During a press briefing at NASA headquarters, scientists announced that the Voyager 1 spacecraft has officially left our solar bubble and has reached interstellar space. The Voyager Interstellar Mission (VIM) seeks to extend NASA’s exploration of the solar system beyond the outer planets — to the outer limits of the Sun’s sphere of influence, and possibly beyond. Voyager 1 and its twin Voyager 2 were launched 16 days apart in 1977. Also, Off the Earth, For the Earth, Comings and Goings, Flight Of Cygnus, Rockets 2 Racecars, InSight Landing Sites and more!
Blog
-
NASA’s Voyager 1 is in Interstellar Space
NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft has traveled beyond our solar bubble and has entered interstellar space. During a NASA Headquarters briefing, the Voyager team assessing the data determined the craft is in a transitional region immediately outside the solar bubble where some effects from our sun are still evident. New, unexpected data indicate that Voyager 1 has been traveling through the plasma, or ionized gas, that originates in the space between the stars. The spacecraft is now bathed in interstellar plasma, the material ejected from the death of nearby stars millions of years ago. Speakers on the occasion were – Ed Stone- Voyager project scientist, California Institute of Technology; Don Gurnett – Voyager plasma wave investigation principal investigator, University of Iowa; Suzanne Dodd – Voyager project manager, Jet Propulsion Laboratory; and Gary Zank, physics department chair, University of Alabama in Huntsville.
-
Earth from Space: Advancing science through CCI
During the Living Planet Symposium 2013 in Edinburgh, UK, Shubha Sathyendranath, Science Leader of the Ocean Colour CCI project, joined us to discuss ocean colour and the Climate Change Initiative.
-
Earth from Space: ESA and the UK Space Agency
Discover more about our planet with the Earth from Space video programme. During the Living Planet Symposium 2013 in Edinburgh, UK, David Parker, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, joined us to discuss the collaborative relationship with ESA.
(This replaces a previously published version – sound has been corrected)
-
Rainbow Test Tube – Sick Science! #156
Get the science behind this here: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/rainbow-test-tube
Grow and color jelly-like crystals, then layer them in a plastic tube so you can see the colors blend and change. Our baby soda bottle “test tube” makes it easy to see the scientific results, and it’s small enough to carry your “rainbow” wherever you go! Included is a science activity guide to teach you all about crystals and color!
Want more experiments like this? Check out http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/product/naked-eggs-and-flying-potatoes
Sick Science™ is a trademark of Steve Spangler, inc.
© 2013 Steve Spangler Science all rights reserved
-
LADEE Launches! On This Week @NASA
LADEE, the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer robotic probe launched Friday night atop an Orbital Sciences Corporation Minotaur V rocket. The first deep space mission from Wallops Flight Facility, LADEE will orbit the moon to collect information about its atmosphere and environmental influences on lunar dust. Data from LADEE will help scientists better understand other planetary bodies in our solar system. Also, Antares Update, Asteroid Ideas Selected, MAVEN’s Wings, Next ISS Crew, Testing, Testing!, Lori Garver Farewell, Be Prepared! and more!
-
Soda Dispenser – Sick Science! #155
Get Detailed Instructions here: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/mentos-soda-popdrop
Steve’s son, Jack Spangler, decided that it is just too hard to pour soft drinks by turning a 2-liter bottle of soda upside down. The bottle is just too heavy. So Jack decided to use the power of Mentos and Diet Coke to fill 6 glasses at once and solve his problem. It’s a fun, creative, hands-on way to utilize the epic Mentos Geyser in a way that harnesses it for your drinking pleasure.
Want more experiments like this? Check out http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/product/naked-eggs-and-flying-potatoes
Sick Science™ is a trademark of Steve Spangler, inc.
© 2013 Steve Spangler Science all rights reserved
-
LADEE To The Moon and Remembering Gordon Fullerton on This Week @NASA
NASA prepares for the launch of the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer or LADEE probe to the moon. Also, a new crew of ISS Astronauts meet the Media, and the Spitzer and WISE Telescopes get ready to help in the search for asteroids. These stories and more on This Week @NASA
-
Earth from Space: Salty Turkey
Earth from Space is presented by Kelsea Brennan-Wessels from the ESA Web-TV virtual studios. In the seventy-fifth edition, we explore Lake Tuz on the Anatolian peninsula.
