Sat - June 4, 2005

Voyager at the edge of the Solar System 


Just as it has begun to achieve its final goal to be the first human artifact to leave the solar system and enter interstellar space, Voyager, along with several other operating NASA missions, has been budgeted for termination of operations next year. 

Posted at 10:06 a.m.     Read More   | |

Sat - January 1, 2005

Anniversary of Rovers on Mars 


“This planet needs our shovels’ bite And treadmarks in the dust To tell if life and hematite Pervade its arid crust.” 

Posted at 10:29 a.m.     Read More   | |

Fri - December 31, 2004

Randomness and Order 


If one makes a sound wave out of a string of random numbers, it sounds like hiss or "white noise", a reference to a flat spectrum with a mix of all sound frequencies. 

Posted at 08:45 a.m.     Read More   | |

Sun - November 21, 2004

Apollo 18 


The dose was high enough that astronauts exposed on the surface of the moon were severely incapacitated and unable to successfully return to the command module, which then was forced to return home without them. 

Posted at 08:35 p.m.     Read More   | |

Sun - November 14, 2004

The NASA Exploration Vision and Initiative 


This category will include much of astrophysics, much of Earth Science, extraneous aspects of Solar System Exploration, and the quest for an understanding of our origins, evolution over the life of the Sun, and our destiny. 

Posted at 05:29 p.m.     Read More   | |

Tue - November 9, 2004

If Engineers Designed Ethical Systems 


When unethical behavior on the part of some agent threatens the life, health, or welfare of living things, ostensibly unethical behavior necessary to prevent this shall become ethical to the degree that it prevents more harm to living things than it requires. 

Posted at 07:45 p.m.     Read More   | |

Sat - October 23, 2004

A Favorite Photo from the 70's  


While looking for an electronic copy, I noticed that the online versions at the source at the Space Environment Center in Boulder Colorado (in the "general graphics" area http://sel.noaa.gov/graphics_library/general/index.html) is pretty poor in quality.... I had the slide scanned, touched it up a bit for scratches and sent it to the folks at SEC, asking if they might be able to use it in place of the poor quality version posted on their site.

...In brief it was taken by staff at the NOAA Space Environment Laboratory (now Space Environment Center) several decades ago. It is taken through a telescope from the NOAA facility in Boulder looking west towards the Flatirons. 

Posted at 06:19 p.m.     Read More   | |

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