I’ve been informed by UKAuctioneers.com that they are holding an auction today of a collection of autographs that includes
a large quantity of signed photographs by Russian/Soviet cosmonauts and US astronauts including Buzz Aldrin and Alan Bean.
For a listing of the items and to participate in the auction see: The Mark Whitworth Collection – An Important Sale of Autographs and Related Ephemera – UKAuctioneers.com.
Markus Landgraf, a mission analyst with the European Space Agency, gave a TEDxRheinMain talk earlier this year about space elevators: : A Tedx Talk about the Space Elevator – The Space Elevator Blog
In the video he switches from German to English at 2:09.
Observation satellites orbiting Mars have spotted many odd Mars surface features over the years. Here is an article about a circular depression in the south polar region seen by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter camera : The Ice Pits of Mars – The Planetary Society
This circular depression on the south polar ice cap is about four kilometers across. It first caught the eye of Mars explorers in the 70s, and they still debate whether it’s an impact crater or a collapse feature. The ‘Swiss cheese’ terrain consists of shallow pits where carbon dioxide ice has sublimated away. This landscape was imaged by the high-resolution camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on four separate occasions pictured here. From left to right: March 2013, May 2013, September 2007, and December 2012. Click to see at full size.
The Ad Astra Rocket Company has opened a Kickstarter crowdfunding effort to fund a high quality animation of their VASIMR plasma propulsion system: Animating VASIMR®: The Future of Spaceflight by Ad Astra Rocket Company – Kickstarter:
Following up on the earlier post Rocket propulsion intro, here is an overview of hybrid rocket motors like that which will be used on the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo space tourism vehicle: Hybrid Rocket Overview, Part 2 – Space Safety Magazine.
