Gravitational Map of the Moon: Giant Flummi in the Sky
Die NASA hat vor ein paar Wochen eine Gravitationskarte des Mondes veröffentlicht, die roten Stellen haben eine besonders hohe Masse, die blauen Stellen eine besonders niedrige. Außerdem sieht der Mond auf dieser Karte aus wie ein Flummi und ich liebe Flummis.
This image shows the variations in the lunar gravity field as measured by NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) during the primary mapping mission from March to May 2012. Very precise microwave measurements between two spacecraft, named Ebb and Flow, were used to map gravity with high precision and high spatial resolution. The field shown resolves blocks on the surface of about 12 miles (20 kilometers) and measurements are three to five orders of magnitude improved over previous data.
Neil Armstron R.I.P. (Updates)
Das Bild links hat mir grade ein bisschen das Herz gebrochen. Das ist die erste Seite der Tageszeitung von Neil Armstrongs Heimatstadt, am Tag seiner Rückkehr vom Mond. Fuck. (via Rare Newspapers)
Guardian: Neil Armstrong’s last interview: rare glimpse of man and moon mission:
Armstrong even had time to respond to the conspiracy theorists’ favourite question: Was the moon landing faked?
“People love conspiracy theories,” he replied. “I mean, they are very attractive. But it was never a concern to me because I know one day, somebody is going to go fly back up there and pick up that camera I left.”
The First Lunar Landing: Corrected Transcript and Commentary: „102:45:58 Armstrong (onboard): Engine arm is off. (Pause) (Now on voice-activated comm) Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.“
The Atlantic: Buzz Aldrin’s Statement on the Death of Neil Armstrong: „Whenever I look at the moon I am reminded of that precious moment, over four decades ago, when Neil and I stood on the desolate, barren, yet beautiful, Sea of Tranquility, looking back at our brilliant blue planet Earth suspended in the darkness of space, I realized that even though we were farther away from earth than two humans had ever been, we were not alone.“
American Copy Editors über Neil Armstrong-Fotos.
Economist: Obituary – Neil Armstrong
ASTRONAUTS do not like to be called heroes. Their standard riposte to such accusations is to point out that it requires the efforts of hundreds of thousands of backroom engineers, mathematicians and technicians to make space flight possible. They are right, too: at the height of its pomp, in 1966, NASA was spending about 4.4% of the American government’s entire budget, employing something like 400,000 workers among the agency and its contractors.
But it never works. For Neil Armstrong, who commanded Apollo 11, the mission that landed men on the moon on July 20th 1969, the struggle against heroism seemed particularly futile.
The Onions Moonlanding-Klassiker. Gibt’s auch als Video:
Überhaupt: The Onion: Neil Armstrong Becomes 115 Billionth Man To Die On Earth
Vorher auf Nerdcore:
Neil Armstrong R.I.P.
Heute vor fucking 40 Jahren landete der erste fucking Mensch auf dem fucking Moon
Tons of Tons of Moonlinks
Neil Armstrong: I wasn’t on the fucking moon
Apollo 11s Zollzettel
New Apollo-Landingsite Images from the Moon
Pen made from Moondust and Apollo 11-Parts
Neil Armstrong R.I.P.
Neil Armstrong, der erste Mann auf dem Mond, ist im Alter von 82 Jahren verstorben (NBC auf Google Plus, Reuters). Der Mann hatte erst Anfang des Monats seinen Geburtstag gefeiert, eine Bypass-OP überstanden und befand sich auf dem Weg der Besserung. Außerdem hat er ein Raumschiff beim Landeanflug auf die Erde mit ‘nem Kuli repariert. Rest in Peace, Neil.
Von seiner Website: „For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.“
Hier sein großer Moment in Space and Time:
Youtube Direktneil, danke Daniel!
Bild oben: The astronaut images of LIFE photographer Ralph Morse: „Neil Armstrong in Apollo trainer“. Updates, wie sie reinkommen, nach dem Klick.
