Space and science fans, rejoice, for there is good news from the Red Planet this week. The InSight heat probe, which launched its mission back in 2018, has finally completely buried itself on Mars. While this might not seem like news, your perspective might shift when you learn that until now, the self-hammering drill has experienced numerous challenges and setbacks that have hindered its mission to drill into the core of Mars and collect valuable data, including temperature readings. ...
Image courtesy Washington Department of Agriculture via Twitter 2020 has been quite a year already, but a few months ago nature decided to throw another curveball and add invasive Asian giant hornets - AKA Murder Hornets - to the proverbial Bingo card. Although we first heard about the hornets arriving in North America back in the winter of 2019, it has taken scientists some time to come up with strategies for how to locate and destroy the nests. Why all of the destruction, you ask? A...
Image from CDC.gov A few weeks after quarantine began in March, I woke up feeling under the weather. I had a headache, a stuffy nose, and a sore throat that was making me cough. Under normal circumstances, I'd recognize it as seasonal allergies rearing their ugly head, but considering the pandemic I immediately went to, "Oh crap, is this Covid?!" Fortunately for me, a brief nap at lunchtime shook most of the symptoms and when I woke up at 100% the next day, I realize I had perhaps pan...
Image courtesy of NASA On Sunday, November 15, four astronauts departed Earth on SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship to the International Space Station for a 6-month mission. The launch was previously scheduled for Saturday evening, but weather forced a 24-hour delay even in the face of 50/50 odds of more unsafe weather conditions. Fortunately, the weather was clear and the launch went off without issue. The crew for the spaceship is comprised of four astronauts: Shannon Walker, Mike Hopki...
Not to get super heavy or anything, but let me ask you: have you ever wished for just one more conversation with a loved one who's passed on? I think it's fairly safe to say that most people would answer yes to this question in some capacity - I know I sure would. I have said good-bye to many wonderful people in my life, and although when times get tough I can still hear them in my head and in my heart enough to imagine a pep talk from them, it's no substitute for having them here, in the fle...
Rock in Sample Tube - Image c/o NASA In early August, the Perseverance Rover attempted to take a sample of Martian rock - and, regrettably, came up with an empty test tube. But, apparently second time's the charm; NASA confirmed on Monday that Perseverance had successfully collected and stored its first sample of Martian rock while exploring Artuby. Artuby is a half-mile ridgeline that is near an area believed to hold Jezero Crater's deepest and most ancient layers of exposed bedr...