Latest Posts by mikeandrewphillips - Page 3
Look WHO DID come over for lunch… Wow. #ImWithHer -Justin Timberlake
10/13
by © Sowar Hassan
I’d ask if you’re normal, but you never talk back.
When your governor doesn’t remember the last time the south rebelled.
1776
240 years and people still die in the streets for freedom. Who knew a government created by racist white men would have issues?
Hitchhiking a Ride to Space
Have you ever packed for a long trip with a friend and ran out of space in your suitcase? Maybe your friend was nice and let your spare items hitchhike a ride in their bag? The following science experiments are doing something similar on our Space Launch System rocket.
Our Space Launch System (SLS) will be the most powerful rocket we’ve ever built and will enable astronauts in the Orion spacecraft to travel deeper into the solar system. This advanced launch vehicle will launch astronauts to an asteroid and eventually to Mars, while opening new possibilities for other payloads including robotic scientific missions to places like Mars, Saturn and Jupiter.
The primary goal of SLS and the Orion spacecraft is to launch future crewed, deep space missions. That said, an added bonus of this powerful rocket is the extra science it can carry. On it’s first mission (known as Exploration Mission-1, EM-1) SLS will carry 13 CubeSats (small satellites, each the size of a large shoebox) on its first flight as secondary payloads. These small satellites will perform various in-space experiments. In a way, these 13 CubeSats are ‘space hitchhikers’, catching a ride to deep space where they can gather data valuable to future exploration missions.
How were these 13 experiments selected? Great question. They were selected through a series of announcements of flight opportunities, a public contest and negations with our international partners.
These secondary payloads have a vast array of functions, from taking pictures of asteroids, to using yeast to detect impacts of deep-space radiation. Each month we will highlight one of these experiments on Tumblr and talk about all the exciting science they will do. Just to give you an idea of what these shoebox-sized satellites will do, we’ll give you a preview:
1. NEA Scout
NEA Scout, stands for: Near-Earth Asteroid Scout. This CubeSat will investigate an asteroid, taking pictures and observe its position in space.
2. BioSentinel
BioSentinel will be the first time living organisms have traveled to deep space in more than 40 years. It will use yeast to detect, measure and compare the impact of deep-space radiation on living organisms over long durations in deep space.
3. Lunar Flashlight
This experiment will look for ice deposits and identify locations where resources may be extracted from the lunar surface. It will demonstrate the capability to scout for useful materials and resources from lunar orbit.
4. Skyfire
Lockheed Martin’s Skyfire will perform a lunar flyby, collecting data to address both Moon and Mars Strategic Knowledge Gaps, or gaps in information required to reduce risk, increase effectiveness and improve the design of robotic and human space exploration missions, for surface characterization, remote sensing and site selection.
5. Lunar IceCube
Morehead State University’s Lunar IceCube will look for water in ice, liquid and vapor forms from a very low orbit of only 62 miles above the surface of the moon. The ability to search for useful resources can potentially help astronauts manufacture fuel and necessities to sustain a crew.
6. CuSP
The CubeSat mission to study Solar Particles, or CuSP, will be the first protype of an interplanetary CubeSat space weather station. It will observe space weather events hours before they reach Earth.
7. Luna-H-Map
Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper (LunaH) will enter a polar orbit around the moon with a low altitude. From there, it will produce maps of near-surface hydrogen.
8, 9, 10. Three Tournament Payloads
Three of the payloads riding along on this journey will be the winners of the Ground Tournaments portion of our CubeQuest Challenge. This challenge is designed to foster innovation in small spacecraft propulsion and communications techniques. Learn more about this challenge HERE.
11, 12, 13. International Partners
The remaining three payloads are reserved for international partners, and will be announced at a later time.
To stay updated on these experiments, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/launching-science-and-technology.html
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com
7 Sports Astronauts Love Without Gravity (Including Football)
Astronauts onboard the International Space Station spend most of their time doing science, exercising and maintaining the station. But they still have time to shoot hoops and toss around a football.
From chess to soccer, there’s a zero-gravity spin to everything.
1. Baseball
Baseball: America’s favorite pastime. JAXA astronaut, Satoshi Furukawa shows us how microgravity makes it possible to be a one-man team. It would be a lot harder to hit home runs if the players could jump that high to catch the ball.
2. Chess
Yes, it’s a sport, and one time NASA astronaut Greg Chamitoff (right) played Earth on a Velcro chess board. An elementary school chess team would pick moves that everyone could vote for online. The winning move would be Earth’s play, and then Chamitoff would respond. About every two days, a move would be made. But who won the historic Earth vs. Space match? Earth! Chamitoff resigned after Earth turned its pawn into a queen, but it was game well played.
3. Soccer
NASA astronaut Steve Swanson put a new spin on soccer by juggling the ball upside down. However, he might not have considered himself upside down. On the space station, up and down are relative.
4. Gymnastics
NASA astronauts usually sign off their videos with a zero-gravity somersault (either forwards or backwards). But astronauts are also proficient in handstands, flips and twists. The predecessor to the International Space Station, the Skylab, had the best space for the moves. The current space station is a bit tight in comparison.
5. Basketball
Objects that aren’t heavy don’t move very well on the space station. They kind of just float. It’s like Earth, but exaggerated. For example, on Earth a beach ball wouldn’t go as far as a basketball. The same is true in space, which is why playing with a basketball in space is more fun than playing with a beach ball.
6. Golf
People talk about hitting golf balls off skyscrapers, but what about off the International Space Station? While golf isn’t a normal occurrence on the station, it’s been there. One golf company even sent an experiment to the station to find out how to make better golf clubs.
7. Football
Zero gravity doesn’t make everything easier. Astronauts need to relearn how to throw things because their brains need to relearn how to interpret sensory information. A bowling ball on the space station no longer feels as heavy as a bowling ball on Earth. When astronauts first throw things on the space station, everything keeps going too high. That would put a wrench in your spiral for a couple of months. But once you adjust, the perfect spiral will just keep spiraling!
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com
Created with a neural network. The future will be strange.
Nuff said
A little shine, a little honey, a little cinnamon, a little brown sugar, and some time
I like candy corn
Success for now.
It’s finally happening. Today, the FCC votes on whether the internet belongs to you, or to the cable companies.
You’ve already done a phenomenal job of encouraging the FCC to adopt rules that will keep the internet free, fair, and thriving—nearly 200,000 calls to Congress have been placed from Tumblr alone, hundreds of thousands more from a diverse coalition of partners, and 4 million total comments have been submitted directly to the FCC. You raised your voice and, holy cow, your government is actually listening. By all accounts, Chairman Wheeler is prepared to do the right thing—a politically brave thing—and enact firm net neutrality rules under Title II of the Communications Act.
If this happens, it’s you guys who deserve the credit for making it happen. So let’s make sure it happens. If you haven’t called your representative yet, call your representative. If you’ve already called your representative, call them again.
And with your help, we’ll all have a historic milestone to celebrate: An internet whose freedom is secure for generations to come.
"Atlanta"
All my decisions are hilarious without being planned.
Cats being instructed In the art of mouse-catching by an owl. Lombardy, c. 1700
It looks kinda like Walle!!!
You heard it from perd
top 20 parks characters (as voted by our followers) 14: Perd Hapley
It’s a heartwarming story, but it’s just not believable! Which is why I give E.T one and a half stars.
The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it.
"Sometimes it is the people who no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine."
The Imitation Game
Another day... Another Michael clone