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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
How Would It Be to Live on the Moon
If you want a realistic view on how living a quarter million miles from here would be for humans a few decades from now, check out this advance on National Geographic's new documentary. It will even show the Orion simulator: More » -
space
NASA to Take Photos of Lunar Landing Sites, End Conspiracy Theories
Suck it up, conspiracy theorists, because soon your cuckoo stories about the US simulating the Moon landings will be over forever. NASA has confirmed to Gizmodo that the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will take photos of all the Apollo landing sites: 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 » -
lights
Sputnik Solar Lamp Brings Free Light to Your Yard
This solar lamp from IDEA is inspired by Sputnik, requires 2-5 hours of sunlight for 8 hours of operation and costs a mere $16. [IDEA via Engadget] -
space
The Aliens of the Star Iota Horologii Are Just Watching Captain Kangaroo Now
When our broadcasts leave Earth, they slowly travel into space. There is, however, a sizable delay between what we watch and what distant aliens watch. This convenient chart shows us what TV various stars are receiving today. [AbstruseGoose via TDW] -
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 » -
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space
Soyuz Chair Transforms Lay-Z-Boys Into Cosmonauts
Sitting in the typical recliner has become the weeknight sex of the furniture world—a comfortable task for your body while your mind focuses on TV. The Soyuz Chair hopes to break the mundanity with classic Soviet space craft design. 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 » -
weed
USS Enterprise Bong Follows My Prime Directive Precisely
Some intrepid Trekkie/stoner decided to combine his two favorite things, creating this awesome USS Enterprise bong. The movie didn't need any help being entertaining, but this certainly won't hurt. [What-a-Bong Via io9] -
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] -
image cache
What Is This?
"It's so dark here. So cold. I'm about to die. So long, my friends." More » -
space
Couple Says "I Do" In Zero Gravity, Leads Subsequently More Boring Life Together
It's not hard to spend $16,000 (or much, much more) on a wedding. So you might as well get a zero gravity flight out of the deal. More » -
space
Selene's Final Approach Before Crashing Into the Moon
The Selene lunar probe has captured amazing footage of the surface of the moon, but on June 11th it finally crashed into the surface. This is a reconstruction of its final approach, based on flight data. [JAXA via Pink Tentacle] -
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 » -
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 » -
telescopes
World's Fastest and Most Sensitive Astronomical Camera Shoots 1500 Images Per Second
Developed by British scientists for the VLT (very large telescope), the CCD200 detector is the world's fastest and most sensitive astronomical camera—capable of shooting an astonishing 1500 images per second. More » -
space
First Spaceport Ever Begins Construction this Friday
This newly-released image shows the sun rising over Spaceport America. It hasn't been built yet, but construction starts this Friday. It will be the beginning of the real future, the stuff dreams are made of.* More » -
space
This Is How a Warp Drive Spaceship Looks
Warp drives may hold the key to reach the stars—despite the naysayers. The Discovery Channel is featuring a scientifically accurate warpship design, following our current knowledge of spacetime. More » -
space
Theoretical Warp Drives Theorized To Be Black Hole-Creating Doomsday Devices
I still think we should and will reach the stars, but today I'm forced to concede that using a theoretical "warp drive" might not be the best way to go: More » -
space
Boy Survives 30,000 mph Meteorite Impact
This 14-year-old boy is Gerrit Blank, and he is probably smiling because he survived a 30,000 mph meteorite hit. His tale—confirmed by scientists at Germany's Walter Hohmann Observatory—seems like the genesis of a superhero: More » -
space
'Free-Floating' Black Hole Responsible For One of Hubble's Big Discoveries?
Get Me Off This Rock is a distant memory by now, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't bring you word that one of space's most mysterious phenomena is one step closer to being solved. More » -
space
Did a Meteor Take Down Air France Flight 447?
Could a meteor strike be the reason behind the crash of Air France flight 447? The math geeks at Discover crunched some numbers and it turns out that it's not as implausible as you might think. More » -
space
Videos So Close to the Moon You Can Almost Touch It
Selene— Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's spacecraft mapping and filming the moon in High Definition for the first time—keeps returning crystal-clear videos of the Moon surface. And the video will keep getting closer and closer, until it crashes. 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
Researchers Use Cameraphones to Help Develop Mars Imaging Software
Scientists working with the Mars Society have been walking around the Utah desert in spacesuits, snapping photos of the ground in an attempt to develop image recognition software for use on the Red Planet. 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 » -
space
Smile: The First Six-Astronaut Crew Ever at the ISS
Right now, orbiting at 250 miles above Earth's surface, we have a permanent crew of six astronauts at the International Space Station, a first in the history of space exploration. More » -
image cache
What Is This?
I will tell you what it is: It's part of the International Space Station as seen from Earth with a telescope. And apparently, it's very happy to see us... what is that tiny thing tingling on the P3 truss? More » -
space
Virgin Galactic Rocket Blasts Off for the First Time
The hybrid Nitrous Oxide rocket that will take SpaceShipTwo to 65 miles above the Earth at 2500mph (YES!) has fired off for the first time in the southern California desert. Founder, adventurer and cool-guy-at-large Sir Richard Branson is happy: More » -
space
How Do You Avoid Hitting Stars at Warp 5? A Pulsar Positioning System
OK, mind blowing: A scientist at the Observatoire de Paris basically invented GPS for interstellar travelers: Simply tune in the radio signals from four pulsars, crunch some numbers having to do with relativity (natch) and read your position within the galaxy—to within a meter. More » -
image cache
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] -
space
Rotating Space Elevator Could Use Earth's Energy For Cheap Orbital Launches
Think of Archimedes' screw, only sticking up tens of thousands of miles from the surface into the earth, carrying tons of space crap without the need for rocket or laser propulsion. More » -
space
First TV Image of Mars Ever Was Made With Crayons
What you are looking at here is the very first image ever taken of the surface of Mars. It was acquired by NASA's Mariner 4 using a television camera, and rendered using crayons. Look closer: More » -
gps
Air Force Twitters on GPS Outage Reports: Calm Down, Civilians
When the U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report saying that worldwide GPS performance is likely to degrade in the next few years, lot of people, public and private, kinda flipped. Cue the inevitable about-face, right about...now. More » -
space
Astronauts Drink Recycled Urine for the First Time in History
So here I am—drinking Martini Rosso with lots of ice, sun licking my cheeks in a NYC terrace—reading that in space they are drinking water recycled from urine for the first time ever. And as you can see, they love it. More » -
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 »













































