• Tornado and Severe Thunderstorms Strike Oklahoma

    Updated: 2013-05-22 05:00:00
    NASA: Earth Observatory News: A supercell thunderstorm system spawned a destructive tornado near Oklahoma City on May 20, 2013.

  • 3-D Printed Pizza to Feed Mars Colonists?

    Updated: 2013-05-22 02:30:36
    Discovery News - Space News: Enter the 3-D printer: your all-in-one solution to habitat-building, gun-making and now space pizza preparation! Continue reading →

  • SNC’s Dream Chaser at Dryden for Runway and Flight Tests

    Updated: 2013-05-22 02:26:39
    News Focus Documents Editor’s Pick Magazine About News Focus Documents Editor’s Pick Magazine About Focus SNC’s Dream Chaser at Dryden for Runway and Flight Tests May 22, 2013 at 03:26 Matteo Emanuelli The Time to Organize Space Safety is NOW Delta 4 Cleared to Launch New GPS Satellite Milestones to Space Settlement : An NSS Roadmap UK Astronaut Tim Peake Confirmed for ISS Duty SNC’s Dream Chaser test flight craft is transported across the bed of Rogers Dry Lake to NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center on May 15 Credits : NASA Tom Tschida Dream Chaser , the crewed orbital and suborbital vertical-takeoff , horizontal-landing lifting-body vehicle , has been delivered to NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards , California as of May 15. The vehicle , being developed by Sierra Nevada

  • Chris Hadfield Teams Up With Tested.com to Try Food and Games in Space

    Updated: 2013-05-22 01:45:15
    We at Universe Today have been wondering, where did Chris Hadfield find the time to do all the great videos he put together during his five months on the International Space Station, all while his Expedition set records for the amount of scientific research performed? Now there’s even more. Hadfield teamed up with Jamie Hyneman [...]

  • Chris Hadfield Teams Up With Tested.com to Try Food and Games in Space

    Updated: 2013-05-22 01:45:15
    Home Become a Member Carnival of Space Contact Us Forum Guide to Space Privacy Policy Telescope Guide Subscribe Universe Today Remove this ad Chris Hadfield Teams Up With Tested.com to Try Food and Games in Space by Nancy Atkinson on May 22, 2013 Want to stay on top of all the space news Follow universetoday on Twitter We at Universe Today have been wondering , where did Chris Hadfield find the time to do all the great videos he put together during his five months on the International Space Station , all while his Expedition set records for the amount of scientific research performed Now there’s even more . Hadfield teamed up with Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame , who now are part of the Tested crew , too , to produce three different videos about living in space

  • Lunar Meteor Impact

    Updated: 2013-05-22 01:32:44
    Search : for Subscribe to LEO Low Earth Orbit RSS Subscribe to comments RSS Welcome The Game Overview Mission Briefings The LEO Screen The LEO Environment LEO BLOG Flight School Contact Media Updates Bug Reports Suggestions Media Resources Privacy Policy Lunar Meteor Impact On March 17 NASA detected the largest meteor impact on the Moon since they started watching for such impacts 8 years ago . This impact was observed as a brief flash of light as the meteor , estimated at 30-40cm 12-18 inches across and travelling at 56,000 miles per hour , slammed into the lunar . surface Here’s an informative short video from NASA which includes actual video of the impact , along with discussion of their monitoring program , interpretations of where this object came from and possible relevance of such

  • Best Night Sky Photos of the Year

    Updated: 2013-05-22 01:17:56
    The Night Sky Guy: The Fourth International Earth and Sky Photo Contest announced it’s winner this past week. Founded by TWAN and the Dark Skies Awareness project, the annual contest invites photographers to submit their best shots of landscape astrophotography—pictures that showcase both the Earth and the sky—as well as images that capture the battle against light [...]

