Jesuit, mathematician, astronomer, physicist, Giovanni Battista Riccioli, author of the monumental Almagestum Novum (1651), was born 17 April 1598 #histsci
thonyc.wordpress.com/2024/07/10/a...
This is pretty niche stuff, but the Artemis II Orion-to-Earth audio is slowly beeing uploaded to the Internet archive. #Artemis
archive.org/details/Arte...
I have two articles in The Space Review this week. This is one of them: thespacereview.com/article/5201/1
My new article (1 of 2) is up. It is about a bunch of new photos of HEXAGON reconnaissance satellite launches. (I also have photos of other previously unseen launches that I will publish later.) thespacereview.com/article/5198/1
In the Science Ops room for the Mars Exploration Rovers. Opportunity, had landed hours earlier. We awaited first images. Murmuring and tension all around. On projection screen, terminal window began filling with text. Data on the ground. Image opened — and the room ROARED with joy. It was BEDROCK.
Riordan Road, the sawmill town of Milton's main street, in about 1911. The Arizona Lumber & Timber Co. sawmill is visible in the background. In the foreground are Blanche & Clare Riordan, daughters of Michael Riordan, the company secretary. At left along the street is Milton Hospital and the ALT Co office. At right are the homes of brother Michael Riordan and Tim Riordan (TR was company president) and the company store. I have no ID for the dog, alas.
Sawmill workers at the Arizona Lumber and Timber Co, probably about 1920. Early on the lumberjacks and sawmill workers were mostly Scandinavians from the upper US Midwest; by 1920, about half were Mexican, and by the '40s African-American workers were common. Workers at ALT Co tended to stick around; it was considered a good place to work.
Milton, Arizona, in 1902-1903, looking east from Observatory Mesa.
Coming down off Artemis II - getting back to local (n. AZ) history. 2 wks from today I'll be doing the "let me introduce you to the company town of Milton" part of a two-person talk on company towns with a local university prof. Here's our flyer & some pics I plan to use - captions in ALT text.
As you may know, I have a particular thing for Martian sand ripples - anyway here's a crop from the Perseverance rover Mastcam-Z image that particularly caught my eye.
The Total Solar Eclipse from Artemis II
This image sequence was captured by a modified GoPro on the solar array of the Orion spacecraft while the Artemis II mission flew around the farside of the moon.
Credit: NASA/Simeon Schmauß
🔭🧪 #Artemis
Renaissance, Dutch cartographer, Abraham Ortelius was born 14 April 1527 #histsci
thonyc.wordpress.com/2015/04/23/a...
If you're interested in the history one branch of quantum physics with practical applications, check out:
muse.jhu.edu/article/2585...
I've long been fond of the HERRO concept for crewed/robotic Mars exploration. This post on my blog No Shortage of Dreams compares HERRO with NASA's Mars Design Reference Mission 5.0.
HERRO = fewer costly launches and more Mars exploration.
spaceflighthistory.blogspot.com/2022/10/a-st...
Some reflections on Artemis II. I wanted to put together some of my thoughts, and collect some of the moments that stood out most, before they faded.
invertingvision.com/2026/04/11/t...
Gene Kranz, at almost 93 (!) and still on it !
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUfK...
Curiosity reaches once distant honeycomb rocks
Mars Guy Episode 262 / 12th April, 2026
From NASA: “NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot, left, and NASA astronaut Christina Koch, Artemis II mission specialist are seen sitting on a Navy MH-60 Seahawk from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 23 on the flight deck of USS John P. Murtha after they and fellow crewmates CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, Artemis II mission specialist, and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, Artemis II commander, were extracted from their Orion spacecraft after splashdown, Friday, April 10, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. NASA’s Artemis II mission took the quartet on a nearly 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. Following a splashdown at 5:07 p.m. PDT (8:07 p.m. EDT), NASA, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force teams are working to bring the Orion spacecraft aboard the recovery ship.” Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
From NASA: “NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, Artemis II commander, left, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, Artemis II mission specialist, are seen sitting on a Navy MH-60 Seahawk from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 23 on the flight deck of USS John P. Murtha after they and fellow crewmates NASA astronaut Christina Koch, Artemis II mission specialist, and NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot, were extracted from their Orion spacecraft after splashdown, Friday, April 10, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. NASA’s Artemis II mission took the quartet on a nearly 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. Following a splashdown at 5:07 p.m. PDT (8:07 p.m. EDT), NASA, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force teams are working to bring the Orion spacecraft aboard the recovery ship.” Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
In honor of International Day of Human Spaceflight, thank you to everyone who has played a role in these complex, inspirational fields. This global team is truly remarkable: past, present, + future.
