Vesta – The Asteroid that refused to Die

The NASA Dawn spacecraft is now in its low altitude mapping orbit (LAMO) 210 km above the surface of the asteroid 4 Vesta (image: NASA). The NASA Dawn mission continues to send back breathtaking images of the asteroid 4 Vesta, which it has been studying in detail since July 2011. In mid-December the spacecraft successfully…

Have they got the wrong asteroid?

Image of Vesta’s south polar region showing large central peak that rises 22km above the surrounding terrain (vertical scale 1.5 x horizontal). (image: NASA) As the NASA Dawn spacecraft continues its study of the asteroid Vesta the images being released have become increasingly detailed and breathtaking. It is true that the huge southern crater, with…

A New Space Race

Neil Armstrong (left) and Eugene Cernan (right) giving evidence to the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology (22nd September 2011). The hearing was held to examine the strategic goals and priorities of America’s human space exploration program. (image: House Committee). The launch of China’s first space laboratory, Tiangong-1, on 29th September was given wide…

When one door closes…..

The Space Shuttle Atlantis lands for the final time at the Kennedy Space Centre, 5.57am EDT on July 21, 2011 (image: NASA) Thirty years of Space Shuttle flights came to an end earlier this month with the safe landing of Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Centre on July 21. The event was widely covered in…