Category Archives: Space exploration

JWST Launches Tomorrow! (Screams Internally)

Posted on December 24, 2021 by Alex R. Howe

Disclosure: I am a NASA postdoc. However, all opinions are my own. Hi, everyone. Just a PSA that the James Webb Space Telescope lifts off tomorrow morning from French Guiana. (Yes, on Christmas Day.) The launch is at 7:20 AM … Continue reading →

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The Perseverance Rover Lands on Mars Tomorrow!

Posted on February 17, 2021 by Alex R. Howe

Tomorrow is a big day in the world of planetary science. NASA’s Perseverance rover (formerly Mars 2020) will be landing on Mars at 3:55 PM EST. This is something that brings back memories for me. Eight and a half years … Continue reading →

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The Mars Perseverance Launch Is Tomorrow

Posted on July 29, 2020 by Alex R. Howe

Space news of the day: NASA’s Perseverance rover (formerly Mars 2020) will launch at 7:50 am EDT tomorrow morning on its mission to Mars. (It was originally supposed to be July 17, but it was delayed due to equipment problems.) … Continue reading →

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SpaceX’s First Human Spaceflight Is Tomorrow!

Posted on May 26, 2020 by Alex R. Howe

Astronauts have not blasted off to space from American soil in nearly nine years. But tomorrow, that finally changes. SpaceX will launch its first ever crewed mission, Crew Dragon Demo-2, tomorrow at 4:30 pm Eastern Time. The rocket will ferry … Continue reading →

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Help Name the Mars 2020 Rover!

Posted on January 25, 2020 by Alex R. Howe

If you remember the summer of 2012, you might recall the landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars. (As a hint, it was right at the end of the London Olympics.) It was a pretty big deal because this was … Continue reading →

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The Moon Landing at 50

Posted on July 19, 2019 by Alex R. Howe

Unless you’ve been living under a Moon rock, you’re probably aware of how significant today and this week are. July 20, 2019: the fiftieth anniversary of the first Moon landing. What can I say about this event that won’t have … Continue reading →

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New Horizons and Ultima Thule: Where to Watch

Posted on December 27, 2018 by Alex R. Howe

Update: it turns out that the coverage of the Ultima Thule flyby is “forward funded”, so it will proceed on NASA TV as normal. New Horizons, the spacecraft that famously imaged Pluto three years ago, will be making history again … Continue reading →

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Elon Musk’s BFR Update and Yusaku Maezawa, the First Lunar Tourist

Posted on September 18, 2018 by Alex R. Howe

Last night, Galactic President CEO of SpaceX Elon Musk gave an update on his big future projects, the BFR (Big Falcon Rocket), BFS (which he says he needs to rename), and his planned tourist flight around the Moon. Video here. … Continue reading →

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TESS Lifts Off

Posted on April 19, 2018 by Alex R. Howe

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) lifted off on a SpaceX rocket last night. TESS is a follow-up to the wildly successful Kepler mission that will hunt for transiting planets—that is, planets that pass in front of their stars, blocking … Continue reading →

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Falcon Heavy Blasts Off

Posted on February 6, 2018 by Alex R. Howe

SpaceX successfully completed the maiden flight of its new rocket, the Falcon Heavy, earlier today. This new heavy lifter can launch 63.8 metric tons to low Earth orbit, compared with 22.8 metric tons for the Falcon 9, making it officially … Continue reading →

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