Training Geese for a Trip to the Moon
Agnes Meyer-Brandis entwickelt grade ein Kunstprojekt, basierend auf dem 1638er Buch „The Man in the Moone” von Francis Godwin, in dem der Held mit nem Wagen zum Mond fliegt, vor den Mondgänse gespannt sind. Dazu zieht sie elf Gänse groß, denen sie Namen von Astronauten gegeben hat, die sie als ihre „Gänsemutter“ akzeptieren und denen sie das Fliegen beibringt. Die Vögel leben auf einer simulierten Mondbasis in Italien und lernen Morsecode für Interspecies-Kommunikation, 2024 sollen sie zum ersten mal unbemannt auf den Mond fliegen, drei Jahre später will Agnes mitfliegen. Aber ich glaube, den letzten Teil des Projekts hat die Dame nur erfunden.
Hier die Website zum Projekt, mehr Infos gibt’s auf We Make Money Not Art:
Meyer-Brandis’ scientific experiment is inspired by The Man in the Moone, a story written in the early 17th century by English bishop Francis Godwin, a believer in the Copernican heliocentric system and of the latest theories in magnetism and astronomy. The book tells how Domingo Gonsales flies to the moon and gets to meet an advanced lunar civilization. The adventurer managed to escape the ‘magnetic attraction of the earth’ by harnessing a flock of birds called gansas, specifically trained for the purpose. Some critics regard the story as the first work of science fiction in English.
Since it has become so difficult to locate moon geese, Meyer-Brandis breeds her own moon geese. She acquired the eggs last April, named each of them after an astronaut, placed them in an incubator, watched over them, witnessed the hatching and imprinted herself on to them as their stand-in mother, just like Konrad Lorenz did with greylag geese.
The surrogate mother had to spend the weeks following the hatching in close contact with the eleven geese. The astronaut training started almost immediately, the young birds were encouraged to walk in a V-shape –the formation used to tow Godwin’s chariot– taken on expeditions into the mountains for high altitude training, taught how to use morse code devices for improved interspecies communication, and given lectures about astronomy and navigation.
Black Market for Moon Rocks
Motherboard hat ein superinteressantes Interview mit Joe Kloc, der lange an einem (Bezahl-)Artikel über den Schwarzmarkt für Mondgestein recherchiert hat. Die meisten Steine vom Mond auf dem Schwarzmarkt stammen von Probe 70017, die von Nixon damals aufgeteilt und an 135 Präsidenten anderer Staaten und an die Gouvernöre der USA-Staaten geschickt wurden.
What happened to “lunar sample 70017” after President Nixon delivered bits of it to countries around the world as a gesture of world peace?
After Nixon sent out the samples of the rock, many of them were lost, either because of instability in those countries at the time or because the rocks were put into storage, or because the building a rock was housed in was destroyed. The whereabouts of many of them haven’t been known since the 70s. And in recent years, a sort of black market of debatable size and value has developed around them.
How much do these rocks sell for?
No one seems to agree on this question but black market sellers have valued them at up to $5 million and even $15 million each.
What drew you to the story of the missing moon rocks?
Well, they seem to attract small-time crime. In every case, the people selling the rocks on the “black” market just sort of stumbled upon them. I like the comedy that ensues when average Joes fall into the world of almost-crime to sell these Cold War artifacts that may or may not be worth $5 million.
The Dark Side of the Moon Rock Black Market: An Interview with Joe Kloc
Reservations for a Trip to the Moon, 1950
Von Wired: „In 1950, to promote its new space exhibit, the [American Museum of Natural History] had the brilliant idea to ask museum visitors to sign up to reserve their space on a future trip to the moon, Mars, Jupiter or Saturn. They advertised the opportunity in newspapers and magazines and received letters requesting reservations from around the world. The museum pledged to pass their list on to whichever entity headed to each destination first.“
Topographic Rainbow-Map of Moon
Die Nasa hat eine wunderbare, riesige, topografische Karte vom Mond veröffentlicht. Hier gibt’s das Teil von vorne und hinten und zum Reinzoomen. Und wo wir grade beim Thema sind: Wired hat eine tolle Galerie mit Vulkan-Karten.
