Jordan Wirfs-Brock's Library tagged NASA →  View Popular, Search in Google

Evan Lerner's even-headed week in review contemplates the intersection of science and faith: what (if anything) does it mean that the future head of the NIH, Francis Collins, is deeply religious?

seed evan lerner francis collins NIH BigLogos Obama unscientific america science faith religion policy space-x NASA

Beautiful reflection on what Apollo means -- and what it means to be a journalist covering it -- from John Noble Wilford, reporter from the New York Times who wrote the original moon-landing story. It actually made me cry. Really.

nytimes apollo moon landing john noble wilford neil armstrong NASA space race 40th anniversary lunar apollo11 apollo8

OCO blog by Eric Ianson, program executive for the project. (Kind of like the producer for a film -- he is "responsible for tracking the mission’s cost, schedule, and performance against NASA established requirements. But in a broader sense, I am an advocate, advisor, sounding board, liaison, counselor, "gofer", secretary, etc."

OCO NASA satellite CO2 Oribiting Carbon Observatory Eric Ianson

Ok, this article has more:

"Oco will collect about 8 million measurements every 16 days for at least two years. It will use three high-resolution spectrometers to split light into its various constituent colours. By anlaysing this light to detect the unique signature of gases such as carbon dioxide and oxygen in the atmosphere, scientists will be able to determine their relative concentrations and identify sources and sinks of CO2."

The other news brief didn't even give the full name of the satellite! (It's the Orbiting Carbon Observatory, or Oco.)

guardian satellite CO2 monitor greenhouse gas carbon dioxide NASA Orbiting Carbon Observatory Oco

Cool! Tomorrow NASA is launching satellite whose job is to monitor CO2. The big omission in the article, though, is HOW exactly it will take CO2 measurements of the Earth's atmosphere from outside of it. I'm...very curious. Maybe some kind of spectroscopy? Anyone? Anyone?

NASA CO2 satellite monitor carbon greenhouse gas guardian

RIP Mars Phoenix Lander. But at least it served as fodder for some clever punniness...

Mars phoenix lander NASA wired epitaph RIP twitter contest humor

phoenix lander mars footprint NASA yeti