When NASA gets really bored, it starts doing pointless comparisons of the first successful landing on the moon. Only the brightest minds at NASA will be jotting down coordinates and tracing all of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s movements. It turns out that the two original mooninites only hopped around in an area smaller than a soccer field.

So NASA: Interplanetary exploration? We care. Beer in space? We care. Your old missions compared to modern day sports? Don’t care. Figure out space travel instead of wasting time dwelling in the past. Unless of course, dwelling in the past eventually leads to innovative space traveling techniques that lead to the creation of sports in space.

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It turns out that space funerals might not be such a great idea after all. Commercial spaceflight company SpaceX had their third failed launch in a row last night when the Falcon 1 rocket began spinning out of control less than two minutes after liftoff in the Marshall Islands. Aboard the doomed rocket were the ashes 208 people including Star Trek actor James “Scotty” Doohan.

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Two new buildings are being built in Tinajin, China that are sure to rival the Dubai tower in design. The 1175-foot Sinosteel International Plaza and the 288-foot hotel next to it may not be as tall as the Ultima tower, but they’ve got something to prove with the hexagonal windows installed in them. The windows are placed in such a way that will take the most advantage of the sun and wind that it possibly can, allowing the structure to use as little energy as possible from conventional energy sources.

The Chinese architects, MAD Ltd, came up with this innovative honeycomb design for their windows not only for energy efficiency but also for stability and space. I’m hoping they’re shatter-proof in the event that someone throws a wild mud wrestling party in one of the hotel rooms.
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Remember the Virgin Galactic Mothership Hunter posted about over the weekend? Well, Designer Burt Rhutan of Scaled Composites and Sir Richard Branson, chairman of Virgin, have unveiled the latest in aviation technology and the world’s largest all carbon composite aircraft, the White Knight 2. It’s capable of reaching heights as great as 50,000 feet and specifies in training pilots for pre space-flight with positive G forces and zero G exercises.

Branson’s interest in space exploration was inspired by Steven Hawking (not the LEGO variety) and it seems like the days of Star Trek are getting closer and closer. With twelve of these babies being built, maybe those weddings in space will be bountiful in the near future. CrunchGear has great live coverage of the event, featuring tons of pictures, videos and facts on the unveiling of the White Knight 2.

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Good news for people who want to have a space wedding or drink some Martian mineral water: Virgin Galactic, the space tourism venture co-sponsored by British mogul Sir Richard Branson and aerospace designer Burt Rutan will unveil their ship White Knight Two tomorrow. Over two hundred people have already plunked down $200,000 to take Virgin Galactic’s rockets to space when the program begins sometime after late 2009. White Knight Two will carry the rockets 50,000 feet in the air before releasing them. After disengaging from White Knight Two, the Virgin Galactic spaceships will fly to a maximum height of 363,033 feet. Though White Knight Two will be ready to present to the public tomorrow, the spaceships are still being kept under wraps and Virgin says they are only about 70% completed.

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NASA says their Phoenix lander may have found water on Mars again. Last month, they thought Phoenix had discovered Martian ice, but it evaporated before they could were able to analyze it. Now, NASA is announcing that Phoenix has discovered another small trench which may contain frozen water.

Data transmitted from the lander has revealed a hard layer below the surface of the trench and researchers are hoping this material is Martian ice. On Thursday, Phoenix confirmed that the top of the trench (pictured above) had been scraped away sufficiently to allow the lander to obtain a sample of the possible ice. Currently, Phoenix is undergoing cleaning procedures to ensure that it can take and analyze the hard material without contaminating it. Those so-called “rocket scientists” over there at NASA better move fast and not screw things up this time.

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Later this year, Microsoft will be retailing its new wireless mouse specifically designed for easy transit. Gone are the days of the tiny transportable mouse for your laptop that makes your hand look like an amputated limb from Andre The Giants body.

It’s a full-sized mouse that folds into a space-saving form that’ll fit anywhere from your laptop case to your underpants. Unfolding the Microsoft Arc mouse in front of everyone on the train will make them wish they had a mouse as big as yours!

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In an effort to stem losses from console sales (because the PS3 is a steal), Sony announced Friday that it is in desperate need of cash. Well, that wasn’t verbatim but it was something along the lines of an offer for advertising space in their upcoming games.

“Various game titles are played by fans who like certain things, which can offer opportunities for targeted ads,” said a Sony spokesman.

Wait, doesn’t everyone like certain things? Prepare yourself for a mindfuck of corporate pollution in your video games. The ’shopped picture says it all.
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Last we checked in with NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander, it had just discovered ice below the martian surface. Now, after multiple tests on the martian soil, scientists have discovered that the dirt-like substance contains alkaline. It’s been deemed friendly enough to support plant life both in “past, present and future.”

So the next time you want to plant some asparagus or green beans, consider martian soil. It’s rich, it’s creamy and it’s full of nutrients to support plant life. Just don’t try growing anything on Mars. The atmosphere has decayed enough that the surface is constantly bombarded by UV rays, thus killing any chance of that tomato bush you were hoping to plant.

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Scientists at NASA believe they’ve finally discovered ice on Mars. Recently, the Phoenix Mars Lander started collecting soil samples from the surface of the planet. After a few backhoe scoops, a white, glistening material was revealed. Scientists couldn’t figure out if it was ice or not but four days after it was uncovered, it vanished. The theory? It’s ice and it’s evaporating after being exposed.

What does this mean for us? It means Mars could, at some point in time, become a place for us to live. It also leaves us fucked if there was some monster living in a dormant state of rest underneath the ice. We’ll have to kick back and watch I suppose.

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