Apollo astronauts prepared to embark on their maiden moonwalk. Armstrong carefully eased his EVA backpack through the LM hatch, taking extra care to not snag anything on his way through. At Mission Control, Kranz immediately conducted the final and nerve-wracking roll call, which would determine whether they landed safely or not – it all depended…
Mars is one of the most researched planets in our solar system. It also hosts Olympus Mons – three times taller than Mount Everest! Red Planet derives its vibrant hue from iron minerals in its soil, which rust away during dust storms on Earth. Romans gave this planet its name after Ares, their god of…
Sky color can be determined by various factors; however, all this starts with visible light physics. As sunlight travels through Earth’s atmosphere, its light is scattered by nitrogen and oxygen molecules – with blue wavelengths being particularly dispersed, making the sky appear bluer than it would otherwise. Rayleigh Scattering The sky is blue because light…
Mercury is an extremely poisonous metal and can lead to a range of health issues in its victims, from damage to the brain and nervous system, lung, kidney and environmental problems, as well as environmental pollution. Mercury poisoning symptoms tend to surface gradually and can quickly escalate into something serious, including tremors, insomnia, memory problems…
Reentry is the process of returning a spacecraft to Earth or another planet through atmospheric friction, whereby its velocity slows and heats up due to atmospheric friction. Spacecraft that aren’t positioned correctly may overheat and break apart. Engineers have developed various methods to enhance capsule design to prevent this. Atmospheric drag Atmospheric drag is the…
At its final stage, a caterpillar searches out a safe place and constructs an encasing called a chrysalis. Though this structure seems motionless at first glance, incredible processes are underway inside. Special butterfly cells transform into the wings, legs and eyes of adult butterflies in this demanding process, which may take between 1-14 months depending…
At the beginning of their lives, butterfly females lay eggs on leaves or stems. These tiny oval or cylindrical eggs come in various colours. Once an egg hatches, a larva (also known as a caterpillar) emerges and begins eating and growing through several growth stages called instars. Eggs A butterfly’s life cycle is one of…
Spacecraft are vehicles designed to travel into space. They may be either manned or unmanned. Spacecraft models can be constructed out of various materials. However, in order for them to withstand launch loads and the stresses of reentry into Earth orbit or another planet’s atmosphere, these materials must be strong and flexible enough. Paper Models…
Mission Operations Center staff watched with excitement as a dot on the screen gradually expanded into an unmistakably spherical, boulder-covered space rock. Engineers quickly announced “this is nominal”, an aerospace engineering term meaning everything had gone as planned. DART was built for this momentous occasion – to demonstrate technology that could one day shield Earth…
