July 31

On this date in 1971, Dave Scott became the first driver of a Moonbuggy.

Today also marks the 60th birthday of NASA, which was created under Eisenhower, not Kennedy.

Dust Storm

The giant dust storm on Mars is blowing itself out, according to NASA.

It could still take weeks or months for the atmosphere to clear, however.

TESS

NASA's new planet hunting spacecraft, TESS, has begun gathering data.

TESS will look at the 200,000 nearest stars.

VG Getting Close

Virgin Galactic executed another successful test flight yesterday.

VG could be flying paying customers yet this year.  Tickets are $250,000 each.

Super Puffs

Astronomers have found two exoplanets with densities similar to cotton candy. 

They are called super puffs.

Water On Mars

Scientists have found evidence of a lake under the south polar ice cap on Mars.

The lake would be about 12.5 miles across under a mile of ice.

Galactic Collision

A new study suggests the Milky Way once had a running mate galaxy that was destroyed in a collision with the Andromeda Galaxy.

The study was done with computer simulations.

Europa

A new study suggests a lander on Europa wwoldn't have to dig deep to find evidence of life.

A couple inches should do it.

The Right Stuff

When Mike Collins was orbiting the back side of the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission, alone, cut off from radio contact with Earth, he was as isolated as any human has ever been.

He said it was fun.

Apollo 11

Today is the 49th anniversary of the first manned landing on the Moon.

No matter what humanity eventually achieves, the flight of Apollo 11will remain a proud accomplishment/

Jupiter's Moons

Astronomers have found 12 more moons orbiting Jupiter.

That brings the total, so far, to a robust 79.

Aliens

Some UFOlogists are suggesting that some of the small moons of Saturn are in fact alien spacecraft.

The notion is that digital techniques are used to mask the true nature of the objects.

Mars

Mars is very close to Earth this summer.  It's part of a roughly fifteen-year cycle.

When the cycle comes around to this part next time, humans might be at or on Mars.

Weapons In Space

President Trump seems to have gotten Vladimir Putin's attention with his decision to create a U. S. Space Force.

Mr. Putin is urging a ban on all weapons in space.

Mining Lunar Ice

According to people trying to bring it about, the commercial mining of lunar ice is about to begin.

They say the industry could start in ten years.

Cosmic Rays

Physicists have finally tracked energetic cosmic rays to a source-- an active galaxy four billion light years away.

It's a first step towards understanding them.

Ross 128b

A new study finds Ross 128b may be capable of supporting life.

It is only about 11light years away.

Israel

Israel plans to launch a Moon landing mission later this year.

Ir would be only the fourth nation3to reach the lunar surface.

Planetary Defense

The ESA is planning a mission to an asteroid as a way to test planetary defense skills.

Funding is pending.

Early Crust

A new study suggests Mars had a planetary crust only 20 million years after its formation, and the crust was stable for 100 million years.

That's good news for possible life.

Kepler

NASA's planet-hunting Kepler space telescope is nearly out of fuel.

By the end of its mission, Kepler could well discover 5,000 worlds.

Life

A new study suggests life in the universe might be more rare than some hope.

The fact is, however, as the study acknowledges, that we don't know enough yet to say how common or uncommon life and civilization are.

Uranus

A new study using supercomputer-run simulations suggests Uranus was grazed by an object twice thee size of Earth 4 billion years ago.

That could explain why Uranus rolls around its orbit on its side, among other things.

Asteroids

A new study suggests that most of the asteroids that strike Earth come from a very few long gone worlds.

If correct, that would help identify future threats to Earth.

Elbow Room

Crossing the Milky Way at the speed of light would require 200,000 Earth years.

Our descendants will have lots of elbow room.

World UFO Day

Today is World UFO Day.

Establishment ridicule notwithstanding, the notion that aliens are visiting Earth is not crazy, given a good amount of suggestive evidence.  It's fair to remember The Establishment-- in science, politics, and the media-- want to remain The Establishment.