NASA: Return to the Moon

So NASA did their big bash into the moon -- unfortunately they didn't get the big 'bang' that they had hoped for.

They had hoped for a large plume as the rocket plunged into the southern pole ... they are hoping that the problem as to why they didn't see a huge plume was because the cameras on the tracking satellite were simply misaligned and they missed seeing the plume, or that the plume wasn't as big as they thought it would be ... they really are hoping that the rocket/satellite combo didn't plunge head on into a giant moon boulder -- from that they would get no data, at least nothing useful for what they wanted to know.

Remember that NASA has had so many issues lately that have them being looked at for a large budget cut -- they are on the chopping block ... they really needed this.

Oops!

It will be interesting in a few years, after some of the scientists involved retire, what the truth is behind what happened. My guess is someone changed something they weren't supposed to.

Mountains Out Of Mole Hills

FOXNews.com - Surprise Asteroid Makes Near-Miss of Earth - Science News Science & Technology Technology News:

"The rock, estimated to be no more than 200 feet wide, zoomed past our planet at an altitude of 40,000 miles at 1:44 p.m. universal time — or 8:44 EST.
Dubbed 2009 DD45, it was discovered only on Friday by Australian astronomers."

Okay -- this story makes it sound like no one knew this was coming .... and it was already 'dubbed' DD45!!!

but NASA has known about it for quite sometime -- in fact its on their webpage of "Upcoming Close Approaches" on their Near Earth Objects page ...

maybe before we all panic -- we should CHECK to see where the information can already be found.

Whoever wrote this story should be put back on CopyBoy duty because they made the news agency that provided it look like absolute FOOLS!

Now we know what they look like

Alkaline Soil Sample From Mars Reveals Presence of Nutrients for Plants to Grow - NYTimes.com:

"Stick an asparagus plant in a pot full of Martian soil, and the asparagus might grow happily, scientists announced Thursday.
An experiment on the Phoenix Mars lander showed the dirt on the planet’s northern arctic plains to be alkaline, though not strongly alkaline, and full of the mineral nutrients that a plant would need."

They always said there were Little Green Men on Mars ... just wasn't expecting them to be tall with bumps on their heads with purplish hair.

Tell the kids to eat their vegies and keep the martians at bay!!!

Stop the invasion .... stop the invasion!!!

Hmmm ... from chic to cheap.

NASA - NASA Awards Contract for Constellation Spacesuit for the Moon:

"NASA has awarded a contract to Oceaneering International Inc. of Houston, for
the design, development and production of a new spacesuit system. The spacesuit
will protect astronauts during Constellation Program voyages to the
International Space Station and, by 2020, the surface of the moon."

Atcually I was thinking this thing looks like something straight out of Hollywood ... it looks like a cross between robbie the robot from Lost in Space (tv show) and the old suits. I really like it - it has really 'clean' lines with out too much bulk ... but then I saw the other suit they have planned for the moon.

Yeah.

It looks very much like something the dweebs at school would wear. I understand that the blue bits are add-on parts that will protect the astronauts from the unique enviroment that the moon poses. Moon dirt/dust isn't like the stuff on earth - it is very sharp and can easily cut skin and cornea if it gets into the suit.