ANIMAL » NASA

Nice View: Flying Over Planet Earth at Night

Marina Galperina — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 22:00:11 +0000

This time lapse of the view from the International Space Station blows other nighttime metropolitan time lapse vids away — conceptually, not aesthetically. Check out our little planet. Woah, maaaan.

See it ripple with frequent lightning, glow with populated clusters and otherwise display its terrestrial splendor, whilst rubbing in the fact that some deep-pocketed Rusky will be enjoying it instead of NASA.

Astronaut Suicides

Marina Galperina — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 18:35:18 +0000

This darkly absurd photo series stars a spacesuit-clad astronaut dramatically attempting to kill himself after reading about the end and last hurrah of NASA’s shuttle program in the newspaper. Portland, Oregon-based Neil Dacosta’s Astronaut Suicides features wrist slashing, car gassing, pill chugging… You know, the classics.

Oh woe. The sterile interiors give this an extra chill.

Is this morbid Harold-type extravaganza insensitive, is it poignant critique or is it… sick ‘n’ silly?

A Plane’s Eye View of Space Shuttle Endeavor

Bucky Turco — Mon, 16 May 2011 15:30:17 +0000

A passenger aboard a commercial flight from New York City to Palm Beach captured this awesome shot (and video) of the space shuttle Endeavor as it broke the cloud cover and zoomed toward space for its final mission. In July, NASA will officially retire the shuttle program with the launch of Atlantis. (Photo: @Stefmara)

NYC Granted Space Shuttle Historically Incapable of Space Flight

Bucky Turco — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 19:00:00 +0000

Earlier today, NASA announced where it would be sending its retiring fleet of space shuttles and it looks like NYC will get an orbiter after all. The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum won the honor of entombing Enterprise. It carries the distinction of being the first space shuttle ever built and the only one that never actually made it into space. Exciting! It was basically a test model. Also: screw you Yuri!

China Trashing Space Now Too

Bucky Turco — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 21:31:16 +0000

China, no longer content with just polluting the planet, have stepped up their efforts considerably and resorted to littering the last frontier. Debris from one of their defunct satellites was moving dangerously to International Space Station, forcing NASA to put the three astronauts aboard on high alert. But alas, after what must have been 11 long hours, experts now say they’re relatively safe again and there’s no threat of a hull rupturing collision… for now.

Here’s What Mercury Looks Like

Bucky Turco — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 20:40:37 +0000

NASA released what are being described as the first images of Mercury from a spacecraft in its orbit and surprise: The hellish planet located closest to the Sun looks a lot like the Moon. Which makes sense, since like the lunar body, Mercury has no real atmosphere, making it quite vulnerable to comets and asteroids. It also explains why the planet can’t retain heat, so even though surface temperatures can reach 430 °C when facing the sun like a scene out of The Chronicles of Riddick, it’s still possible for the dark side of Mercury to dip to a chilling -163 °C.

Discovery’s Final Voyage

Bucky Turco — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 00:48:04 +0000

A little before 5PM today, NASA lit the fuse to the flying bombs used to blast the space shuttles into space and they worked! The SRBs successfully hurled Discovery towards the heavens for its last mission, as the space agency continues to retire the orbiters and the shuttle program itself, which is currently scheduled to end with the launches of Endeavour and Atlantis later this year.

Best Alternative Use of a Mailbox Ever: Space Shuttle Photography

Bucky Turco — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 17:00:15 +0000

Earlier today, photographers secured their cameras in protective housings, some of them more overtly DIY than others, and braced their tripods with sandbags in the hopes of capturing the perfect last shot of the space shuttle Discovery as it, finally, lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center for its final flight tomorrow. It’s the most traveled orbiter in NASA’s fleet and will formally be retired after this mission and likely carted off to Manhattan and put on display along with the other stuff at the Intrepid museum. (Photo: Space Flight Now/Facebook)

Look At This Hot Orange Marble

Lauri Apple — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 16:30:50 +0000

It’s the Sun! NASA’s twin STEREO probes are beaming back uninterrupted images of everybody’s favorite star—a data-collecting process that scientists say will enable better space weather forecasting.

We always thought the sun’s roundness was fact, but apparently there has been some dispute? Because NASA’s website proclaims, “It’s official: The sun is a sphere.” Hm, okay. So, if you’ve got a friend who’s ever bet you money that the sun is square- or triangle-shaped, now would probably be a good time to collect.

Video of imaging:

Satellite Image Confirms Big Storm

Bucky Turco — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 23:34:58 +0000

In case you were worried that news networks were just fucking with you about the so called “life threatening,” “colossal,” “monster” winter storm engulfing the country, here’s the visual proof. The image was captured by NASA yesterday and almost justifies the media’s hype.