  • Comment on Curiosity rover finds ancient Mars was suitable for life by Curiosity rover completes second drilling at 'Cumberland'

    Updated: 2013-05-22 01:11:36
    The Meridiani Journal: [...] to John Klein, and scientists are hoping to repeat the same results obtained at John Klein, which provided strong evidence for habitable conditions in this area a long time ago. Cumberland, however, has more of the odd nodules on its surface which kind of look like little [...]

  • Comment on Curiosity finds odd ‘bubbles’ by Curiosity rover completes second drilling at 'Cumberland'

    Updated: 2013-05-22 01:11:36
    The Meridiani Journal: [...] for habitable conditions in this area a long time ago. Cumberland, however, has more of the odd nodules on its surface which kind of look like little “blisters” or “bubbles.” The [...]

  • Where Do We Go Next In Space?

    Updated: 2013-05-22 00:14:48
    Home SpaceRef SpaceRef Business Space Quarterly Magazine NASA Hack Space SpaceRef Canada Astrobiology UPDATES This is not a NASA Website . You might learn something . It's YOUR space agency . Get involved . Take it back . Make it work for YOU . Important Disclaimer nasawatch spaceref.com Voice 1.703.787.6567 RSS Feed Twitter Advertising Archives Support Popular : Categories Budget Congress Commercialization Election 2012 ISS News Policy Where Do We Go Next In Space By Keith Cowing on May 21, 2013 6:11 PM View Comments Subcommittee Examines Next Steps for U.S . Human Space Exploration A human mission to Mars is not attainable without significant scientific , technological , and operational progress and preparation . One or more interim destinations have often been suggested as the logical

  • Best Shots of May’s Solar Eclipse

    Updated: 2013-05-21 23:32:37
    The Night Sky Guy: The first total eclipse of the sun occurred earlier this month in Australia and stunned skywatchers. A solar eclipse occurs when the Earth, moon, and sun line up so that the moon’s shadow is cast on the Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the sun’s entire disk is covered by the moon. During an [...]

  • China Space Program Ramping Up Capabilities, Pentagon Says

    Updated: 2013-05-21 23:00:42
    SPACE.com: China is intent on becoming a major space power.

  • Oklahoma Tornado Storms Seen from Space: Satellite Photos

    Updated: 2013-05-21 22:59:28
    SPACE.com: See photos of the Oklahoma tornadoes that struck on May 20, 2013, as viewed from space.

  • Giveaway: “Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier” by Neil deGrasse Tyson

    Updated: 2013-05-21 20:00:23
    Neil deGrasse Tyson’s new book, Space Chronicles: Facing The Ultimate Frontier, at times, reads like an updated version of some of Carl Sagan’s classic work about the history of astronomy and our place in the Universe. You can read our full review of Tyson’s new book here, but we also have two free copies of [...]

  • Book Review: “Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier” by Neil de Grasse Tyson

    Updated: 2013-05-21 19:52:58
    For those fans of Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot, there’s finally a successor volume to that. Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Space Chronicles: Facing The Ultimate Frontier, at times, reads like an updated version of Sagan’s classic book about the history of astronomy and our place in the universe. Like Sagan, Tyson talks about the human perception of astronomy [...]

  • Oklahoma Tornado on May 20, 2013 As Seen from Space

    Updated: 2013-05-21 16:20:46
    The massive tornado that tore through parts of Oklahoma on My 20, 2013 left a 32 km (20-mile) swath of destruction and death, with winds approaching 320 km/hr (200 mph). The US National Weather Service said the 3 km (2-mile)-wide tornado spent 40 minutes on the ground in the area of Moore, Oklahoma, outside of [...]

  • Mystery of Escaping Planetary Atmospheres Comes Under Japanese Scrutiny

    Updated: 2013-05-21 15:39:04
    Venus and Mars may be all right tonight, but there’s still a lot we don’t understand about these planets. Why does one, Venus,  have such a thick atmosphere? Why is that of Mars so thin? And why is Earth’s atmosphere so different again from what we see on Venus and Mars? (...)Read the rest of [...]

