Tag Archives: NASA

NASA in 2008

NASA reviews their amazing achievements in 2008…The Ares I rocket, Hubble discoveries, the 10th Anniversary of the International Space Station, the Phoenix Mars Lander, and even a new swimsuit that broke world records.
www.nasa.gov

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NASA 2008 Year in Review

NASA has a great end-of-year review on their website nasa.gov.  The space agency achieved some great accomplishments in 2008:  A Mars landing with the Phoenix Lander, stunning photographs from other planets in our solar system, major additions to the International Space Station, a joint lunar science mission with India, progressed toward the goal of returning astronauts to the moon, and celebrated two important anniversaries.
NASA celebrated the tenth year in operation of the International Space Station (ISS), and also celebrated their fifty years of operation as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.  The Apollo lunar program also hit the forty year [...]

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Thanksgiving in Space

watch?v=9lMjY4RdSaw
I was wondering what it must be like to celebrate a holiday like Thanksgiving in space.  A quick search discovered this year-old video from the collectspace YouTube Channel. It shows two of the astronauts aboard the International Space Station describing their Thanksgiving dinner and counting their blessings.
The current astronauts have bid farewell to the space station crew, as they prepare to undock and depart the station Friday morning for a return to earth.  The Endeavour shuttle mission was declared a success with four spacewalks completed in eleven days.  More info at www.nasa.gov

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Farewell Phoenix

NASA announced today communications from the Phoenix Mars Lander have ceased.  The expected power drain on the spacecraft amid the onset of Martian winter has finally signaled the end of a very successful mission.  There’s just not enough sunlight to recharge the batteries.
The good news; NASA got more than the anticipated amount of scientific data.  More than 25,000 pictures, soil analysis and detailed weather observations from 152 days on Mars contributed to years of scientific data received by project teams for NASA, JPL and the University of Arizona.
So far scientists have discovered small concentrations of salts, a mildly alkaline [...]

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NASA Satellites Analyze Hurricane Ike

We all know about the National Hurricane Center website run by the National Weather Service, but did you know NASA collects massive data on hurricanes from earth orbiting satellites?
Check out this NASA web page of amazing satellite imagery with a lot of interesting data, and even video of Hurricane Ike.
www.nasa.gov

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Phoenix has landed on Mars

NASA has confirmed a signal from the Phoenix Lander that it has finally landed on the surface of Mars. (4:53 p.m. Pacific Time on Sunday May 25, 2008)
Phoenix Mars Mission http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu

NASA Phoenix Mars Lander www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/main
“Mars is literally pulling on our spacecraft, and at the same time it is pulling on our emotions,” Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith, of the University of Arizona , Tucson , said early Sunday afternoon.
“We are excited at how close we are right now to beginning our study of a site where Martian water ice will be within our reach, [...]

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NASA news release on asteroid Apophis

It’s amazing how inaccurate stories can be circulated so fast on the web as valid news or buzz. The asteroid Apophis was originally reported on about three years ago, but just yesterday there were online rumors about the odds changing about it impacting the earth. I just got this emailed news statement from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
NEWS RELEASE #2008-063 dated April 16, 2008:
NASA Statement on Student Asteroid Calculations
PASADENA, Calif. — The Near-Earth Object Program Office at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., has not changed its current estimates for the very low probability (1 in 45,000) of [...]

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Skywatch

Have you ever watched for the space shuttle, the space station, or just a satellite flying over?  There’s a real handy tool online called Skywatch, that gives you the exact times and locations where you can see orbiting spacecraft pass over your city.
What a thrill to see the sunlight gleaming off the space station’s solar panels, as it streaks across the sky. I’ve seen satellites in the night sky just by accident, when I’m out camping under dark skies, and it’s always really cool, and I just can’t wait to see it again.
Go to spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings to use Skywatch [...]

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Space Shuttle Endeavour docks with International Space Station

This is a busy time for NASA crews aboard the space shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station. They’re outfitting the new Japanese Logistics Module with supplies and equipment, which is the first onboard laboratory for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The astronauts are also finishing assembly of the Canadian robotic service system, called Dextre. This shuttle mission (STS-123) will be the longest mission to the space station, because it’s a sixteen day flight. Plus there are five spacewalks planned, two of which are already completed.
Andrew Potter reports via Reuters Video:

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