Tag Archives: Space Travel

Science: The Search For Alien Life In The Universe

The thought of finding alien life has fascinated people since the time of the ancient Greeks—but developments in astrobiology could be about to turn this possibility into reality. How do you hunt for life beyond Earth—and might this be the decade when we find it?

Chapters: 00:00 – Is there life beyond Earth? 00:56 – How has the search for life evolved? 02:36 – What signs of life are scientists looking for? 03:48 – What are biosignatures? 04:28 – How to find intelligent life 06:03 – How telescopes today have improved our search 07:52 – Expanding the search beyond Earth

Read more of Alok Sharma’s coverage on the search for life in space: https://econ.st/3zw1Hxt

Space Travel: NASA Seeks Water On The Moon To Fuel Missions (WSJ Video)

NASA is partnering with SpaceX, Blue Origin and others to search for water on the moon. Water is the foundation for rocket propellant, which could supply refueling stations in the cosmos and make Mars trips cheaper. Photo illustration: Crystal Tai

Morning News Podcast: 11 Million U.S. Covid Cases, SpaceX Launch & Colleges

U.S. COVID-19 cases cross 11 million as pandemic intensifies, 4 astronauts make history as SpaceX’s ‘Resilience’ launches for International Space Station, and Pennsylvania group delivers thousands of cookies to frontline workers during pandemic.

Space Program: November Marks 20 Years Of Humans Abord The Space Station

Marking 20 years of humans aboard the space station, getting out the vote from space, and preparations continue for NASA and SpaceX’s next crew launch … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

Download Link: https://images.nasa.gov/details-Marki…

Technology: “A Bridge Above – 20 Years Of The International Space Station” (NASA Video)

“What if we built a bridge, between and above all nations, to jointly discover the galaxy’s great unknowns?” Join us this fall as we prepare to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the the International Space Station. As a global endeavor, 240 people from 19 countries have visited the unique microgravity laboratory, which has hosted more than 2,800 research investigations from scientists in over 100 nations.

The International Space Station is a modular space station in low Earth orbit. The ISS program is a multi-national collaborative project between five participating space agencies: NASA, Roscosmos, JAXA, ESA, and CSA. It is an international collaborative effort between multiple countries.

Top New Science Podcast: UAE’s New Mars Mission, ‘Enhanced Weathering’ & Mexico’s Deep Caverns

Nature PodcastOn this week’s podcast, an ambitious Mars mission from a young space agency, and how crumbling up rocks could help fight climate change. 

In this episode:

00:46 Mars hopes

In a few weeks the UAE’s first mission to Mars is due to launch. We speak to the mission leads to learn about the aims of the project, and how they developed the mission in under six years. News Feature: How a small Arab nation built a Mars mission from scratch in six yearsNews Feature: Countdown to Mars: three daring missions take aim at the red planet

09:53 Research Highlights

Pluto appears to be losing its atmosphere, and solving the mystery of a pitch-black prehistoric mine. Research Highlight: Goodbye, Pluto’s atmosphereResearch Highlight: Why ancient people pushed deep into Mexico’s pitch-black caverns

12:12 Climate rocks

Researchers have assessed whether Enhanced Weathering – a technique to pull carbon dioxide out of the air – has the potential to help battle climate change. Research Article: Beerling et al.

18:41 Briefing Chat

We take a look at some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time we talk about an outbreak of flesh-eating bacteria in Australia, and how flatworms can regrow their nervous systems. The Atlantic: Australia Has a Flesh-Eating-Bacteria ProblemThe New York Times: A Worm’s Hidden Map for Growing New Eyes

New Astronomy Books: “Expanding Universe – The Hubble Space Telescope”

With investigations into everything from black holes to exoplanets, the Hubble Telescope has changed not only the face of astronomy but also our very sense of being in the universe. On the 30th anniversary of its launch into low-earth orbit, this updated edition of Expanding Universe presents 30 brand new images, unveiling more hidden gems from the Hubble’s archives.

Expanding Universe - The Hubble Space Telescope - Taschen June 2020

Ultra-high resolution and taken with almost no background light, these pictures have answered some of the most compelling questions of time and space while also revealing new mysteries, like the strange “dark energy” that sees the universe expanding at an ever-accelerating rate.

The collection is accompanied by an essay from photography critic Owen Edwards and an interview with Zoltan Levay, who explains how the pictures are composed. Veteran Hubble astronauts Charles F. Bolden, Jr. and John Mace Grunsfeld also offer their insights on Hubble’s legacy and future space exploration.

The contributors

Charles F. Bolden, Jr., Major General, USMC (Ret.), is a former Administrator of NASA, where he oversaw the completion of the International Space Station. He spent 14 years as a member of NASA’s Astronaut Corps, and commanded and piloted the Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-31, which launched the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit.

Owen Edwards has written about photography for more than 30 years for numerous publications including American PhotographerNew York Times Magazine, and Smithsonian.

John Mace Grunsfeld, PhD, is an astrophysicist and a NASA astronaut. He has flown five times on the Space Shuttle, including three Hubble servicing missions. He has served as the Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, the NASA Chief Scientist, and as the Deputy Director of the Space Telescope Science Institute.

Zoltan Levay is a retired principle science visuals developer at the Space Telescope Science Institute, where he worked with astronomers and communicators worldwide to publicize science results from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.

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