China's Chang'e-2 Moon Launch Countdown

GO FOR LAUNCH: The countdown is underway for the Chang'e-2 liftoff for the moon from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 6:59:57 AM EST [Washington] on Friday, a spokesman for the China National Space Administration said. [Chinese-TV video] About 2,000 people are being evacuated from around the launch center two hours prior to the launch of the Long March-3 rocket as a safety precaution.

LIVE-TV coverage (in Chinese) and China Central Television (in English) commencing prior to the 7 AM launch time. All systems remain 'GO.'

Media coverage of the space shuttle

Space reporters discuss the impact the Space Shuttle Program has had on exploration, national interests and why it's an exciting beat in the first place.

World Space Agency Heads Speak in Prague

The Heads of Agency Plenary at the 61st International Astronautical Congress held in Prague, Czech Republic this week provides insights into the global space agency plans in the past year and in the near-term future. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden kicks-off the 1:21 video.

IAC 2010 Prague: Impact of Governments' Space Policy Changes on Industry

The second Plenary session of IAC 2010 in Prague saw agencies meeting on the impact of industry. The video runs 1:16.

IAC2010: Rosetta visits asteroid Lutetia

The European Space Agency's Gerhard Schwehm highlights the Rosetta mission's flyby of asteroid Lutetia at IAC 2010 in Prague. The video is 23 minutes.

IAC 2010 Prague: The Search for ET

Dr. Seth Shostak presents an IAC 2010 Highlight Lecture in Prague on "The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence." Vid runs 53-mins.

Lori Garver Provides Insight to NASA's Work

NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver recently spoke to the TEDx Midtown New York providing an insightful view of the US federal space agency. The video runs 22-minutes.

UP Adventures

This past weekend my sister, Diana Mavis, and I shared our tenth year of exploring the U.P. together. This year we decided to visit the Porcupine Mountains. We didn't know it until this trip, but the Porcupine Mountains is the largest state park in Michigan. The park includes 59,000 acres of rivers, lakes and the largest virgin hardwood-hemlock forest in the United States.

One of the things we enjoy most together is taking pictures of nature in all its splendor. I'll share some of the photos that we took over the next several blog updates.

We made a few stops while driving west. The first was in Munising at the Michigan Nature Association Memorial Falls Park.



It was quite windy, especially earlier in the day. Here is a shot of the Lake Superior waves taken east of Marquette.



The next stop was just west of Marquette along the road that goes to Big Bay. We climbed up Sugarloaf Mountain. The view from the top is spectacular.






Along the trail up Sugarloaf, we spotted this tree with colonies of mushrooms.



The farther west we drove, the better were the fall colors.



We arrived at our cabin located a mile from the Porkies along Lake Superior just in time for sunset.

dam goats

this is amazing!


not sure where the image originally came from, but according to tywkiwdbi, "They apparently traverse the wall of the dam to lick salt or other minerals from the stonework." despite looking so precariously perched, from a video of the goats, they frolic about on the dam quite easily!

ExoPlanet Gliese 581-G May Have Life

A team of planet hunters led by astronomers at the University of California (UC), Santa Cruz and the Carnegie Institution of Washington has announced the discovery of a planet (Gliese 581-G ) orbiting a nearby star, Gliese 581, at a distance that places it squarely in the middle of the star's "habitable zone." This would be the most Earth-like exoplanet and the first truly habitable one yet discovered. The research was supported by grants from NASA and the National Science Foundation. "Goldilocks" refers to an exoplanet whose temperatures are "not too cold, not too hot, but just right" to maintain water and support Earth-like life. [AP Video]

More from The New York Times, The MercuryNews, The Washington Post, and NPR.

304 to 118 NASA IS AUTHORIZED!

In a recorded vote in the US House of Representatives prior to midnight, Democrats cast 185 votes and Republicans 119 for the Senate NASA Authorization Act of 2010. The House voted 304 to 118 to pass the bill and send it to the White House for signature later this week in a historic victory for commercial human and cargo space launch and new propulsion technology programs for the federal space agency.

