship 60 miles above the cratered wasteland. No one on Earth can see the Moon’s farside. Even today it remains a land of considerable mystery, but the astronauts had no time for sight-seeing. Collins pressed a button, activating a set of springs, and the spaceship split in two. The half named Columbia, with Collins on board, would remain in orbit. The other half, the Eagle, spiraled over the horizon toward the Sea of Tranquillity.
“You are Go for powered descent,” Houston radioed…
This also got me thinking about the farside of the moon. We’ve learned a lot about it since these images in 1959:
Orion entered a distant lunar orbit on at 4:52 p.m. EST Friday, Nov. 25, where the spacecraft will remain for about a week to test systems in a deep space environment about 40,000 miles above the lunar surface before beginning the journey back to Earth.
The Artemis moon mission is now underway, which means fun updates like this video flyby of the Moon.
… NASA’s Orion spacecraft performs a close approach of the lunar surface on its way to a distant retrograde orbit, a highly stable orbit thousands of miles beyond the Moon. During the Artemis I flight test, launched on Nov. 16, Orion will travel 280,000 miles (450,000 km) from Earth and 40,000 miles (64,000 km) beyond the far side of the Moon, carrying science and technology payloads to expand our understanding of lunar science, technology developments, and deep space radiation.
The machine uses beams of radiation to creep in between pages and scan individual letters. This new tool wasn’t made to create disdain among classic readers or for those too lazy to lift a cover. Rather it may unlock the secrets of old books or ancient texts too fragile to be disturbed by human touch.
Scanning an object layer by layer and deriving meaning from the images? Cool, nifty, amazing, a breakthrough for archaeologists and antiquarians everywhere!
Also, remind me again why mammograms still require what is, in effect, a highly sophisticated panini press?*
And yes, it is exactly as uncomfortable as it sounds.
* I know, I know, living tissue is not the same thing as parchment or an Italian sandwich. Still, it’s hard not to think that the gap between the current and ideal mammogram experience represents an untapped opportunity for innovation. Ladies, can I get an amen?
Will the Artemis moon mission finally fly? The answer seems to be, “Probably.”* The weather has been challenging but tonight’s forecast looks good. Here’s hoping all goes well tonight!
A successful launch would be a key milestone for NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to put the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface. The agency has not launched a space vehicle designed to send astronauts to the moon since 1972.
Do you love Tuesdays? Want to get a head start on tomorrow? (Or hate Tuesdays and want something to make tomorrow better? Yeah, that’s more me, I’m afraid.) Or perhaps you’re just looking for an excuse to stay up late, you know, For Science? You are in luck!
The initial phase of the eclipse begins at 3:02 a.m. ET, according to NASA. The partial eclipse then begins at 4:09 a.m. ET, when to the naked eye, it looks like a bite is being taken out of the moon. The lunar disk enters totality at 5:17 a.m. ET and will last for about an hour and a half.
One of my relatives is very much a night owl, so she will have no trouble catching this. The rest of us might have to set our alarms (or, let’s be honest, check out the video tomorrow; no shame either way!).
Thanks to a short night and a long workday I’m feeling sluggish. The cat is helping by following me around and randomly flopping onto his side, then purring up a storm. It’s adorable and quite soothing, the perfect foil to an otherwise deeply average day.
But what if you don’t have a cat, or the cat you do have is severely lacking in chill? Never fear! The internet is here to help.
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