  • Video: Starship Enterprise Rides a Balloon To The Edge of Space

    Updated: 2013-05-19 02:56:59
    via io9

  • Video: "Expo" by Joe Sill

    Updated: 2013-05-19 02:53:50
    More info at Vimeo via io9

  • Newly Illustrated Versions of the NSS Roadmap to Space Settlement Now Available

    Updated: 2013-05-18 17:56:12
    A newly illustrated version of the National Space Society publication Milestones to Space Settlement: An NSS Roadmap is now available in three new formats from nss.org/roadmap: (1) A free downloadable PDF edition [6 MB] (2) [...]

  • Missing Lithium in Milky Way Dwarf Galaxy Challenges Big Bang Theory

    Updated: 2013-05-17 15:20:56
    The Daily Galaxy Great Discoveries Channel : Sci , Space , Tech Follow the Daily Galaxy Image of the Day : Mars Impact Central Main The Higgs Boson and a New Physics' Could Make the Speed of Light Possible May 17, 2013 Missing Lithium in Milky Way Dwarf Galaxy Challenges Big Bang Theory Stars in the Milky Way have about four times less lithium on the surface than expected by Big Bang predictions . Some scientists suggest that stellar activity might destroy lithium , or the element might sink from the surface through lighter hydrogen , but the remarkably consistent ratio from star to star is a challenge to those explanations . Observations of gas in the Small Magellanic Cloud above a dwarf galaxy of the Miloky Way , revealed the amount of lithium that predictions say would have been

  • Image of the Day: Mars --Impact Central!

    Updated: 2013-05-17 10:00:00
    : : The Daily Galaxy Great Discoveries Channel : Sci , Space , Tech Follow the Daily Galaxy The Daily Galaxy' Followers Soar Above 265,000 Main Missing Lithium in Milky Way Dwarf Galaxy Challenges Big Bang Theory May 17, 2013 Image of the Day : Mars Impact Central Taking before and after pictures of Martian terrain , researchers of the UA-led HiRISE imaging experiment have identified almost 250 fresh impact craters on the Red Planet , providing a more accurate yardstick of surface processes on Mars . Scientists using images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter or MRO , have estimated that the planet is bombarded by more than 200 small asteroids or bits of comets per year forming craters at least 12.8 feet 3.9 meters . across Researchers have identified 248 new impact sites on parts of

  • Asteroid QE2 Will Sail Past Earth in Two Weeks

    Updated: 2013-05-16 10:00:00
    The Daily Galaxy Great Discoveries Channel : Sci , Space , Tech Follow the Daily Galaxy Extreme Physics Detected in Binary Neutron-Star System Main First Evidence for Extraterrestrial Sources of High-Energy Neutrinos Reports Antarctica Observatory May 16, 2013 Asteroid QE2 Will Sail Past Earth in Two Weeks On May 31, 2013, asteroid 1998 QE2, which is believed to be about 1.7 miles 2.7 kilometers or nine Queen Elizabeth 2 ship-lengths in size , 0160 will sail serenely past Earth , getting no closer than about 3.6 million miles 5.8 million kilometers or about 15 times the distance between Earth and the moon . And while QE2 is not of much interest to those astronomers and scientists on the lookout for hazardous asteroids , it is of interest to those who dabble in radar astronomy and have a

  • Search for Habitable Planets in Jeopardy --"Kepler Mission in Potential Terminal Malfunction"

    Updated: 2013-05-16 01:22:32
    The Daily Galaxy Great Discoveries Channel : Sci , Space , Tech Follow the Daily Galaxy NASA Creates 1st Global Map of Titan Saturn's Potential Life-Bearing Moon Main Extreme Physics Detected in Binary Neutron-Star System May 15, 2013 Search for Habitable Planets in Jeopardy Kepler Mission in Potential Terminal Malfunction The Kepler Space Mission , one of the most successful programs in NASA history that's surveying 1 400 of our Milky Way Galaxy for habitable planets , may be coming to a premature end . NASA officials announced via a press conference this afternoon that the Kepler spacecraft which has found more than 2700 planetary candidates outside the solar system , has lost the ability to point in a specified direction due to the malfunctioning of one of its reaction wheels The

