A Sept. 20 citizen “raid” on Area 51, a secretive military installation long fancied to hold alien remains, has drawn worldwide interest.
Fer Gregory/Shutterstock.com
As more than a million people have indicated plans to partake in a citizen ‘raid’ on the famed Area 51 to ‘see them aliens,’ a scholar on the search for extraterrestrial life weighs in on the hype.
Geologic map of the near side of the moon by Wilhelms & McCauley in 1971.
USGS
When Neil Armstrong stepped on to the Moon 50 years ago this month, Australians saw the images first. Australia even defied bad weather to bring the historic images to the world.
The new era of space exploration is characterized by an emphasis on diversity and international cooperation. But there’s a lot of work to do before there’s gender equality in STEM fields and at NASA.
Just 12 people stepped on the Moon during the Apollo missions, but they left more than just footprints. It’s a legacy that needs protecting from damage by any future Moon missions.
The size of the Moon can be deceptive when viewed from Earth.
Flickr/Ovi Gherman
Just 12 people have walked on the Moon and they’ll know better than anyone just how big (or small) the place is. But we can make some comparisons with things on Earth to get a measure of the Moon.
Apollo Lunar Rover - Apollo 15.
Irwin with the LRV on the Moon
Episode 3 of the To the moon and beyond podcast takes a look at who some of the key players are in the 21st century space race and what they are competing for.
Look at the circular patterns on the Moon’s surface, as seen from Earth.
Flickr/Bob Familiar
Armstrong always insisted that he said, ‘That’s one small step for a man.’ Yet everyone omits the ‘a’ when they repeat the quote. A linguist tries to get to the bottom of what happened.
Fifty years ago, on July 20, 1969, humans stepped onto another celestial body and into history.
NASA
The first humans to land on the Moon, and the team that got them there, get all the glory. But what about the people who laid the foundation for this effort by mapping the Moon? Who were they?
David Bowie in the film clip for Space Oddity: the song would become an anthem for space exploration with an enduring appeal.
YouTube
Fifty years ago, on July 11, 1969, David Bowie released Space Oddity. With its adventurous orchestration, unsettling harmonics and melancholy narrative, the now classic song captured a moment.
Like the majority of people on the planet today, most people in our office are too young to have witnessed firsthand the Apollo 11 moon landing, which took place 50 years ago. It was a giant leap for mankind…
The moon covers much of the sun during the total solar eclipse, in Merlo, San Luis, Argentina, July 2 2019.
EPA-EFE/NICO AGUILERA