Posted by Ian O'Neill in Discovery Space, Featured Articles on July 8th, 2009 | Comments

Celebrating Apollo 11

We’re currently having loads of fun over at Discovery Space, celebrating mankind’s biggest space achievement: when Apollo 11 landed on the moon 40 years ago. On July 20th 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made history while Michael Collins orbited overhead. This was a key moment in space exploration that was followed by another 5 lunar landings until 1972. Unfortunately, that was it and the Apollo Program was gradually wound down… However, the current plan is to get astronauts...

Posted by Ian O'Neill in 2012, Featured Articles, Humour on July 7th, 2009 | Comments

2012: Hardcore Disaster Pr0n

This video made my day. Fortunately I’ve been hard-wired to Twitter today, so I’ve spotted some awesome links pop up from my ace tweeters. But I wasn’t prepared for the awesomeness that was encapsulated in @jimmynewland tweet titled, “2012: All the Disaster Pr0n you can take!” To be honest, I was expecting the movie trailer for the John Cussak disaster flick “2012″ (coming to a deafening surround sound theatre near you), but no… this is better…...

Posted by Ian O'Neill on July 8th, 2009

Celebrating Apollo 11...

Posted by Ian O'Neill on July 6th, 2009

Arizona State Senator: ...

“…I know I’m going on and on and I’ll shut up.” Yes, please do. I’m not sure what’s going on these last few days, but Astroengine has been filled with pseudo-science, media insanity and conspiracy theories. I suspect we’re seeing the first few cases of the Stupid pandemic (I’m joking, we all know you can’t “catch” Stupid —...

Posted by Ian O'Neill on July 5th, 2009

Crop Circles Do Not Predic...

Stunning art, UFOs not included (© Lucy Pringle) Alternative title: “Jumping to Conclusions and Bullshit” Crop circles are amazing. They are, quite literally, works of art. And like all other known forms of art, they are constructed by people with time on their hands. No UFOs have been braiding our crops, no aliens have been playing let’s-confuse-the-stoopid-humans-with-this-cryptic-message-we-travelled-hundreds-of-light-years-to-deliver....

Posted by Ian O'Neill on July 4th, 2009

The Guardian Tackles the M...

I despise the so called Moon landing hoax with every fibre of my being, this is probably the reason why I don’t write about it much. Besides, other bloggers do a great job of slamming the conspiracy theorist claims, so there’s little point in me weighing in to pick at the left-overs. Every hoax claim has been debunked to the point that there really can be no doubt that 40 years ago, we...

Posted by Ian O'Neill on July 3rd, 2009

I See Mars Faces… Ev...

The two suspect shapes spotted by Mars conspiracy theorists. Exhibit 1: The Egyptian statue. Exhibit 2: ?? During my search for material for last week’s Wide Angle: Mars Roving on Discovery, I was looking for images snapped by the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) Spirit and Opportunity. During my trawl around Google Images, I managed to find a high-resolution picture of the rocky outcrop on the...

Posted by Ian O'Neill on July 3rd, 2009

If I Was A TV-Loving Alien...

16.5 light years away, a revolution in sci-fi television programming is about to explode to life… Yes, it really is that exciting. Almost like a tsunami approaching a peaceful shore, island inhabitants totally unaware of its impending arrival, the triple star system of 40 Eridani is about to be bathed in a very special terrestrial signal… So why am I getting so excited for this random...

Posted by Ian O'Neill on June 29th, 2009

Mining Asteroids: Not At T...

In The Future™, when mankind is Sufficiently Advanced®, nations, companies and entrepreneurs will be shuttling huge cargo spaceships to and from the asteroid belt. Asteroid mining is going to be the first REAL gold rush, “thars gold in them thar rocks!” But not only gold, we’ll be able to consume asteroids of all their constituents; platinum, iridium and silicon (silicon?)....

Posted by Ian O'Neill on June 27th, 2009

NASA Tests Orion Shock Abs...

Although there are doubts about Constellation, and NASA recently announced a “plan B” launch option for a return trip to the Moon, Orion development continues as planned. Next up is the development of the Orion shock absorbers, intended to take the sting out of the return capsule’s landing. Tests are currently being carried out at the Landing and Impact Research Facility in NASA’s...

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