3D printing has really taken off in the past few years. What started off small scale is now expanding to being able to print rockets. Not just parts - entire rockets. That's what the folks over at Relativity Space have been working on, and they may just revolutionize the rocket industry - both on Earth and in space. If things go well, the startup is hoping that their AI will be able to oversee the building of rockets on Mars. Life is starting to sound a lot like science fiction...
space shuttle
Most of us see the moon almost every night, but few people have seen a decent high-res picture of the moon, let alone a high-res picture of the dark side of the moon. To be able to see the moon - every side of it - in detail would really require being in space and flying around it. And 99.9% of us Earthlings don't have that opportunity (yet). So once again, NASA has come to the rescue, this time providing us with an amazing 3D map of the whole moon for computer graphics artists to use to their heart's content. For the first time, we can explore the moon (digitally). And it's incredible.
In the past few decades, technology has allowed us to live a reality that seemed like magic not so long ago. Talking to people on the other side of the planet? Easy. Flying in the air? Done. Man on the moon? Pfft. We did that in the sixties. Since science is getting more confident, and maybe a little egotistical, scientists have thought up a new scheme that sounds quite fantastical to us (although I guess that's what people thought before the internet existed). Scientists want to build an elevator that goes to the moon. Who knows, at the rate of technological advancement today, maybe it isn't so crazy. Lets wait a few years and see what happens.
Via Nerdcore
In case you missed it this weekend, space shuttle Endeavour took a stroll through the streets of Los Angeles.
By Unknown
This little aspiring astronaut made for the cutest pic taken Tuesday during the Discovery space shuttle's final flight -- and despite the end of the shuttle program, he could still have a future in space.
By Unknown
The space shuttle Discovery flew its final mission today, piggybacking on a Boeing 747 from Kennedy Space Center to D.C., where the shuttle will take up permanent residence as part of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. To commemorate the end of the shuttle era, NASA launched an extensive Flickr feed for citizen journalists in the flight path, and a roundup of landing pics can be found here. And if that's not enough Discovery for you, there's video here and here, and also a Twitter feed. Phew.
