Space Explored

Tonight, October 8, is the peak of October’s Draconid meteor shower, also known as Giacobinids. This is a smaller meteor shower than some, but could certainly be worth a look!

According to CNBC, Elon Musk’s SpaceX just crossed a $100 billion valuation. The change results from an agreement with new and existing investors to sell shares at $560 per share.

This World Space Week, NASA has joined in, sharing a new graphic novel about the first woman to go to the Moon.

NASA has released a climate action plan that outlines key sustainability priorities and reiterates the agency’s commitment to climate research.

As a part of World Space Week, astronaut Shane Kimbrough and Vice President Kamala Harris have teamed up in a new NASA video to inspire kids to get interested in space.

To date, four African American women have flown in space. Mae Jemison was the first Black woman to travel to space in 1992, and most recently Dr. Sian Proctor flew to space as part of the Inspiration4 mission.

This World Space Week, NASA is taking the time to recognize the women at NASA who help make history every day.

NASA announced on Wednesday the first two members to fly on SpaceX‘s Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station. The crew members were reassigned from Boeing’s planned first two flights on Starliner, which doesn’t seem to be launching anytime soon.

AstroAccess has selected 12 ambassadors to fly on a parabolic, weightless flight. Ambassadors with mobility, vision, and hearing disabilities will test the design for accessibility in zero-gravity and high gravity environments. Coinciding with World Space Week, the crew announced today will seek to advance disability inclusion in space.

Unistellar, maker of the electronic telescopes eVscope 2 and Equinox, has partnered once again with the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) institute; this time to inspire young girls to discover space as a part of World Space Week.

The Apollo program of the 1960s and 1970s saw the United States land on the Moon six times. Each mission included more detailed charting of the Moon, sample returns, and experiments galore! In The Apollo Murders, author (and former astronaut) Chris Hadfield explores what could’ve happened if there was just one more mission – with a different purpose.

NASA and FEMA are hosting a forum to discuss what the agencies are doing to combat climate change and discuss data gathered by the agencies.

The European Space Agency has partnered with Mattel to send a Barbie version of astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti on a zero-G flight to inspire girls to become astronauts, engineers, and scientists.

In order to help celebrate World Space Week, Crayola is offering daily live classes and downloadable space-themed coloring pages. Crayola is also offering 20% off all Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) kits.

World Space Week begins today. The international group of events is aimed at inspiring the next generation while celebrating Women in Space. There are thousands of events globally, and World Space Week runs until October 10.

Today is a day that changed history. With one small sphere, the Soviet Union spurred a new space race, one that led to the opening of NASA less than a year later. On this day, in 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 into low Earth orbit. Americans were amazed and terrified as they heard the beeps and looked overhead to see the first artificial satellite.

It has been a shockingly busy past week in space. From continued work towards Artemis I, to spacecraft reaching new planets, a lot has happened in the world of spaceflight and space exploration.

Blue Origin is preparing to launch their second crewed New Shepard in less than ten days. After a TMZ report stated he had a ticket, Blue Origin confirms Star Trek actor William Shatner will be on this next flight.

While the Inspiration4 crew was in space conducting medical research and chatting with St Jude patients, they also took the opportunity to get some “out-of-this-world” pictures. While they had a professional camera with them, they have just as many, if not more pictures and videos taken with iPhones.

It’s tradition for space travelers to receive wings when they return from their trip. Whether military, civilian, or private, if you fly to space, a shiny pair of wings will most likely await you upon your return from some organization. This now includes private SpaceX passengers, as the Inspiration4 crew were the first to receive new Dragon wings.

Lockheed Martin recently opened their STAR Center at the former Astronaut Experience (ATX) attraction location. Now they are moving forward with plans to construct another factory building near their offices and AstroTech.