TheFW » Space

Astronaut Performs First Cover of 'Space Oddity' from Space

Kyle Dowling — Mon, 13 May 2013 14:15:11 +0000

As good as David Bowie‘s ‘Space Oddity’ is, it’s still rather surreal watching someone perform it from space. The above video was recorded by Commander Chris Hadfield whilst onboard the International Space Station. The upload — which has gone viral since being put on YouTube — is said to have taken six months to make and has [...]

See Intense Footage of the Meteor Landing in Russia

Emerald Catron — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 18:50:36 +0000

Zombies. Man-killing space aliens. Killer clowns. It’s okay if these are the first things that run through your mind when you watch this insane footage of a meteor landing in Russia. The meteor crashed into a building, and destroyed it. As of now, at least 1,000 people have been reported injured, and up to 3,000 [...]

NASA May Stage Angry Birds-Style Invasion of Martian Moon

Jeremy Taylor — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 18:49:36 +0000

The Angry Birds franchise turned to NASA for the development and promotion of their game Angry Birds Space. Now it appears the space agency is turning to the super-addictive game for their latest strategy to explore the great beyond. To probe Phobos, a tiny moon of Mars, NASA plans on launching, Angry Birds-style, what they are [...]

Hear the First Song Ever Recorded On the International Space Station

Tom Blunt — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 15:02:58 +0000

Even scientists have soul! Take a listen to ‘Jewel in the Night,’ by Colonel Chris Hadfield. Here’s the link for your listening pleasure. It so happens that several of the astronauts on the International Space Station are musicians, which means that the future could be full of similar transmissions from space. Even stranger: singer Sarah [...]

Students Send First Burger Into Space

Donald Deane — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 16:38:32 +0000

Thanks to a group of Harvard students, a fast food burger has boldly gone where no burger has gone before -- into the edge of space. Hey, it's better than eating it. Those things'll kill ya.

Watch Felix Baumgartner's Jump From the Edge of Space

Emerald Catron — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:10:38 +0000

In case you completely avoided all contact with the internet yesterday, Felix Baumgartner’s jump from 128,100 feet about Earth was a success. The daredevil flew to the edge of space in a helium-fueled weather balloon and then jumped out, breaking the speed of sound on his way down. Not only did he land safely, he [...]

Breaking News – Man Parachutes From Edge of Space

Tom Blunt — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 19:13:27 +0000

Today a base-jumper named Felix Baumgartner attempted a record-breaking high altitude jump from the place where the Earth’s atmosphere ends and space begins. The historic leap from twenty-three miles above the earth did not go exactly as planned. Baumgartner didn’t quite break the record for the longest freefall: he was forced to pull the ripcord [...]

Newly Divorced Woman Launches Wedding Ring Into Space

Marla Rosenthal — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 21:29:27 +0000

In the wake of a failed marriage there are many questions. While, "what should I do with my wedding band?" probably isn't atop the "post matrimony to-do list", it's still a loaded question. Recent divorcee Rebecca Gibbs, an uber-creative New Zealander faced with that very question, decided to take matters into her own hands and launch the symbol of her failed marriage into space.

Best Dad Ever Sends Toy Train Into Space

Emerald Catron — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 15:50:04 +0000

We assumed this guy was the world’s worst dad for taking his son’s favorite toy and launching it into space. But it turns out he could track it using GPS so that it wouldn’t be lost forever, and he is actually the coolest dad on earth because now his kid has a video of his [...]

Curiosity Rover's Descent Digitally Remastered

Emerald Catron — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 20:45:52 +0000

Yes, it was really cool to watch something land on Mars, but truthfully it looked kinda blurry. YouTuber suitzoot went through the landing footage frame by frame and did color correction, increased the frame rate and did a bunch of other stuff so that when you watch the landing now you realize how totally amazing it actually is to have a thing on Mars firing lasers all over the place

Amazing Footage of Curiosity Rover's Landing on Mars Surfaces

Donald Deane — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 16:31:30 +0000

Call us nerds, but we've been excitedly following the progress of the Curiosity rover ever since it made a dangerous landing on the surface of Mars on August 6th. And now comes this amazing footage of its descent courtesy of a camera mounted on the side of the rover itself. We're in geek heaven.

