Space Newsspace history and artifacts articlesMessagesspace history discussion forumsSightingsworldwide astronaut appearancesResourcesselected space history documents
: Playmobil is inspiring kids (and adults) to imagine their future on the moon through a new play set produced in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA). Now in stores in both Europe and the U.S., the $22.99 (€19,99/£19.99) Starter Pack Space Mission comes with an astronaut figure, lunar rover, mobile science station and rock samples, as based on what ESA is doing now to send astronauts to the moon.
: Sixty-four years after the first American to fly into space sought permission to pee in his suit, a new campaign is pairing the experiences of children and astronauts. Goodnites' Mission Dry aims to destigmatize wearing protective nighttime underwear by comparing them to crew members who don absorbent garments when they launch into orbit and go out on spacewalks. Former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly stars in a new video for the campaign.
: Now on approach, the new Lego Icons Shuttle Carrier Aircraft is set for a landing May 15. The $229.99, 2,417-piece kit recreates the modified Boeing 747 jetliner and NASA's prototype orbiter Enterprise as they appeared when they arrived at the Paris Air Show in 1983. The jumbo jet has deployable 18-wheel landing gear and the winged orbiter can be outfitted with its engines or aerodynamic tail cone.
: On Aug. 1, Lego will roll out into stores the Lunar Outpost Moon Rover Space Vehicle, a new toy building set inspired by the real robotic explorers that are enabling humanity's return to the moon. The $99.99 kit uses 1,082 pieces to form a futuristic all-terrain rover with rocker suspension, deployable solar panels and a rotating arm; a smaller mining rover; and Lunar Outpost's MAPP, or Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform, rover.
: The NASA engineer who, with his team, found the "way to make 'this' fit into the hole for 'this,' using nothing but 'that'" during the (real) Apollo 13 mission has died at 95. Ed Smylie was NASA's crew systems division chief when an in-flight explosion resulted in a series of problems, including the need to scrub the air of carbon dioxide aboard the spacecraft. The solution, as is now storied space history, involved a sock, hoses and tape.
: The names of the more than 20,000 people who have worked at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center since 1960 are now listed on the Space Exploration Wall of Honor. Part of the newly-redone Rocket Park at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, the wall stands a testament to its honorees contributions to landing astronauts on the moon, sending space telescopes into orbit and charting a path to launching humans to Mars.
: An 18-karat gold version of the first watch worn on the moon that was presented to the first person to walk on the moon has set a record for the most paid for an astronaut's timepiece. Neil Armstrong's Omega "Tribute to Astronauts" Speedmaster Professional chronograph commanded $2.2 million at RR Auction on Thursday (April 17). The sale now ranks as the third highest for a space-related artifact at a public auction.
A Belgian artist who was credited with sculpting a small metal figurine left on the moon as a tribute to the space explorers who made the ultimate sacrifice died on Saturday (May 3). Paul Van Hoeydonck was 99. In August 1971, Apollo 15 commander David Scott placed the "Fallen Astronaut" statuette and its accompanying memorial plaque near where he had parked the moon rover, where it remains, lying in the lunar regolith.
: Actor John Lithgow gives voice to the modern day Buzz Aldrin in the new dramatic podcast "BUZZ." Debuting on May 6, the iHeartPodcasts and Thoroughbred Studios' audio series tells the dramatized story of the personal challenges that the Apollo 11 astronaut faced both before and after he returned from the moon. The 11-episode podcast also features the voice work of Geoffrey Arend as Aldrin at the time of the mission.
: China launched its 15th human spaceflight Thursday (April 24) and six-and-a-half hours later docked to the Tiangong space station for a six-month stay. Shenzhou 20 commander Chen Dong, together with first-time fliers Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, will conduct more than 60 science investigations, perform spacewalks to install debris shields and run public outreach and educational activities, while keeping Tiangong running.
: Don Pettit marked his 70th birthday by returning home to Earth on Saturday (April 19). Descending from the International Space Station on board Soyuz MS-26, Pettit landed with Aleksey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner after 220 days in orbit. Already NASA's oldest active astronaut when he launched last September, Pettit's birthday "party" brought together Russian recovery teams in Kazakhstan, where it was April 20 (his birthdate).
: Katy Perry, Gayle King and four more women flew into space on Monday (April 14) as Blue Origin's 11th New Shepard crew and first to be all female. The 10-minute sub-orbital mission qualified each woman as an astronaut and the contents of their personal payload packs "space-certified" mementos. So what did each NS-31 crew member pick to fly? A mix of muppets, an Apollo artifact, Bahamian chowder and more.
advertisements
