The Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission has launched and is on its way to the moon. This mission will use a pair of spacecraft to measure and map the gravity on the moon. Gravity changes can be caused by mountains, valleys and other structures hidden beneath the lunar surface. Scientists are hoping that […]
Continue ReadingOne of my favorite memories of this summer is the day I sat with my daughter snuggled in my lap and watched the final space shuttle launch. As Atlantis took to the skies, I wiped away tears and tried to explain to her why Mommy was crying over a spaceship. This is a little girl […]
Continue ReadingRobots are cool. The first robot I remember was Gort from The Day The Earth Stood Still. I thought he was amazing. An alien robot who didn’t talk, he guarded his master’s spaceship with fierce devotion and shot a laser beam from his head that destroyed puny Earth weaponry without hurting anyone. I wanted a […]
Continue ReadingDragon*Con starts in just nine short days. I recommend going to just about every geek I meet, especially at this time of year when my life is consumed by furious last-minute costuming. Since the people I interact with these days are often also parents, the followup question is usually, “Should I bring my kids?” It’s […]
Continue ReadingImage: Wikipedia No, we’re not celebrating the Roman God of the Sea’s birthday today but the actual planet Neptune, although the planet was named after the Roman god. Also, technically we’re not celebrating Neptune’s birth but the anniversary of it’s discovery. July 12, 2011 (at 2:38 PM according to one blogger , his article is […]
Continue ReadingAs we count the hours (perhaps only 24 hours, perhaps more because of a last minute problem) until the last shuttle launch, many of us are reflecting on memories we have of the shuttle, it’s missions, and the space program in general. From reflections on the Challenger disaster to a rollicking playlist for Atlantis we […]
Continue ReadingSo who exactly owns the moon? It is a question that has vexed me for years. In light of the upcoming shuttle launch I found myself straying back to it more and more often. As a historian I have a pretty set definition of how a nation or country colonizes. Historically, the Finders-Keepers rule applies: […]
Continue ReadingThe Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart just 73 seconds into its flight on January 28, 1986 killing all seven crew members. I was in high school, watching the launch on a cheesy television that I’d helped roll into my French class. I can still see it sitting on a rickety black cart, antenna adjusted just-so in […]
Continue ReadingI for one am glad my parents never gave up on me. They continued to expose me to new things despite my apathy, teen angst and surly behavior. When I mock yawned as my dad began reading The Hobbit to me, when I laughed at their collection of Sting music videos (that I would later […]
Continue ReadingToday marks 10 days until the final launch of a NASA Space Shuttle into space. What a ride it has been! GeekMom will be paying tribute to the shuttle program over the next 10 days in preparation of Atlantis’s final “Blast Off!” with STS-135. The last 30 years of the shuttle program have provided so […]
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