The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — Space exploration occupies some of my thoughts of late. Wonder what’s become of Voyager 1? The first of its kind space probe launched in 1977 when I was right out of high school? Is it out there somewhere past Pluto, still transmitting? This is the…
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — On two fronts the imaginations of those who write science fiction are gradually coming into raw focus. For those who see the world spinning toward life-ending apocalypse, look no further than the very “cradle of civilization,” home to the Garden of Eden in the Bible, according to some…
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — All things being stable, the United States of America will launch a rocket to the moon this Wednesday for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, 50 years ago. While many critics say the billions of dollars being spent on this Artemis moon mission that…
NASA to Stream Artemis I Rollout, Briefings on Science, Tech Payloads – Staff Report – It’s true. No BS, according to NASA. We are going back to the Moon, and setting up a base to launch the trip to Mars. NASA will hold three media teleconferences the week of August 14 to preview the science…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – If I was going to hop aboard a worm hole jumping space ship to travel back in time to visit another galaxy, I think I would pick the Cartwheel Galaxy, 500 million light-years from Earth. I figure if there is a heaven in the expanding universe for…
Staff Report – GREENBELT, Md. — Early on Christmas morning, when many Americans were just waking up wondering if this would be the Christmas when Donald Trump would end up behind bars, the good scientists at NASA were busy at work as the new James Webb Space Telescope launched at 7:20 a.m. EST on an…
Staff Report – WASHINGTON, D.C. – Vice President Kamala Harris is taking a leadership role in guiding United States policy in space, signaling that the focus of the Biden-Harris administration is going to be on the peaceful exploration of space and using our best minds in science, technology, engineering and math to help tackle the…
Staff Report – The International Space Station went on high alert on Monday when a Russian anti-satellite test destroyed a satellite in space, creating a sufficient debris field to pose a threat to the station and its crew, according to a statement by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Earlier today, due to the debris generated by…
Staff Report – GREENBELT, Md. — The U.S. Postal Service issued forever Sun Science stamps this week at a special dedication ceremony at the Greenbelt Main Post Office. They are now for sale at Post Offices nationwide. The Stamps highlight stunning images of the sun that celebrate the science behind the ongoing exploration of our…
Staff Report – It’s being billed as a “Wright Brothers” moment on another planet. A small robotic helicopter named Ingenuity made space exploration history on Monday when it lifted off the surface of Mars and hovered in the air of the red planet, the first flying machine from Earth to become airborne on another planet…
Acknowledging Huntsville Alabama’s Role in Building the Saturn V Rocket – By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – It’s not hard to remember exactly where I was 50 years ago when the Apollo 11 space craft launched for the moon on July 16, 1969 with Saturn V rocket motors built in Huntsville, Alabama. Or where…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – Hey, I’m as big a science geek and science fiction fan as anyone else. The announcement by NASA of a plan to go back to the moon and on to Mars should be a moment for excitement and an occasion for national and human pride. So why…
By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — As we wait for a massive storm that could dump seven inches of rain here to make it over from New Orleans, this is a good time to talk about the upcoming hurricane season of 2018 and the latest science news about global warming and climate change. Climate…
By Glynn Wilson – Why is the Arctic warming faster than the rest of the planet? Does mineral dust warm or cool the atmosphere? These are actual questions just out from NASA about an ongoing research program. While the Trump administration has banished the use of the term climate change or global warming from the…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — NASA’s Cassini spacecraft made its final plunge into the atmosphere of Saturn on Friday, ending its 13-year tour of the ringed planet. “This is the final chapter of an amazing mission, but it’s also a new beginning,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.…
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft is on final approach to Saturn, following confirmation by mission navigators that it is on course to dive into the planet’s atmosphere on Friday, Sept. 15. Cassini is ending its 13-year tour of the Saturn system with an intentional plunge into the planet to ensure Saturn’s moons – in particular Enceladus, with…
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, in orbit around Saturn since 2004, is about to begin the final chapter of its remarkable journey through space. On Wednesday, April 26, the spacecraft will make the first in a series of dives through the 1,500-mile-wide (2,400-kilometer) gap between Saturn and its rings as part of the mission’s grand finale. “No…
By Glynn Wilson – Scientists have confirmed that Juno, a craft the size of a football field launched to explore some key secrets of space, successfully entered the volatile atmosphere in an orbit around Jupiter Monday night about the time most Fourth of July fireworks shows in the United States were climaxing. After a five-year…
By Glynn Wilson – We are closer than ever to answering the question: Are we alone in the universe? If there are other planets out there that could support life like Earth, NASA’s Kepler space telescope may find them first. Due to the most recent analysis of data from Kepler, launched in March 2009 and…
A NASA camera on the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite has returned its first view of the entire sunlit side of Earth from one million miles away. The color images of Earth from NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) are generated by combining three separate images to create a photographic-quality image. The camera takes…
