ankh_hpl | Entries tagged with space exploration

no end
to new horizons
Tombaugh’s ashes

-- Ann K. Schwader

http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/13/us/nasa-pluto-new-horizons-clyde-tombaugh-ashes/

Originally posted by

science_at_nasa at Mars Rover Takes Selfie

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2015/25feb_selfie/

A sweeping view of the "Pahrump Hills" outcrop on Mars, where NASA's Curiosity rover has been working for five months, surrounds the rover in Curiosity's latest self-portrait. The selfie scene is assembled from dozens of images taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera on the rover's robotic arm.

***

I've never used this new Share feature before, but this item is too cool not to pass along! Looks like Curiosity is still paying back the taxpayers while taking time out for a little social fun.

Very relieved to see that this little rover is still OK out there.

stars and stripes
in black and white
first footprints

-- Ann K. Schwader

(If you weren't around for Apollo 11, or just want to remember what it felt like, here's a link to some excellent Smithsonian articles & images.)

StarShipSofa podcast’s latest return to the Poetry Planet offers Diane Severson (

divadiane1) reading the winning & placing poems in the Science Fiction Poetry Association’s recent poetry contest.

Winners & two runners-up in Long, Short, & Dwarf forms are included. The winning Dwarf entry, however, managed to escape the good ship Sofa before it could be read! All winners & runners-up for this competition may be found here, with Diane's MP3 readings of the winners.

With or without escaped poems, I’ve been enjoying each & every visit to the Poetry Planet, and I commend the Sofa’s captain Tony C. Smith for making this a part of his podcast.

As ever, you can find this episode (#320) here, or on iTunes. The whole episode is well worth your listening time, & includes a fascinating interview with Cassini Project scientist Dr. Linda Spilker.

fallen stars
yet by their light
we rise

-- Ann K. Schwader

In memoriam Apollo 1, Challenger, Columbia.

NASA Day of Remembrance 2014

Remember my posting -- months ago -- about how NASA's Mars Atmosphere & Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN) would be launching with a special DVD of haiku (including one of mine) from their "Going to Mars with MAVEN" contest?

Well, that day has finally arrived -- or will on Monday, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41. The launch window extends from 1:28 p.m. to 3:28 p.m. EST.

Find all the details & events here, or watch the launch live on NASA Television here.

I think this will be my first-ever interplanetary publication . . .

Just a reminder: haiku contest entries for the Going to Mars with MAVEN message project close on July 1. (I posted about this on 5/15.) Have you sent an entry yet? The invitation info is here.

I just posted mine. To read it, you may go here.

If you missed my prevous post, or just can't get enough Mars info (you're not alone!), all the information on NASA's Mars Atmosphere & Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft can be found here. It launches in November -- and the names of everyone entering (win or lose) will be going along on a specially engraved DVD. The top three haiku messages will also appear on the DVD.

I suspect this is about as close as I'll ever get to Mars.

As part of its Going to Mars campaign to celebrate the forthcoming launch of the Maven spacecraft, NASA is running a haiku contest! (OK, they are actually asking for "haikus," but I'm not about to tell NASA what the plural of "haiku" is.)

If you've always wanted a chance to send your very own haiku to Mars -- three will be chosen by popular vote -- or at least send your name there on a specially engraved DVD, check out all the contest info here. It's free, & anyone on the planet may enter. Deadline for entries is July 1. Rules are here.

Need some inspiration? Get up to speed on the Maven mission here. I'm especially excited, since Maven is being assembled right here in Colorado, not too far from where I live.

And I'm working on my Red Planet haiku right now.

Feeling a little behind on your Mars news? (You're not alone.)

Fortunately, this recent item from SPACE.com can get us all up to speed on the top five discoveries -- so far! -- made by NASA's latest red planet rover, Curiosity.
The article includes videos, links, & even a quiz. Catnip for Mars junkies, right here.

. . . and never

looked back again

Yuri

Ann K. Schwader

red dust

a first glimpse

of fingerprints

Ann K. Schwader

(in celebration of Curiosity paying off . . .)

East Texas

still picking up

feathers

Ann K. Schwader

In memoriam Columbia, & all who flew with her.

Well, it looks as though notorious asteroid Apophis isn't going to be a serious threat to our planet in 2029, after all -- or in 2036, either.

Given that it's the size of three & a half football fields, this should be a real relief to us all. Doesn't help that this particular rock was named for an evil ancient Egyptian god also known as Apep.

Not up to speed on this latest brush with asteroid apocalypse (not)? Find all the NASA details from SPACE.com here.

Or check out the cool infographic from the same source, below.

And in any case, keep looking up!

Find out about asteroid Apophis' close shave flyby in this SPACE.com infographic.

Source SPACE.com: All about our solar system, outer space and exploration

So . . . what have you been doing over the holidays? NASA's newest Mars rover Curiosity has been busy taking holiday snaps of an area referred to as "Grandmother's House," inside Yellowknife Bay (where it landed back in August).

For a 360 degree panorama -- plus maps of its route for the coming year -- check here.

For many more recent views of Mars -- and Curiosity's self-portrait! -- check here.

My SF poem "Cave Bear Dreams" is up this week on the webzine Strange Horizons.

Although this poem was inspired by science & archaeology, there's a definite undertone of the weird here . . . I think. YMMV.

one small step

farther away

childhood moon

-- Ann K. Schwader

(here's a link to that step, for all of us who need to watch it again . . . )

As a Colorado resident, I was fascinated to learn this morning that our Great Sand Dunes are helping geologists understand dunes on Mars, & what rover "Curiosity" may be seeing for us..

I heard the story on Colorado Public Radio, on a show called Colorado Matters. To read about it, or listen to it yourself, check here.

I'm living (somewhat) near a Martian landscape. Who knew?

how far

to scratch that itch

Curiosity

Ann K. Schwader

Didn't manage to stay up for the streaming event, but wanted to post something in celebration. Once more, humanity is (virtually) on Mars! Find links to all the updated info (& video) from SPACE.com here.

Looking to get away from it all? Really away from it all -- permanently?

Then you'll certainly want to check out Space.com's The Top 5 Potentially Inhabitable Alien Planets list, here.

This might sound like SF, but it's all good current science -- from the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo’s Planetary Habitability Laboratory. Each listing has its own page, with a handy artist's conception pic if you're thinking of doing some extrasolar house-hunting.

As if we all didn't have enough to worry about, SPACE.com reports that NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), a space telescope, found about 4,700 PHAs during its recent asteroid census.

PHAs = Potentially Hazardous Asteroids. Are you feeling any better yet?

Me neither.

Find all the rather alarming details (including videos, diagrams, & a quiz) here.

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Yaddith Times

writing, reading, & related remarks

Entries tagged with space exploration

for today's flyby

Mars Rover Takes Selfie (repost)

45 years ago today

StarShipSofa's latest visit to the Poetry Planet

NASA Day of Remembrance 2014

MAVEN on Monday: haiku to Mars!

are you going to Mars with MAVEN?

Mars wants our haiku!

curiouser & curiouser -- top five discoveries for Mars rover Curiosity

on this date in 1961

this week on Mars

ten years ago today . . .

in which Earth dodges a bullet . . .

Mars Rover Curiosity's holidays

Cave Bear Dreams & Strange Horizons

August 25, 2012

Mars is Colorado?

sticking the landing 8/5/12

a top 5 list you won't see every day

space rocks, & that's not a good thing