MIX Means Variety » NASA

You Can Name a Planet in Outrageous Contest

Drew Weisholtz — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 10:39:27 +0000

Earth, Mars, Neptune – how hard can it possibly be to name a planet? Now’s your chance to find out. A company called Uwingu which aims to raise funds for space exploration is holding a contest to name a planet that currently goes by the rather sci-fi-sounding moniker Alpha Centauri Bb. Because Alpha Centauri Bb, [...]

Hear the First Song Ever Recorded On the International Space Station

Tom Blunt — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 13:02:58 +0000

Even scientists have soul! Take a listen to ‘Jewel in the Night,’ by Colonel Chris Hadfield. Here’s the link for your listening pleasure. It so happens that several of the astronauts on the International Space Station are musicians, which means that the future could be full of similar transmissions from space. Even stranger: singer Sarah [...]

NASA and Apple Engineers Develop $11,111 Coffee Maker

Jeremy Taylor — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 12:06:00 +0000

What happens when rocket scientists take on the coffee machine? The answer is a $11,111 coffee maker which brews java at the “perfect” temperature. The Blossom One Limited is the brainchild of Jeremy Kuempel. His development team for the device included engineers who’ve worked at NASA, Apple and the electronic car company Tesla. The very expensive piece [...]

Do You Support a Manned Flight to Mars? — Survey of the Day

Jeremy Taylor — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 12:44:43 +0000

Mars is in the news these days thanks to the Curiosity rover which recently landed on the red planet. The goal of the six-wheeled robot is to find signs of life on Mars, and NASA also hopes that its 23 month mission will increase public awareness of the space program.

But will it rekindle interest in sending a manned mission to Mars?

NASA Lands Rover on Mars: Pop Stars React on Twitter

Amy Sciarretto — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 12:52:26 +0000

It took eight-and-a-half months for the NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover to reach the Red Planet aka Mars. The rover landed at 1:31AM ET on Monday, Aug. 6. Once the rover hit its target, the digital space was abuzz with the news. Mars is a crucial location in sci fi literature, lore and film, so naturally, much of the world is curious about what the rover discovers. The landing was a hot topic in our world, too, with plenty of informed, newshound pop stars tweeting about the landing.

See Photos and Video From Mars Rover Curiosity

Don Deane — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 12:46:22 +0000

After an eight month journey, NASA’s multi-billion dollar rover Curiosity made a successful landing on Mars early this morning. Mission controllers cheered after the six-wheeled, one-ton machine made a perilous seven-minute landing involving a parachute, rocket pack and sky crane. The $2.5 billion rover, which is meant to operate for at least the next two [...]

Want to Test Out Some Space Food? NASA Is Looking for Volunteers

Shauna Wright — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 13:32:21 +0000

Imagine being an astronaut on a mission who’s stuck with the same old food for weeks or months (it’s not like you can call out for pizza).

Like most people who are faced with similar dining choices day after day, you’d likely eat less — and that’s a concern for scientists. So they’re recruiting volunteers to help them test out edible fare in preparation for a future mission.

NASA Says 2011 Was Insanely Warm on Planet Earth

Shauna Wright — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:49:50 +0000

Some people may think climate change is just a myth, but there’s no arguing with this: NASA scientists say the earth’s surface temperature in 2011 was the ninth warmest since 1880. What’s more, nine of the 10 warmest years in modern recorded history have occurred since the year 2000.

Grandma Raided in NASA Sting For Trying to Sell Moon Rock

Danny Gallagher — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 20:28:44 +0000

NASA officials recovered a tiny piece of a moon rock in a raid targeting a 74-year-old woman who tried to sell it at a California Denny’s restaurant.

The raid was the result of a five month investigation into the missing lunar material that netted a “speck of lunar dust smaller than a grain of rice.”

NASA Releases Satellite Video of 9/11 Attacks

Lori Crofford — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 13:02:15 +0000

Here is a video of satellite footage the day of the 9/11 attacks. NASA Releases Aerial Footage of 9/11 Attacks

Astronauts to Experiment with a Sugary Energy Drink Made out of Urine

Lori Crofford — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 17:13:36 +0000

If you are in space, well you are limited on a lot of things. You can't just jump into a car and drive to the grocery store when you want something. You cannot stock up the space shuttle with boxes of food and drinks. You won't find a whole lot of room in the shuttle. So with that in mind astronauts have to be willing to do different things, and right now that includes drinking urine that has been converted into water or a new experimental sugar energy drink.

NASA Captures Massive Solar Flare on Camera [VIDEO]

Billy Goforth — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 16:21:01 +0000

It’s an amazing sight ’97 and something you’ll never see it on this planet. A 90-minute storm on the surface of the Sun was captured on video by NASA last week. The video of the massive “solar tendril” was taken by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, a small satellite orbiting the Sun to gather data on [...]

The Challenger-25 Years Later [VIDEO]

Lori Crofford — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 14:43:30 +0000

When working on my Back in the Day feature for today I started thinking about the first real U.S. Tragedy that I experienced. It was 25 years ago today that the space shuttle Challenger exploded. I was 8 years old and I remember the picture so vividly. We were watching the launch in school. I [...]