Flight Plan

Just Ducky | Global Innovation Award

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 13:28:53 -0800

Just Ducky, one of the 20 finalists in the 2010 MoonBots competition, is in the running to win the brand new FIRST® LEGO® League Global Innovation Award, which will pay out $20,000 to a “winning team so they can file a US patent, create a prototype and get it on its way to becoming one of those ‘can’t live without it’ inventions.”

You can vote once per day.

Just Ducky says: “Team Just Ducky has invented an efficient, innovative and technical solution for patients that suffer from asthma. The 'V-breathe’ System solves real world problems with the current HFA inhalers. It doesn’t matter how good the medicine may be if it is not delivered correctly to the asthmatic’s lungs more efficiently, if the inhaler isn’t quickly located, and the inhaler isn’t properly cared for. The 'V-breathe’ system combines already developed technologies that will improve the lives of millions of asthma patients.”

Right now, Just Ducky is in 12th place with over 1,000 votes.

Today is a day remember the astronauts of the Space Shuttle...

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 11:18:54 -0800

Today is a day remember the astronauts of the Space Shuttle Columbia who gave their lives to expand our knowledge of the cosmos and our place therein. The International Astronomical Union has provisionally agreed to a unique way to do so, with a lunar twist.

Via Lunar Craters (Provisionally) Named for Columbia Astronauts - NASA Watch

"Where then are our leaders? The ones who will carry us along further into space than we ever hoped?..."

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 11:09:58 -0800

“Where then are our leaders? The ones who will carry us along further into space than we ever hoped? The truth is that those leaders are us. Leadership in space is now a bottom-up endeavor. It comes from those launching commercial startups, from those building backyard rockets, from those vying for X PRIZEs, from those with the audacity to chase their dreams and visions in the naked light of day, from us. We must lead because we know the future we want to build.”

- From Where then are our leaders? at Evadot.com

"Here at VentureBeat we receive a considerable number of bad pitches, both from PR firms and from..."

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 15:45:03 -0800

“

Here at VentureBeat we receive a considerable number of bad pitches, both from PR firms and from entrepreneurs themselves. To make life more tolerable for everyone, we have decided to provide some tips on how to ensure that your pitch is not one of them. Let’s start with some typical examples of the bad pitch.

…

The rocket scientist pitch

Tech journalists are rarely experts in all areas of technology (or sometimes in any areas). If you send a pitch full of technical language about ultracapacitors, sodium silicide or hybrid TDM we may simply have no idea what you are talking about. Assume that we know nothing and first explain the basics of the technology and why it’s important in order to set the context for your news.

”

- Yikes! It’s not often we see “rocket scientist” used as something bad. Let us all be forewarned…

Source: How to pitch to tech journalists | VentureBeat

This awesome photograph (okay, sequence of photographs) has been...

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 16:52:40 -0800

This awesome photograph (okay, sequence of photographs) has been making the rounds on the internetz today. Leave it to Phil Plait to make it even cooler by providing some great explanation of why our lovely Moon looks little squished.

Squishy moonrise seen from space! | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine

What do you get the Google Lunar X PRIZE fan who already has...

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 14:06:08 -0800

What do you get the Google Lunar X PRIZE fan who already has everything? How about an awesome Moon-themed rug?

This dreamy piece is a re-edition from the ’80s that comes from Oscar Tusquets’ La Tierra and La Luna rugs. Advances in photographic techniques have allowed this exact reproduction of an image of a moon in its waxing phase to be given even greater definition. The colours of the original work have also been revised, making them warmer, in browns and beiges. The ‘80s version of La Luna was smaller, so this bigger version allows it to be placed in passage ways, hallways or at the foot of a bed. Now you can ask for the moon and put it at the foot of the bed without wanting the impossible, and walk on the moon without it being a giant leap.

As if you even had to ask, the rug is hand knotted New Zealand wool, with a density of 132,000 knots (“Knots! They’re not just a unit of speed anymore!).

Of course, this rug will set you back something like US$2,000. So, unless you are really into rugs, may we perhaps suggest that instead you take that money and invest it in or donate it to one of the Google Lunar X PRIZE teams? More info: nanimarquina ‹ Products ‹ Rugs ‹ Luna

via www.nanimarquina.com

NASA Chat: The Moon's Earth-like Core

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:07:51 -0800

NASA Chat: The Moon's Earth-like Core:

Our friends at NASA are having a live web chat in ~1 hour about the recent discovery that the Moon has a core similar to Earth’s own. Some background:

The team’s findings suggest the moon possesses a solid, iron-rich inner core with a radius of nearly 150 miles and a fluid, primarily liquid-iron outer core with a radius of roughly 205 miles. Where it differs from Earth is a partially molten boundary layer around the core estimated to have a radius of nearly 300 miles. The research indicates the core contains a small percentage of light elements such as sulfur, echoing new seismology research on Earth that suggests the presence of light elements – such as sulfur and oxygen – in a layer around our own core.