  • NSS Featured on The Space Show

    Updated: 2013-05-15 22:26:32
    The Space Show featured two speakers from the National Space Society on May 14 and the archived presentation is now online.  The speakers were Dr. Stan Rosen, NSS Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Dave Dressler, Chairman of the 2013 International Space Development Conference (ISDC), the NSS annual conference. Topics: The upcoming [...]

  • NASA Creates 1st Global Map of Titan --Saturn's Potential Life-Bearing Moon

    Updated: 2013-05-15 18:41:40
    The Daily Galaxy Great Discoveries Channel : Sci , Space , Tech Follow the Daily Galaxy Orion Molecular Cloud A Source of the Complex Building Blocks of Life Main Search for Habitable Planets in Jeopardy Kepler Mission in Potential Terminal Malfunction May 15, 2013 NASA Creates 1st Global Map of Titan Saturn's Potential Life-Bearing Moon Scientists have created the first global topographic map of Saturn’s moon Titan giving researchers a valuable tool for learning more about one of the most Earth-like and interesting worlds in the solar system . The image above provided by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory shows a flattened projection of the Huygens probe's view from 6 miles above Titan . Researchers have found that Titan's distinctive sand dunes are caused by winds blowing in reverse of the

  • Photo: The Instant of Landing for Soyuz TMA-07M

    Updated: 2013-05-15 16:22:36
    : Tuesday , May 21, 2013 About On Orbit Advertise Here Contact Information The SpaceRef Network Home Blogs Features Recent Posts Photo : The Instant of Landing for Soyuz TMA-07M Submitted by keithcowing on Wed , 05 15 2013 08:22. Space Exploration The Soyuz TMA-07M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 35 Commander Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency CSA NASA Flight Engineer Tom Marshburn and Soyuz Commander Roman Romanenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan , Kazakhstan , on May 14, 2013. Hadfield , Marshburn and Romanenko returned from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 34 and 35 crews . Photo Credit : NASA Carla Cioffi 201305140008hq 14 May 2013 high

  • Photo: New York, Long Island, and Connecticut As Seen from the International Space Station

    Updated: 2013-05-15 15:33:52
    : , , Tuesday , May 21, 2013 About On Orbit Advertise Here Contact Information The SpaceRef Network Home Blogs Features Recent Posts Photo : New York , Long Island , and Connecticut As Seen from the International Space Station Submitted by keithcowing on Wed , 05 15 2013 07:33. Earth One of the Expedition 35 crew members aboard the International Space Station recorded this image featuring parts of the Northeast . Long Island , New York is the most conspicuous tell-tale feature , which juts out into the Atlantic Ocean . The entire length of Long Island is visible from Lower Bay to Block Island Sound . According to geologists , the origin and shape of Long Island are due to continental collision and glaciers that once dominated the landscape . The metropolitan area of New York City is

  • Image: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada At Night As Seen From Orbit

    Updated: 2013-05-15 15:31:39
    One of the crew members aboard the International Space Station photographed this might image of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on March 31, 2013. ISS035-E-013076 (31 March 2013) - high res (2.9 M) low res (121 K)

  • Cosmic Dust --"A Clue to Origin of Earth's Oxygen and Water?"

