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space porn

Someone Has Stolen Our Supernovas

Here's the youngest known supernova in our galaxy, a mere 140 years old. The unassumingly named G1.9+0.3 is at least 200 years younger than the previous youngest known supernova, and it grew by 16 percent over just the last 22 years. NASA's Chandra Observatory was able to confirm North Carolina State University astrophysicist Stephen Reynolds' suspicion that this was a new supernova. But there's just one problem: NASA officials admitted in a teleconference: our galaxy is still missing about 50 supernovas. Who took them? More »

11:30 AM on Wed May 14 2008
By Charlie Jane Anders
1,441 views, 33 comments

Latest by Klebert L. Hall: @moff: You're right. I think I'll start with money. -Kle. more »

phoenix mars lander

NASA Engineers Prep for Phoenix Lander Rendezvous with Martian Arctic

The Phoenix Mars Lander will touch down on the Martian surface on May 25, where it will probe the soil for signs of past life and touch Martian water (in the form of subsurface ice) for the first time in human history. At a press conference I attended this morning, NASA's engineers explained how they are rocking it old-school, using tech from some of the scrapped Mars missions earlier in this decade and dropping to the surface with thrusters and landing legs instead of air bags. Phoenix gives new meaning to the term "retro rockets." More »

12:20 PM on Tue May 13 2008
By Ed Grabianowski
526 views, 14 comments

Latest by Turlough: Here's an interesting link which shows the real-time status of Phoenix: [www.dmuller.net] more »

space politics

Will Barack Obama Destroy the U.S. Space Program?

As the race for U.S. President starts to heat up, Barack Obama has continued to polish his image as the youthful candidate promising a hopeful future. And yet he's also on record saying "[U.S. Space Agency] NASA is no longer associated with inspiration." He's proposing cutting NASA's budget in order to fund early-education programs for kids under 5. It's hard to fault his desire to educate kids, but why sacrifice space programs to do it? If elected, is it possible that Obama, the "hopeful" candidate, will destroy our hopes for space exploration and colonization? More »

11:37 AM on Mon May 12 2008
By Annalee Newitz
3,010 views, 104 comments

Latest by low_brass: @Balius: There is such a thing as "not putting all of your eggs in one basket." I guess I was assuming that whenever we import something as important as fuel, we get it from several sources to ensure steady flow more »

mars rover

Will Phoenix Mars Rover Disappear Like the Last Mars Polar Lander?

What happened to Polar Lander, the last Mars rover that NASA tried to land in the Martian polar region, where it hopes that the Phoenix rover will touch down on May 25? The mysterious fate of the lander that simply disappeared moments before reaching Mars has been the subject of both scientific and UFO-logy debates. Was it shot down by angry Martians dwelling at the pole? Did it encounter some strange magnetic phenomenon that disabled it? Or did it just malfunction? We may soon find out. More »

3:26 PM on Fri May 9 2008
By Annalee Newitz
2,024 views, 23 comments

Latest by Gidim: @corpore-metal: As Cargo Cult said, it was the Mars Climate Observer that failed due to the metric/imperial mix up - and that was never intended to be a lander... However, to NASA's credit, they were the ones using metric units. It more »

space porn

A Galaxy Unwinds, 140,000 Light Years From Its Core

Baby stars spring to life at the supposedly desolate fringes of the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, also known as M83, in this new image from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer. Up to 140,000 light years from the galaxy's center, the outer arms of its "pinwheel" shape seem to flap away from the center like "giant red streamers," and these extended galaxy arms are giving birth to a surprising number of new stars. Want to see another image of the pinwheel galaxy extending itself? More »

4:00 PM on Tue Apr 22 2008
By Charlie Jane Anders
1,155 views, 10 comments

Latest by blorp: @dead_red_eyes: I second M83 - their music sounds like this space porn looks. more »

rant

NASA Mission to a NEO: Bad Idea

Ever since the Columbia disaster, NASA's been hurting for some good press in the crewed spaceflight program. Agency scientists think they have the answer — sending a crewed mission to a Near Earth Object (NEO) once the new Orion spacecraft begins missions in 2015. What are they thinking?! It's hard to imagine a worse approach to fixing a a wing of the agency that has given the public little reason to be interested or confident in its capabilities since the Columbia disaster in 2003. More »