The researchers used extensive data gathered during the Apollo-era moon missions. The Apollo Passive Seismic Experiment consisted of four seismometers deployed between 1969 and 1972, which recorded continuous lunar seismic activity until late-1977.

Tune into the chat at 15:00 Eastern time (20:00 UTC) by visting: NASA - NASA Chat: The Moon’s Earth-like Core

2011 Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference - Student Competition

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 14:54:05 -0800

2011 Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference - Student Competition:

Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander X CHALLENGE winner Masten Space Systems is sponsoring this cool student competition at the upcoming NSRC 2011 conference. Florida students (undergraduates or graduate students), design cool experiments to fly on a suborbital rocket either tended or untended; or write an essay about the benefits of suborbital spaceflight.

Details here. Good luck!

Moon Mineralogy Mapper - New Online Data Volume

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 16:39:31 -0800

Moon Mineralogy Mapper - New Online Data Volume:

NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey released a new volume of data from the Moon Mineralogy Mapper this weekend. M3 was one of two instruments NASA flew on board Chandrayaan-1, India’s first lunar orbiter.

This volume contains Chandrayaan-1 Lunar Orbiter (CH-1) Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) raw and reduced image data, Optical Period 2, Level 0 and Level 1B. The volume also contains detailed documentation about the mission, instrument, and data set, as well as an index table.

The Rocket City Space Pioneers - one of our newer Google Lunar X...

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:53:00 -0800

The Rocket City Space Pioneers - one of our newer Google Lunar X PRIZE Teams - are having an Educational Kick-Off meeting right at this very moment. We absolutely love it when our teams do cool educational projects, so we’re looking forward to hearing the results of that meeting!

Lots of the Google Lunar X PRIZE teams have educational programs either planned or already happening. Surf around their pages, and find your favorites!

NASA’s indefatigable Mars rover Opportunity provides us...

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 16:13:10 -0800

NASA’s indefatigable Mars rover Opportunity provides us with a little bit of inspiration.

This image from NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover at the edge of “Santa Maria” crater shows diverse textures of the crater. Contrast has been enhanced to emphasize the textures.
Opportunity used its navigation camera to record this view during the 2,476th Martian day, or sol, of the rover’s work on Mars (Jan. 10, 2011). The rover’s position was close to the crater’s lip on the southeastern edge of the crater. Santa Maria is about 90 meters (295 feet) in diameter.

This gorgeous image makes us long for the day when we’re seeing similar shots coming down from Google Lunar X PRIZE rovers (or hoppers or …). And if you look at it just right, can’t you kind of imagine that there are footprints right in front of the rover?

via photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov and @MarsRovers

Grant Imahara of MythBusters fame narrates this wonderful little...

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 13:41:46 -0800

Grant Imahara of MythBusters fame narrates this wonderful little video about the Engineering Design process, using a FIRST robotics team as an example.

FIRST Design (Part 1) (via dblavery)

2011 has been off to an eventful start for our two Northrop...

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 13:12:26 -0800

2011 has been off to an eventful start for our two Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander X CHALLENGE winners.

Phil Eaton of Armadillo Aerospace–which took home $850,000 in that competition–shared the above picture of their new Tube Rocket design on Facebook. He writes “Same propellant mass as a MOD [their prize-winning vehicle], less a couple hundred pounds of dry weight and a whole lot less drag!” Looks pretty sweet to us!

Masten Space Systems, which took home $1,150,000, is also working on a few new vehicle designs. Just yesterday, they conducted the first hold-down test of the new XA-0.1-E2 rocket, also known as “Brutus” (get it?).

They write of the test: “the crew of Masten Space Systems is very happy with the performance of this first firing. After several more tied down engine tests, we will start flying the vehicle on a tether to verify its navigation skills. Free flights will follow after the tethered tests.”

Kudos to both groups, and keep up the good work!

Students age 13-18: consider competing for the Conrad...

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 10:26:54 -0800

Students age 13-18: consider competing for the Conrad Foundation’s Spirit of Innovation Awards. These awards originally started as a joint project between Nancy Conrad (wife of Apollo moonwalker Pete Conrad) and the X PRIZE Foundation back in ~2007, but Nancy, Josh, and team have done incredible things since going ‘full time’.