Read more on the ESA Portal:
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Earth_from_Space_Salty_Turkey -
Human Circuit – Sick Science! #154
GET YOUR ENERGY STICK HERE: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/energy-stick.html
Find out why here: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/human-circuit#sthash.kceE3X71.dpuf
The Energy Stick makes quite the “buzz” when you’re using it. To the untrained eye, it appears to be a plastic tube with a jumble of wires inside and two silver bands at each end. Well, those silver bands are actually electrodes. All the wires on the inside? They’re a solid state sensing circuit, tone generator, sound transducer, battery power supply, and LED lights. The perfect use for the Energy Stick is as a simple, yet fun, tool for learning about continuity and circuits. So… how do you turn it on?
Want more experiments like this? Check out http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/product/naked-eggs-and-flying-potatoes
Sick Science™ is a trademark of Steve Spangler, inc.
© 2013 Steve Spangler Science all rights reserved
-
ESA Euronews: Test d’ammaraggio per l’IXV il nuovo veicolo spaziale europeo
Nel mare di Sardegna, poco distante da Muravera in Costa Rei, è stato testato l’IXV, un nuovo veicolo spaziale europeo. La navicella è stata progettata per rientrare nell’atmosfera terrestre in modo più preciso rispetto alla Soyuz.
Durante il test l’Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle è stato sollevato da un elicottero e, a tremila metri di altitudine, è stato sganciato.
Dopo una prima parte di tragitto in caduta libera, la corsa della navetta verso il Mar Mediterraneo è stata frenata, come previsto, da un paracadute.
Ma qualcosa non ha funzionato. Nell’impatto con l’acqua non si sono aperti i dispositivi di galleggiamento che garantiscono stabilità all’IXV.
Secondo Giorgio Tumino e Roberto Angelini, i due manager che seguono il progetto, rispettivamente per ESA e per Thales Alenia Space, l’ammaraggio è stato talmente ‘morbido’ che i quattro palloni praticamente non se ne sono ‘accorti’. Per questo non si sono gonfiati.
Il primo lancio nello spazio dell’IXV, con conseguente rientro nell’orbita terrestre, è previsto per il 2014. Per quella data, garantiscono gli ingegneri, tutto sarà perfetto. -
ESA Euronews: Οι δοκιμές στη Μεσόγειο του νεότερου διαστημοπλοίου της Ευρώπης
Το νεότερο διαστημόπλοιο της Ευρώπης έκανε για μια κρίσιμη δοκιμή στα ανοικτά των ακτών της Σαρδηνίας. Πρόκειται για το IXV, που υποβάλλεται σε ένα πείραμα που θα δοκιμάσει τα όρια του μηχανήματος.
Όπως εξηγεί ο Ρομπέρτο Αντζελίνι, διευθυντής του όλου προγράμματος, “ένα από τα πιο δύσκολα ζητήματα στις διαδικασίες στο διάστημα είναι η επανείσοδος στην ατμόσφαιρα”. Και ο συνάφελφός του Τζόρτζιο Τουμίνο προσθέτει “Αυτές οι δοκιμές είναι πολύ σημαντικές για να βεβαιωθούμε ότι έχουμε έναν στιβαρό σχεδιασμό για να αντέξει τις τελευταίες φάσεις μιας αποστολής”.
Σε κάθε του βήμα, το διαστημόπλοιο παρακολουθείται και γίνονται αναλύσεις. Η αποστολή καταλήγει με την προσθαλάσσωση, “κάτι που η Ευρώπη δεν έχει ξανακάνει ποτέ στο παρελθόν και για αυτό είναι ένα πολύ δύσκολο εγχείρημα”, όπως εξηγεί ο Αντζελίνι.
Ιταλοί στρατιώτες και μερικοί ανήσυχοι μηχανικοί, ειδικοί για τέτοιες διαστημικές αποστολές, βρίσκονται πάνω σε ένα σκάφος στις ακτές της Σαρδηνίας, εκεί όπου δοκιμάστηκε το νέο διαστημόπλοιο, που είναι γνωστό σαν IXV. Αφού πρώτα βεβαιώνονται οι υπεύθυνοι ότι δεν είναι κανένας στη θάλασσα σε όλη την έκταση της δοκιμής, ένα ελικόπτερο παίρνει από την στρατιωτική βάση το πρωτότυπο σκάφος και από ύψος 3.000 μέτρων το αφήνει να πέσει στο κενό.
Πολλές είναι οι φιλοδοξίες για αυτό το πρωτότυπο σκάφος, δεδομένου ότι αντιπροσωπεύει ένα νέο κεφάλαιο στην τεχνολογία των διαστημικών πτήσεων για τον Ευρωπαϊκό Οργανισμό Διαστήματος.
