ScienceSpace

Did You Catch the Mars Rover Easter Egg In Today’s Google Doodle?

The Curiosity landed safely on Mars today, marking a historic day for space exploration. But did you catch the rover in the background of today’s Google doodle? We didn’t either until a tipster pointed it out to us. Don’t feel bad if you’re only noticing the rover parachuting over the Olympic stadium just now. For … Continued

ScienceSpace

The Computer for the Apollo Program Used Rope Memory Woven by Little Old Ladies

If you thought the fact that an iPhone was four times as powerful as the on-board computer of the Curiosity Rover was unbelievable, take a look at the meager tech the Apollo Program used to get into space. The computer was so pitiful that the software of the Apollo guidance computer was literally hand woven … Continued

ScienceSpace

Spectacular Image of Mars Curiosity’s Descent From Space

This is absolutely incredible. The HiRISE camera NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was able to spot Curiosity as it was descending on the surface of the red planet. You can clearly see the capsule and the deployed supersonic parachute. https://gizmodo.com/the-mars-curiosity-rover-has-landed-live-coverage-fr-5932039 The MRO was listening to transmissions from Curiosity. The photo shows the parachute working perfectly: Details … Continued

ScienceSpace

The iPhone Is Literally Four Times as Powerful as the Curiosity Rover

Last night NASA landed on Mars. An amazing feat! But guess what? The Curiosity rover’s on-board computer is a pretty low-power system. In fact, the iPhone 4S is four times more powerful. Check out the specs below. https://gizmodo.com/the-mars-curiosity-rover-has-landed-live-coverage-fr-5932039 Surprised? Don’t be. NASA knows what it’s doing. It has just enough to do everything it needs. … Continued

ScienceSpace

NASA’s Official Mars Landing Video Got Taken Off YouTube Over Bogus Copyright Claims

The Curiosity Rover may have landed safely on the surface of Mars, but like all good things, it’s not invulnerable to completely bogus takedown requests. Shortly after the rover’s momentous touchdown, NASA posted a choice clip from the control room to its official YouTube channel for any interested viewers who hadn’t bothered to stay up … Continued

ScienceSpace

Mars Curiosity Is Your Excuse for Anything Today

You overslept, burnt your breakfast, spilt coffee down your shirt, and stumbled into work looking a wreck—a bit like every other Monday morning, just ten times worse. But that’s OK, because you have an excuse: last night, you were watching history being made. You were up all night waiting for Curiosity to land, then you … Continued

SciencePhysics

This Machine Melts Diamonds For Fun

Pressure that can melt diamond, an electromagnetic pulse that can kill, and enough current to light 100 million light bulbs. Such are the extremes within the Z machine at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In this image, artificial lightning spread like a wave through Z’s 33-metre-wide interior. Designed to research nuclear fusion, Z … Continued

ScienceSpace

Handy Animation Gives You The Step by Step Breakdown of the Curiosity Landing

The Mars Rover Curiousity landing will be going downs soon, but before it does, take the opportunity to get familiar with the step by step process of how it’s supposed to happen. This animation from NASA provides an excellent breakdown of the Curiosity’s insane landing plan on a second by second basis. You can set … Continued

ScienceSpace

Mars Curiosity Rover’s Secret Key to Victory: Peanuts And Superstition

When you’ve got a landing sequence as complicated as the Curiosity’s and seven or so minutes of radio delay, there are plenty of things that can go horribly wrong. Fortunately, the folks at mission control have secret insurance up their sleeves: peanuts. https://gizmodo.com/why-nasas-mars-curiosity-rover-landing-will-be-seven-mi-5920588 Having peanuts present during times of extreme stress has become something of … Continued

ScienceSpace

Check Out These Maps To Find Your Local Mars Rover Curiosity Landing Party

The Mars Curiosity Rover landing is kind of a big deal. There are going to be seven terrifying minutes as the $2.6 billion vehicle executes its wildly complicated descent to the surface. Can you think of a better reason for a party? https://gizmodo.com/why-nasas-mars-curiosity-rover-landing-will-be-seven-mi-5920588 If you’re lucky enough to live in New York City, the Mars … Continued

