Tag: space

News Science Sports

Some Sochi Gold Medals Will Contain Space Rock

Last Feb. 15, a meteorite landed in Russia.

A meteorite is a rock that comes to Earth from space.

Every year, thousands of asteroids and meteoroids streak past our planet.

Most of the ones headed for Earth simply burn up in our atmosphere.

In this case, the meteorite exploded into thousands of pieces in the air, making a tremendous noise known as a sonic boom.

Some of the rocks fell to Earth in the city of Chelyabinsk, Russia.

Russian scientists have been studying the rocks to know more about them—where they came from and how they were formed.

Chris Hadfield at Freedom Day
News

Chris Hadfield Inspires Thousands Of Students At Freedom Day Celebration

Thousands of middle-school students converged on Yonge-Dundas Square in downtown Toronto on Wednesday to celebrate Freedom Day.

The annual event was hosted by the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies.

Speakers ranged from holocaust survivor Max Eisen to dance troupe SolePower, and culminated in an inspirational speech from former Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield.

Max Eisen talked about surviving a concentration camp.

“When I was in Auschwitz, trying to survive on 300 calories a day,” he said, “I thought of two things: food and freedom.”

The downtown square was packed with students, who sat cross-legged under a blazing sun, shoulder to shoulder, to listen to the speakers.

Science

Chinese Space Mission Will Last 15 Days

A Chinese space capsule, carrying three astronauts, blasted off on Tuesday. It is on a 15-day mission.

The Shenzhou 10 capsule will dock with a space lab called Tiangong 1.

While on the Tiangong 1, the Chinese crew plans to deliver a series of educational talks to children.

China’s education initiative is designed to spark kids’ interest in space exploration.

The astronauts will also conduct dozens of experiments while they are in space.

News Science Technology

“Lots Of Room For Zero-G Fun” On New Commercial Spacecraft

More than 500 people—including American actor Ashton Kutcher—will become “astronauts” next year.

They have each paid $200,000 for a two-hour flight on SpaceShipTwo.

The aircraft will take them very high and very fast—in fact, they will break the sound barrier.

A British company called Virgin Galactic, which is owned by a well-known and famously daring billionaire named Sir Richard Branson, tested its new aircraft last week.

During the test, the spacecraft flew 69,000 feet high over the Mojave Desert, in the U.S.

News Science

Want To Be An Astronaut? A New Post Has Just Opened Up

Canadian astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield will soon be simply, “Mr. Hadfield.”

That’s because he has announced that he is resigning.

In this case, “resigning” means stopping his job as an astronaut.

Hadfield has been an astronaut for 35 years.

Recently, he gained wide popularity after sending photos and videos to Earth from the International Space Station.

Many people around the world enjoyed his tweets and Facebook posts from space.

News Science

First Human Colony Planned For Mars

A Dutch business owner is looking for people who want to live on Mars.

He believes that with proper preparation, a human settlement can exist on the Red Planet.

He said the settlement would provide valuable information for those who support and study life beyond Earth.

The project is called Mars One and nearly 80,000 people–including 35 Canadians–have applied to start a new life on Mars.

Those who are chosen to go would set up a colony, similar to a city.

Supplies for the colony will be sent to Mars beginning in 2016.

The first four settlers are scheduled to be transported to Mars in 2023.

News

Hadfield Arrives Back On Earth; Videos From His Incredible Journey

In Chris Hadfield’s own words, he is, “safely home—back on Earth, happily readapting to the heavy pull of gravity.”

The Canadian astronaut left Earth to live on the International Space Station (ISS) late last December.

He touched down in Kazakhstan on Monday at 10:31 p.m. (EDT), along with two other astronauts who had been on the ISS.

He will now undergo extensive medical testing to help his body adjust to life on Earth again.

In the five months he was living on the ISS, Chris Hadfield changed the way we all relate to space.

Kids Science

Chris Hadfield Sings With Hundreds Of Thousands Of Schoolchildren

I’m watching history happen, right in front of my eyes.

It’s 12:30 Eastern Time on Monday, May 6.

On my computer screen, I’m watching a live satellite feed from space.

An astronaut is singing and playing guitar. He’s singing a song he wrote (with Canadian songwriter Ed Robertson from the band the Barenaked Ladies) called I.S.S. (Is Somebody Singing)?

But the really exciting part is something I can’t see. Hundreds of thousands of children in Canada and throughout the world are also singing, right at this moment, singing the very same song.

It’s part of Music Monday, which is an annual event in Canada that began in 2005. Each year, a song is chosen and school children across the country learn it so they can sing it at the same time on the same day.

News

New Designs For Canadian $5 And $10 Bills “Cartoonish” And “Outdated”

The Bank of Canada is ready to show people what its new polymer $5 and $10 bills will look like.

But according to a report, some people say the new bills look too cartoonish or outdated.

The report was obtained by a news service called Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.

The report says that the Bank asked focus groups what they thought about the look of newly designed $5 and $10 bills.

The people in the focus groups said they thought the space images on the bill looked too childish.

News Science

Commander Hadfield’s Son, Evan, Helps Bring Space To Earth

Chris Hadfield is the Canadian astronaut living and working on – and commanding – the International Space Station.

He’s the first astronaut to bring the “space experience” to Earthlings in the form of regular tweets, photos, Facebook posts, videos and even songs.

Hadfield lets us know what experiments he’s working on, what the Earth looks like from his vantage point and what it’s like to live in space.

Hadfield has three children, Kyle (30), Evan (27) and Kristin (26).

Evan lives in Darmstadt, Germany.

He has been helping his father communicate with Earth, via Twitter and other social media websites such as Facebook, tumblr and Soundcloud.