1:50 PM on Tue Apr 22 2008
By Michael Reilly
1,824 views, 37 comments

Latest by cariann: On a different note, we need to get off of this planet. We have a super volcano in Yellowstone park and numerous other problems. We need to go to Mars as soon as possible. Maybe once we more »

space porn

Dunes of Mars

In yet another cool image from the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter near Mars, we see these dunes on the planet's surface. This image comes from the Hellespontus region of Mars, where sand from local mesas has been molded into these shapes by high intensity winds. No word yet on whether the famous canals of Mars are actually wormsign. You can learn more about Martian sand dunes here. Photo via AP, HO, and NASA.

7:00 AM on Thu Apr 10 2008
By Annalee Newitz
933 views, 14 comments

Latest by Grey_Area: You fools! Flip the picture 180 degrees and one can plainly see these are GIANT HOOFPRINTS!! more »

concept art

Build Your Home In TunnelSpace!

NASA churned out a lot of concept art in the 1970s while the agency was exploring ways to build colonies in space. NASA concept artists created trippy pieces like the Cynlidrical Colony above, and Torodial and Bernal Sphere colonies as well. We'd like to imagine that you could low-grav the whole thing, and just leap from one side of the colony to the other. Of course, it's not quite clear what would happen if you ran into one of those giant window sections. Hopefully they're made out of some synthetic diamond material to keep accidents from happening. More »

12:00 PM on Thu Apr 3 2008
By Kevin Kelly
1,783 views, 31 comments

Latest by Spoony Bard: This is exactly how I pictured the cylinders of Rama as well. Well, in the 3 sequels to Rendezvous with Rama, anyway. more »

poll

How Should We Fund Space Exploration?

Even though NASA's budget actually increased in 2008, the government space agency faces an uncertain future as it transitions from the Space Shuttle to the Constellation Project, and it's been plagued for years by claims of inefficiency and lack of creativity. Is it time to look at a new way to pay for the exploration and exploitation of space? More »

11:30 AM on Thu Apr 3 2008
By Ed Grabianowski
1,551 views, 31 comments

space shuttle

The New Age of Commercial Space Travel

NASA plans to retire the Space Shuttle program in 2010 and have a replacement, the Constellation, ready for launch in 2015. But the budget-starved space agency set the odds of making that deadline at only 65 percent in a report to Congress this week. Even if it meets the deadline, the Constellation's launch will come at the end of the longest gap between crewed U.S. space missions since the end of the Apollo Program and the development of the Space Shuttle. Sounds bad, but it could mean the beginning of the true Space Age. More »

7:40 AM on Thu Apr 3 2008
By Ed Grabianowski
1,079 views, 26 comments

Latest by Silver_Back: $500 round trip to the moon and mars please. *whispers* more »

space-age cars

How Space Technology Is Making Cars Faster

Actual space technology has been making cars haul ass way faster for years now, including a solar car that broke speed records using parts taken directly from the Hubble Space Telescope. But that's nothing compared to what's on the way, including muscle cars that use heat-resistant pistons. Click through for details. More »

10:06 AM on Wed Apr 2 2008
By Charlie Jane Anders
2,750 views, 6 comments

triviagasm

The Triumphant Journeys of Martian Robots

Since 1960 we've been attempting to explore the red planet, and along the way there have been countless failures and lost spacecraft that attest to just how hard it is to fly those 35 million miles from here to there. However, there have also been success stories, like the twin rovers Opportunity and Spirit, who have both overcome mechanical problems, braved dust storms, and sent back enormous amounts of data. Today, after being threatened with a shutdown due to budget cuts, the Martian rovers got a reprieve. They'll be rolling along for many months to come. To celebrate, check out our list of Martian robots and landers who have already served their robotic duty as our slaves, erm we mean allies, on the red planet. More »

