WATCH: How Astronauts Sleep In Space [VIDEO]
We all love that feeling of getting into fluffy jammies and cuddling up, horizontally, into our feather down beds. But do astronauts have the same luxury? Think again!
NASA’s Best Footage Of Earth From Space, So Far [VIDEO]
It’s earth month everyone, and as a tribute to our pale blue dot, NASA has put together a highlights reel of shots of the earth from space captured over the course of 2012, so we can “understand and sustain our home planet”.
“I Watched A Large Meteorite Burn Up Between Me And Australia” – Commander Hadfield Answers Excellent Questions From Space
Canadian Astronaut, Commander Chris Hadfield has risen to Twitter fame over the course of the last few months by tweeting beautiful pictures of earth from the point of view of the International Space Station, currently orbiting around the planet at a sedate pace of 27 600km per hour. Consider this one, for example. The Isle […]
Why Exactly Are We Spending R1,9 Billion On Telescopes?
A staggering R1,9 billion has been allocated over three years for the The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and MeerKAT radio telescope projects. That is a lot of money on a project that South Africans don’t understand. According to the Square Kilometre Array website, the SKA is not the average telescope system. Rather than filtering light waves […]
Calling All Couples: Apply For The Mission To Mars Today [VIDEO]
Unites States millionaire, Dennis Tito is looking for a couple to send on a round trip to Mars in 2018. Tito reportedly paid £13 million in 2001 for a ticket to become the first private space tourist. The round trip to Mars will reportedly take 501 days, and project leaders are looking for a couple who have been […]
Asteroid Set To Pass Earth This Afternoon
Asteroid 2012 D14 is set to bypass earth this afternoon. Scientists estimate the asteroid to be half the size of a football field and could experience “violent tremours” due to earth’s gravitational pull. There is even the possibility of the asteroid interrupting telecommunications when it passes. The asteroid will pass 27 680 km away from […]
Secret Private Moon Mission?
Going to space isn’t such a big deal these days. Basically, you just need enough money and you can go. But if you have enough money, you might as well go on your own, or with some mates, right?
NASA Tests First Nuclear Engine For Deep-Space Exploration Since 1965 [VIDEO]
For the first time in nearly 50 years, NASA has used a small prototype of a nuclear-reactor engine design to test whether this could one day power deep-space exploration probes.
These 100 Images Were Chosen To Represent All Of Humanity And Its History [PICS]
An ambitious project, dreamed up by a mixed team of scientists and artists, will see a selection of 100 images sent off into orbit as an eternal archive representing humanity and its achievements throughout history.
Awesome Nine-Billion-Pixel Photo Of The Milky Way
This is awesome: a nine-gigapixel photo of the Milky Way in all its glory and splendor. Click for the link of the full-size image on which you can zoom in, scroll around and search for the universes secrets.
Space Station Time-Lapse Lets You Fly Through Time And Space [VIDEO]
Photographer Christoph Malin from Austria created this amazing film by stacking image sequences taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station. It shows beautiful star trails and city lights streaking over the Earth’s surface as seen from space.
Female Astronaut Completes First Triathlon In Space
That’s not a misprint folks, NASA astronaut Sunita Williams recently ran, swam and cycled in space the same distance as her earthbound counterparts would have done in the Nautica Malibu Triahtlon, which was held in Southern California.
Radiation From Half A Million Mile ‘Solar Whip’ Hits Earth Today [VIDEO]
This massive solar whip or filament is 800 000 kilometers long. That’s 20 times the circumference of the earth. Makes you feel small, doesn’t it. The gigantic solar filament collapse has been caught on a NASA observatory camera.
Some Of The Breathtaking Images From The 2012 Astronomy Photographer Of The Year Competition [PICS]
Space, the final frontier, and mankind’s constant fascination. These mesmerising images, from the Astronomy Photographer of the Year Competition, capture the night sky in ways that the naked eye never could and will leave you staring at the night sky wishing for an alien abduction.
Awesome Interactive 360° Panorama From The Surface Of Mars
Unless you’re currently in some kind of deep space training program, or you have some diabolical plan that no one knows about, the chances are pretty slim that you’ll ever actually get to set foot on Mars. Thankfully, we’ve got the next best thing for you, a fully interactive 360° panorama from the surface of the Red Planet. Enjoy.
