Monday, July 30th, 2012
by Jason Taetsch
Could we all have our own drones one day? Following the successful test of civilian drones by CAE and Aeronautics, the Canadian government is considering removing restrictions placed on UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) for non-military purposes.
Tuesday, July 24th, 2012
By Jason Taetsch
The summer movie season is often filled with films portraying masked heroes on missions to save the world. These films will likely be seen by millions of people all over the globe. Unfortunately, much less attention will be paid to a real-life team of individuals who have, in fact, actually set out to save the planet. Read more.
Tuesday, June 19th, 2012
by Jason Taetsch
It’s not everyday that the phrase, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, can be applied to the space industry. But last week news broke that NASA will receive an unforeseen boost from the hardships of the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office in the form of two powerful telescopes designed for satellite imagery. Read more.
Monday, May 28th, 2012
It’s no surprise that many were skeptical when James Cameron and his counterparts at Planetary Resources, Inc. announced plans to mine precious metals and other materials from near-Earth asteroids. After all, the whole concept seems like something out of a James Cameron movie. And, as if Planetary Resources weren’t mind-boggling enough, Cameron and co. have also announced that they plan to extract water from the asteroids. Read more.
Tuesday, April 17th, 2012
At any given point in time, the sun is approximately 93,000,000 miles from Earth, and yet it impacts almost every activity on the planet. The Sun is the giver of life here on Earth, but the events on the Sun’s surface have the ability to wreak havoc for us critters who have arisen thanks to the star’s rays.
Those warm rays that brighten everyone’s mood in spring after a long winter have the potential to include dangerous amounts of radiation that can disrupt modern life as we know it. Read more.
Wednesday, April 11th, 2012
For people that suffer from nearsightedness, there is another option for correcting your eyesight if the idea of Lasik frightens you. The downside is this procedure costs quite a bit more and involves traveling out of the Earth’s atmosphere. A recent study published in the medical journal Radiology, found that astronauts experienced a flattening of the eyeball and increased pressure during prolonged spaceflight. This flattening process could have a positive impact on nearsightedness, however for astronauts with good vision the degenerative properties of the process could lead to possible blindness if left untreated. Read more.
Monday, February 27th, 2012
Powering a scientific laboratory solely by solar-energy is no-easy task for any facility on Earth. This one is in outer space. And lives depend on it to never fail.
The challenge to power the International Space Station solely by solar array fell to the design team for the craft, a task that came with added burden of knowing that the lives of the crew depended on their success in delivering enough energy to power the laboratory experiments and life support system. Read more.