The science team that oversees the imaging system on board NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has released the highest resolution near-global topographic map of the moon ever created.
This new topographic map, from Arizona State University in Tempe, shows the surface shape and features over nearly the entire moon with a pixel scale close to 100 meters (328 feet). A single measure of elevation (one pixel) is about the size of two football fields placed side-by-side.
NASA: RO Camera Team Releases High Resolution Global Topographic Map of Moon (via Laughing Squid)
The Awl: A Survey Of Moon Maps Since the 17th Century: „How do you map something 238,856 miles away? You can’t just send out a team of surveyors. At least, you couldn’t until relatively recently. Before then, lunar cartographers (technically, selenographers) could only rely on telescopes and their own artistic ability to draw a detailed portrait of the lunar face. They managed some pretty dazzling results.“
Apollo 11s Zollzettel
Für meine Space-Sammlung: Der Zollschein der Apollo 11-Astronauten. War zwar damals eher als Scherz gedacht, aber egal und ich liebe die Zeilen: „Any other conditios on board which may lead to the spread of Desease? To Be Determined.“
Just what did Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins have to declare? Moon rocks, moon dust and other lunar samples, according to the customs form filed at the Honolulu Airport in Hawaii on July 24, 1969 – the day the Apollo 11 crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean to end their historic moon landing mission.
The customs form is signed by all three Apollo 11 astronauts. They declared their cargo and listed their flight route as starting Cape Kennedy (now Cape Canaveral) in Florida with a stopover on the moon.
Back from the Moon, Apollo Astronauts Had to Go Through Customs (via Geekosystem)
New Apollo-Landingsite Images from the Moon
Die Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera, die seit 2009 den Mond umkreist, hat Bilder aus einer Höhe von circa 22 Kilometern vom Landeplatz der Apollo-Missionen geschossen, die normale Flughöhe des Mond-Orbits ist 50 Kilometer. Dabei sind neue hochauflösende Fotos des zurückgelassenen Equipments und der Spuren im Mondstaub herausgekommen. Details dazu auf der Website vom LROC: Skimming the Moon. (via The Awl)
Pizza on the Moon
Dürfte sich lediglich um einen PR-Stunt handeln, aber eine Pizzakette plant eine Pizzeria auf dem Mond, inklusive Lieferservice. Wird langsam Zeit, ich warte hier schon viel zu lange auf ‘ne anständige Portion Doppelt-Käse und mein Klon hat auch schon Hunger.
The company estimates the entire project will cost Y1.67 trillion – some £13.4 billion – of which Y560 billion (£4.5 billion) will be required to transport 70 tons of construction materials and pizza-making equipment to the moon aboard 15 rockets.
“We started thinking about this project last year, although we have not yet determined when the restaurant might open,” Tomohide Matsunaga, a spokesman for Domino’s, told The Daily Telegraph. The company also expects to be able to offer delivery services.
“In the future, we anticipate there will be many people living on the moon, astronauts who are working there and, in the future, citizens of the moon,” he said.
Full Moon Rug
Ein Teppich (eigentlich eine Matratze) in Form eines Vollmonds von Lily Suh und Zoono zum drauf rumliegen. Ich wollte schon immer mal auf dem Mond rumliegen, aber 1500$ zahle ich dafür nicht. Die haben auch noch Vollmond-Kopfkissen dort in ihrem Shop, aber für ein Kissen zahle ich auch keine 120$. Muss ich wohl hier auf der Erde rumliegen. Ist ja auch schön. (via Ronny)
What if Jupiter orbited Earth?
