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nasa

Where No Gay Has Gone Before: Back to the Moon?

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How many of you have wanted to go to the moon?  Everybody?  Well, we’re all nerds here so I’m not surprised. What is a surprise is NASA’s announcement that there is the possibility of astronauts returning to the moon as early as next year.  2018 is the fiftieth anniversary year of Apollo 8, which was the first spacecraft to reach and orbit our natural satellite.  Commander Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders left Earth’s orbit, circled the moon a few times and returned home safely. Acting NASA administrator Robert Lightfoot said last month he wants to fast-track the heavy-lift … Read more

Cassini Mission to End in Fiery Plunge Into Saturn

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Saturn/Titan

Of the 173 known moons orbiting the eight major planets of our solar system, only one ― Saturn’s Titan ― has an atmosphere, lakes and streams. And that’s not all. There’s also speculation that Titan ― half the size of Earth ― could harbor life forms or be a possible future home for Earthlings. The provocative moon was even featured in Kurt Vonnegut’s 1959 novel The Sirens of Titan, which tells the story of a millionaire on a quest for the ultimate meaning of existence. To study this remarkable moon, NASA launched its Cassini spacecraft in 1997. After maneuvering through … Read more

Where No Gay Has Gone Before: First Tattooine, now Vulcan

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NASA announced earlier it might have located Luke Skywalker’s home planet Tattooine.  For the past nine years, NASA has embarked on a planet finding mission, SIM PlanetQuest to find Mr. Spock’s home Vulcan.  Astronomers at Jet Propulsion Laboratory are searching for a planet orbiting 40 Eridani, a triple-star system about 16 light-years from Earth.  ‘Vulcan’ is thought to orbit the red-orange K dwarf star Eridani A. K-stars are orangey stars, slightly cooler than our sun.  They are hotter, brighter and bluer than M stars, but cooler, dimmer and redder than O, B, A F and G stars.  Did you get … Read more

Where No Gay Has Gone Before: Men on Mars!

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  For the past fifty years, we’ve been sending spacecraft tour next-door neighbor, Mars.  Starting with Mariner 4 in 1965, which did the first flyby.  The Soviets achieved the first soft landing with the Mars 3 probe in 1971.  Long before those milestones, sci-fi authors have looked to the Red Planet with their own speculative fiction such as Mars being inhabited by aliens (Percival Lowell’s 1895 Mars) and Earthlings on Mars (Ray Bradbury’s 1950 The Martian Chronicles). Now such fiction could become reality in the next twenty years.  Although the minimum distance between Earth and Mars is roughly 35 million … Read more

Trailer: NASA’s Jupiter Approach

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Jupiter

A spinning, solar-powered spacecraft as wide as a basketball court will arrive at Jupiter on July 4 to study the giant planet and to take the highest-resolution images of Jupiter in history. NASA’s robotic Juno probe is carrying seven science instruments designed to help scientists figure out how Jupiter formed and evolved. The planet is the most massive in our solar system — a huge ball of gas 11 times wider than Earth. Researchers think it was the first planet to form and that it holds clues to how the solar system evolved. “One of the primary goals of Juno … Read more

News: Stunning Photo of Pluto

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Pluto

This ethereal scene captured by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft tells yet another story of Pluto’s diversity of geological and compositional features—this time in an enhanced color image of the north polar area. Long canyons run vertically across the polar area—part of the informally named Lowell Regio, named for Percival Lowell, who founded Lowell Observatory and initiated the search that led to Pluto’s discovery. Full Story at Joe.My.God

NASA’s Retro Space Tourism Posters

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NASA tour poster

Stuck for holiday ideas this year? NASA might be able to help. The world-famous organization has commissioned three colorful new posters from Seattle-based design agency Invisible Creature, promoting three (fictional) space tours. Commissioned by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the posters tease a grand tour of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, as well as a trip to see the exploding geysers of Enceladus, Saturn’s sixth-largest moon. Full Story at Gay Star News

News: NASA Releases Vivid New Image of ‘Earthrise’ Over the Moon’s Surface

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Nasa Earthrise

NASA has released a gorgeous new high-res image of the Earth rising beyond the Moon’s horizon, shot by the Lunar Reconnaisance Orbiter. Said Noah Petro, Deputy Project Scientist for LRO at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland”The image is simply stunning. The image of the Earth evokes the famous ‘Blue Marble’ image taken by Astronaut Harrison Schmitt during Apollo 17, 43 years ago, which also showed Africa prominently in the picture.” Originally posted on Towleroad

NEWS: NASA Releases Salty New Video of Dwarf Planet Ceres: WATCH

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Ceres

NASA this week released a very cool video of our solar system’s dwarf planet Ceres, a composite of images taken by the Dawn spacecraft. Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt. The clip includes a flyover view of Occator Crater, home of Ceres’ brightest area. False color was used to determine differences in surface materials, and examine bright spots on the object. The bright material, NASA says, is consistent with salt, silicate, and sulfates. Original Article at Towleroad.com

News: NASA Probe Sends Spectacular Images of Saturn’s Icy Moon Enceladus

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NASA’s Cassini probe just sent back some amazing photos of Enceladus, Saturn’s sixth-largest, ice-covered moon. Enceladus was recently confirmed to have a global underground ocean under its icy crust. The moon is 500 km in diameter. It also has geysers that erupt from holes in its crust. The new photos offer closer views than ever before. Full Story at Towleroad.com