Spacecraft campers represent the height of luxury camping, reserved only for those with the funds available to buy one. A typical 57-foot trailer may cost close to $300,000. These massive homes on wheels are constructed by a small company which takes great pride in customer service, working closely with clients to design an appropriate floorplan…
On November 14th 1969, Florida’s Kennedy Space Center saw its front move away and NASA launched Apollo 12 without incident. Commander Pete Conrad and Command Module Pilot Dick Gordon settled into their seats to await the Saturn V rocket’s thrust of energy that would propel their capsule. Two minutes after liftoff, lightning struck twice on…
Cassini was a highly complex interplanetary spacecraft. Featuring 12 scientific instruments like imaging cameras, radar, spectrometers, magnetometers and spectrographs – its primary mission was to conduct in-depth studies of Saturn, its rings, and moons. Its orbiter was powered by three radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs). These produced electricity using plutonium-238 decay. It was a joint NASA/ESA…
Most people mistakenly assume Mercury to be Earth’s closest planet – however this is often not accurate; Venus actually tends to be closer. Our solar system contains eight planets – including Pluto which was recently demoted due to its eccentric orbit. Let’s cover each one in order, starting with Mercury. Mercury Mercury, our closest planet…
In 1969, planetary science was still relatively young. One of its most famous moments occurred on July 20, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left Columbia and entered their lunar module, Eagle. Armstrong used Eagle’s reaction control system to guide their landing site in the Sea of Tranquility. Mission Overview Nasa embarked on its most…
Humanity longs to feel as if we can travel amongst the stars, yet this image of an astronaut looking back towards Earth illustrates just how far that goal really is. NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is on its way to visit Bennu asteroid, taking this black-and-white image en route. Red Rectangle Astronomers have for more than three…
Spacecraft designers craft hardware specifically tailored for outer space travel. Ranging from orbiting satellites and space vehicles that travel between planets to missions that explore distant corners of space, each piece must withstand its challenging surroundings. After adopting a mission, detailed designs are drawn up and Engineering Models (EM) and Qualification Models (QM) constructed. These…
Mercury and Venus, unlike most rocky planets in our Solar System, are typically not considered suitable places for life to exist; their harsh conditions make them unsuitable as candidates for life support systems. Yet engineers have created spacecraft capable of withstanding these inhospitable worlds’ harsh environment. Scientists have recently discovered that Venus’ atmosphere contains phosphine,…
Have you noticed how the sky is an endless sea of blue? Closer to the sun, its hue becomes lighter while moving further from it. Light travelling through Earth’s atmosphere collides with molecules and particles such as oxygen and nitrogen, scattering light in various directions. Shorter wavelengths like blue are scattered more than longer ones…