'NASA And I Know It' Brings Sexy Back to Mars

Jeremy Taylor — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 17:19:53 +0000

Parodies of the LMFAO hit ‘Sexy And I Know It’ were all the rage earlier this year. They fizzled out, as these things tend to. But now they’re back — thanks to the Mars Curiosity landing. ‘We’re NASA And We Know it’ is sung by, who else, the NASA Mohawk guy. (Or, rather, one of the [...]

Check Out an Amazing Panoramic Photo of Mars

Jeremy Taylor — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 17:08:10 +0000

The internet has been having a lot of fun with the Mars Curiosity Rover landing. There were a whole bunch of memes. And, of course, there's mohawk guy Bobak Ferdowsi, who's successfully bridged the gap between geek and punk.

But the real fun is going to begin when we start to getting hold of more of the photos and videos Curiosity is going to beam back to earth.

The Funniest Memes About the Mars Curiosity Rover

Kyle Dowling — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 21:19:10 +0000

The internet is blowing up today with news of NASA’s rover Curiosity successfully fulfilling its mission to land on Mars. In doing so — after it traveled hundreds of miles — the device transmitted images back to Earth, giving us all a scoop on the Red Planet. But NASA wasn’t the only one excited about [...]

See Photos and Video From Mars Rover Curiosity

Donald Deane — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 17:46:22 +0000

After an eight month journey, NASA’s multi-billion dollar rover Curiosity made a successful landing on Mars early this morning. Mission controllers cheered after the six-wheeled, one-ton machine made a perilous seven-minute landing involving a parachute, rocket pack and sky crane. The $2.5 billion rover, which is meant to operate for at least the next two [...]

National Geographic Plans to Transmit Tweets into Space

Donald Deane — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 19:15:43 +0000

As a way to promote its show ‘Chasing UFOs’ and potentially impress aliens with our highly-advanced Twitter technology, the National Geographic Channel will broadcast tweets into the deepest recesses of space this coming August. The event will also celebrate the 35th anniversary of the “Wow!” signal, an unexplained narrowband radio signal detected by SETI in [...]

Mickey Mouse-Shaped Craters Discovered on Mercury

Donald Deane — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 15:00:14 +0000

If you need proof that the Disney brand is everywhere, look no further than this. NASA’s Messenger probe photographed three craters on the surface of Mercury that look strikingly similar to Disney’s beloved mascot Mickey Mouse. The instantly recognizable shape of Mickey’s head is formed by three overlapping craters in Mercury’s southern hemisphere, the largest [...]

NASA Astronaut Explains What Angry Birds in Space is Really Like

Danny Gallagher — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 22:16:19 +0000

The hotly anticipated sequel to the ‘Angry Birds‘ franchise will take everyone’s favorite ornery fowls to the depths of outer space. However, one NASA astronaut has already beaten them to the punch. NASA Astronaut Dave Pettit, who is working on the International Space Station, held an interesting demonstration while in orbit. He used the upcoming [...]

Conversation Between Ground Control and Major Tom Reconstructed [VIDEO]

Jeremy Taylor — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:50:59 +0000

The comedy troupe Killing My Lobster has recreated the conversation between ground control and Major Tom which takes place in the classic David Bowie song, 'Space Oddity.' It turns out ground control was getting increasingly exasperated by Major Tom's odd behavior. (Video has some mildly NSFW language)

Japanese Astronaut Plays Baseball By Himself In Space

Donald Deane — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 19:32:53 +0000

During long periods of isolation in outer space, boredom is no doubt a major problem. So how did one Japanese astronaut decide to pass the time? By playing a baseball game all by himself, of course. Thanks to zero-g conditions, Satoshi Furukawa is able to pitch, hit and catch a ball all by his lonesome. [...]