There were 64 Democrats and 54 Republicans or 118 votes cast against the bill. A roll call of the vote is linked. More from The Wall Street Journal, The Houston Chronicle, The Huntsville Times , The Chicago Tribune, AP and Bloomberg.

Recorded Vote Demanded by Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords on NASA Authorization

The U. S. House of Representatives has considered S3729 - the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010. There was not a clear consent by voice vote for approval of the bill and consequently further action on the bill has been postponed with the likelihood that a requested roll call vote will be held. The recorded vote is expected prior to midnight.

The members speaking favorably to pass the bill included Bart Gordon (D-TN), Ralph Hall (R-TX), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Pete Olsen (R-TX), Kendrick Meek (D-FL), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Gene Green (D-TX), Steve Scalise (R-LA), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), John Culberson (R-TX), Suzanne Kosmas (D-FL), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Al Green (D-TX), Bill Posey (R-FL) - all in favor of passange of the Senate measure.

The only member leading the charge against the passage of the Senate-passed NASA Authorization bill was Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ.) citing a litney of reasons to oppose the measure and calling upon Blue Dog Democrats to kill the measure.

Bolden Endorses Commercial Space Plan

The Voice of America report.

Tribute to the Last Men on the Moon in 1972

Astronauts Eugene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt and Ronald Evans were the three brave men chosen to fly NASA's final mission to the moon. They have been written up in history books and acknowledged by the space and scientific communities, but have never received the public recognition they truly deserved. Apollo 17's voyage to the moon was the crowning glory of man's lunar exploration. The flight broke so many records in human spaceflight that stand to this day!

2010 Space Generation Congress Successful

The 9th Annual Space Generation Congress (SGC) hosted by the Space Generation Advisory Counsel (SGAC) was held in Prague, Czech Republic, from September 23 - 25, 2010. Being a complimentary event preceding the the 61st International Astronautical Congress, this congress started with a record high of 200 top and carefully chosen delegates gathered together to discuss the latest issues in the space industry. With five concurrent workshops at its core, in conjunction with talks by distinguished members of the space industry, SGC 2010 was very successful in reaching its goal of creating a forum to bring together and facilitate the voice of innovative, creative, and passionate students and young professionals on space issues, particularly at the international level. More from SpaceRef. [A special salute to Starla J. Kiser and David Brundage]

NASA authroization bill vote set late today

The U.S. House of Representatives has a full plate of measures on which to cast votes throughout the day and perhaps into the night. It is not exactly known when the NASA Authorization Act will come to a floor vote. C-SPAN provides LIVE COVERAGE of the floor action. More on this space policy matter later today.

International Astronautical Congress: Tourism Issues, Opportunities and Challenges

"Issues, Opportunities and Challenges posed by Space Tourism as an Industry" was presented by Rushi GHADAWALA, Poojan CHOKSHI, Dr. Ramnik B. SHAH, Jyaysi DESAI and Pronob ROY at International Astronautical Congress 2010 at Prague in the Czech Republic this week [11-min].

Sarns Reunion

This is the last posting from my trip down state a couple of weeks ago. The main purpose for the trip was to attend the Sarns reunion. Dick Sarns developed one of the first heart-lung machines in 1960. He designed the innovative equipment to answer the needs of University of Michigan surgeons. Recently the University of Michigan announced the Dick Sarns Innovation Fellowship at its new Medical Innovation Center. A pioneer in biomedical engineering, Dick Sarns' groundbreaking technologies have improved surgical outcomes for millions of patients worldwide.

After 50 years, Sarns equipment is the most noted and widely used product of its kind. The Sarns' machine was used by Dr. Christian Barnard when he performed the first human heart transplant in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1967. In 1999 Terumo Corporation acquired Sarns Corporation from 3M, but Dick Sarns continues to develop new, life-transforming technologies at his latest venture, NuStep, Inc. Well over 100,000 people benefit from the NuStep recumbent cross-trainer every day. Some of the NuStep equipment can be seen in use during the Biggest Looser TV show.

