Recent data has uncovered evidence of extensive ice hidden under the Martian dust. The latest calculations are equivalent to 150 billion cubic meters of ice, which is enough to cover the entire planet in a layer of ice over 1 meter thick if it were spread evenly. Perhaps the original Total Recall movie was correct? Meanwhile
This week a number of interesting stories discussed the possibilities of detecting alien spacecraft. Not garden variety UFOs, but exotic space vehicles using theorised technologies that might, upon closer inspection, stand out against the background of space. Technologies like an anti-matter photon rockets would emit radiation that would be different from the light emitted by stars. Distinct radio waves
Russia have changed their minds and announced a deal is in the works to continue sending US astronauts to the ISS. They’ve also announced plans for Lunar exploration with partners that they don’t name. Finally Russia would like to let you know that a manned mission to Mars would be impossible without them. There’s no doubting
China has been busy this week with news that the Tianzhou-1 cargo ship will be docking with the mysterious Chinese Space Lab in 2016. Meanwhile, Russia, fresh from public arguments with the US over the future of the ISS, is readying their SAR-401 robot for space… doesn’t SAR-401 look a lot like NASA’s Robonaut? Well, they are both intended
During the week the debate raged on about the white spots on Ceres. Despite appearing as lights in the photos, they are actually just bright against the background. The most likely explanation is that they are pools of ice at the bottom of the crater. Dawn has just arrived in orbit around Ceres today, so hopefully we’ll have some
The most interesting story this week was about the sorry state of NASA’s finances and the US space program in general. While a lot of amazing research will be done over the next couple of years (Mars, Ceres, Pluto and more), there’s not a lot happening after that due to budget cuts in previous years. President Obama
I think the most interesting story this week has to be the recently discovered Red Dwarf star that passed through our Solar System just 70,000 years. Think about it: It happened when Modern Humans had just begun expanding out of Africa. Luckily, Sholz’s star (named after its discoverer), traversed the Oort cloud, about 0.8 light years from the
This week it’s all about Mars. We have discussions on how to get there, a NASA video showing off a spacesuit design for Mars and an interview with three people intending to die there. Also a photo of the Martian polar ice cap that appears as if it’s made out of ice-cream. Europa is in the news
This week photos have continued to arrive from Dawn and New Horizons. For the first time, we’ll soon have images of all of the large objects in the Solar System… that we know of. Europe has plans to launch it’s own mini-shuttle and NASA has announced a mission to Europa to hunt for life under
This week’s news features more from Space X and Elon’s plans to become the first Emperor of Mars. We have the long-awaited announcement of “billboards in space” and the discovery of an ancient solar system that is home to five Earth sized planets. Who is the only actor to have been killed by Alien, Predator