I wonder if the International Space Station has one of these posted onboard.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 08:37 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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If it comes to pass that the one name being bandied about as the next NASA Administrator is nominated and serves...we could see the end of the agency as a functional institution.

Don't believe me? Start digging around and see what disasters he headed.

Update: Lori Garver? Ah, another political hack.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 02:55 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Assuming that the weather holds, space shuttle Endeavour will liftoff at 7:55:39 Eastern today on a mission to the International Space Station. Should be a spectacular site, given the light conditions at the time.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 02:44 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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It looks like the Hubble Space Telescope has directly imaged an extra-solar planet. Pretty good for a piece of equipment on "life support"!

Dorsai? Why, everybody knows that the Dorsai are from the Fomalhaut system!

Phil Plait, a.k.a., The Bad Astronomer, has details.

Pictures of the second extra-solar direct image here.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 06:31 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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While they were derided as being "Battlestar Galactica missions", Cassini and Galileo provided (and in the case of Cassini, still provides) returns up and beyond their original specifications. Jupiter and Saturn are almost solar systems in their own right; sending a single-purpose mission that far is almost a waste.

So it is interesting to hear about plans for future missions of this class. For example, how about dropping a hot-air balloon to explore Saturn's moon Titan?

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 08:56 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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India's Chandrayaan-1 satellite has entered lunar orbit to begin an intensive study of our natural satellite. Instruments onboard include some provided by NASA and the JPL. more...

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 08:51 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The venerable Martian rover Spirit is endangered by dust. On Mars for over 1,725 "sols", dust has cut down the rovers ability to generate power to the point where engineers need to take steps to protect the rover. more...

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 08:50 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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