I worked at Sarns from 1980 through 1987. There is no question that I could not be doing what I do now if it were not for the great opportunities that I had while working at Sarns. I had many positions there that included technical writing, market research, public relations, sales training, operating room simulator manager, and product manager. There were nearly 300 people at the reunion. The feeling in the room was mutual. We know now that it was truly a special experience working for Dick and Norma Sarns.

do physicists believe in god?

we are a small sample size, but the physicists of sixty symbols weigh in on the question... do you believe in god?



in addition, we also share our favorite "astronomical feature" in the video.

i havent written too much on my personal (lack of) belief in god on this blog, but here is something i wrote in 2006, if youre interested.

China Plans Launch of Chang'e-2 Moon Probe

China is making final preparations to launch its second lunar probe Chang'e-2 for launch from the Xichang spaceport, perhaps as early as Friday, October 1, 2010, according to Chinese media reports. The Chang'e-1 was launched in October, 2007.

Friday is China's national day, in celebration of Mao Zedong's proclamation of the founding of the People's Republic in 1949 followed by 61 years of communist party rule.

The Chang'e-2 lunar probe will conduct various tests in preparation for the expected launch in 2013 of the Chang'e-3, which aims to be China's first unmanned landing on the moon followed by a mission to bring a moon rock sample back to earth in 2017, with a manned mission foreseen between 2020-2025.

Several countries are planning robot probes to the moon in this decade.

Auorora Borealis at 100-Year Low?

The astronomical phenomenon of the Aurora Borealis is at a 100-year low and now more rare, say scientists in a study released yesterday. The northern lights follow a typical 11-year solar cycle in which the frequency of the phenomena rises to a maximum, tapers off into a minimum and then repeats the cycle. [BBC video]

Noora Partamies, a researcher, said: “Only in the past half a year have we seen more activity, but we don’t really know whether we’re coming out of this minimum.” The scientists at the Finnish Meteorological Institute indicate that the Aurora Borealis is not being stimulated and the minimum reached in 2008 appears to be "going on and on and on."

"We're waiting to see what happens, is the next maximum going to be on time, is it going to be late, is it going to be huge?" Partamies said. More from The Telegraph.

Boeing VP Talks Space Policy in Prague

At the 61st International Astronautical Congress second plenary: Impact of Governments' Space Policy Changes on Industry Boeing Vice President of Exploration Launch Systems, James Chilton answers the moderators question "In general terms describe the major impacts to your companies, resulting from recent governments policy changes and evolution?"

'Journey to the Stars' in New York City

A spectacular new space show, Journey to the Stars, narrated by Academy Award-winning actress Whoopi Goldberg. For show times and tickets visit the Adler Planetarium.

Eric Cantor May Hold Keys to Space Access

GOP Whip Congressman Eric Cantor (R-Va) may hold the keys to commercial space access Wednesday in the House of Representatives in what is expected to be a close vote on the Senate NASA Authorization bill. The measure is reportedly coming to the floor Wednesday, but requires a two-thirds vote on 'supsension of the rules' for final approval and only then to the White House for presidential signature.

With party labels meaning little in this critical vote of direction for the federal space agency for the next three years, Cantor must measure the potential of Virginia's commercial Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport to support commercial cargo space launches by Orbital Sciences Corporation and the future possible location of Bigelow Aerospace at Wallops Island to launch scientists and commercial astronauts against the interests of Republicans in other states.

Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R-Va) has committed to making the Virginia spaceport the best in the nation and has demonstrated his strong support for commercial space in the legislature with significant financial support. U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-Va) has also demonstrated his support for Virginia commercial space development on the Senate Commerce Committee.

While there is faith that Cantor will support Virginia commercial spaceport interests, Spaceport Blog readers may wish to call his office at 202.225-2815 to offer favorable support for the Senate NASA Authorization Act now! Every 'Yes' vote counts.

Griffin Makes Last Ditch No Effort

Former NASA Administrator Michael Griffin says the U.S. House of Representatives should reject a compromise on NASA's future expected to come up for a vote Wednesday.

"After considerable reflection," Griffin told The Huntsville Times Tuesday, "I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that NASA and the nation's space program would be best served if the House were to vote against the Senate authorization bill in its present form."