Ο σκοπός είναι να δημιουργηθεί ένα προσιτό, μικρό διαστημόπλοιο που θα μπορεί να εισέλθει στην τροχιά της Γης και στη συνέχεια να προσγειωθεί σε μια συγκεκριμένη στοχευμένη περιοχή.
Ένα βήμα προς αυτήν την κατεύθυνση είναι και το συγκεκριμένο πείραμα. Όμως το 2014 το διαστημόπλοιο IXV θα ξεκινήσει το ταξίδι του στο διάστημα και στη συνέχεια θα επανέλθει στην γήινη ατμόσφαιρα.
Σε αντίθεση όμως με τις κάψουλες που χρησιμοποιούνταν μέχρι τώρα για τις επανεισόδους στην ατμόσφαιρα, το IXV είναι πολύ πιο εύκολο να ελιχθεί. -
NASA Remembers Neil Armstrong
One year after his death, NASA is remembering Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on another world.
As part of the tribute, Grammy-nominated artist Eric Brace, with some video assistance from NASA, honors Armstrong with an original composition, “Tranquility Base.”
-
NASA Briefing Previews Lunar Mission
During a televised news briefing from NASA Headquarters on Thursday, Aug. 22, panelists discussed the agency’s next mission to the moon, and the first lunar mission launching from the Virginia coast. NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission is scheduled to launch at 11:27 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va. Data from the mission will provide unprecedented information about the environment around the moon and give scientists a better understanding of other planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond.
-
Back to School Science Elephant’s Toothpaste – Cool Science Experiment
It’s that time of the year when kids are heading back to school. After our science guy Steve Spangler walked his kids to school this morning, he’s here to share some secrets that parents and teachers can use to foster the excitement of a new school year.
Want more experiments like this? Check out http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiments
© 2013 Steve Spangler, Inc. all rights reserved About Steve Spangler Science…
Steve Spangler is a celebrity teacher, science toy designer, speaker, author and an Emmy award-winning television personality. Spangler is probably best known for his Mentos and Diet Coke geyser experiment that went viral in. Spangler is the founder of www.SteveSpanglerScience.com, a Denver-based company specializing in the creation of science toys, classroom science demonstrations, teacher resources and home for Spangler’s popular science experiment archive and video collection. Spangler is a frequent guest on the Ellen DeGeneres Show and Denver 9 News where he takes classroom science experiments to the extreme. For teachers, parents or DIY Science ideas – check out other sources of learning:
Join the Science Club and check out other cool science experiments at – http://www.SteveSpanglerScience.com
Sign up to receive a FREE Experiment of the Week- http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment-of-the-week
Attend a Spangler Hands-on Science Workshop for Teachers – http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/training
Watch Steve on Local and National Media Appearances on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/user/SpanglerScienceTV
-
Winter at the Concordia station in Antarctica
The long Antarctic winter is turning to spring at the Franco-Italian Concordia research station, which has resisted the brutal forces of nature about 1200 km inland on top of an icy plateau 3000 m above sea level. During winter, the Sun doesn’t rise above the horizon for about three months, and temperatures can drop down to -80°C.
This video shows the harsh but beautiful landscape around the station on one of the last sunny days in May and then how the darkness engulfed Concordia with its 12-strong winter-over team. Finally the Sun returned on 10 August — a memorable moment for the men and women who keep the station running and conduct the scientific work in those difficult, almost space-like conditions.
The video was shot by Olivier Delanoe and it includes excerpts from the letters sent by Antonio Litterio to ESA’s Concordia blog.
-
12 Year Old Robot-Building Genius
At 12 years old, Rohan Agrawal knows more than most PhD students in robotics about programming robots. This summer he’s interning at Ologic, a research and development firm that has designed robots for the likes of Google, Disney, and Hasbro. He’s been programming since he was 4 years old, and we were curious about how he got started.
We quickly learned that his story was not just one about a child prodigy programmer but more about how to find and cultivate your child’s inner genius. The formula is straightforward but requires patience and careful observation. Expose your children to a wide range of possible interests, see which they gravitate to, and open the doors for them. Children will spend endless hours doing the things they love to do.