    Updated: 2013-05-14 15:06:40
    The Daily Galaxy Great Discoveries Channel : Sci , Space , Tech Follow the Daily Galaxy Image of the Day Arches Star Cluster Near Milky Way's Supermassive Black Hole Main More Complex than a Galaxy New Insights into the Human Brain May 14, 2013 Cosmic Dust A Clue to Origin of Earth's Oxygen and Water We don't understand yet how some of the most important molecules here on Earth are made in space . But our discovery of hydrogen peroxide with APEX seems to be showing us that cosmic dust is the missing ingredient in the process , quot says Berengere Parise , head of the Emmy Noether research group on star formation and astrochemistry at the Max-Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in . Germany Hydrogen peroxide H2O2 a key molecule for both astronomers and chemists was discovered close to the

  • Kepler Mission Out of "Safe Mode"

    Updated: 2013-05-13 20:44:38
    The Daily Galaxy Great Discoveries Channel : Sci , Space , Tech Follow the Daily Galaxy Einstein's Planet New Method Using Theory of Relativity Detects Its First Alien Planet Main Image of the Day Arches Star Cluster Near Milky Way's Supermassive Black Hole May 13, 2013 Kepler Mission Out of Safe Mode During a scheduled semi-weekly contact on Friday , May 3rd , 2013, engineers discovered that the Kepler spacecraft was in a self-protective state called a safe mode . The spacecraft was returned to science data collection just before midnight on Monday , May 6th , 2013. The spacecraft entered thruster-controlled safe mode at about 7:30pm PDT on Wednesday , May 1st , 2013. Kepler launched March 6, 2009, from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station . The spacecraft is orbiting the sun

  • Alien Planet Chemistry --A Diamond and Graphite Surface (Weekend Feature)

    Updated: 2013-05-12 15:16:59
    The Daily Galaxy Great Discoveries Channel : Sci , Space , Tech Follow the Daily Galaxy EcoAlert : CO2 Exceeds 400 ppm for 1st Time in Recorded History Main Planets Born Before the Formation of the Milky Way 8 Billion Years Earlier than Earth Weekend Feature May 12, 2013 Alien Planet Chemistry A Diamond and Graphite Surface Weekend Feature Exo-planet research led by Yale University scientists in 2012 suggests that a rocky planet twice Earth's size orbiting a nearby star has a distinctly alien chemistry . This is our first glimpse of a rocky world with a fundamentally different chemistry from Earth , quot said lead researcher Nikku Madhusudhan , a Yale postdoctoral researcher in physics and astronomy . The surface of this planet is likely covered in graphite and diamond rather than water

  • Photo: Paris At Night From Space

    Updated: 2013-05-11 21:34:02
    One of the crew members aboard the International Space Station photographed this might image of the bright city of Paris, France on April 7, 2013. ISS035-E-017335 (7 April 2013) - (4.4 M) low res (150 K)

  • Source of Moon's Water After "The Giant Impact"

    Updated: 2013-05-11 14:00:58
    The Daily Galaxy Great Discoveries Channel : Sci , Space , Tech Follow the Daily Galaxy Never-Before-Seen Cluster of Hydrogen Clouds May Be Result of Dark Matter Main Bizarre State of Matter Found at Core of a Neutron Star Weekend Feature May 11, 2013 Source of Moon's Water After The Giant Impact The simplest explanation for what we found is that there was water on the proto-Earth at the time of the Giant Impact , quot said Alberto Saal , a geochemist at Brown University Some of that water survived the impact , and that's what we see in the Moon . quot Water is perhaps the most important molecule in our solar system . Figuring out where it came from and how it was distributed within and among the planets can help scientists understand how planets formed and evolved . New research

  • Image: Sunrise Over the South Pacific Ocean

    Updated: 2013-05-10 18:47:19
    The sun is about to come up over the South Pacific Ocean in this colorful scene photographed by one of the Expedition 35 crew members aboard the Earth-orbiting International Space Station between 4 and 5 a.m. local time, May 5, 2013. The space station was at a point above Earth located at 27.4 degrees south latitude and 110.1 degrees west longitude, a few hundred miles east of Easter Island. Image Credit: NASA. Larger image.

  • Slice of History: Infrared Ear Thermometer

    Updated: 2013-05-09 01:35:14
    By Julie Cooper Each month in “Slice of History” we feature a historical photo from the JPL Archives. See more historical photos and explore the JPL Archives at https://beacon.jpl.nasa.gov/. Infrared Ear Thermometer — Photograph Number JPL-17459Ac In 1991, Diatek Corporation of San Diego put a new infrared thermometer - Model 7000 - on the market. Early [...]

