Republican crazer and presidential candidate Newt Gingrich was campaigning on Florida’s Space Coast this week and in what has to be the most obvious political pandering moments of all time, told the adoring crowds that by his second term, he’d build a “permanent base on the moon and it will be American.” Read more »
What is Space Cruiser? It’s an interactive, 360-degree installation that turns the American Museum of Natural History’s planetarium dome into “a giant virtual spacecraft” that you get to navigate through asteroid belts and wormholes with your “crew.” Read more »
This video wins the internet. “Inspired” by this time lapse cut from NASA’s photos of the Earth from the International Space Station, YouTube user isoeph bit it… with lots more woah. Check out our plannet aglow with neon ripples of Aurora Borealis. Magic. Read more »
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. Read more »
While US is mourning the death of NASA’s shuttle program, Russia is building a swanky space hotel, set to open its cabin doors within five years… and it’s nicer and cheaper than the $60 million a-pop missions American astronauts will be hitching with the Russians from now on. Read more »
Yesterday, investment firm chairman Evgeny Yurchenko paid $2,882,500 for the Vostok 3KA-2 space capsule that orbited the Earth with a human dummy and a space mutt in ’61. Until now, it was the only capsule of its kind outside of Russia, privately owned by an anon American. Ahem-ahem. Evgeny wants everyone to know that he’s “thrilled” to “bring it back” and plop it in a museum somewhere, next to said space mutts’ taxidermy display. The visiting Russian moneybags are taking their toys and going home, one cracked rusty ball of national pride at a time.
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.
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.
Here’s another titillating stowaway that made it aboard Apollo 12. Playboy’s vintage calendar card was hidden inside the command module without the knowledge of the crew and then discovered, shock, wow. We heard that one before. Read more »
Did you see the lunar eclipse last night? Astronomy fans were especially excited since it occurred during the winter solstice. The last time that happened was 1638 and will be another 83 years before it happens again. Here’s what it looked like from Brooklyn. Read more »
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