Scientists May Have Figured Out Why So Many Spacecraft Were Failing - Scott Manley discusses
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Reaction wheels are notoriously finicky and likely to be one of the first components on a spacecraft fail. That’s why you’ll actually see them in a pyramid configuration using 4 wheels rather than just 3 placed orthogonally. The math is a bit trickier for which to spin up/down, but you can survive at least 1 reaction wheel failure and still have control authority in all 3 axes and can even operate at only 2 wheels.
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Astronauts Are Fixing an Air Leak On International Space Station - Scott Manley discusses
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Carl Sagan’s Message to Mars
The Planetary Society
In 1996, Carl Sagan recorded this audio for future astronauts who will one day walk on Mars.
In 2008, Sagan’s greeting to future explorers made it to the surface of Mars thanks to The Planetary Society’s “Visions of Mars” mini-DVD, which is attached to the Phoenix lander.
This audio of Sagan is actually on Mars, so you will see its home when whenever you look up at the bright, orange light that is the Red Planet in the night sky.
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The ISS Hole - The Whole Truth & Addressing Misinformation - Scott Manley discusses
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Martian weather has cleared at last: Now NASA’s wondering, will Opportunity knock? - theregister
As skies clear over NASA’s stricken Mars Rover, the clock has begun ticking for Opportunity to call home.
Another Pale Blue Dot video, This one is more basic thru-out, but then has a great ending in silence, really good.
Hayabusa-2: Japan’s rovers send pictures from asteroid - bbc
TWITTER/HAYABUSA2@JAXA
A picture taken by one of the rovers on the asteroid’s surface. The white area on the right is due to sunlight.
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What Would “First Contact” Be Like? - Offworld Episode 10
Japanese Asteroid Rovers Touch Down - Hayabusa 2 Update - Scott Manley discusses
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My Mind is going, I can feel it
Douglas Rain: Actor who voiced Hal in 2001: A Space Odyssey dies - BBC
Actor Douglas Rain, who was the voice of the sinister computer Hal in sci-fi film 2001: A Space Odyssey, has died, the organisers of a theatre festival he founded have said.
Rain died at the age of 90, according to the Stratford Festival in Canada.
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InSight: Nasa’s Mars mission on target for landing - BBC
The American space agency Nasa says its InSight Mars lander is on a near-perfect Thanksgiving trajectory.
The probe is due to touch down on Monday at 19:53 GMT, to begin its quest to map the Red Planet’s interior.
NASA: Artwork: It takes 6.5 minutes to go from the top of the atmosphere to the surface
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Speaking of, the Oatmeal has a good comic about it
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Mars InSight lands later today hopefully. If all goes well it should be around 19:53 GMT.
Edit:
Mars: Nasa lands InSight robot to study planet’s interior
My name (among many others) in digital form on a Microchip, are on that craft right now, On Mars.
JonnyRedhed on MARS!
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Chang’e-4: China mission targets Moon’s far side - BBC
China is about to launch the first mission to land robotic craft on the far side of the Moon.
The Chang’e-4 mission will see a static lander and rover touch down in Von Kármán crater, located on the side of the Moon which never faces Earth.
The payload is set to launch on a Long March 3B rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Center at about 18:30 GMT.
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I don’t I’m sorry. Could check for a Chinese space agency website live stream. I’ll be most keen to see the first moon photos.