tech e blog

That's right, NASA researchers are currently developing a working tractor beam -- "a ray of laser light than can trap and pull objects in the opposite direction of the beam." One of the methods involves "optical tweezers", or in other words, two counter-propagating rings that "create a kind of ring-like geometry that confines particles inside." Video after the break.

The second technique uses optical solenoid beams that spiral around the axis of propagation--just picture a spiral laser beam that can pull particles in the opposite direction of propagation. It does this via electromagnetic effects caused by the laser, and thus requires no atmosphere.

NASA has just released all-new pictures of the moon that clearly show footprints left by astronauts " Alan Bean and Pete Conrad, the crew of the Apollo 12 mission in 1969," and others. Click here for more pictures. Continue reading to watch the incredible journey of Apollo 12.

When the Sun is high above the horizon differences in surface brightness are enhanced, and when the Sun is low surface roughness is more obvious. Linear features are enhanced when they lie perpendicular to the direction to the Sun, and tend to disappear when parallel.

Here's an incredible picture taken by NASA's solar-powered, six-wheeled Mars rover Opportunity, which "has reached the rim of a vast crater to begin its final and most important exploration." Click here for more pictures. Continue reading for a video from NASA.

The journey, which took nearly three years culminated on Tuesday when Opportunity signalled it had arrived at the location dubbed Spirit Point in honour of the rover's twin, which fell silent last year.

While the shuttle programs may be a thing of the past, NASA managed to compile a plethora of amazing pictures and videos of Earth that were snapped from space. These are a few of our favorites. Click here to see them all. Continue reading for a video compilation.

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NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis is fueled up and ready for launch, marking the end of the 30-year shuttle program. According to NASA, the "three-hour process of filling the shuttle's external fuel tank was completed just before 5 a.m. ET, marking the day's first step toward the last liftoff at 11:26 a.m. ET." Continue reading for the live stream and time-lapse videos.

After this resupply flight to the International Space Station, NASA is due to prepare Atlantis for museum display, as it is already doing with the fleet's other two spaceships, Discovery and Endeavour.

Space Shuttle Endeavour recently completed its last flight ever, which consisted of "248 orbits around Earth [and] traveling 6.5 million miles." Videos after the break. Click here for the first picture in gallery.

The orbiter spent a total of 299 days in space, circling the globe 4,671 times and logging 122,883,151 total miles, according to NASA.

After a delay that lasted over a month, Space Shuttle Endeavour "blasted off Monday morning under the command of Mark Kelly, the husband of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords." The six astronaut crew will arrive at the ISS on Wednesday, delivering a $2-billion particle physics experiment. Video after the break. Click here for the first picture in gallery.

The delayed launch of NASA's space shuttle Endeavour carries a large price tag, $500000 to be exact. To be more specific, "ground crews will now drain the propellant from the shuttle's massive external fuel tank; Beutel estimates that this de-tanking process costs approximately $500,000." In related news, click here to view some amazing space images. Continue reading for the news report.

Endeavour was fully fueled on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., when NASA called off today's launch attempt due to an issue in one of the spacecraft's critical power units. "It's the cost of propellant," NASA spokesman Allard Beutel told SPACE.com. "We capture most of the propellant back, and recycle it and use it again, but some of it gets boiled off."

The space walk, also known as extra-vehicular activity, essentially "may be either tethered (the astronaut is connected to the spacecraft; oxygen and electrical power can be supplied through an umbilical cable; no propulsion is needed to return to the spacecraft), or untethered." Video after the break. Click here for more pictures.

[Sources 1 | 2]

After spending a total of 14.9 million miles over 39-missions in 30-years, Space Shuttle Discovery has completed its final voyage after touching down at Florida's Kennedy Space Center. NASA reports that "Discovery's last trip to the International Space Station was initially scheduled to last 11 days but was extended to 13 so astronauts could work on repairs and install a spare room." Video after the break.

NASA postponed plans to roll out one of the remaining shuttles, Endeavour, shortly after Discovery's landing, saying the delay would be "at least 24 hours due to predictions of unfavourable weather".