Space travel is all about momentum. Rockets turn their fuel into momentum that carries people, satellites and science itself forward into space. 2021 was a year full of records for space programs around the world, and that momentum is carrying forward into 2022. Last year, the commercial space race truly took off. Richard Branson and […]
Vanguard 1, the humanity’s oldest space grapefruit
Sixty years ago, a grapefruit-sized aluminium sphere with six antennas and some tiny solar cells was launched into Earth orbit. The Vanguard 1 satellite is still up there and is the oldest human-made object in space. It’s our first piece of space archaeology.
How does gravity pull things down to earth?
Gravity is a force, which means that it pulls on things. But the Earth isn’t the only thing which has gravity. In fact, everything in the universe, big or little, has its own pull because of gravity – even you.
Where does the sun get its energy?
A massive fusion reaction powers the sun, but that is a simple description. It’s far more complicated than that.
How big is the universe?
Children will often ask, “How big is the universe?” A clever parent might compare it to a toilet cubicle – that’s because it is hard to explain.
“Go to the moon,” he said. How Kennedy’s moon speech will last forever.
“Go to the Moon,” he said. President Kennedy’s Moon Speech inspired a nation. On September 12, 1962, JFK challenged us as a nation to desire the moon.
How soon could we have a space elevator?
Would it be possible to build a space elevator in our lifetime? Some scientists think we can, more ambitious projects might be far off though.
What if the earth stopped spinning?
If the earth stopped spinning, a whole lot of interesting things would be going on. You might even fall off. Things would go bad, very fast.
How did Venus die?
Carbon dioxide, acid rain, high barometric pressure. This is how Venus died.