Astronauts // Current

Filtered urine to become new water source for ISS

Among the ship's cargo, which will help prepare the station for an expanded six-person crew, is a water regeneration system... more

InformedTexan
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China aims to land moon-buggy by 2012

China wants to ultimately put a man on the moon...their a little late with that, no?

DailyMenendez
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US astronauts to vote from space

This November 4th, not only will Americans have voted for their next President from around the world, some of them will have cast... more

richjm
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Space tourist blasts off in $30m odyssey

A British-born tycoon made history today as he became the first offspring of a NASA astronaut to go into space. Richard... more

TravG73
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Israeli Astronaunt's survived diary goes on display

Pages from an Israeli astronaut's diary that survived the explosion of the space shuttle Columbia and a 37-mile fall to earth are going on display this weekend for the first time in Jerusalem.

The diary belonged to Ilan Ramon, Israel's first astronaut and one of seven crew members killed when Columbia disintegrated upon re-entering the atmosphere on Feb. 1, 2003. Part of the restored diary will be displayed at the Israel Museum beginning Sunday.

A little over two months after the shuttle explosion, NASA searchers found 37 pages from Ramon's diary, wet and crumpled, in a field just outside the U.S. town of Palestine, Texas. The diary survived extreme heat in the explosion, extreme atmospheric cold, and then "was attacked by microorganisms and insects" in the field where it fell, said museum curator Yigal Zalmona.

"It's almost a miracle that it survived — it's incredible," Zalmona said. There is "no rational explanation" for how it was recovered when most of the shuttle was not, he said.

NASA officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The U.S. space agency returned the diary to Ramon's wife, Rona, who brought it to forensics experts at the Israel Museum and from the Israeli police. The diary took about a year to restore, Zalmona said, and it took police scientists about four more years to decipher the pages. About 80 percent of the text has been deciphered, and the rest remains unreadable, he said.

Two pages will be displayed. One contains notes written by Ramon, and the other is a copy of the Kiddush prayer, a blessing over wine that Jews recite on the Sabbath. Zalmona said Ramon copied the prayer into his diary so he could recite it on the space shuttle and have the blessing broadcast to Earth.

Most of the pages contain personal information which Ramon's wife did not wish to make public, he said.

"We agreed to do the restoration completely respecting the family's privacy and the sensitivity about how intimate the document is," museum director James Snyder said.

The diary provides no indication Ramon knew anything about potential problems on the shuttle. Columbia's wing was gashed by a chunk of fuel tank foam insulation at liftoff and broke up in flames just 16 minutes before it was scheduled to land at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. All seven astronauts on board were killed.

The diary is being displayed as part of a larger exhibit of famous documents from Israel's history, held to mark the country's 60th anniversary this year. Also on display will be Israel's 1948 declaration of independence, the 1994 peace treaty with Jordan and a bloodstained sheet of paper with lyrics to a peace anthem that was carried by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin at the time of his assassination in 1995.

Pages from an Israeli astronaut's diary that survived the explosion of the space shuttle Columbia and a 37-mile fall to earth... more

IndieArtist
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1 month ago

Deceased Israeli astronaut's diary goes on display in Jerusalem

The diary of an Israeli astronaut who lost his life in the space shuttle Columbia's crash in 2003 fell to earth and landed in... more

seeviv
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22 responses

1 month ago

Loop - cortometraggio in 3D di fantascienza

Loop è un mini-cortometraggio di fantascienza in 3D da me realizzato nel 2003 per verificare se programmi non... more

innovari
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1 response

1 month ago

Astronaut teachers to inspire next generation

LONDON, England (CNN) -- It may be one small step for civilian space travel, but it's a leap for education. In a bid to... more

ivxx
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1 month ago

Chinese Space Walk - 2008

Chinese astronauts prove that space still exists.

joshuaheller
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1 month ago

China's first spacewalk team returns to Earth

BEIJING (AP) -- Three Chinese astronauts emerged from their capsule Sunday after a milestone mission to carry out the... more

