Space

Friday Poll: Is Hawking right about us needing to colonize space?

Stephen Hawking's mind is reaching out into the far depths of space as he contemplates the survival of humanity over the very long term. He doesn't hold out much hope for us here on Earth. Instead, the famous physicist is looking to the stars for an answer.

"We must continue to go into space for humanity. We won't survive another 1,000 years without escaping our fragile planet," Hawking said in a recent lecture, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The delicate nature of Earth and humanity's propensity for steamrolling over the environment both spell doom as far as Hawking is concerned. He has been talking about the need to colonize space for years, but his latest comments have ramped up the discussion.… Read more

Biggest solar flare of the year knocks out radio transmissions

Early this morning the sun erupted, sending billions of solar particles into space at over 600 miles per second, raising the prospect of solar radiation storms above the Earth, according to NASA. A spokesman said the resulting emissions sparked a short-lived radio communications blackout on Earth. The radio disruption has since subsided. The appearance of the strongest solar storm of 2013 is part of an increasingly common sight as astronomers say this is connected to the sun's 11-year activity cycle. More intense solar eruptions are expected later in the year.

Amazing dad builds son a spaceship simulator

When it comes to make-believe, kids are pretty canny -- a simple refrigerator box can fly them to the moon. But inspired by physicists and educators Neil deGrasse Tyson and Carl Sagan, one dad has gone above and beyond in getting his son into space.

Before Noah was born, Daniel Sherrouse was already planning the spaceship simulator he would build to instill in Noah a love of the stars. "When my wife told me she was pregnant, I slammed my fist down on the table and said 'Gosh darn it, my kid is going to have a better life than me!'" … Read more

Stephen Hawking predicts end-of-Earth scenario

Stephen Hawking, one of the world's greatest physicists and cosmologists, is once again warning his fellow humans that our extinction is on the horizon unless we figure out a way to live in space.

Not known for conspiracy theories, Hawking's rationale is that the Earth is far too delicate a planet to continue to withstand the barrage of human battering.

"We must continue to go into space for humanity," Hawking said today, according to the Los Angeles Times. "We won't survive another 1,000 years without escaping our fragile planet."… Read more

NASA's plan to bag an asteroid wins place in Obama's budget

Turns out that crazy rumor was true: NASA is planning to capture an asteroid.

The plans were included in the space agency's $17.7 billion fiscal 2014 budget, part of the new $3.7 trillion government budget proposed earlier today by President Obama.

In the budgets, about $78 million is set aside for a plan that involves sending a craft to rendezvous with what's described as a "small asteroid," and then moving the space rock into a stable orbit near the moon. Astronauts will later visit the asteroid and scoop up samples for study back on … Read more

Astronauts don't cry: Chris Hadfield shows tears in space

There's no crying in baseball, and there's no crying in space.

While zero gravity doesn't have an impact on tears forming, it has an effect on if they fall -- and they don't. The water that builds up in your eyes from crying will stay there until the bubble gets so big it moves to another spot on your face, or it's removed. It's not very pretty or graceful.

Watch how Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield -- commander of the International Space Station and maker of all sorts of entertaining space videos -- demonstrates what … Read more

Blast your angry face into space to ward off alien invasions

While NASA has been busy sending friendly messages out into space, it's overlooked one important issue. What if the aliens aren't friendly? Haven't the folks at NASA watched the "Alien" movies? A Kickstarter project is aiming to counteract NASA's open-arms policy by blasting a satellite into space with a less likeable version of humanity onboard.

In the 1970s, NASA sent two Pioneer spacecraft out into the universe bearing plaques with directions to Earth and illustrations of naked humans to show what extraterrestrial visitors could expect upon arrival at our humble planet. Ridiculo.us, creators of the Your Face in Space Kickstarter, is more concerned about warding off hostile invasion forces from beyond our solar system.… Read more

NASA to 'lasso' an asteroid

There could be a sequel in the works to that absurd scene from 1998's "Armageddon" in which Ben Affleck and friends land on a threatening near-Earth asteroid. But this time around it's a real-world NASA mission to kidnap, rather than obliterate, a space rock.

Part of the idea is to conduct research to help prevent just such an "Armageddon" scenario from ever cropping up in real life, according to a mission overview obtained by CBS News last week. The space agency is hoping to lasso an asteroid, space cowboy style, and tow it close enough to Earth so that it can be visited by astronauts. The astronauts then will conduct research that could one day assist in a mission to Mars or save Earth from a catastrophic collision, should Mr. Affleck be unavailable. … Read more

Astronaut Chris Hadfield shows off his spacesuit waltz

Flying aboard the International Space Station isn't just fun and games; members of the crew have to examine their equipment to keep everything in ready-to-use condition. One of the most important pieces of equipment is the spacesuit worn by astronauts when they leave the ISS to go out into the universe.

Spacesuits are made to keep a human body alive in the harsh, anti-gravity environment of space, but they are also used inside a ship should there be a change of pressure.

They are often constructed to help keep the wearer comfortable, keeping in mind mobility and the need to collect solid and liquid waste, "Spacesuits are just really one person spaceships," ISS Commander Chris Hadfield explains in his video. … Read more