As they note:

A prestigious high school expelled young Pete Conrad because he couldn’t read or spell. They didn’t recognize dyslexia at that time. In a new school, a perceptive headmaster saw Pete’s spark of genius and gave him the confidence he needed. Pete went on to earn a scholarship to Princeton and a ride to the moon as Commander of Apollo 12. As an explorer and entrepreneur, Pete founded four companies to work on the commercialization of space travel – so one day all of us might have the chance to leave the Earth’s atmosphere. In Pete’s honor, the Conrad Foundation gives talented young students their moon shot. By providing students the opportunity to design, develop, and commercialize innovative products using science and technology that solve 21st century problems, we connect the most creative students with real-world entrepreneurial ventures.

They have three competition areas: Cyber Security, Clean Energy, and Aerospace Exploration. MoonBots teams, we’re looking at you in particular. Good luck, and may the best teams win!

Spirit of Innovation Awards - Conrad Foundation

Today, our friends at Google announced the brand new Google...

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:35:13 -0800

Today, our friends at Google announced the brand new Google Global Science Fair 2011. As they explain, they are “looking for the brightest, best young scientists from around the world to submit interesting, creative projects that are relevant to the world today.”

We sure wish this had been around back when we were in school!

Kudos to Google and their partners–including LEGO, our mutual partner in MoonBots–and good luck to all the teams!

The Case for the Moon: Why We Should Go Back | Space Exploration & NASA Missions, Astronauts & Spaceflight | Space.com

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:19:08 -0800

The Case for the Moon: Why We Should Go Back | Space Exploration & NASA Missions, Astronauts & Spaceflight | Space.com:

The newly re-designed Space.com website posts some arguments for why the Moon is worthy of our attention. The key line?

Ultimately, the moon may represent the best chance humanity has of establishing a foothold in space.

Tomorrow, they are going to post “the Case Against the Moon.” We won’t enjoy that one quite as much, I’ll bet–but we’ll be reading it, pondering its content, and using it to better state the case of why the Google Lunar X PRIZE is so important.

This weekend, keep your eyes on the prize. Photo from Steve’s...

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 15:40:01 -0800

This weekend, keep your eyes on the prize.

Photo from Steve’s Astro » Moon from SGL5 (via the always wonderful Wired GeekDad)

NASA Research Team Reveals Moon Has Earth-Like Core

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 17:28:16 -0800

NASA Research Team Reveals Moon Has Earth-Like Core:

From a NASA press release issued today:

The team’s findings suggest the moon possesses a solid, iron-rich inner core with a radius of nearly 150 miles and a fluid, primarily liquid-iron outer core with a radius of roughly 205 miles. Where it differs from Earth is a partially molten boundary layer around the core estimated to have a radius of nearly 300 miles. The research indicates the core contains a small percentage of light elements such as sulfur, echoing new seismology research on Earth that suggests the presence of light elements – such as sulfur and oxygen – in a layer around our own core.

The researchers used extensive data gathered during the Apollo-era moon missions. The Apollo Passive Seismic Experiment consisted of four seismometers deployed between 1969 and 1972, which recorded continuous lunar seismic activity until late-1977.

We have so much left to learn about our nearest neighbor. And if we are still learning so much from data collected in the 1970s, imagine how much we’ll learn when we have a veritable fleet of low cost robotic explorers crawling and hopping around the lunar surface. That's Moon 2.0, baby!

Evadot Podcast #55- Blaze Sanders of GLXP Team Jurban and Solar System Express

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 13:05:18 -0800

Evadot Podcast #55- Blaze Sanders of GLXP Team Jurban and Solar System Express:

Michael and Haley talk to Blaze Sanders, a young entrepreneur and a member of Google Lunar X PRIZE team JURBAN, on the latest episode of the Evadot podcast.

Like Blaze as an individual, JURBAN as a team has a fantastic story. We’re always happy to hear them tell it, and we hope to hear it much more often in 2011!

Idea: Crowdfund a mission to put a monolith on the Moon

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 06:20:34 -0800

Idea: Crowdfund a mission to put a monolith on the Moon:

The folks at Ironic Sans suggest crowd-funding a mission to deposit a 2001-esque monolith on the lunar surface. As Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander X CHALLENGE winner Ben Brockert points out in the comments (of which there are quite a few!), this is a job that could easily be adapted to fly with a Google Lunar X PRIZE team.

And since 2001 author Arthur C. Clarke was one of the first people to endorse the Google Lunar X PRIZE, it seems particularly fitting!

(Found via WIRED GeekDad - one of our partners for the 2010 MoonBots competition!)