JUICE (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) The moons of Jupiter have been at the forefront of astronomy since Galileo discovered them in 1610. At the time, using his primitive homemade telescope, he could see nothing more than four "stars" moving oddly around the planet. Little did he know that those fours stars, would turn out to … Continue reading 4 things to watch in space and astronomy in 2023
Washington D.C., capital of the US, home of the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial and the White House but also the location of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. I was lucky enough to be in Washington D.C. recently and took the opportunity to pay a visit. The museum is actually split into two different … Continue reading My Visit to the Smtihsonian Air and Space Museums – Washington D.C.
Early on the morning of 14th December 1972, Eugene Cernan climbed back into the Apollo 17 capsule and concluded the last EVA (spacewalk) of the Apollo program. With the 50th anniversary of this event approaching in December, Cernan still holds the record for the last human to walk on the Moon. This is all about … Continue reading Artemis – The Return to the Moon
After months of being stuck at home, most of us would just be happy to get a sunny beach in Spain for a week or even to a European city for a weekend. How would you feel about planning your next holiday to space? Several companies are trying to make this possible, including Blue Origin. … Continue reading Space Tourism
How many kids have you heard say, "When I grow up I want to be an astronaut!"? Maybe you said it yourself. Well now could be your chance, as the European Space Agency (ESA) have announced that they are recruiting the next group to Join European Astronaut Corps. This is the first time since 2008 … Continue reading Want to be an Astronaut?
This Thursday (18th Feb), if everything goes smoothly, NASA's Perseverance Rover will touch down on the surface of Mars. The landing sequence required to get it safely to the surface is like something from science fiction. It is a complex landing sequence, made all the more difficult by the fact that real time communication with … Continue reading Perseverance’s 7 Minutes of Terror
We often talk about things being in orbit. The Sun orbits the galaxy, the Earth orbits the Sun, the Moon orbits the Earth and so on. But what is an orbit? The Moon orbiting the Earth taken by the Galileo space probe. Credit: NASA In the 1600s, an English scientist named Isaac Newton came up … Continue reading What is an Orbit?
With the first week of 2021 behind us, let's look forward to the coming year and see what the major space missions are and what we can expect to see in 2021. Artemis 1 Artemis is NASA's programme to land the first woman and next man on the Moon and create a permanent presence there. … Continue reading 5 Biggest Space Missions of 2021
Now that we are coming to the end of 2020 I thought I would do a quick review of what has happened in the past year in science and technology. Despite everything else that has happened, 2020 has been an extremely busy year for science. COVID 19 - Research and Vaccine There is no doubt … Continue reading The Year of Science 2020
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in Jan. 2020, carrying the Crew Dragon spacecraft on the company’s uncrewed In-Flight Abort Test. Credit: NASA This Wednesday evening, if everything goes to plan, astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley will be the first US astronauts … Continue reading Astronauts to Launch from US Soil for the First Time in Nearly 9 Years
Paul Smith 