From the 1960s on, spacecraft bound for Mars have been regularly launched to explore our closest planetary neighbor and assess its potential as a host planet for life. But only half have succeeded so far. Last summer, two cutting-edge missions arrived at Mars orbit: Hope from the United Arab Emirates and Tianwen-1 from China. Both…
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe successfully touched our star for the first time ever! Flying through its upper atmosphere – known as corona – and sampling particles and magnetic fields there. Named in honor of astrophysicist Eugene Parker, this mission seeks to explore and comprehend the Sun’s mysterious corona and solar wind that circulate our closest…
From miles of blood vessels to bone regeneration, the human body is packed with fascinating facts. To celebrate Halloween, we’ve put together this list of some of our favorite scary facts about humanity’s bodies. As an infant, you had more bones than what exists today. Over time, as you grow, some of those baby bones…
Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system and often looks similar to the moon; however, this cratered world boasts an iron core with evidence of past tectonic activity and volcanism. Telescope observations made from Earth indicate that Mercury could contain water ice in its polar regions, with evidence provided by MESSENGER for supporting…
Weather can be an engaging topic for children. From understanding blizzard science to the history of snowfall, here are some interesting facts about weather that you can share with them. Winter brings with it its share of cold outbreaks, but most colds and flu are caused by viruses instead of weather conditions. When people sneeze…
On 20 July 1969, over 650 million viewers tuned into live television broadcast of Armstrong’s historic “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. Apollo 16 marked the first manned mission with a lunar rover, enabling Commander David Scott and Lunar Module Pilot James Irwin to explore the lunar surface over three days…
Trailer-based RVs may seem limited in luxury due to being built lightweight enough to be towed by personal vehicles, but the Konitzer couple’s Space Craft on display at the show demonstrates what can be accomplished with hard work, ingenuity, and money. This trailer boasts a “possum-style basement,” as well as 22.5 truck tires selected so…
As you gaze upon the sky, planes, helicopters, rockets and even blimps may pass you by; their creators – aerospace engineers – work tirelessly to make this a reality. Spacecraft engineers are an important subcategory of aerospace engineers that focus on designing machines to operate in space. Spacecraft engineering is one of two main categories…
An explosion on board a spaceship can be terrifying for astronauts and potentially hazardous to satellites nearby. America watched in horror in January 1986 as the space shuttle Challenger exploded during liftoff, killing seven astronauts including Christa McAuliffe of NASA’s Teacher in Space program. A suitcase-sized piece of insulating foam fell from an external tank…
