From the moment a child first recognizes his or her reflection, their sense of self awareness is forever changed. So too was humanity’s when we got our first look at the planet from space. It was a life-changing event on a species-wide scale — our microcosm suddenly became extremely macro and we were able to finally see ourselves against the grander backdrop of the universe.
Last Friday May 10th marked the anniversary of the first colour pictures taken of Earth from space. Captured by the Apollo 10 crew, it marked the first time we were able to bring back images of our blue marble, in full colour.
Chances are that you’ve used a GPS device, watched a live television broadcast of a major event on the other side of the world, laughed or cried at the status update of a social media friend, or checked the weather forecast — events all made possible by the almost indispensable satellites that impact many lives across the world.
Yet those satellites are threatened by the now thousands of pieces of satellites and spacecraft that have broken apart in orbit – many times accidentally, some times not – and are speeding through space at several hundred kilometres per second.
This threat gets potentially worse with each new satellite or rocket launch.
by Theras Wood If a future civilization were to begin flipping through our history (e)books, how would they interpret our society’s treatment of the Earth? Would they regard us with scorn? Perhaps they’d laud us for our stalwart self-interest.
by Theras Wood Concern for the future of the world is something each generation grapples with, in its own way. For the last six years, Earth Hour has been amplifying those concerned voices by ‘uniting the world to protect the planet.’ Organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Earth Hour encourages businesses and individuals to flick offRead more…
You might have felt it, but here’s your proof: Since 1880, there’s never been a hotter year in the U.S. than 2012.
And NASA’s finding could have been even more powerful had the temperature records extended beyond the last 132 years (beginning in 1880).
2012′s temperature readings got scientists talking for another reason: 2012 is now ranked by NASA as the ninth warmest year on record, across the entire world. The immediate problem with these high temperatures is the extreme weather that comes along with them — including widespread drought and monstrous bush fires.
by Theras Wood Take it from an astronaut: when you “look at the Earth for the first time, you’re overwhelmed by how much more beautiful it really is,” says Nicole Stott, Shuttle and ISS Astronaut, in Overview. Last year marked the 40th launch anniversary of Apollo’s last lunar mission, whose crew snapped the iconic — and everRead more…
A Vancouver-based company hopes to have two cameras hooked up to the International Space Station sometime this year that will offer Internet users a new twist on the aerial imagery offered by Google and other companies.
Unlike the satellite images users are already familiar with, which usually are months if not years out of date, Urthecast (pronounced Earth-cast) is promising to continually update its site with fresh photos and video. Read more.
When Sir Richard Branson gives you the thumbs up, you know you’re doing something right. “I always search for new countries for easier navigation in the business environment. Now it’s Russia’s turn,” explained Richard Branson at the Open Innovations Forum when discussing his joint foundation with Rusnano, Virgin Green Fund.
During the three-day-long forum in early November, Moscow’s Expocenter venue hosted (among others) UrtheCast’s own President & CEO Scott Larson; Virgin Corp. founder, Richard Branson; Director of Development of Skolkovo’s Space Cluster, Dmitry Payson, and other business and technology leaders from across the world. Read more.
The International Space Station is often referred to as “humanity’s home in space“. But because space is generally inhospitable for humanity, much research and thought has gone into ways to make the ISS a better home for the astronauts who live and work there, starting with those basics of life: air, water, power, and food. Read more.
If this were a movie, the incident might be called Four Days in July. The plot: A scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California is analyzing satellite data when he notices that most of the ice sheet that covers Greenland appears to be melting.