  • Dr. Abdul Kalam to Receive Von Braun Award at ISDC 2013

    Updated: 2013-05-08 15:53:54
    The National Space Society’s prestigious Wernher von Braun Memorial Award will be presented to Dr. Abdul Kalam on Friday, May 24 at the 2013 International Space Development Conference (ISDC). Held at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine Hotel in San Diego, CA, the ISDC will run from May 23-27, 2013. Dr. Kalam will [...]

  • Over 20 Exhibitors to Present at International Space Development Conference

    Updated: 2013-05-07 22:38:15
    Space advocacy organizations, educational institutions and companies from around the world are among the 22 groups which will be presenting as exhibitors at this year’s International Space Development Conference. The 2013 ISDC, the annual conference of the National Space Society and a premier event for space leaders and enthusiasts, will be held from May 23 [...]

  • Space Solar Power Workshop August 8-9 at Michigan Tech

    Updated: 2013-05-05 19:34:40
    A two-day workshop on space solar power (SSP) will be held on August 8-9, 2013, at Michican Technological University, Houghton, Michigan. Presentations and keynotes will be selected from researchers, program managers, industry representatives, and academics, interspersed with topical working group discussions. The workshop aims to compare different SSP [...]

  • To Be in the Right Place, Dawn Catches Up With Time

    Updated: 2013-05-01 22:18:46
    By Marc Rayman As NASA’s Dawn spacecraft makes its journey to its second target, the dwarf planet Ceres, Marc Rayman, Dawn’s chief engineer, shares a monthly update on the mission’s progress. In this graphic of Dawn’s interplanetary trajectory, the thin solid lines represent the orbits of Earth, Mars, Vesta and Ceres. After leaving Vesta, Dawn’s orbit temporarily [...]

  • Exploration Living Volume

    Updated: 2013-05-01 01:34:02
    This one is in response to an ongoing discussion about the pressurized volume in the various deep space exploration architectures. Apparently an Orion will provide  sufficient crew volume for extended missions while a Dragon will not in many peoples minds. The suggested often remedy is a Bigalow inflatable module for the extended missions. Henry Cate [...]

  • First Powered Flight of SpaceShipTwo

    Updated: 2013-04-30 15:02:59
    Virgin Galactic, the world’s first commercial spaceline owned by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and Abu Dhabi’s aabar Investments PJS, completed the first rocket-powered flight of its space vehicle, SpaceShipTwo (SS2), on April 29. The test, conducted by teams from Scaled Composites (Scaled) and Virgin Galactic, officially marks Virgin Galactic’s [...]

  • Netting IX

    Updated: 2013-04-29 01:27:29
    With the upcoming attempts to simulate a landing over water with the Falcon IX first stage comes a possible opportunity to expedite actual re-usability.  It just might be possible to grab a stage that has reached zero velocity over the water with a helicopter and return it to a barge or dry land for inspection [...]

  • Video of SpaceX Grasshopper 250m Test

    Updated: 2013-04-24 15:09:24
    SpaceX’s Grasshopper flies 820 feet, tripling its March 7th leap. Grasshopper is a 10-story Vertical Takeoff Vertical Landing (VTVL) vehicle that SpaceX has designed to test the technologies needed to return a rocket back to Earth intact. While most rockets are designed to burn up in the atmosphere during reentry, SpaceX’s [...]

  • National Space Society Adds to Its Leadership Team

    Updated: 2013-04-24 14:29:04
    The National Space Society announces the selection of four new additions to its leadership team:  Dr. Stanley G. Rosen to the newly created position of Vice Chairman of the Society’s Board of Directors, Bruce Pittman as Senior Vice President and Senior Operating Officer, Dr. Paul Werbos as Executive Vice President [...]

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