NASA satellite is falling down

A 5.4-tonne dead satellite of NASA will soon fall to Earth but NASA saying there is very little chance that it will hit anyone.

The space agency does not know when or where its 20-year-old satellite will drop. It will probably hit the earth in late September but could fall in October. And it could land anywhere south of Juneau, Alaska, and north of the tip of South America. Nasa says there is only a one in 3,200 chance of satellite parts hitting someone.

Experts say not to worry. In the more than 50 years of the space age, no one has ever been hurt by falling space debris. The 5.4-tonne satellite was used to monitor the atmosphere. Most of it will burn up during re-entry. Only about 550kg of metal should survive.

NASA and General Motors built Humanoid robot

NASA and General Motors built a humanoid robot to be an astronaut assistant onboard the International Space Station will make a special guest appearance on the Fox Network's Super Bowl XLVpre-game show on Feb. 6. The robot named Robonaut 2 or R2 will appear on Fox's pre-game show with sports analyst Howie Long during the network's festivities before kickoff. 

The R2 robot was designed and constructed to help NASA on the International Space Station. Somewhat resembling a person, the R2 has a human-like build, but most importantly, the machine has hands designed similar to those of us with a pulse: its fingers and thumbs can full articulate and react similar to human hands.

With the potential capabilities of the R2, NASA is bringing its example on the next trip to the international space station to perform mundane tasks such as wiping down handrails. In doing so, astronauts have more time to spend on more important jobs than keeping house. The R2 can use the same tools as a non-robotic person and can adapt its grip accordingly.  NASA’s R2 is sitting aboard the Discovery awaiting a February 24th launch.

Homemade Spacecraft

An ingenious father-and-son duo in New York launched a HD video camera tied to a weather balloon 30 kms above the earth into the stratosphere and share footage that their camera captured in its incredible 100-minute journey. To get back the camera intact, they also attached an iPhone as a GPS device to send its coordinates upon landing to a cell phone tower. The video reveals that the camera, tied to a parachute that auto-inflated when the balloon burst due to atmospheric pressure, landed safely just 30 miles away from where it was launched.

Video from a camera attached to a weather balloon that rose into the upper stratosphere and recorded the blackness of space.

Homemade Spacecraft from Luke Geissbuhler on Vimeo.
 

Mysteries of the Cosmos- TheWorld Space Week at Gujarat Science City

In celebration of 'Space Week', the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has put up an exhibition of innovative gadgets, armed with latest features. The theme for this year's exhibition is 'Mysteries of the cosmos'. "We have put some innovative devices on display, besides ground photographs of Antarctica and ice formations.

The interesting products on display include an Automatic Weather monitoring Station (AWS), with new features. Speaking about these new features, scientist-engineer AM Saifee said, "The earlier weather monitoring devices required human interaction and conventional power.

Looking to the stars has always inspired children to wonder and learn. Today around the world, it is a valuable tool in education. Teachers and educators successful use the excitement of to motivate students. This educational tool has been applied not just in science and mathematics but in history, language arts, and virtually every subject.

The Gujarat Science City is celebrating “World Space Week” during 4th to 10th October 2010 by organizing a series of activities for students and the visitors on the theme ‘Mysteries of the Cosmos’. On 4th October 1957, the first artificial satellite, Sputnik I, was launched by the Soviet Union, and on 10th October 1967 a landmark international treaty governing space exploration and the peaceful use of resources in space was signed. The United Nations celebrates the World Space Week to commemorate two important events in the history of Space Exploration.

Six people selected for Mars flight simulation experiment

Six people have been selected by scientists at the Moscow-based Russian Institute of Medical and Biological Problems. They will take part in a 105-day experiment to simulate a flight to Mars.

Four Russians - astronauts Oleg Artemyev, Sergei Ryazansky, Alexei Baranov, a doctor, and sports physiologist Alexei Shpakov - and two members of the European Space Agency, France's Cyrille Fournier, a civilian pilot, and Germany's Oliver Knickel, a mechanical engineer, will take part in the experiment.

Initially, six Russians and four Europeans wanted to participate in the institute's project.

All participants will receive 15,500 euros (USD 20,000) each, Institute spokesman Mark Belakovsky said.

Institute Director Igor Ushakov said the 105-day trial is a continuation of the 14-day experiment of November 2007 and precedes the main event, a 520-day simulation flight due to start in late 2009.

The 520-day experiment will simulate all aspects of the journey including the 250-day one-way trip to the Red Planet, a 30-day stay on its surface, and the 240-day return flight.

During nearly two years of isolation, crew members will experience many of the conditions likely to be encountered by astronauts on a real space flight.

They will stick to a rigid daily regime of work, rest and exercise, and follow the diet of crews aboard the International Space Station (ISS).