Gigantic monoliths have been discovered on celestial bodies inside our solar system, including on Phobos, and they've stumped researchers so far, as they're unable to interpret their meaning and origins. Could they possibly be surviving artifacts of a long-forgotten martian civilization? The strange object on the moon stretches approximately 90-meters from ground level, and is located in a desolate region of Phobos, making its origins even more mysterious. Click here to view the first image in today's viral picture gallery. Continue reading for the five most popular viral videos of today, including one showing how Star Wars could have ended in 60-seconds.
Who or what created the Big Bang? We will most likely never know, but this time-lapse does attempt to show the very beginning of our universe to present day. "On a cosmic time scale, human history is as brief as the blink of an eye. By compressing all 13.8 billion years of time into a 10 minute scale, this video shows just how young we truly are, and just how ancient and vast our universe us. Starting with the big bang and culminating in the appearance of homo sapiens, this experience follows the unfolding of time at 22 million years per second, adhering closely to current scientific understanding," according to the video's creator. Continue reading for a video showing the scale of the universe.
Photographer John Kraus was at Cape Canaveral yesterday to cover the Atlas V rocket launch with two Nikon D7000 cameras at Space Launch Complex 41. Both were setup to be sound-activated and set to shoot the launch at different angles, while having the lenses wrapped in plastic grocery bags with a hole cut out for the front element to poke through. One of them was safely located 500-feet away from the blast, while the other was just 300-feet, and as you can see, that one didn't quite fare so well. Continue reading to see the aftermath and for the full launch video.
Liftoff was set for 3:45 p.m. ET the maiden launch of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket, and it was a complete success, despite the concerns about upper-level winds. Thousands of spectators swarmed to viewing areas surrounding the launch site at Kennedy Space Center's, and the crowd stretched for more than 5-miles this morning. In a stunning image straight from a movie, the twin Falcon 9 boosters landed at Cape Canaveral in Florida, after a flawless test launch of the world's most powerful rocket yet. Continue reading for another video and more information.
A SpaceX "Starman" is now aboard the company's Falcon Heavy rocket that's set to make its launch from Florida tomorrow. Test flights normally carry steel / concrete for cargo, or materials for experiments, Tuesday's demo will see Musk's red Tesla Roadster, complete with the figure is in the driver's seat, with right hand on the wheel and the left arm resting on the convertible's door. Once the three booster stages return to Earth, the rocket's payload stage will eject two halves of the fairing off, exposing the Tesla Roadster. Continue reading for more pictures and information.
NASA, Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Department of Energy researchers have successfully tested a small nuclear reactor, called Kilopower, that could one day provide power for human residents on Mars. Available in several models from 1 kilowatt (good for a small kitchen appliance) to 10 kilowatts, several of them could be linked to together for a habitat on Mars. "Kilopower's compact size and robustness allows us to deliver multiple units on a single lander to the surface that provides tens of kilowatts of power," said Steve Jurczyk, associate administrator of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate. Continue reading for another video and more information.
It's only a matter of time before NASA sends rovers back to the Moon's surface, or even Mars, but one thing's for sure, they'll look nothing like the first generation vehicle you see above. The Rumker Exploration Truck comes equipped with tracks that enable it to tackle just about any terrain, and integrated AI ensures that it can traverse obstacles with ease. Continue reading for more pictures, information, and a bonus live stream ISS video.
SpaceX will launch its biggest rocket yet, called the Falcon Heavy, later today. At 2,500 tons of thrust, the rocket is equivalent to eighteen Boeing 747 aircraft at full throttle. Elon Musk revealed that it would first carry out a test fire with a full launch scheduled for the end of the month. Instead of a customer's payload, Musk will launch an original Tesla Roadster playing David Bowie's "Space Oddity" into "a billion year elliptic Mars orbit." Continue reading for a live stream video (begins in 4-hours) and more information.
Astronauts aboard the ISS have just watched Star Wars: The Last Jedi in a truly out of the world fashion. NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei captured this photo of movie night on the International Space Station, complete with bungee cord chairs and drink bags. As for which scene they're viewing, one of the many with X-wing pilot Poe Dameron. Continue reading for a few bonus The Last Jedi Easter Egg videos and more information.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lit up the evening sky over Southern California last night (December 22) and the light display was mistaken for a UFO by thousands. It launched into space from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base north of Los Angeles at 5:27 p.m. PST, approximately 30 minutes after sunset, carrying 10 Iridium Next communications satellites into orbit. The mission was a complete success, with all 10 satellites reaching orbit. Continue reading for another video and more information.
