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space
The Max Launch Abort System Launch Makes Me Want to Be an Astronaut Again
Looks like Flash Gordon came to Virginia this Wednesday. Here you have images and video of the spectacular Max Launch Abort System in action. Sadly, the spiffy spacecraft won't be in Orion. Maybe they can send me one to test. More » -
space
NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Sends Most Detailed Moon Images Yet
While Ulysses dies in the solitude of space, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is now alive and fully awake, sending these ultra-detailed images from the Moon's Mare Nubium region. Go on and zoom in. It's actually made of cheese. More » -
space
Cool Time Lapse Video of Atlantis Getting Mounted On Its 747 Mothership
We have seen the shuttle on an spectacular shot on top of its 747 mothership and a video of their almost impossible take off, but we have never seen a time lapse video on how everything gets ready. More » -
space
NASA Kills Ulysses Spacecraft After 18 years of Studying the Sun
You thought the leaden winter would bring you down forever / But you rode upon a steamer to the violence of the Sun. More » -
image cache
What Is This?
Some kind of circuit board close up? No. A nuclear power plant's control panel full of gauges and labels? No, that's not it. The answer will probably amaze you as much as it surprised me. More » -
space
Progress Update on NASA's Constellation Program
NASA's Jeffery Hanley went to the US Human Spaceflght Plans committee in Washington to do a show and tell on Constellation, the space program that will take us to the Moon and Mars. He played this report on its state. More » -
space
Buzz Aldrin's New Hip Hop Album Looks Amazing
What's cooler, walking on the moon or recording an album with Snoop Dogg and Talib Kweli? I'd say it's a toss-up. [Funny or Die] -
space
Astronaut Jackassery Shows Large Sums of Money Being Put to Good Use
Good to know this is how Astronauts spend their time in space. Actually, I'm kinda serious. If you're up there and can't take a moment to enjoy the infinite fun that Zero G provides...well...I just feel bad for you. More » -
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space
NASA Rocket to Crash Into the Moon's Crust In Search for Water
NASA launched a lunar satellite into orbit today, which will fire a rocket booster at 5,600 MPH into a Moon crater, causing a six-mile-high explosion. They hope to find water in the Moon's south pole. But I find this deeply disturbing. More » -
nasa
The Right Stuff: NASA's Strange Attempt to Dethrone Gatorade
Apparently robot missions to Mars are now passe, because NASA's gotten into the business of making electrolyte-packed sports drinks and naming them after Tom Wolfe books about...um...NASA. More » -
nasa
NASA Pays "Pillownauts" Well To Lie In Bed For Weeks On End
In order to study the long-term effects of micro-gravity on the human body, NASA is looking for a fewgoodlazy people to lie in bed all day sleeping, watching TV and playing video games. More » -
space
Atlantis' Impossible Take Off On NASA's 747 Mothership
I've seen the shuttle pulling a Moonraker with NASA's modified 747 mothership before—like in this spectacular zenithal shot of Endeavour—but it never ceases to amaze me to see the two of them taking off. More » -
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Good Luck, Hubble
There she goes. The Hubble space telescope, drifting away from the Space Shuttle Atlantis after her final servicing mission last week. May her new, improved instruments deliver more incredible imagery from the cosmos. [NASA] -
space
Atlantis Home Safe, Most Dangerous STS Mission Ever Finally Complete
The space shuttle Atlantis returned home to terra firma a few moments ago, thereby marking the end to one of NASA's most ambitious—and dangerous—space missions to date. [CNN] -
nasa
Fellow Robots Trying to Help Stuck Mars Spirit
You know when Woody gets kidnapped and then Buzz Lightyear and Mr Potato and all the toys go to rescue him from the evil toy man? Well, this story has nothing to do with that. More » -
space
Atlantis Crew Finishes Hubble Repairs, Celebrates With Early Morning Jam Sesh
NASA's latest Hubble repair mission was—even as orbital repair missions go—a tough one. It's great news, then, that they've finished repairing the rickety old telescope, which they'll release this morning. So they celebrated. More » -
power tools
The Weird and Wonderful Space Tools That Fixed Hubble
If you wanted to know what the hell are all those weird space tools that astronauts seem to keep tied in a big ball of junk, you will love these beautiful pictures by Michael Soluri: More » -
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Astronauts Playing Real World Katamari Damacy In Space
I saw this picture yesterday and I just couldn't tell what the hell it was. So I read the caption and it left me even more puzzled: More » -
space
Astronauts Watching New Star Trek In Space
According to NASA, the three astronauts in the International Space Station have been chilling out watching J.J. Abrams' Star Trek. Watching the Enterprise in the ISS, people. It doesn't get any better than this: More » -
easter eggs
Houston, We Got Porn On the Moon
A pornish cartoon. That's what the surprised astronauts from the Apollo 16 mission found while walking on the Moon. It was in their checklist—mounted on the forearm—but it wasn't the first time that happened: More » -
space
Most Dangerous Shuttle Mission Ever Gets Off to a Rough Start