Nasa Celebrates Mars Rover Landing [VIDEO]
Curiosity has landed. Nasa Administrator Charles Bolden: “Today, the wheels of Curiosity have begun to blaze the trail for human footprints on Mars.”
China’s First Female Astronaut Does Tai Chi In Space [VIDEO]
Liu Yang, China’s first-ever female astronaut, had a night shift on Shenzhou 9 a couple of days ago – which is apparently sort of dull in space too, because she entertained herself by going through some Tai Chi exercises. In space. And since the spacecraft returned to earth today, we get to see what that looks like.
NASA Planning Manned Asteroid Mission
NASA will start training a team astronauts to land on an asteroid in the next month, in preparation for a mission that will take humans farther from Earth than ever before. They’ll be collecting mineral samples and determining how to destroy an asteroid in the event that it might collide with the Earth. Seriously.
I’m Seriously Considering Going To Space
That’s right, I am officially considering it. I spent some time with Virgin Galactic‘s Commerical Director, Stephen Attenborough (no relation, but an appropriate coincidence, nonetheless) the other day, as we shot the breeze at the Mount Nelson hotel. ETV News captured our conversation, so keep an eye out for the Tech Report on Thursday nights (channel […]
Asteroid Mining Could Save The World’s Economy
Time-tested wisdom says the sky’s the limit. However, a group of billionaires are looking to change that as they launch the first ever venture to mine asteroids, in space. For real. Click through for the details.
Space Shuttle Discovery’s Final, Majestic Flight [VIDEO]
Earlier this week, space shuttle Discovery took its final flight, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to Dulles International Airport, on the back of a 747. That’s a space shuttle piggybacking on a jumbo jet, and it was awesome. Click through for the video.
Brilliant Solar Flares Exploded From The Sun Yesterday [VIDEO]
Yesterday NASA managed to capture the clearest-yet footage of a solar flare in process after magnetic fields on the Sun’s northeastern curve exploded in huge streams of plasma and sun stuff. The footage only accounts for about five seconds of explosion, but it’s very, very cool, both in and out of time-lapse.
Amazing Time Lapse Shot From The ISS [VIDEO]
Ease back into the remainder of the week with this gorgeous time lapse video shot from the ISS in low orbit over earth. Bask in the beauty of our planet from a point of view that preciously few of us will ever get to experience in real life.
Take A Peek Inside America’s First Private Spaceship [PICS]
Ever since NASA cancelled their Space Shuttle Program two years ago, the Americans have been searching for an alternative option for space travel to save them from teaming up with their cosmic nemesis Russia. On 16 March, the first viable option presented itself and blew the competition away.
First Commercial Spaceship To Launch To Space Station April 30
NASA officials have announced that the first launch of a commercially built space capsule to the International Space Station is scheduled for the end of April. California-based Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) are the dudes responsible for the capsule in question, the unmanned Dragon spacecraft.
Man Completes 21,8km Space Jump! [PICS]
In a society of thrill-seekers, bigger (or longer, or higher, or faster) is always better. Many South Africans revel in the fact that the country is home to the highest bungee jump in the world, it also boasts some of the best sky-diving and BASE-jumping opportunities available (just ask Jeb). But, there’s always this one guy who takes things to the next level, like jumping from space…
NASA Unveils Space Atlas [Amazing PICS]
Bad. Ass. NASA has released a new space atlas, detailing over 560 million stars, galaxies and asteroids, many never seen before. The 18 000 awesome images were taken by NASA’s infrared space telescope, the Wide-field Survey Explorer (WISE). Take a look at some of the incredible space-images after the space-jump.
NASA: The World Won’t End In 2012 [VIDEO]
Hey Doomsdayers, guess what? The world isn’t going to end in 2012, or any time soon for that matter. At least that’s according to a NASA astrophysicist, who I’d assume has a library that smells of rich mahogany and is filled with many leather-bound books, and also a degree in astrophysics.
NASA Now Recruiting Chefs For Mars
It’s normally the scientists and engineers that go up into space, but NASA has realised that while people are up there, they need to eat. Whilst a little ahead of itself, a study has opened in Hawaii to find a chef for Mars. Do you have what it takes?
SpaceX Test-Fires ‘Super’ Rocket Engines [VIDEO]
Spaceflight start-up, SpaceX – those guys who want to put a person on Mars in the next decade or two – has been demonstrating the potency of its SuperDraco rockets at their test facility in Texas. Take a look at the fancily-named rockets in action after the jump.