Here are two galleries for you, both of photos taken from space. One is of islands here on Earth, the other of landscapes on Mars. It’s amazing, the similarities between the two places when you look from a certain distance.
July 21st, 2009
Poll: Should We Skip The Moon And Head For Mars? Gizmodo
Speaking at a Washington lecture over the weekend, Apollo 11 crewmembers Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins expressed concern about NASA focusing too much on past accomplishments. That is to say, they believe we should focus our efforts on Mars.
Critics believe that going back to the moon is, as Aldrin put it “a glorified rehash of what we did 40 years ago”—something that would waste time and money that we could be spending on a trip to Mars. NASA argues that going back to the moon and establishing a permanent base is an essential stepping stone to a successful Mars mission—a feat that would take at least 20 years to accomplish according to their estimates.
The issue here, it seems, is not that we should ever step foot on the moon again, it’s that NASA and the Obama administration should grow a set of balls by prioritizing Mars and fully committing to a program right now. After all, we went from nearly zero to the moon in the sixties with primitive technology. What do you think? Should we skip the moon and head for Mars?
November 12th, 2008
Spirit Mars Rover May Be Dead Too Now Gizmodo
More bad bad news. Just two days ago Phoenix Mars Lander sent his last words, and NASA announced the end of the mission because of a storm that covered its solar panels with Martian dust. Today, we have learnt that the Mars Spirit rover may be dying too because exactly the same problem. In fact, according to Bruce Banerdt—the mission manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and part-time Hulk impersonator—he may be dead already:
This is a very dangerous time. If we don’t hear from it on Thursday, we’ll be extremely concerned.
The culprit, again: A sudden dust storm over the Martian equatorial plains. This storm has covered the solar panels during the last days and, as a result, the Mars Spirit only produced 89 watt-hours last weekend. This is half the amount it needs to keep functioning. Scientists at the JPL have turned off heating for many instruments in the hope that the rover’s batteries won’t be completely depleted.
February 3rd, 2006
Wash Your Clothes With Air Gizmodo
Do you even CARE what kind of disgusting bugs and bacteria live on your clothes and bedding? Do you? Well, The world first washing machine dryer with “air wash” function cares. The AQUA AWD-AQ1 from Sanyo disinfects and deodorizes your clothes without using water. It shoots ozone-filled air to whisk away odors and bacteria. It also recycles the water it uses for rinsing and disinfects it using the selfsame ozone. It even has special modes to fight against mode, add steam, and even wash without detergent. It will be out in March for $2200.
September 14th, 2004
World’s 1st Indoor Smart Garden Gizmodo
The AeroGrow is a new aeroponic garden designed for growing herbs and even larger fruits and vegetables right in your kitchen or smoky dorm room, all without soil. Instead, the AeroGrow uses water and nutrients inside a clear planter, where you can see all of the roots as they grow. Three different growing areas are designed to let you mix and match different plants, and seeds started in the AeroGrow can safely be transplanted into the soil if you want to use it as a starter.