Orbiter photographs PerseveranceAs NASA's Perseverance spacecraft was parachuting down onto the Martian surface, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (which has been orbiting Mars since 2006) took a picture of it in mid air! (1)
The largest volcano in the solar systemOlympus Mons, on Mars. The base of this volcano covers a land area roughly equal to the size of the American state of Missouri. The height is almost two and a half times the height of Mt. Everest. (1)
First photograph ever taken from the surface of the moonIn the years prior to the Apollo 11 landing, both the Soviet Union and the United States sent several robotic craft to the moon, both orbiters and landers. The first successful soft landing on the moon occurred when the Soviet Luna 9 touched down on... See More » (1)
July 20, 1969Today is the anniversary of the first Apollo moon landing. My father was one of the people who worked on the lunar landers. He was not an engineer, but he worked on the management side of things at Grumman Aerospace. The photo was taken by Michael... See More » (1)
I Love Space ExplorationMarch is Women's History Month. During this month, posters go up on the walls of the institution where I teach, giving information about various female role models in different fields of endeavor. And rightly so. But there is one story that people... See More »
I Love Space ExplorationGood luck to CHANG'E 4 landing on the dark side of the moon tonight within an 8 mile deep crater. Well theoretically it's not the dark side of the moon because the far side does get to see the Suns light. Viewed from Earth we only ever get to see... See More » (1)
I Love Space ExplorationSo many people saying that Philae was a waste of 2 billion dollars. If you're one of those people, you disgust me. Fine, next time, we'll tie YOU into an immobile position, send you on a 4 billion mile trip that was carefully planned to get you in... See More »