(Vimeo Direktscale, via Nils)
Schönes, nur leider viel zu kurzes Video von Brad Goodspeed, das zeigt, wie es aussehen würde, wenn Jupiter und Mars die Erde anstelle des Mondes umkreisen würden: „While watching the video of the lunar eclipse I posted the other day I was looking at the curvature of the earth’s shadow on the moon. It made me think about how large the earth might look if an exact copy of it was up there instead of the moon. Soon curiosity got the better of me, and I was animating!“
Apollo 12 Playboy-Bunny from the Moon for Sale
Bei R+R Auctions kann man ein ziemlich tolles Playboy-Kalenderblatt ersteigern, nämlich das mit Playmate Miss August 1967, DeDe Lind, die in gedruckter Form mit Apollo 12 auf dem Mond war – zunächst ohne Wissen der Crew.
Vintage color calendar photo of Playboy Playmate Miss August 1967, DeDe Lind, which was stowed away in the Apollo 12 command module Yankee Clipper during its November 1969 voyage to the moon. Measuring approximately 4.5 x 6.5, the topless image is an original taken from one of the 1969 calendars published by Playboy and features the month and year of the Apollo 12 mission—November 1969. Prior to the mission, it was affixed to a cardboard cue card and, unbeknownst to the crew, secreted onboard their spacecraft. […]
The ‘flight of the Playboy bunnies’ has gone down in astronaut lore as one of the most iconic astronaut pranks. As fellow Apollo 12 astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean explored the lunar surface—with small black-and-white photocopied Playboy images pasted into the wrist cuff checklists of their spacesuits—Gordon was left alone onboard the command module to circle the moon. It was there, in the silence and loneliness of lunar orbit, that he discovered his surprise stowaway crew ‘mate.’ This cue card was affixed via Velcro strips to the inside of one of his command module lockers. A uniquely risqué item from a successful risky space voyage—this flown artifact remains one of only two known original Playboy bunny color likenesses to have made it to the moon and back!
Das Ding kommt inklusive einem Autogramm von DeDe Lind, die die Story von ihrer Entdeckung durch den einsamen Richard im Orbit des Mondes so beschreibt: „Pete + Al left me with a great Dick in Lunar Orbit, Nov. 1969! Love DeDe Lind, Aug. Playmate ’1969♥“… Vintage Playboy-Bunny from outer Space. Hach!
The unofficial fourth crew ‘mate’ of Apollo 12 (via Technabob)
Pen made from Moondust and Apollo 11-Parts
Romain Jeromes Uhren hatte ich hier schon ein paar mal, unter anderem auch eine aus Mondstaub, Teilen von Apollo 11 und benutzten Raumanzügen. Aus diesem Material hat er nun auch einen Kuli gebastelt. Garantiert schweineteuer, dafür aber from outer Space.
On July 20th 1969, after two hours and thirty-one minutes of eternity, Buzz Aldrin climbed back into confined space of the lunar module, where he accidentally broke the key in the ignition and ended up having to jiggle around a pen tip in order to start the ascent engine that would enable him and Armstrong to take off from the moon.
Some 40 years later, Manuel Emch nurtures our childhood dreams by creating the MoonFighter, a new RJ – ROMAIN JEROME writing instrument that lives up to its space-inspired origins. He is thereby bringing to life a dreamlike symbol of a pen that served as a bridge between the moon and the earth.
This instantly appealing fountain pen radiates absolute aesthetic purity, while naturally commanding respect by its powerful lines.Stemming from a meticulously executed fusion between moon dust (a certified sample) and silver, RJ is an alloy that is the exclusive property of RJ – ROMAIN JEROME. Designed on the basis of this alloy and also comprising authentic fragments from Apollo II, the MoonFighter will forever bear vivid testimony to its historical origins.
Romain Jerome – DP MOON FIGHTER (via Retrothing)
Vorher auf Nerdcore:
Romain Jeromes Uhren aus Mondstaub, Teilen von Apollo 11 und benutzten Raumanzügen
Vulcano Watch