ScienceAnimals

Tech-Savvy Sheep Shoot Their Shepherd a Text When a Wolf Attacks

Sheepherding is a profession as ancient as civilization, but that doesn’t mean it can’t benefit from a little tech. New heart-monitoring collars let sheep shoot their shepherd a text whenever they’re in danger. The concept was proven in a recent experiment in Switzerland where about a dozen sheep were fitted with heart-monitoring collar and then … Continued

ScienceSpace

Mars Curiosity Makes First Discovery—And It’s Crucial for Human Interplanetary Travel

The Mars Curiosity hasn’t even made it to Mars yet and it’s already made a discovery that vital the future of manned space travel: The exact type of radiation astronauts would likely encounter on their way to the Red Planet. This is so freaking awesome. Until now, scientists and engineers could only guess about this … Continued

ScienceSpace

Here Are the Companies That Will Get Us Back to Space

NASA may have shuttered its Space Shuttle program, but we knew that wasn’t the end of manned American trips to space. Today, NASA shelled out 1.1 billion dollars to three private firms who have been working on spacecrafts of their own: Boeing, Sierra, and SpaceX. Boeing has been working on its CST-100 space capsule for … Continued

ScienceSpace

In Six Hours, A Russian Robo-Freighter Sprints To the ISS with Tons of Supplies

Two days might not seem that long for your latest Amazon order’s arrival. But for the crew of the International Space Station, waiting 48 hours for fresh supplies must be an eternity. That’s why NASA and Rosaviakosmos have melded new technology and an old technique to deliver supplies eight times faster than ever before. Since … Continued

SciencePhysics

Scientists Have Made the World’s First Quantum Router

While people get excited about future internets being powered by quantum particles, nobody really knows how that’s going to work yet. But Chinese physicists have taken a step in the right direction, by creating the world’s first quantum router. https://gizmodo.com/future-internets-will-be-powered-by-quantum-particles-5901757 If it can be made to work on a large scale, quantum information will transform … Continued

ScienceSpace

The Most Amazing Tour of Kennedy Space Center Is On Your Computer

In honor of the Kennedy Space Center’s 50th anniversary, the Google Maps team has just added something very cool: an all-access pass to the KSC. You can now take a Street View walk through rooms you’d never have access to without some serious security clearance. The self-guided tour includes over 6,000 high-quality panoramic images to … Continued

ScienceAnimals

This Bed Gives Kids the Wrong Impression About Bear Encounters

According to cartoons, bears are nature’s most cuddly animal and are more than willing to welcome children into their den for a snuggle. But that’s a dangerous fallacy that this giant plush bear bed continues to reinforce. Admittedly, the thought of curling up inside a giant stuffed teddy bear does have a certain appeal. But … Continued

ScienceHealth

Evidence Shows Cancer Regrowth Is Driven By Cancer Stem Cells

While scientists increasingly understand the genetics of cancer, they’ve never been able to track how single cancerous cells form tumors in the body, or work out how tumors grow back seemingly from nowhere. New research, however, sheds some light on that problem—and suggests that tumors are fueled by cancer stem cells. The research, which is … Continued

SciencePhysics

The Higgs Boson Discovery Just Got More Certain

At the start of July, scientists announced that they’d discovered what they strongly believed to be the Higgs Boson, a particle that’s believed to be the key to unifying the standard and quantum models of physics. Now, after a handful more experiments, they’re even more certain that they’ve finally got it. https://gizmodo.com/physicists-have-found-the-higgs-boson-5923422 The experiments that … Continued

SciencePhysics

Hairy Electronic Skin That Lets Robots Feel

A coating of hairy electronic skin could soon help robots feel the slightest breath of air or detect the faint vibrations of a beating heart. Kahp-Yang Suh and colleagues at Seoul National University in South Korea wove together thousands of individual polymer nanohairs to make a flexible touch sensor that is more sensitive than human … Continued