Inspirational words from over 50 women space leaders | Space Quiz! When is the next total solar eclipse? | This Week In Space: Artemis Accords, Ecuador, and You
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The history of women's contributions to the space industry is significantly shorter than it is for men, simply because women were dealt a delayed start in the race. For example, NASA's astronaut program began in 1959, but it wasn't until 1978 when the agency's lineup of astronaut candidates finally included women. Yet, thanks to many brave trailblazers who pushed against the unfair boundaries of equality in space exploration, the number of leading ladies writing their way into history books has risen rapidly.
On Episode 104 of This Week In Space, Rod and Tariq talk with National Space Society chapter leader Robert Aillon about NASA's Artemis Accords. Spaceflight is no longer just for superpowers--there are now 37 countries signed to NASA's Artemis Accords for the return to the Moon, and previously non-spacefaring nations are getting into the spaceflight trade, Ecuador among them. Aillon, who started a National Space Society chapter in Ecuador after attending a graduate program at the University of Arizona's Thunderbird School, was a prime mover in getting Ecuador to sign on to the accords. He is also pushing for a spaceport in the country, which has the advantage of an equatorial location. Join us as we discuss the ever-increasing opportunities for new players to enter the coming space age!
For many in the path of totality, preparing for the total solar eclipse on April 8 includes coming up with a plan of where to watch it, who you are going to watch it with, and securing protective solar glasses to be able to safely witness the procession of celestial transformation in the sky. But for the indigenous communities of North America, it's a whole different type of preparation, and a philosophy that's very different from Western culture.
The best planet to seek out during this month is Jupiter, which will be plainly obvious in the west-northwest sky during the first half of April, and then will rapidly fall toward the sun and deeper into the evening twilight during the second half of the month. Mars and Saturn are morning objects and will be within 5-degrees of each other from April 1st through the 17th, and will be closest together on the 10th, when they will be separated by the apparent width of a full moon. Using binoculars, scan low to the east-southeast horizon about an hour before sunrise to pick them up. Since they'll appear virtually the same brightness with a fine color contrast (Saturn, yellow; Mars, orange) they should appear quite striking.
Two former U.S. Navy test pilots, now NASA astronauts, can't wait to finally get their hands on a new spacecraft. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams told Space.com and a small group of reporters at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) that they are excited for the first launch of Boeing Starliner, now set to fly to the International Space Station for a roughly 10-day mission set to go no earlier than May 1.
(NASA, ESA, STScI, Francesco Paresce (INAF-IASF Bologna), Robert O'Connell (UVA), SOC-WFC3, ESO)
In December 2023, the Hubble Space Telescope completed its largest program since launching in 1990. With this program, the telescope made observations of 500 individual stars over three years - and scientists are now ready to dive into this cosmic Easter egg of data.
The rovers are part of a technology demonstration called Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration (CADRE), which is designed to show that a group of robotic spacecraft can work together without direct human control. NASA took the suitcase-sized rovers for a test drive across Mars Yard at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to simulate the rugged terrain they'll experience on the moon.
The European Space Agency (ESA) is exercising considerable forward-thinking with its "Voyager 2050" program, which describes the scientific goals and missions for the middle of this century. Its overarching theme of "moons of the solar system" was chosen in 2021, and now an expert report has recommended that Enceladus should be the primary target.
If you're in the market for a pair of the best compact binoculars, you've come to the right place. We've rounded up the very best of them here, covering a wide range of specifications and price ranges.