What irks Griffin is that the Senate plan kills the troubled Constellation moon program of his tenure as the federal space agency administrator and calls on NASA to spend $11 billion over three years on a new government spacecraft capable of reaching an asteroid by the end of this decade. It also budgets about $1.6 billion during that time to help commercial companies build rockets capable of taking astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station.

The House is due to take up the Senate version of the NASA authorization bill on Wednesday. Initial signs are that the vote could be very close.

White Sands Star Party October 8-9, 2010

An incredible night of sky viewing is in store for astronomy buffs at the 11th Annual White Sands Star Party held each year on the glistening dunes of White Sands National Monument, near Alamogordo, New Mexico. White Sands Star Party XI will be held Friday, Oct. 8 and Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010. Friday is reserved for registered astronomers and their families to enjoy the night sky. Saturday, the Star Party is open to the public. Hosted by the New Mexico Museum of Space History, White Sands National Monument and the Alamogordo Astronomy Club, this star party provides ample opportunity for dark sky viewing. [Location Video]

How To Get A Wordpress.com API Key

Some Of The Popular Wordpress Plugins Like Wordpress.com Popular Posts Requires A Wordpress.Com API Key. Here Is A Simple Video Tutorial Which Will Help You To Get A Wordpress.com API Key.Read more »

jupiter of holst

here is a musical piece in honor of jupiter remaining so bright in our night sky for a while.

between 1914 and 1916, the british composer gustav holst wrote a seven-movement orchestral suite called The Planets Op.32. here is jupiter:

TEDxNASA 2010: What Matters Next - Nov. 4

The NASA Langley Research Center is hosting the TEDxNASA 2010: What Matters Next - in Newport News, Va. on Thursday, November 4, 2010 - two days after election day when many Americans will then be asking "what matters next?"

NASA Administrator to talk human space flight cooperation with Chinese in October

Plans are well along for NASA Administrator Charles Bolden to make a delayed trip to Beijing, China for what may be the opening round of talks leading to closer international cooperation in human spaceflight, reports Frank Morring, Jr. at Aviation Week.

NASA officials stressed that there has been no final invitation for Bolden to visit China at a specific time. However, officials in Beijing already are preparing for the visit, amid suggestions at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) meeting today in Prague that it could come in October.

Wang Wenbao, head of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, recently told U.S. reporters China was ready to discuss interface parameters for docking the Shenzhou crew vehicle to the International Space Station.

This Blogger has advocated joint Chinese-Russian-American spaceflights to the international space station as a commercial venture as opposed to pure government-to-government. The second flight could be to the Chinese space station. Perhaps, the suggestion will be taken seriously to avoid international law (treaty) concerns and prove the worth of capitalistic cooperation and "non-traditional partners."

Bolden Takes Questions at International Astronautical Congress in Prague

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden took questions today at the 61st International Astronautical Congress (IAC) being held in Prague from 27 September to 1 October, 2010. The above video references the need to for technological advancement to support human deep space flights; in the second video Bolden describes how NASA will find new ways to gain access to low earth orbit; in the third video the NASA administrator discusses how the International Space Station partnership may increase foreign participation on-orbit (particularly China); and, in the fourth video, the former general talks of NASA commitment to environemntal issues.

Senate NewSpace Authorization Vote May Come to the House Floor Wednesday

The Space Access Society says, "Today saw one extremely promising development: Representative Bart Gordon, Chairman of the House Science Committee and leading spokesman for the HR. 5781 House version NASA Authorization, has conceded that the only practical way of '"..providing certainty, stability, and clarity to the NASA workforce and larger space community..."' is to allow the Senate NASA Authorization, S.3729, to come up for a vote in the House this week [Wednesday].

Congressman says he "anticipate(s) that the House will consider the Senate version of the NASA reauthorization on Wednesday."

But the Senate version still needs to win a 2/3rds House vote, on the near-certain assumption it will only be considered under “suspension of the rules” fast-track procedures. That 2/3rds vote is no sure thing. The Space Access Society recommends calling your member of the House of Representatives immediately to enable the vote on the Senate measure.