For the full story on how you can discover your child’s inner genius, check out our blog post here: http://hackingplay.com/how-to-discover-your-child-inner-genius
The Bay Area provides rich resources and communities that help children develop their passions. A few that have been especially helpful for Rohan include:
– The HomeBrew Robotics club (http://www.hbrobotics.org)
– The Amateur Radio club (http://www.fars.k6ya.org/)
– Hack the Future (http://hackthefuture.org/)
– TechLab Education (http://techlabeducation.com/)
– Hacker Dojo (http://www.hackerdojo.com/)
– Ologic (http://www.ologicinc.com/)At Play-i, we’re developing a fun and accessible way for children to learn computer science at a young age. We’re inspiring creation by cultivating a love for learning. To learn more, sign up at http://play-i.com.
—————————————-————————————–
About the series:
We are sharing stories of how young people doing great things got to where they are. It starts with a spark of curiosity. Every child is different and every story is different, and we’re hoping to show how to help your little ones live up to their full potential.
You can follow us on:
– Twitter: http://twitter.com/playi
– Facebook: http://facebook.com/hackingplay
Or subscribe to email updates: http://play-i.comHave questions or want to get in touch with Rohan? You can email us at contact@play-i.com, and we’ll forward it on!
-
NASA Introduces Media to New Astronaut Candidates
Eight astronaut candidates who arrived at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston this week to begin training participated in a news conference with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on Tuesday, Aug. 20. The candidates were selected come from the second largest pool of applicants NASA has ever received — more than 6,000. During the next two years, the group will participate in a variety of technical training activities at space centers and remote locations around the globe to prepare for missions that will help the agency push the boundaries of exploration and travel to new destinations in the solar system.
-
Inertia Beads – Sick Science! #153
FIND OUT HOW THIS WORKS AT: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/newtons-inertia-beads#sthash.sQyGZdqx.dpuf
All it takes is a slight tug and the long string of beads literally pull itself out of the container and onto the floor. Best of all, fifty feet of beads empty from the container in under five seconds! How does it work?
Want more experiments like this? Check out http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/product/naked-eggs-and-flying-potatoes
Sick Science™ is a trademark of Steve Spangler, inc.
© 2013 Steve Spangler Science all rights reserved
-
Luca Parmitano’s spacesuit
Luca Parmitano explains his Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit and how he does an Extra-vehicular activity (EVA) / spacewalk.
-
Luca Parmitano and Chris Cassidy explain what happened during EVA 23
Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano and NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy were hard at work outside the International Space Station (ISS) for the second time, when water started to leak into Luca Parmitano’s space suit helmet, immediately resulting in the duo heading back to the Quest Airlock to terminate the EVA. Luca and Chris explain the events that happened during EVA # 23.
-
Drops on a Penny – Sick Science! #152
FIND OUT HOW THE PENNY HOLDS SO MANY DROPS AT: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/penny-drops#sthash.1MUwW7Uz.dpuf
You might think that you can’t fit many drops of water on the surface of a penny. Pennies are just so small! In the Drops on a Penny experiment, though, you’ll experience surface tension and cohesion at their finest. How many drops of water can you fit? There’s only one way to find out… by adding one drop at a time!
Want more experiments like this? Check out http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/product/naked-eggs-and-flying-potatoes
Sick Science™ is a trademark of Steve Spangler, inc.
© 2013 Steve Spangler Science all rights reserved
-
One Year on Mars! On This Week @NASA
So what can a planetary rover do with a year on Mars? All NASA’s Curiosity rover did was beam back over 190 gigabits of data, more than 36-thousand images and zap 75-thousand-plus laser shots at science targets … and oh by the way, it also completed the mission’s main science goal by finding evidence that life was possible on Mars in the past. The agency celebrated the one year anniversary of Curiosity’s landing on Mars with live events from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory — featuring rover team members. And at NASA Headquarters — a discussion about how Curiosity and other robotic projects are benefitting future human space exploration. Also, Maven Arrives, Garver Leaving NASA, Great Ball of Fire, Supply Ship Arrives Safely, Carbon Copy, The First Barrel Segment and more!
-
Japanese Cargo Ship Arrives at ISS
Six days after launching from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan, the unpiloted Japanese Kounotori4 H-II Transfer Vehicle, or HTV-4, met up with The International Space Station and was captured by the Expedition 36 crew aboard the ISS, using the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm. The HTV-4 was launched with more than 3 1/2 tons of cargo and experiments for delivery to the ISS.
-
Did you know: How often do astronauts wash their clothes in space?
We wanted to know: How often do astronauts wash their clothes in space? We asked the members of the public in Europe what they think. Watch the video to discover the answer.
