Today, on January 3, 2019, China’s lunar lander and rover
Category Archives: Moon Landing
For All Moonkind – Messages of Peace
Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first people to walk on the moon. After more than 21 1⁄2 hours on the lunar surface, in addition to the scientific instruments, they left behind an Apollo 1 mission patch and a memorial bag containing a gold replica of an olive branch as a traditional symbol of peace and a silicon message disk.
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Saturn V Rocket (Documentary)
A documentation about the Saturn V, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built (as of 2019, it still holds these titles). The three-stage liquid-fueled super heavy-lift launch vehicle was used
by NASA between 1967 and 1973. Saturn V was developed to support the Apollo program for the Moon landing and was later used to launch Skylab.
Watch: Nvidia Debunks Conspiracy Theories About Moon Landing
A spokesperson from Nvidia, the American technology company specialized in manufacturing high-performance graphics processing units (GPUs), debunks the conspiracy theories about the moon landing. The tech giant uses the latest technology to recreate some of the iconic photos which taken during the moon landing digitally and to debunk conspiracy theories around them.
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Why NASA Launches Rockets From Cape Canaveral, Florida?
Have you ever wondered why NASA chose Cape Canaveral to launch rockets? NASA’s most important rocket launches including the Mercury program, Project Gemini, the Moon Missions, and Space Shuttle lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
In fact, at the first look, Florida doesn’t look like a convenient place for rocket launches: the southeasternmost state gets hit by lightning more than anywhere in the United States. And getting hit by lightning is a very bad thing during a rocket launch Notes 1. What’s more, monster hurricanes frequently hit Florida (almost every year).
So, why NASA chose Cape Canaveral?
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Watch: Neil Armstrong’s Parents at I’ve Got a Secret
On September 17, 1962, Neil Armstrong’s parents, Stephen Koenig Armstrong and Viola Louise Engel Armstrong joined “I’ve Got a Secret”, a panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. They had a “secret” that their son just became an astronaut for NASA on that day, one of the nine newly chosen men for the future space missions.
Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong whispers the Host Garry Moore’s ears their secret: “Our Son became an astronaut today”.
A few minutes later, Moore asks an incredible question: “Now, how would you feel, Mrs. Armstrong, if it turned out – of course, nobody knows – but if it turns out that your son is the first man to land on the moon? What, how do, how would you feel?” He asks this nearly seven years before it actually happens on July 20, 1969! Neil’s mother’s reply is priceless, “Well, guess I’d just say god bless him and I wish him the best of all good luck.”
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Watch: Apollo 11’s journey to the moon, annotated
On July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, two American astronauts, Apollo 11 mission commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the lunar module Eagle on the Moon. It was the first time humans set foot on another planetary body than Earth, making the moon landing probably the most monumental event in history.
Vox.com published a beautiful video highlighting the key moments of the Apollo 11 mission.
Continue reading Watch: Apollo 11’s journey to the moon, annotated
How NASA Reinvented The Wheel
On August 6, 2012, at 05:17 UTC, NASA has successfully landed a Mini-Cooper-sized rover, Curiosity, on Aeolis Palus in Gale Crater on Mars. The 900-kg rover (899 kg, to be exact, which is 1,982 lbs) is equipped with six 50 cm (20 in) diameter wheels in a rocker-bogie suspension. Notes 1 For the first time in the history of the space exploration, the suspension system also served as landing gear for the vehicle, unlike its smaller predecessors.
Curiosity “soft-landed” (wheels down) on the surface of Mars. But, even it’s called “soft-landing”, the touchdown speed was 0.6739m/s vertical and 0.044m/s horizontal, which could damage the wheels. Plus, while the rover is moving, the wheels should withstand the substantial damage through the rough Martian surface. That’s why the wheels of the Curiosity rover have been one of the biggest technical difficulties encountered on the mission. Notes 2
Continue reading How NASA Reinvented The WheelNASA Has Released Apollo 11 Mission Audio
NASA has just published Two Years’ Worth of Apollo 11 Mission Audio (the first manned moon landing mission) on their website “Explore Apollo“. That’s more than 19,000 hours of audio
Why can’t we Remake the Rocketdyne F-1 Engine, which took humans to the Moon?
The mighty Saturn V, the rocket that took humans to the moon, remains the tallest, heaviest, and most powerful rocket ever brought to operational status (as of 2018). It was used by NASA between 1967 and 1973. It was powered by five Rocketdyne F-1 engines. With a thrust of 1,746,000
Today, private companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and space agencies like NASA trying to build powerful rockets in order to reach Moon and Mars. But, we’ve already built a rocket which took us to the moon, why don’t we simply remake it (and the engines)? In the video below, Youtube user Curious Droid answers this question.
Continue reading Why can’t we Remake the Rocketdyne F-1 Engine, which took humans to the Moon?