Chairman Gordon is conceding this battle, but not the war. The very last sentence of Gordon’s Science Committee press release is “I will continue to advocate to the Appropriators for the provisions in the Compromise language.” (By "Compromise" here he means the most recent House bill.) " [More from Alan Boyle at The Cosmic Log.]

United Nations to Appoint Alien Ambassador: Now appears to be science fiction?

UPDATE: The Guardian is reporting that the story about an alien ambassador being appointed by the United Nations is rubbish. Oh well, it did sound rather interesting. Maybe The Times of London had better check their alien sources.

Posted Saturday: The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) is expected to appoint an astrophysicist to spearhead an effort to develop protocols for "first contact" with potential alien civilizations among the hundreds of New Worlds being found around remote stars.

Mazlan Othman, 58-year-old Malaysian, plans to make UNOOSA the coordinating body for dealing with alien encounters. She has the potential to become the Earth's first theoretical 'space ambassador.' The United Nations scientific advisory committees will debate the proposal, and if approved, the United Nations will take-up the policy position. [video]

"The continued search for extraterrestrial communication sustains the hope that someday humankind will receive signals from extraterrestrials," Othman said. "When we do, we should have in place a coordinated response that takes into account all the sensitivities related to the subject." [video]

The Malaysian astrophysicist, is set to be tasked with co-ordinating humanity’s response if and when extraterrestrials make contact by anyone of the hundreds of exo-planets being discovered by a host of orbiting and ground-based telescopes. [video]

super scientist to the rescue!

check out this comic from saturday morning breakfast cereal:





superman asks "who do i punch?" hahaha!

wait superman! there's no need for violence! what you need is a super scientist!!

;)

superman had a different idea.

Space Frontier Foundation Supports NewSpace Budget on Capitol Hill

In light of the heated discussions happening on The Hill about the 2011 NASA budget, the Space Frontier Foundation made this video to support the White House's version of the budget, which explains why the NewSpace community supports it, and why everyone else should as well.

LHC mural

we recently learned about what might happen if one stuck one's hand in the beam of the large hadron collider (LHC), here's something completely different about the LHC.

artist josef kristofoletti just completed a mural of the LHC's ATLAS detector, located above ground at CERN, where the LHC is currently up and running!




the event depicted in the mural is the decay of a Z boson into two muons.

Russia to Offer Tourist Flights After 2013

The Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos plans to send Soyuz spacecraft with two space tourists to the International Space station (ISS) after 2013, the head of Roscosmos' manned flights department, Alexei Krasnov, told RIA Novosti.

Virginia-based Space Adventures, Ltd. and the Russian Roscosmos are actively in negotiation to expand the spaceflight participants temporarily suspended due to the added demand for Soyuz seats by the United States and other international space station partners over the next two or three years.

Russia's RSC Energia corporation recently said it had the capacity to build five Soyuz spacecraft per year instead of four, meaning that at least one Soyuz spacecraft could be used for space tourism purposes in the future.

Space Adventures recently indicated that it was working with America's Boeing space division to add commercial spaceflights for would-be astronauts in 2015 to low earth orbit.

photos of scotland: part 1

here is round one of my favorite photos from my recent trip to scotland. i was amazed at how the landscape changed as rapidly as the weather. luckily, we survived my first time ever driving on the left side of the road and driving from the right-hand side of the car! and we were only harassed by the infamous midges on one occasion.

during our first night in scotland we stayed at a lovely bed and breakfast near loch lomond. the common room had an excellent view!


we drove thru the amazingly beautiful glen coe which has jumped up to be one of my favorite places!




i hiked to the top of the highest peak in the UK: ben nevis. the summit isnt terribly far above sea level, at 1,344 meters (4,409 ft), but i was still sore for a solid two days after the climb!


i walked across the path of a waterfall on the way to the top.


unfortunately, thick clouds hung about halfway down the mountain, completely blocking the view. this was one of the last shots i took before the clouds became so thick that i could hear people walking along the rocks before i could see them approaching!


we watched this lovely sunset along the loch until the tiny midges won the battle :( notice the light post that is submerged during high tide...


a peaceful moment with the loch's clear water.