-
The Soyuz launch sequence explained
What are the parts of the Soyuz rocket? What are the stages into orbit? What is the launch sequence? Watch and find out. This video has been produced from an actual lesson delivered to the ESA astronaut class of 2009 (also known as the #Shenanigans09) during their ESA Basic Training in 2009-2010
This video is a joint production of the ESA Human Spaceflight & Operation Astronaut Training Division & Promotion Office
Note: Subtitles are available for English, Italian, Russian and German. Click on the caption button to choose.
Technical Experts: Stephane Ghiste, Dmitriy Churkin
Content Design: Stephane Ghiste, Dmitriy Churkin, Pascal Renten, Simon Trim, Matthew Day
Video Production & Editing: Pascal Renten, Simon Trim, Andrea Conigli
Narration Voice: Bernard Oattes
Project Co-ordination: Loredana Bessone, Matthew DaySpecial Thanks to:
Massimo Sabbatini, Guillaume Weerts ESA Human Spaceflight & Operation Promotion Office
Martin Schweiger (for use of his Orbiter software: http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk)
Nikita Vtyurin, Andrew Thielmann (Orbiter Soyuz model)
Iacopo Baroncini (Soyuz model)
Joey P. Wade (Google Earth Soyuz models)
NASA
ROSCOSMOSWatch Part 2: Soyuz rendezvous and docking explained
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2_NeFbFcSwWatch Part 3: Soyuz undocking, reentry and landing explained
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l7MM9yoxII -
Ping Pong Pressure – Sick Science! #151
We have all experienced wind and, like it or hate it, it affects us. Moving air can jostle your hair about, fly a kit, or, in extreme cases, tear entire buildings from their foundation. Did you know that this moving air actually creates low pressure, though? It’s true. On an exceptionally windy day, you can even see tall buildings bowing towards each other near their tops! We’re going to recreate this phenomenon using ping pong balls in the Ping Pong Pressure experiment. – See more at: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/ping-pong-pressure#sthash.HINuLOio.dpuf
Want more experiments like this? Check out http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/product/naked-eggs-and-flying-potatoes
Sick Science™ is a trademark of Steve Spangler, inc.
© 2013 Steve Spangler Science all rights reserved
-
DC Celebrates Curiosity on This Week @NASA
Celebration, when the Curiosity Rover safely found the surface of Mars on August 6, 2012 … and celebration this week on Capitol Hill as NASA and members of Congress mark the one year anniversary of the Martian landing and showcase the ways the rover is helping us get to know Mars. During another event to celebrate Curiosity at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, members of the Curiosity team presented White House officials with a replica of the plaque flown on the mission and signed by the President. Curiosity’s landing ignited a new generation of excitement which grew even more when the rover found evidence that Mars could’ve sustained life in the past. NASA and the rest of Earth looks forward to future finds on Mars from Curiosity and other missions. Also, Bolden Visits Wallops, Asteroid Mission Formulation Review, Following The Water, Preparing For Tomorrow, SLS Design Gets “OK”, NASA Gets New Chief Scientist, X-Ray Eclipse, Commercial Crew Industry Day, Train Like An Astronaut, Promoting Stem & Safety and more!
-
Build a Zoetrope – Sick Science #150
Download the Zoetrope Template Here: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4KpAKVy76V7TlNDZ0VncXEydms/edit
Find out how this works at: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/build-a-zoetrope
Vision and the way our brains perceive what we are seeing are incredible. Just think of optical illusions, 3D images, the fact that your eyes are processing the world around you upside-down! A fun trick to play on your eyes and brain uses a zoetrope. This fantastic tool is able to change multiple still images, into a moving animation that would make Walt Disney jealous.
Want more experiments like this? Check out http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/product/naked-eggs-and-flying-potatoes
Sick Science™ is a trademark of Steve Spangler, inc.
© 2013 Steve Spangler Science all rights reserved
-
Alan Parsons’ “Eye in the Sky” message to Luca
On Tuesday, 23 July, the Alan Parsons Live Project played at the Foro Italico in Rome. Alan dedicated his classic song Eye in the Sky to ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano and recorded a video message that was sent to International Space Station. Eye in the Sky is one of Luca’s favourite songs, and on viewing this message, Luca said, “Fantastico!”
Luca Parmitano is the sixth Italian astronaut in space, but he was the first to really go ‘into space’ and leave the the protective shell of his spacecraft, when he made two spacewalks a few weeks ago during his Volare mission.