🧪🔭 #PlanetarySci
NASA’s Orion spacecraft is seen in the well deck of USS John P. Murtha as NASA teams begin to work on post-flight processing while transiting back to Naval Base San Diego, Saturday, April 11, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. NASA’s Artemis II mission took NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist on a nearly 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. Following a splashdown at 5:07 p.m. PDT (8:07 p.m. EDT) on April 10, NASA, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force teams recovered the crewmembers and spacecraft onboard the recovery ship and transferred the Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen from the ship to Naval Air Station North Island, Calif. where they boarded a NASA aircraft to return to Houston, Texas. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
NASA’s Orion spacecraft is seen in the well deck of USS John P. Murtha as NASA teams begin to work on post-flight processing while transiting back to Naval Base San Diego, Saturday, April 11, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. NASA’s Artemis II mission took NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist on a nearly 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. Following a splashdown at 5:07 p.m. PDT (8:07 p.m. EDT) on April 10, NASA, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force teams recovered the crewmembers and spacecraft onboard the recovery ship and transferred the Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen from the ship to Naval Air Station North Island, Calif. where they boarded a NASA aircraft to return to Houston, Texas. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
NASA’s Orion spacecraft is seen in the well deck of USS John P. Murtha as NASA teams begin to work on post-flight processing while transiting back to Naval Base San Diego, Saturday, April 11, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. NASA’s Artemis II mission took NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist on a nearly 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. Following a splashdown at 5:07 p.m. PDT (8:07 p.m. EDT) on April 10, NASA, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force teams recovered the crewmembers and spacecraft onboard the recovery ship and transferred the Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen from the ship to Naval Air Station North Island, Calif. where they boarded a NASA aircraft to return to Houston, Texas. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
NASA’s Orion spacecraft is seen in the well deck of USS John P. Murtha as NASA teams begin to work on post-flight processing while transiting back to Naval Base San Diego, Saturday, April 11, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. NASA’s Artemis II mission took NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist on a nearly 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. Following a splashdown at 5:07 p.m. PDT (8:07 p.m. EDT) on April 10, NASA, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force teams recovered the crewmembers and spacecraft onboard the recovery ship and transferred the Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen from the ship to Naval Air Station North Island, Calif. where they boarded a NASA aircraft to return to Houston, Texas. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
NASA’s Orion spacecraft is seen in the well deck of USS John P. Murtha as NASA teams begin to work on post-flight processing while transiting back to Naval Base San Diego, Saturday, April 11, 2026
Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
www.flickr.com/photos/nasah... #Artemis 🧪🔭
Some reflections on Artemis II. I wanted to put together some of my thoughts, and collect some of the moments that stood out most, before they faded.
invertingvision.com/2026/04/11/t...
A nice article about Jeremy Hansen’s academic journey, which includes some #geology training with me in the #Arctic 😊
Jeremy Hansen: From physics to the moon - University Affairs universityaffairs.ca/news/jeremy-...
@westernu.ca @westernuearth.bsky.social @westernuspace.bsky.social
HiPOD: Tectonic, Volcanic and Fluvial Activity?
This image shows two cross-cutting depressions that may have been formed by the collapse of weak terrain along pre-existing faults. These faults are associated with the release of volcanic material.
https://ow.ly/Ccbk50YHib3
#Mars
Two analysts scrutinize the battered skin of the Orion Integrity spacecraft.
NASA analysts look over the Artemis II Orion Capsule aboard the USS John P. Murtha at Naval Base San Diego on Saturday, April 11, 2026.
Credit: Sandy Huffaker for The San Diego Union-Tribune
www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/04/11/u... #Artemis 🧪🔭
Here it is, my 271st #ScholarSunday thread of public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add more below, please share as widely as you can, & enjoy, all! 🗃️ +
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
In fact one of the EDL engineers got a thumbnail shot on their phone and then Tweeted it, which was Not Approved, but it was grabbed and reshared by fans and it was too late, the cat was out of the bag, we knew HiRISE had gotten the shot and it was an amazing shot
people are digging this so I’ll post the video i took of it too
I love this fact, considering Kodak's role in some of the first iconic images from robotic spacecraft. Made the camera systems and film on Lunar Orbiter, and assembled photos in Rochester, NY. First Earthrise on LOI wasn't in the original plan, and LOII pic was called "picture of the century" (1/2)
Man, we went people to the damn Moon and brought them back safely. Holy crap.
We have gone to the Moon in my lifetime. Surreal.
I wrote a couple years ago on how the Moon became a place. One theme was how early stories of lunar travel were speculative/abstract. Even as I wrote about how that changed, it felt abstract for me, too. Another story.
Doesn't feel that way anymore
Our A2 science team similarly had to simulate views for months to prepare the crew for shots like this. The beautiful point imho is that humans on crewed AND robotic missions are taking time to capture the wonder along with the baseline data.
Wrote extensively about Kodak's role in LO in my master's thesis (PDF):
invertingvision.com/wp-content/u...
A black-and-white photograph, the first "Earthrise" picture, taken by Lunar orbiter 1. A crescent Earth sits just above the cratered grey curve of the lunar surface. Edge data from the Kodak film can be seen at the bottom of the image, and artifacts from the in-orbit development process.
A black-and-white photograph of the lunar crater Copernicus, seen from an extremely oblique angle. The central peak of Copernicus can be seen in the center, looking like large mountains, while the multi-layered crater walls loom behind them.
NASA officials had to convince Boeing reps to take Earthrise pic in orbit. Boeing was afraid if something went wrong, wouldn't get paid. LOII pic of Copernicus at oblique angle made it into Life magazine in December 1966. (2/2)
LOI: www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/lu...
LOII: svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/30128
