Space & Spaceflight

Should We Be Trying to Make Contact with Extraterrestrials?

Another debate popped again this week, one that’s been talked about and argued over for years now—whether we should be actively seeking out and sending messages to habitable planets in the search for life beyond Earth. Known as Active Seti (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), some researchers and scientists want to continually broadcast messages to known…

The Original Black Hole For Interstellar Was Too Confusing

One of the many reasons why Interstellarwas such a wonderful movie was that it used genuine scientific equations to show what happens in the vicinity of a black hole. But, just like the actors in front of the camera, it seems the black hole also got a little make up to make it more presentable…

This Is Where NASA’s Lab-With-Wings Goes For Its Health-Check

NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy—or SOFIA to its friends—is actually a laboratory with wings. And right now, it’s getting its decadal inspection at the Lufthansa Technik hangar in Hamburg, Germany. SOFIA’s actually a heavily modified Boeing 747 Special Performance jetliner, that flies 39,000 to 45,000 feet in the air to record infrared spectrum that’s…

NASA’s Latest Crew Of Astronauts Think They’re Jedi Knights

The crew for NASA’s Expedition 45 won’t be all together on the International Space Station until their Soyuz docks in September, but that hasn’t stopped them releasing their official poster. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there’s some definite space themes hidden in there. All six astronauts — two from NASA, one…

ESA’s Spaceplane Is a Bit Banged Up After Its Fiery Trip

After successfully completing its 100-minute, remotely operated ride, the European Space Agency’s Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) was lifted aboard the Nos Aries, ESA’s recovery ship, as we can see in this photo above released by the space agency today. During its fiery atmospheric reentry the 5-metre-long, two-tonne craft decelerated from hypersonic to supersonic speed, to…

This Camera Is Going to Hell, and Will Send Us Pictures

European Space Agency engineers are going where no human will ever go. They’ve put a camera inside an automated spacecraft full of garbage (including sewage) to see what will happen during its reentry into Earth’s atmosphere this weekend. The two objects in the photo above are a special infrared camera (in the middle, bolted onto…

Why Your Next Tent Might Be A Cube

The next generation of ultralight backpacking tents is adopting vertical walls and square shapes to maximize living space while shedding weight. Here’s how they work and what these new tents mean for your next camping trip. What’s the matter with traditional tent shapes? Space and weight. The whole idea of a tent is to provide…

Experimental ESA Spaceplane’s First Test Flight Was a Success (Updated)

Today the European Space Agency’s test spaceplane went on a successful 100-minute, remotely-operated ride along the equator from Kourou, French Guiana to the Pacific Ocean, just west of the Galapagos islands. IXV was launched 340 km into space on top of a Vega rocket, flight VV04, had climbed to 412 km before began a long…

Chris Hadfield Explains His View Of Earth From Space

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield made his name doing space-bound covers of David Bowie, but ever since returning to Earth, he’s been doing a stellar job of making us all jealous about his tenure in the ISS. In this interview with science video channel Veritasium, Hadfield describes his first spacewalk, which took place during the Southern…

Why You’d Want To Go On A One-Way Trip To Mars

Mars Oneis the program that’s planning on sending four humans on a one-way trip to Mars to establish a human colony. Applications are in, a shortlist has been made, and all that’s left to do is um fly to Mars, build a colony, and die a lonely death among the stars. The Guardian has asked…

Imagine Your Workstation Had This View of the Galaxy

Being an astronomer working at the Very Large Telescope is probably one of the best jobs in the world. Just look at the view this office has. It’s full of stars! The VLT is a giant telescope operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. The…

This Is What a Spiral Galaxy Looks Like Side-On

This is a rare glimpse of a spiral galaxy seen directly along its edge. The image of NGC 7814, known as the “Little Sombrero” to its buddies, was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. Measuring 60,000 light-years across, NGC 7814 has a bright central bulge and a bright halo of glowing gas which extends outwards…

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Looks Like a Tiny Rivet on Mars’ Surface

Do you see it? That incredibly tiny dot in the center of that blue perimeter. That is NASA’s $2.5 billion rover, steadily working away and analyzing the Martian soil. This image was captured on Dec. 13, 2014 by the HiRISE camera housed inside NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover can be seen at…

No, this isn’t some hi-tech torture dungeon: it’s the Maxwell Test Chamber at the European Space Agency in the Netherlands. It’s used to simulate the dead of space for satellites. Inside, no-one can hear you scream. The spikes are made of foam, and serve to absorb any internal signals from satellites that are being tested.…

The Long, Spiraling Path NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft Will Take to Ceres

Over the next few months, NASA’s Dawn spacecraft will be slowly spiraling down toward Ceres, a dwarf planet out in the asteroid belt. Ceres’ gravity and Dawn’s ion drive will work together to pull the spacecraft into a tighter and tighter orbit, which is rather mesmerizing traced out in full like this. Dawn is already…

In This Breathtaking Image, Three Moons Transit the Face of Jupiter

In this recent image from space-based telescope Hubble, we see something extraordinary. The moons Europa, Callisto, and Io transit the planet Jupiter, casting shadows on its roiling clouds. One day, humans will have this view from their windows. For now, we can dream. Image: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) On the Hubble…

RIP Giant Machine That Put Space Shuttles on Top of 747s

It’s a great American tradition. When something is old and less useful than it once was, we just tear it down to make room for new and more useful things. That’s exactly what’s happened to the Mate-Demate Device (MDD) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. It used to mount Space Shuttles on 747s. Now it’s scrap…

This Gorgeous Art Show Celebrates Our Favourite Space-Bound Heroes

I think it’s safe to say we’re all fans of sci-fi in a variety of forms around here – we love not just the majesty of space, but all the heroes who trek out into the black in pursuit of adventure. So what better way to celebrate them than with this beautiful gallery exhibition from…

NASA May Soon Send This Spacecraft to Jupiter’s Moon Europa

With massive oceans buried under six kilometers of ice, Jupiter’s moon Europa has long been a dream destination for astronomers. It’s possible that those oceans, warmed by undersea volcanoes, could harbor microbial life. NASA’s wanted a closer look for 15 years, and now they’re getting it. In NASA’s 2016 budget, the plan to explore Europa…

America Is Already Planning to Regulate Business on the Moon

The Federal agency that regulates civil aviation in America is planning to use its framework for licensing space launches to licensing business on the Moon, according to a scoop from Reuters this morning. Are we facing a lunar land grab? Not exactly. The report takes the form of a letter from the Federal Aviation Agency…