Outer space

The microphone on the Mars rover Perseverance is for sale

For the first time ever, a Mars rover will be recording the sounds of Mars. The rover named Perseverance has two microphones.

One microphone is for capturing sounds when it shoots laser beams at rocks (seriously). The other microphone will capture the ambient sounds of Mars. I’m particularly interested in the eerie, extraterrestrial sounds of Mars.

$25,000 for moon rocks

NASA is willing to pay $25,000 to any company to bring back samples of the Moon. Dust or rocks. Only $25,000? NASA is expecting some private company to go to the Moon, get some rocks, bring it safely back to Earth—for only $25,000?! That’s less than the cost of a car these days! Soo, someone …

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moon rock looks like chocolate chip cookie batter

Moon rock that looks like chocolate chip cookie batter

At first glance, this thumbnail of a Moon rock looks like chocolate chip cookie batter. Oh yumm! Can you imagine? The moon is made entirely of chocolate chip cookie batter Can the Moon really be made of chocolate chip cookie batter? When the astronauts walked the surface, it looked pretty hard. Definitely not soft. Well, …

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NASA's Cassini spacecraft obtained this unprocessed image on Dec. 12, 2011. The camera was pointing toward Saturn's moon Dione from approximately 76,344 miles (122,864 kilometers) away.

Reaching out in outer space

The reality of space. Real objects. Real textures. Thousands of miles away, images brought back to Earth. To our computer screens. I love the caption for this photo. NASA’s Cassini spacecraft obtained this unprocessed image on Dec. 12, 2011. The camera was pointing toward Saturn’s moon Dione from approximately 76,344 miles (122,864 kilometers) away. A …

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Where is the next...

Where is the next…

Type a search into Google for “Where is the next…” and it will auto-complete your search with three suggestions: Solar eclipse World Cup Olympics All three are global events. Large global events. Although aren’t solar eclipses more of a local event? Each eclipse occurs in only one spot of the world. The Great American Eclipse …

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Lunar Sample Return bag used on Apollo 11

A giant rip in Neil Armstrong’s $1.8 million moon rock bag

The most important command given to Neil Armstrong was to make sure he collected moon rocks as soon as he landed on the Moon. Just moments after stepping onto the moon and saying, “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” Armstrong then took a purse-sized pouch out of his spacesuit’s pocket and …

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Artwork falling out of its envelope, asks to be used.

When art begs to be used

Arriving at my desk this morning, these stored printouts had fallen out of their envelope. They are printouts of the surface of Pluto. Last year I printed these strips with the intention of wrapping them around objects in public spaces. Everyday objects, like poles and branches, would be transformed into the surface of Pluto! Last …

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