space race
NASA's Atmosphere-Monitoring Probe Joins the Party of Orbiters Around Mars
MAVEN adds to the growing collection of spacecraft orbiting Mars, and will gather data that could help develop a manned mission.
Sometimes a Typo Means You Need to Blow Up Your Own Spacecraft
Mariner I, a bit of missing mathematical notation, and why more doom by tiny mistakes is in our future.
Hundreds of Albanian Police Officers Raid a Pot Operation
Albania wants to look tough on crime to increase their chances of joining the European Union.
India Is Launching a Mission to Mars Tomorrow
Thus far, 14 of the 18 successful missions to Mars have been launched by NASA. India may be next.
America's First Space Walker Didn't Want to Come Back
On June 3, 1965, Ed White stepped out above Hawaii and, for twenty minutes, became the first American human spaceship.
Despite the Tuxedo, Iran's Space Monkey Is a Hoax
We've got a monkey gaffe of historic proportions on our hands.
The Man Who Chose the Moon: How Kennedy Made the Boldest Decision
On April 12, 1961, the Soviet Union sent Yuri Gagarin hurtling around the Earth, marking the first time humans had stepped through the atmosphere and into space. Three weeks later, the United States began the slow process of catching up, with the...
Neil Armstrong Gave an Incredibly Rare Interview to Whom?
Upon becoming the first man to step foot on the Moon, Neil Armstrong uttered perhaps the most famous line in American science history. And, well, he hasn't said much since. Armstrong is notoriously hard to interview, and compared to fellow Apollo 1...
On Its Anniversary, Remembering the Beeping Fear of Sputnik
Fifty-four years ago this week, people throughout America were searching for a flashing dot among the stars every night and tuning their radios to hear the first sound to reach Earth from space.
NASA Needs To Relearn How To Roll The Dice
NASA used to take risks. It used to occasionally throw caution to the wind and just go for broke on some pretty dangerous missions. In short, and to be slightly crude, NASA used to have balls.
The Handsome Stuff: How Yuri Gagarin was Selected to be the First Cosmonaut
If you've read Tom Wolfe’s canonical space history “The Right Stuff,” or seen the famous movie adaptation, you know something of the grueling selection process of America’s Mercury astronaut.
The Newsreel Americans Saw After the Soviets Sent a Man to Space
Two days after Gagarin's historic orbit around the Earth, this newsreel, headlined "Soviets Hail Space Hero," gave Americans a look at Moscow in the throes of jubilation as the Soviets defeated the West in the early laps of the space race. "Films like...