Video copyright: ESA/Alan Parsons Music
Sirius/Eye in the Sky written by: A. Parsons/E. Woolfson
Music excerpts, courtesy Alan Parsons Music
Video produced by ESA/M. Civita -
Square Bubble – Sick Science! #149
GET THE KIT HERE:http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/collections/sick-science.html
Find out the secret here: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/square-bubbles
Do square bubbles really exist? That’s the question of the day and the answer is yes… if you know the science secret. Square bubbles are easy to make and serve as a great learning tool as students explore the concepts of soap films and surface tension. Get ready to amaze your friends.
Want more experiments like this? Check out http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/product/naked-eggs-and-flying-potatoes
Sick Science™ is a trademark of Steve Spangler, inc.
© 2013 Steve Spangler Science all rights reserved
-
Earth from Space: Special edition
Discover more about our planet with the Earth from Space video programme. This special edition is dedicated to the International Charter Space and Major Disasters. Charter Secretary Jens Danzeglocke, from the DLR German Aerospace Center, joins the show to tell us more.
-
Side-by-side solar eruptions
Two coronal mass ejections (CMEs) expand side-by-side from the Sun and out into space in this movie, playing out in front of the ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, SOHO, on 1-2 July 2013.
The shaded disc at the centre of the image is a mask in SOHO’s LASCO instrument that blots out direct sunlight to allow study of the faint details in the Sun’s corona. The white circle added within the disc shows the size and position of the visible Sun.
Credits: SOHO (ESA/NASA)
-
Earth from Space: Explosive land
Earth from Space is presented by Kelsea Brennan-Wessels from the ESA Web-TV virtual studios. The Virunga Mountains that stretch across Rwanda’s northern border with Uganda and east into the Democratic Republic of the Congo are featured in the seventy-third edition.
See also http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Earth_from_Space_Explosive_land to download the image.
-
NASA Managers Brief Media on Spacewalk Leak
During a news conference carried live on NASA Television, NASA managers at Johnson Space Center discussed the water leak that occurred inside the helmet of European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano during the July 16 spacewalk outside the International Space Station.
Parmitano and NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy were more than an hour into the spacewalk when Parmitano reported a buildup of water inside his helmet. Flight Director David Korth ended the spacewalk early at the 1-hour, 32-minute mark into the planned 6 1/2 hour excursion.
-
Color Changing UV Beads – Sick Science! #148
Read the full experiment here: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/uv-reactive-beads
Not all sunscreen lotions are the same, as can be evidenced by a lobster-like appearance after a day of working outside. SPF 15 just didn’t do the trick. Instead of using your skin as a detector of ultra-violet light (UV), try experimenting with Energy Beads or UV Beads. These indicator beads change color when exposed to UV light. It’s an amazing way to test the effectiveness of sunscreen or to see if UV light is really blocked out by filters in sunglasses.
Want more experiments like this? Check out http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/product/naked-eggs-and-flying-potatoes
Sick Science™ is a trademark of Steve Spangler, inc.
© 2013 Steve Spangler Science all rights reserved
-
Fly-through movie of Hebes Chasma
Fly-through movie of Hebes Chasma, the northernmost part of Valles Marineris. The movie was created from images taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera on Mars Express.
Copyright: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)
-
NASA Mars Curiosity Rover Report — July 11, 2013
A NASA Mars Curiosity rover team member gives an update on developments and status of the planetary exploration mission. The Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft delivered Curiosity to its target area on Mars at 1:31:45 a.m. EDT on Aug. 6, 2012 which includes the 13.8 minutes needed for confirmation of the touchdown to be radioed to Earth at the speed of light. The rover will conduct a nearly two-year prime mission to investigate whether the Gale Crater region of Mars ever offered conditions favorable for microbial life.
Curiosity carries 10 science instruments with a total mass 15 times as large as the science payloads on NASA’s Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. Some of the tools, such as a laser-firing instrument for checking rocks’ elemental composition from a distance, are the first of their kind on Mars. Curiosity will use a drill and scoop, which are located at the end of its robotic arm, to gather soil and powdered samples of rock interiors, then sieve and parcel out these samples into the rover’s analytical laboratory instruments.
-
Seed Balls – Sick Science! #147
Read the full experiment here: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/seed-balls
Sometimes, gardening and planting seeds can be very boring. This can especially be the case if you are a young scientist that loves action and excitement! Thankfully, there are gardening methods that can offer a bit more kick than just digging holes and planting. Introducing Seed Balls, the method of gardening that allows you to throw to sow!
Want more experiments like this? Check out http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/product/naked-eggs-and-flying-potatoes
Sick Science™ is a trademark of Steve Spangler, inc.
© 2013 Steve Spangler Science all rights reserved