3:11 PM on Tue Mar 25 2008
By Kevin Kelly
766 views, 7 comments

Latest by IchabodCrane: I think we should go back and investigate those places where a lander "crashed" Those are the places the where the Martians are hiding! Maybe next time we'll be sure to make the universal sign of the dounut first ;) more »

This Just in: Mars Rovers Will Not Be Shut Down NASA has announced that the Mars rover Spirit will not be shut down. This is a great relief to us, and to all of the io9ers who cried out in pain when NASA suggested it would have to kill Spirit in order to make a $4 million budget cut requested by the US government. [AP via Yahoo! News]

8 comments

star wars science

NASA Turns To The Dark Side Of The Force

Somewhere, Senator Palpatine is smiling his thin-lipped smile of approval at the news that NASA has already improved on the design of the TIE fighters with their latest spacecraft. Why have Twin Ion Engines, after all, when you can get there faster with three? NASA's secret Sith-like inspiration for our intergalactic future awaits you under the jump. More »

8:00 AM on Wed Mar 19 2008
By Graeme McMillan
2,186 views, 12 comments

space porn

Space Probe Will Have Near-Collision With Saturn Moon

The Cassini Space Probe will fly dangerously close to Saturn's moon Enceladus tomorrow, skirting along the edge of the moon's huge geysers to sample water-ice, dust and gas from their plumes. Cassini's particle analyzers will study the composition of the plumes in the hope of settling, once and for all, whether they may come from a buried ocean. At its closest approach, Cassini will only be about 30 miles from the moon, and the daredevil stunt requires amazing technical finesse. The image above is an artist's conception of the flyby. Click through for two gorgeous photos of Enceladus' crazy fountains. More »

10:00 AM on Tue Mar 11 2008
By Charlie Jane Anders
1,556 views, 9 comments

Latest by lever2k: Casini IS a joint NASA/ESA mission, no? [en.wikipedia.org] more »

science porn

The Next Mars Rover Needs A Mega-chute

NASA tests the next generation of space parachute inside the world's largest wind tunnel, built to hold a Boeing 737. The 165-foot-long parachute opens to a diameter of nearly 55 feet, holds more air than a 3,000 square foot house, and can survive loads of over 80,000 pounds. NASA hopes to launch its new Mars Science Lab in 2009, which will put the next generation of rover on the surface of Mars in 2010. Click through for a couple of images of the new rover in progress. More »

3:30 PM on Wed Mar 5 2008
By Charlie Jane Anders
996 views, 10 comments

Latest by Gopherit: @low_brass: And the cost overruns are probably huge. With a smaller rover, they could reuse the proven airbag design. It doesn't make the skycrane any less cool, but given the budget crunch that will hit NASA over the next few more »

space colony

Future Site of the Moon's First Domed City

You're looking at the future site of the Earth's first permanent base on the Moon's south pole. This picture was created this week using NASA Jet Propulsion Lab's new, extra-powerful radar antenna dish, 70 meters across, in the California Mojave desert. Says NASA researcher Scott Hensley, "With these data [from the new radar antenna] we can see terrain features as small as a house without even leaving the office." Find out why the Moon's south pole is a great spot for condos and what it would be like to live there below. More »

1:10 PM on Fri Feb 29 2008
By Annalee Newitz
1,929 views, 30 comments

Latest by Jeff-Minor: Kelbert, I was assuming that anything in orbit would be spun to produce 1g. I remember some sf movie where a ring had been built around the moon, which could be be spun to produce one g. more »

memo to hollywood

Earth Battles The Moon, Who Wins?

NASA is readying two spacecraft to slam into the Moon's South Pole in an effort to find hidden polar ice a year from now, which gives Hollywood plenty of time to prep the movie and release it when all of this Moon-violence is at a fever pitch. After the spacecraft crash dead-on into the moon, another standby ship will fly through the plume that gets thrown up, grab some of the debris, and then analyze it. But what if this were a major motion picture? Things would turn out a little differently. Here's our idea. More »

1:37 PM on Thu Feb 28 2008
By Kevin Kelly
918 views, 18 comments

Latest by ganirambis: Yeah, the Loonies win in the Heinlein novel. Because of gravity. more »