GrandKnow2
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1 month ago

Astronaut takes China's first spacewalk

A Chinese astronaut has completed his country's first-ever spacewalk as part of an ambitious program that is starting to... more

Manatee_man
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8 responses

1 month ago

China astronaut begins space walk

A Chinese astronaut on board a capsule orbiting the Earth has begun to walk in space - a first for his country. The astronaut... more

GrandKnow2
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1 month ago

Skywalking Heroes: Best Spacewalks of All Time

The spacewalk is the ultimate space experience. And among skywalkers, a few have risen above the rest and set the bar high for... more

goldenways
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1 month ago

Next space traveller, computer wizz / astronaut's son

Of the two things that go into making a future space explorer, being a computer wizz-kid and an astronaut's son are well up... more

mattbrawn
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4 months ago

Second Astronaut claims alien sighting...Inside space shuttle!

Do I realy need to expalin why this story is potentially interesting? Speaks for itself I think, especially following Edgar... more

JonMunkiy
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4 months ago

Apollo astronaut says aliens do exist

Of the more than 6 billion people in the world, only 12 have ever set foot on the moon, providing them the unique opportunity to... more

ivxx
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4 months ago

Aliens have made contact says Apollo astronaut Edgar Mitchell

FORMER NASA astronaut and moon-walker Dr Edgar Mitchell - a veteran of the Apollo 14 mission - has stunningly claimed aliens do... more

pigmonkey
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4 months ago

Joe Gets Cosmic

Upon meeting a guy like Joe Hanson, you might think he's from outer-space. We're still running test and analyzing the... more

binowhite
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4 months ago

Aliens Are Real and NASA Knows It

Former NASA astronaut and moon-walker Dr. Edgar Mitchell — a veteran of the Apollo 14 mission — claims aliens exist. ... more

JohnnyT426
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4 months ago

Cover-up: Apollo 14 astronaut claims aliens have made contact

Aliens have contacted humans several times but governments have hidden the truth for 60 years, the sixth man to walk on the moon has claimed. Apollo 14 astronaut Dr Edgar Mitchell, said he was aware of many UFO visits to Earth during his career with NASA but each one was covered up.

Dr Mitchell, 77, said during a radio interview that sources at the space agency who had had contact with aliens described the beings as 'little people who look strange to us.' He said supposedly real-life ET's were similar to the traditional image of a small frame, large eyes and head.

Chillingly, he claimed our technology is 'not nearly as sophisticated' as theirs and "had they been hostile", he warned 'we would be been gone by now'.

Dr Mitchell, along with with Apollo 14 commander Alan Shepard, holds the record for the longest ever moon walk, at nine hours and 17 minutes following their 1971 mission.

'I happen to have been privileged enough to be in on the fact that we've been visited on this planet and the UFO phenomena is real,' Dr Mitchell said. 'It's been well covered up by all our governments for the last 60 years or so, but slowly it's leaked out and some of us have been privileged to have been briefed on some of it. I've been in military and intelligence circles, who know that beneath the surface of what has been public knowledge, yes - we have been visited. Reading the papers recently, it's been happening quite a bit.'

Dr Mitchell, who has a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering and a Doctor of Science degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics claimed Roswell was real and similar alien visits continue to be investigated.

He told the astonished Kerrang! radio host Nick Margerrison: "This is really starting to open up. I think we're headed for real disclosure and some serious organisations are moving in that direction.'

Mr Margerrison said: 'I thought I'd stumbled on some sort of astronaut humour but he was absolutely serious that aliens are definitely out there and there's no debating it.'

Officials from NASA, however, were quick to play the comments down. In a statement, a spokesman said: "NASA does not track UFOs. NASA is not involved in any sort of cover up about alien life on this planet or anywhere in the universe. Dr Mitchell is a great American, but we do not share his opinions on this issue.' Aliens have contacted humans several times but governments have hidden the truth for 60 years, the sixth man to walk on the moon... more