On December 25, 2021, NASA successfully launched the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the most powerful space telescope ever created, which promises to completely transform the way we study the cosmos. Looking up at the stars last night, I couldn't help but think about what we might learn from JWST's ability to look back toward the beginning of time. Continue Reading →
On December 17, 1903, Orville Wright grabbed the controls of the Wright Brothers' DIY flying machine project and flew 120 feet in 12 seconds. This morning, just 117 years, 4 months, 2 days later, NASA's Ingenuity helicopter just did basically the same thing... on the surface of Mars. This solar-powered helicopter flew to an altitude of about 10 feet and hovered for just under 30 seconds. The red planet is currently 179 million miles from Earth. Continue Reading →
Blue Moon Lander
According to Space News, "NASA announced Nov. 18 that it was adding five companies to a contract to perform commercial deliveries of payloads to the surface of the moon, a group that ranges from small ventures to Blue Origin and SpaceX." Continue Reading →

Battle for Mars

190709_GDNY_Master
There are more than 60 individuals who could write a check for their own space programs and the race to Mars is on! Shelly Palmer talks with Sukanya Krishnan and Jennifer Lahmers on Fox 5 New York. Original Airdate: July 23, 2019 Continue Reading →
Planet Bezos
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong took “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” becoming the first human being to walk on the moon. At the time, there were only two entities with the resources to accomplish a mission of this scale: America and its cold war rival, the Soviet Union. Today, there are more than 60 individuals who could write a check for their own space programs and the race is on! Continue Reading →
NASA
It turns out that a decontextualised asteroid looks a lot like a Kipfler potato — although we’re not entirely sure that’s the takeaway intended from a recent release by NASA. The space agency has made a whole bunch of files available for free so that you can 3D print your own space stuff. Included in Continue Reading →
Europa
NASA is plotting a daring robotic mission to Jupiter’s watery moon Europa, a place where astronomers speculate there might be some form of life. The space agency set aside $15 million in its 2015 budget proposal to start planning some kind of mission to Europa. No details have been decided yet, but NASA chief financial Continue Reading →