the day after the hike, we drove a lot throughout the highlands. on the way to loch ness, we passed a lake whose name amused me: loch lochy!


we drove along most of loch ness. its incredibly long, narrow and deep! we stopped along its bank to see the remains of urquart castle. see any evidence of nessie in those dark waters?


me neither.

we then crossed the bridge to the isle of skye which was absolutely stunning - when you could see through the weather! part of the magic of scotland is that you dont always get to see its beauty, but when the clouds clear enough to send a beam of light shooting down to some distant patch of land, you feel as though you are witnessing a great secret of time.




and i must not forget one of my most favorite features of scotland: the scotch whisky!


more about the whisky in part 2. for now, you can look at the full set of photos from scotland: part 1.

Soyuz TMA-18 Lands: Crew A-OK

The landing was delayed following the inability to undock from the ISS until a workaround was accomplished. The next Soyuz is set for launch October 8, 2010 as a part of the ISS crew rotation. [Russia Today]

Way up north, north to Alaska!

SpaceWeather offered-up this unique photo of the Aurora Borealis going north to Alaska.

61st International Astronautical Congress Opens at Prague, Czech Republic

The 61st International Astronautical Congress in 2010 at Prague, Czech Republic, is set to open Monday with hundreds of participants from around the globe including the space agency heads from each of the spacefaring nations.

Under the theme ‘Space for Human Benefit and Exploration,’ the 61st International Astronautical Congress (IAC) is being held in the Czech Republic from 27 September to 1 October, 2010. The IAC is the world's premier international space gathering, with around 3000 high-level delegates and decision-makers from space agencies, industry, and academia including 100 delegates from the Space Generation Congress. [Photos from SpaceGen 2010]

Space Generation Congress Starts in Prague

"Space Generations: From Sputnik to Today to Tomorrow" tells a brief, but concise history of space exploration in a montage of images and videos of the most significant moments of outer space exploration since 1957. It also uses graphics to expose the critical issue of the long-term, sustainable use of Earth's orbit. The movie also touches upon future, visionary space projects including mining the Moon and space-based solar power.

The short movie was done in partnership by the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln (UNL) and premiered at the Space Generation Congress 2010 in Prague, Czech Republic on September 24, 2010.

The idea behind the movie belongs to Prof. Dr. Frans G. von der Dunk, Othmer Professor of Space Law at the Space and Telecommunications Law Program of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln while Art Anisimov, SGAC National Point of Contact of Belarus and space law student at UNL, and Andy Bacon, head of SGAC's Near Earth Objects (NEO) working group.

[Hat Tip to David Brundage and Starla J. Kiser, Prague SpaceGen participants.]

A New Twitter Bug

There Is A New Bug In Twitter Web Interface Which Will Automatically Update Your Twitter Profile With Some Garbled Characters Without Asking.
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MILKYJ: 'Hubble Gotchu!'

More of http://www.nasa.gov/topics/people/features/nasa-gotchu.html. [Hat tip to M Ruiz.]

NASA Monkey Experiments Draw Fire

Animal Defenders International, the leading animal welfare organization that works globally for the protection of animals, launched a major U.S. educational and legislative campaign to secure public and government support to prevent NASA from proceeding with irradiating squirrel monkeys to study adverse effects of space radiation.

The centerpiece of the legislative campaign is a compelling 4-minute video entitled ‘Space Experiments on Monkeys - One Giant Leap Backwards’ which recaps the prior use of animals in space research, cites reasons NASA’s irradiation experiments are flawed and premature, and presents viable alternatives to primate testing. The DVD also includes an exclusive ten-minute interview with April Evans, former NASA engineer who explains she resigned her dream job with one of the world’s top space agencies because of NASA’s radiation tests. Both videos are also being launched online as part of a major awareness drive.

Every member of Congress will receive a copy of the DVD as part of a drive to ensure the monkey experiments are stopped, the group says.

urania

i'm not sure what this is, but i saw it on fresh photons and think its awesome.

modern stained glass using x-ray images?


for some reason it reminds me of the images of humans suffering that i've seen in churches around the world, but i find this image really interesting, whereas i find a lot of the church images and statues rather creepy.