Space

National

Countdown Begins As 'Planet Money's' Satellite Gets Placed On Rocket

4:37pm February 01, 2018

by Robert Smith

In the final part of the three-part series, the Planet Money satellite gets placed on top of a rocket and the countdown begins. There is a lot that can go wrong when going to space, and it's a nail-biting ride for everyone on launch day.

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National

After Acquiring A Satellite, 'Planet Money' Had To Find The Fuel To Get It In Space

4:27pm January 31, 2018

by Robert Smith

Once you get a satellite, you need to find a large tube filled with explosive fuel to take your satellite to space. Luckily, there is fierce competition among rocket makers to give you a lift. In the second of three-part series, Planet Money travels from California to New Zealand to see which rocket with blast their satellite to the stars.

The IMAGE spacecraft undergoes preflight testing in March 2000.

Science

Amateur Astronomer Finds NASA Satellite Long Given Up For Dead

11:16pm January 30, 2018

by Scott Neuman

Scott Tilley was searching for a secret U.S. spy satellite when he found the spacecraft. "The odds are extremely good that it's alive," said a mission co-investigator.

Earth's shadow obscures the view of a so-called supermoon during another total lunar eclipse — this one in Brussels in 2015.

Science

Wednesday's Rare Super Blue Blood Moon: How To See It And What We Can Learn

5:04pm January 30, 2018

by Merrit Kennedy

Early Wednesday morning, there's a lunar event that hasn't been seen since 1866. And scientists say data gathered during the event could help them figure out where to land a rover on the moon.

What Happened When 'Planet Money' Went On A Mission To Adopt A Spacecraft

4:22pm January 30, 2018

by Robert Smith

Getting to space is easier and cheaper than ever in a new age of tiny satellites one can hold in their hand. With that ease, NPR's Planet Money podcast wanted in, so in this first episode of three, they went on a mission to adopt a satellite. Along the way, they meet the man behind the revolution of tiny satellites and meet their new spacecraft.

Science

'Super Blue Blood Moon' Coming Wednesday

7:56am January 28, 2018

by Windsor Johnston

Wednesday morning brings an astronomical trifecta: a supermoon, a blue moon and a blood moon.

A team of artists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratories created the Orbit Pavilion.

Science
Arts

At One NASA Lab, Art And Science Share The Same Orbit

6:29am January 28, 2018

by Drew Tewksbury

The artists of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratories have made travel posters for distant planets, simulated Jupiter's churning atmosphere and translated satellite movements into sound.

Five privately funded groups won't be able to claim the Google Lunar X Prize, organizers say. Here, the site of NASA's Apollo 17 landing on the moon is seen in a 2011 image.

Google's Space Race To The Moon Ends, And Nobody Wins Lunar X Prize

9:12am January 24, 2018

by Bill Chappell

When it was announced in 2007, the prize's organizers said they expected it to be claimed before the original deadline of Dec. 31, 2014. One team raised more than $90 million.

Frozen Ball Of Human Waste Falls From Sky

6:05am January 23, 2018

When scientists examined the 20 pound rock, they determine it probably was not a meteor. Officials believe it is a frozen ball of excrement and are having samples tested.

The plane of the Milky Way Galaxy, which we see edge-on from our perspective on Earth. The projection used in ESO's GigaGalaxy Zoom project gives the impression of looking at the Milky Way from the outside.

Science

Scientific Theory And The Multiverse Madness

11:43am January 22, 2018

by Sabine Hossenfelder

An increasing number of theoretical physicist think that our universe is only one among infinitely many — but this speculation is not based on sound logic, says guest commentator Sabine Hossenfelder.