Meet S/2004 N 1, Neptune’s Newly Discovered Moon
On July 15th, NASA announced the discovery of Neptune’s 14th moon.
Continue Reading
Tag: NASA
Get Mentored by a NASA Employee… Sorry, Kids Only!
After a successful pilot year in 2012, the 5-week online mentoring program NASA GIRLS is back and bigger than ever, with an expansion to NASA BOYS no less! Applications are due July 2nd.
Continue Reading
Space Jam: Not Just For Bugs Bunny
As Jam from Maine gets ready to fly off to the Space Station, GeekMom Sarah wonders what she would want to munch on while staring down at the earth below.
Continue Reading
Weekly GeekMom Video Playlist
Summer vacation is here! Or, it is looming in the not-so-distant future. Either way, kids are getting edgy and are requesting video suggestions to keep them entertained for a few minutes. So, this week’s video playlist features videos the GeekMom writers’ kids enjoy.
Continue Reading
Hangout with Astronauts Today
Today, May 23rd, from 3-4 PM EDT, you can join a NASA hosted Google+ hangout with three of the former International Space Station (ISS) astronauts. NASA astronauts Kevin Ford and Tom Marshburn and Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency are back home in Houston, Texas, and undergoing physical rehabilitation after their recent return from their extended time in the nearly weightless environment.
Continue Reading
Meteor Shower Sunday Night: View Live or via NASA Webcast
During the night of Sunday, May 5, you can view the Eta Aquaarid meteor shower as our planet travels through the orbit of Halley’s comet. Go out to view it yourself, or stay inside to catch NASA’s webcast of the livestream with chat.
Continue Reading
Senator: NASA to “Lasso” Asteroid, Bring it Closer
Imagine using an Orion Spacecraft to go “lasso” an asteroid, position it near the moon, and make it available for long-term exploration. Click through to learn more about today’s announcement.
Continue Reading
Solar Conjunction Puts NASA’s Curiosity Rover, Orbiter In Communication Blackout
Between April 4th and May 1st, the Mars Curiosity and Opportunity will be in minimal communication with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory as it experiences a Mars solar conjunction. Click through to read more about what a solar conjunction is, and what impacts it will have on JPL’s communications with the fleet of Mars exploration vehicles.
Continue ReadingThe Sky is Falling! Asteroids and Meteors on the Same Day!
So maybe the sky isn’t falling, but it’s quite the coincidence that an asteroid and a meteor both descended upon our little plot of the universe within about 15 hours of one another. While many skywatchers have been anxiously awaiting the close approach of Asteroid 2012 DA14, they were completely taken by surprise when a 500-ton meteor that streaked across the Russian Ural sky earlier the same day.
Continue ReadingHave you registered for the 19th Annual Great Moonbuggy Race?
Dreaming of being an astronaut is a phase just about everyone goes through at one point in their lives. It’s a much smaller amount of people who decide to peruse that dream when they grow-up. While not everyone might go into space, everyone has the opportunity to race on the moon…. well almost. For the last 19 years, NASA has given high school and college teams from across the globe a chance to compete against each other for the title of “Greatest Moonbuggy of the Year”.
Continue ReadingMattel Goes to Mars With Its 2012 Collection
This weekend my boys and I happened through the toy aisles where I spotted this amazing little gem, just sitting on a shelf. Mattel has cast a die model of the awe-inspiring NASA Mars Curiosity rover. These little rovers are likely going to be extremely collectible and won’t be in stores long.
Continue Reading6 TV Networks That Aren’t What They Started Out to Be
More than a few TV networks aren’t what they set out to be. Here are six, along with a few videos to take you back to the way things were.
Continue ReadingDragon*Con Diary: My Two Favorite Science & Space Track Panels
As I’d mentioned in an earlier Dragon*Con Diary post, my family felt the most at-home at the Space and Science Tracks throughout our Dragon*Con weekend. While others had chances to meet such sci-fi stars as John Barrowman, and attend panels with the cast of True Blood, my family was not going to be as patient with those incredibly long lines and levels of uber-fandom that we don’t quite have. The Science and Space Tracks were perfect for us! Here are summaries of my two favorite panels from those tracks.
Continue ReadingRIP Neil Armstrong, A Huge Loss for Mankind
Neil Armstrong’s first step on the moon made him famous, but his “one small step for man… one giant leap for mankind” immortalized him. Today GeekMom, NASA, America, and the entire world, lost a great man. Neil Armstrong passed away today, at the age of 82, of cardio-vascular complications after undergoing heart-bypass surgery. Armstrong lived in Cincinnati, Ohio with his wife Carol.
Continue ReadingVideo: We’re NASA And We Know It (Sexy And I Know It Parody)
How often to you get to see those blue polo shirt-wearing engineers busting a move? Never. But this video has them dancing and singing and doing what I’d imagine happened after the cameras turned off once the Curiosity landed.
Continue ReadingAlleyoop Partners with NASA and National Geographic to Bring STEM to Your Teen’s Screen
Innovative learning website Alleyoop.com, which launched in February with math, has partnered with NASA, National Geographic, and others to create a full-spectrum science program for students ages 13-17.
Continue ReadingMars Curiosity Lands Tonight!
Mars Curiosity is scheduled to land tonight at 10:31 p.m. PDT, Aug. 5 (1:31 a.m. EDT Aug. 6).
Continue ReadingNASA Grant Brings Us $1.1 Billion Closer to Commercial Manned Spaceflight
Friday August 3rd marked a significant milestone for three companies vying for commercial rights to manned space flight. After a year-long review of the current status of commercial manned spaceflight technology readiness, NASA awarded three grants totaling $1.1 billion to Boeing, Space X and Sierra Nevada Corp., to be paid over the next 21 months. These three companies are vigorously working to provide safe and cost-effective vehicles that can transport NASA astronauts and supplies to and from the International Space Station within the next five years. The awards are part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) under the space agency’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP).
Continue ReadingThe GeekMoms Podcast #27: Fight For Space, Reigniting Our Passion For Space Exploration
Have you ever wondered how the US got to the point where funding missions to space just isn’t that important? Paul Hildebrandt wondered, and he’s launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund a documentary and answer that question.
Continue ReadingNeil deGrasse Tyson and Bill Nye in Fight For Space Kickstarter
The goal here is not to solve the problem, but to start a discussion. There are complex social, political and economic factors that each play a roll in where our space program is today and only by understanding them can we hope to have the program rebound and inspire future generations.
Continue Reading