Actual Moon Walking Fails – Even Astronauts Can Have Spills [VIDEO]

Jeremy Taylor — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 22:05:20 +0000

It turns out not all steps on the moon go as well as Neil Armstrong’s most famous one. In fact, there’s a lengthy back log of bloopers coming out of space, and they’ve been consolidated into one hysterical video. [via The Daily What]

Intergalactic Quilts Are Out of This World [PHOTOS]

Dylan Schenker — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 23:15:41 +0000

Have you ever wanted to hang the universe on your wall? With Jimmy McBride’s intergalactic quilts you can explore an entire galaxy from the comfort of your bedroom or living room. For each quilt, Jimmy develops a narrative around the inspiration for the image. They not only represent space as it is now, but also [...]

Watch Stunning High-Speed Footage of the Earth's Rotation [VIDEO]

Donald Deane — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:20:00 +0000

NASA just released amazing high-speed video of the Earth rotating as seen from the international space station, giving us breathtaking views as the world zooms by. In some cases, city lights and lightning in the clouds can clearly be seen. Wait, is that our house? But be advised: the Earth appears to spin so fast [...]

NASA Corn Maze Patterns Are Out of This World [PHOTOS]

Dylan Schenker — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 19:50:06 +0000

When you hear about crop circles, the first thing that immediately pops to mind is strange, unexplainable alien patterns encoded in farmland. So what better way to celebrate NASA’s rich history of space exploration than with some amazing corn maze crop circles? Space Farm 7, a collaboration between NASA and seven of the most popular [...]

Breathtaking View of the Auroras From Space [VIDEO]

Dylan Schenker — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:12:24 +0000

This breathtaking new video from the International Space Station offers a rarely seen view of the Auroras from space.

The Southern and Northern Lights are one of the most beautiful natural phenomenon in the world. So you can imagine how amazing they look while floating above the Earth. You gotta see this footage after the jump.

What Did 9/11 Look Like From Space? [PICTURE]

Dylan Schenker — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 21:16:18 +0000

The Twin Towers were enormous buildings and the attacks of 9/11 were of such magnitude that people were able to see the skyline change from neighboring states and camera-equipped satellites were even able to capture the aftermath from space. This photo was taken by an enhanced thematic mapper camera on NASA’s Landsat 8 on at [...]

Is Domino's Pizza Really Building a Branch on the Moon? [VIDEO]

Jeremy Taylor — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 16:02:41 +0000

If an ad campaign from Domino’s Japan is to be believed, the pizza giant is making plans to take their brand to the final frontier: the moon. In an English-language video posted below, the president of Domino’s Japan lays out the company’s aspirations for opening up a branch on lunar ground. Just a stunt? Maybe not: [...]

Hurricane Irene as Seen From Outer Space [VIDEO]

Chip Sandalwood — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 21:17:57 +0000

Hurricane Irene is on her way and preliminary reports suggests she’ll be a big one. To get an idea of just how big though, check out this aerial video of Irene filmed from the International Space Station as it passed over the Eastern seaboard. The three-minute video clip, which was shot just before 1pm Mountain [...]

Astronomers Discover Planet Made of Diamonds

Jeremy Taylor — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 17:52:34 +0000

In the most stunning piece of planetary news since Pluto’s sad demotion, astronomers have found a star-orbiting land mass that is so dense its carbon is crystalline — which means it’s basically a planet made out of diamonds. “The evolutionary history and amazing density of the planet all suggest it is comprised of carbon — i.e. a massive [...]

Did Planet Earth Once Have Two Moons?

Jeremy Taylor — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 18:18:57 +0000

Astronomers from the University of California, Santa Cruz have uncovered evidence suggesting that two moons once orbited Earth. They speculate that the second moon — which was about 1/3 the size of our current moon — was formed in the same collision between Earth and a Mars-sized object that scientists believe created our existing moon. Then, [...]