NASA & ISS

Welcome to my space blog, I'll mainly post up stuff from NASA, and anything else concerning the ISS

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Is This Proof of Life on Mars?

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The Curiosity rover is currently on its way to Mars, scheduled to make a dramatic landing within Gale Crater in mid-August and begin its hunt for the geologic signatures of a watery, life-friendly past. Solid evidence that large volumes of water existed on Mars at some point would be a major step forward in the search for life on the Red Planet.

But… has it already been found? Some scientists say yes.

Researchers from universities in Los Angeles, California, Tempe, Arizona and Siena, Italy have published a paper in the International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences (IJASS) citing the results of their work with data obtained by NASA’s Viking mission.

The team’s paper can be found here.

(via universetoday)

[jthqp]

Shuttle Carrier Aircraft Decals

Painted graphics line the side of NASA 905 depicting the various ferry flights the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft has supported during the Space Shuttle Program, including the tests using the space shuttle prototype Enterprise. The aircraft, known as an SCA, is at Kennedy to prepare for shuttle Discovery’s ferry flight to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Sterling, Va., on April 17.

[fuckyeahspaceexploration-blog]

ATV launch as seen from the ISS

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The Violent, Ghostly Center of Centaurus A —The Milky Way’s Giant Elliptical Neighbor

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Centaurus A is the nearest giant, elliptical galaxy to the Milky Way, at a distance of about 11 million light-years.  This beautiful and spectacular appearance is due to an opaque dust lane that covers the central part of the galaxy. This dust is thought to be the remains of a cosmic merger between a giant elliptical galaxy and a smaller spiral galaxy full of dust that was swallowed up 200 to 700 years ago.

The central region of the image reveals the parallelogram-shaped ghostly remains of the smaller galaxy, the contents of which appear to be churning inside Centaurus A’s core, likely triggering new generations of stars.

(via dailygalaxy)

[itsfullofstars]

At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, this space shuttle mock-up, dubbed Pathfinder, is attached to the Mate-Demate Device for at fit-check on October 19, 1978. The mock-up, constructed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, possessed the general dimensions, weight and balance of a real space shuttle.

Source: NASA

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scipsy:

Astronomers unveil the most complete 3-D map of the local universe

[weareallstarstuff]

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weareallstarstuff:

NGC 602

[dirtyhhustle1]

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Feustel and Fincke Prep for Next Spacewalk

Mission managers say preparations by Drew Feustel and Mike Fincke for the third EVA of STS-134 are going according to schedule.

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Kelly, Fincke and Chamitoff Chat from Space

Commander Mark Kelly and his STS-134 crewmates, Mike Fincke and Greg Chamitoff, talk with reporters from Pittsburgh and Houston about their mission as space shuttle Endeavour remains docked to the International Space Station..

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STS-134 Pilot Greg Johnson and Mission Specialist Greg Chamitoff answer questions about their current journey in space mission for reporters from three northern California broadcast stations.

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The pinpoint touchdown of the Soyuz capsule carrying Expedition 27 crew members Dimitry Kondratyev, Paolo Nespoli and Cady Coleman as it set down on a sunny, warm morning on the steppe of Kazakhstan.

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Expedition 27 crew members Dimitry Kondratyev, Paolo Nespoli and Cady Coleman enjoy the sunshine and 70-degree temperatures on the steppe of Kazakhstan after being extracted from their Soyuz capsule following their picture-perfect landing following 159 days in space.

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The Soyuz capsule carrying Russian cosmonaut Dmitry Kondratyev, NASA astronaut Cady Coleman and astronaut Paolo Nespoli of the European Space Agency landed on the steppe of Kazakhstan after a six-hour journey from the International Space Station. The trio had spent more than five months in space as residents of the ISS.

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The Soyuz spacecraft carrying Expedition 27 crew members Dmitry Kondratyev, Cady Coleman and Paolo Nespoli undocked from the International Space Station and began its six-hour flight back to Earth.

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The installations and maintenance work scheduled for STS-134's second spacewalk were successfully completed by mission specialists Drew Feustel and Mike Fincke. The EVA was among the day's events recapped in this mission status briefing held at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

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Along with their chat with students from the Mesa Verde School in Tucson, the STS-134 crew's Flight Day 8 highlights include some well-deserved time off.