THE MOON'S COMMENT ON ESA MAKING OXYGEN OUT OF MOONDUST!

The European Space Agency (ESA) has now a prototype plant that produces oxygen out of simulated moondust, i.e. out of stuff similar to the actual regolith, "a layer of loose, heterogeneous material, composed of mostly dust and rock fragments" [see] that covers almost all Moon's surface and is made up of "40–45% oxygen by weight" [see].

ESA's final goal is to have a working plant "that could operate sustainably on the Moon, with the first technology demonstration targeted for the mid-2020s" [see].   

ESA's new prototype facility is in the Materials and Electrical Components Laboratory of the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, in the Netherlands.

The following cartoon reports the Moon's comment on this news.

Moon's comment on ESA producing oxygen out of moondust (by @sciencemug)

[Moon's free pic by Neven Krcmarek (source: Unsplash); adapted by @sciencemug]

5 SEPTEMBER 1977: VOYAGER 1 LAUNCHES!

by @sciencemug

Today, in 1977, NASA probe Voyager 1 launches from Kennedy Space Center.

Its twin Voyager 2 launches before it, on August the 20th 1977, but Voyager 1 is "1" 'cause it's going to reach Jupiter and Saturn first.

42 years later these two probes-grannies are still alive and kicking... In the interstellar space!

Indeed Voyager 1 becomes the first piece of humanity to reach interstellar space on August 2013, followed by Voyager 2 on November 2018!

SO LONG, PHILAE!

Goodbye Philae! by PiPs, Bernards & by @sciencemug

Today's the day when, to save its power [(which is lower and lower given it's generated by solar pannels and the Sun is 520 million km (and going) away now)], European Space Agency (ESA) spacecraft Rosetta (the piece of human immagination, technology, intelligence, hard work and ambition which for ten years (2004-2014) chased, and finally, on 6 August 2014, reached Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko) is switching off the tool used to communicate with its lander Philae, which is on the comet and silent since last summer (9 July 2015).

Goodbye, lander-pal Philae, enjoy your slumber and your view.

And thanks for all the fish... No, sorry... For all the amazing science and your epic landing!

The sciencemug gang.

17 DEC 1903: MEET THE WRIGHT BROTHERS AND THE FLYER

Orville pilots, Wilbur watches (this time), the Flyer flights (by @sciencemug)

[The image above is a Public Domain pic adapted by @sciencemug (source: wikia.com)] 

17 Dec 1903

Meet Orville and Wilbur, AKA the Wright brothers,

 the day

 "[...] the Wright Flyer [becomes] the first powered, heavier-than-air machine to achieve controlled, sustained flight with a pilot aboard".

HAPPY B-DAY DR. ENGELBART!

Happy birthday Dr. Engelbart_by sciencemug

Douglas Carl Engelbart: the Dr. dude who, in 1970, patented the 'X-Y position indicator for a display system' AKA the mouse.

THE TRUE ORIGIN OF THE WHEEL

by sciencemug

Here the ultimate answer to one of the crucial questions ever asked in the history of humanity: "What came first, the wheel or the donut?"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIKOLA!

Happy birthday Nik!

[The picture of Tesla is adapted from a Public Domain image by sciencemug (source: Wikimedia Commons)]

 

Nikola Tesla

MEEEH... SO HOT!

by sciencemug

[The picture of Galileo is adapted from a Public Domain image by sciencemug (source: Wikimedia Commons)]

PiPs- Meeeh... so hot...

Bernard- Meeeh...

Galileo- Meeeh... Let's look my thermoscope and see what it says...  

SM- Meeeh... 

DON'S BACK! (3/3)

Don's back! (3/3) And he's making up his mind... (by sciencemug)

 (Don 1/3; Don 2/3; Don; Don)

Don's makin' up his mind about the dams. So may be he can go (also) here to get some infos...

HUBBLE GOES INTO SPACE!

26-Apr-1990: Hubble Space Telescope is released into space (by sciencemug)

[The picture is adapted from a Public Domain image by sciencemug (source: Wikimedia Commons)]

H- I can see galaxies which are billions of lightyears far away from here, I can see cosmic fireworks where the sky is pitch black, I can even see tired stars whose breathe is as faint as a shy whisper of light... And yet, after all these years, I'll be damned if I can see why 'Indipendence Day'* was such a huge success.
SM- Me too bro, me too...
PiPs- What?! It's the best movie ever with all those dance-battles between hippos and penguins and the flying elephant which fights the dragons in the sky over London and the weirdo with scissorhands who duels with that guy with those big sideburns and the cigar and the twelve monkeys jumpin' around while the woman in the fountain stalks that italian dude... It's awesome!
You two guys, you just don't get it, that's all...

Seriously though, Hubble's here, and here.

If you speak italian, allora qui potete ascoltare gente che parla del nostro amico telescopio (da 11'40'' a 15'00'').

*Shot in 1996.

DON'S BACK! (2/3)

Don's back! (2/3) And he's not alone... (by sciencemug)

(Don 1/3; Don; Don)

LUNA 10, THE SOVIET SPACECRAFT

The story of soviet spacecraft Luna10 (by sciencemug)

[The picture of LUNA10 is adapted from a Public Domain image by sciencemug (source: Wikimedia Commons)]

[The background picture is adapted from a Public Domain image by sciencemug (source: Wikimedia Commons)]

Here some info about Luna 10 (by NASA). 

If you speak russian, maybe you can also dig in here.

DON'S BACK! (1/3)

Don's back! (by sciencemug)

(Don; Don)

IT'S EVOLUTION, BABY...

It's evolution, baby... (by sciencemug)

(Don)

IT'S THE TECHNOLOGY, STUPID!

It's the technology, stupid! (by sciencemug)