They may have made it to space without blowing up, but just one day into their famously dangerous mission, the crew of the space shuttle Atlantis already have something to worry about: heat shield damage. More » -
snuggie
The 'Space Snuggie' Could Protect Astronauts From Radiation
Thanks to students at North Carolina State University (my alma mater), looking like a tool may extend beyond the surly bonds of Earth. Their "Space Snuggie" concept could shield future astronauts from radiation. More » -
Get Me Off This Rock
Space Week Roundup: The Right Stuff
Well, last week's space theme was exciting for readers and staff alike, not least of all because we had a real actual NASA astronaut baring his soul daily. Here are the highlights:
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nasa
NASA Preps For The Worst With Dramatic Hollywood-Style Shuttle Rescue Mission
If the rare event that something goes wrong on a space shuttle mission, NASA is ready with a rescue plan that would undoubtedly make many Hollywood directors and tough boy actors piss their pants. More » -
space
Why We Need to Reach the Stars (and We Will)
We reached the Moon in a tin can, built a humble space station, and have a plan to reach Mars in a bigger tin can. But we need to reach the stars. And we will. More » -
space
Hubble Upgrades Will Give Space Telescope Cosmic Super Vision
The Hubble space telescope, near and dear to we space-loving Gizmodo editors, is about to get tuned-up, courtesy Atlantis. The astronauts are also installing two new gadgets that MSNBC says bestows "superpowers." That's pretty accurate. More » -
space
From Earth To Moon Redux: How The Next Moonshot Will Happen
May 2019: Our scheduled return to the moon. There's plenty of laboring to be done on the Constellation Program before then, but the foundation is set. Here's how you—as an astronaut—would experience the mission: More » -
astroblogger
Sex In Space: When's Someone Gonna Get Freaky in Zero G?
In his final installment as Gizmodo's cherished Astroblogger, real-life astronaut Leroy Chiao covers the taboo topic of sex in space. Will it happen? Has it happened? Guess you'll have to read to find out... More » -
question of the day
Are We Spending Too Much On NASA?
Yesterday Obama unveiled an $18.7 billion budget for NASA in 2010—a 5% increase over this past year. This is a preliminary figure that could change after a 3-month review of the agency is completed. More » -
astroblogger
The Trouble With Space Toilets
Even when astronaut guest blogger Leroy Chiao isn't asked, he knows people are dying to know: What's the deal with relieving yourself when there's no gravity to contain the mess? How does it actually work? More » -
space
Eating Like an Astronaut: Our Six-Course Space Food Taste Test
Eating is one of life's most important activities, and the same applies in space. Every astronaut eats three times a day, and yesterday for lunch, Adam and I had space food. It was awesome. More » -
astroblogger
The Air Up There: What Space Stations Smell Like
In Leroy Chiao's five-day stint as astronaut guest blogger, he's striving to illuminate the everyday aspects of life aboard the International Space Station, stuff that isn't in press releases. Today's topic? The air they breathe. More » -
space
The Space Station We Were Supposed To Get 40 Years Ago
Across the Space Frontier is one of the most beautiful—if wildly inaccurate—books on space travel, mostly American space-race propaganda. Here are cutaways of the space station and rocket promised to be active by 1970.
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space
NASA Running Out Of Fuel For Deep Space Missions Because Nobody Makes Nukes Anymore
Supplies of NASA's go-to fuel for space exploration, plutonium-238, are dwindling. The U.S. stopped making it 20 years ago and now NASA's Russian suppliers are running out after production shut down. More » -
space
In Honor of Yuri Gagarin, the First Human in Space
On April 12, 1961, Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin stepped into his Vostok 1 spacecraft, started the pre-flight checks, and waited for countdown. Hours later, he muttered one of the most beautiful, yet obvious phrases in history: More » -
space
NASA Giving Photosynth Tours of International Space Station
Wanna see where astroblogger Leroy Chiao spent over half a year? Check out NASA's brand-new ISS Photosynth virtual tour (requires Silverlight). [NASA Photosynth Collection] -
astroblogger
The Charms of Soyuz: Blasting Off In a Crazy Russian Rocket
Our astronaut guest blogger Leroy Chiao is one of the few spacemen to have flown in both a US Space Shuttle and Russia's five-decade-old spacecraft, the Soyuz—any guess which one he prefers? More » -
space
NASA's Next-Gen Space Duds: The Constellation Space Suit System
The Constellation Space Suit System (CSSS) is NASA's first major redesign to the iconic space suit in 40 years, and it looks like it's designed to be able to handle the next 40. More » -
space
Animal Astronauts: The Unsung Heroes of Space Travel
Astroblogger Leroy Chiao belongs to an elite, exclusive club of earthlings who have ventured into space. Also in that club? Animals. Lots of them. This is tribute to the world's bravest "astronimals." More » -
question of the day
What Should NASA Have Named The New ISS Module?
You may recall that last month Stephen Colbert won NASA's contest to name a new module in the International Space Station. You may also remember that NASA snubbed him and chose the name Tranquility. More »










































