August 9, 2012
Red Planet, Green Thumb: How a NASA Scientist Engineers His Garden I’ve seen enough shuttle launches streak the sky off the Atlantic coast to count myself a NASA fanboy. So when I caught this article, I felt a touch of warmth inside, knowing that the pioneers of the cosmic frontier still take time away from the business of combing Mars to decompress in the garden. Or, at least one NASA scientist does, a man with a killer limoncello recipe and perfect hair. “A lot could go wrong, and it’s now out of his hands, but here in the garden, Steltzner takes charge. Surrounded by morning glory and fish peppers, kafir lime bushes and zinfandel grapes, he weeds and snips. Soon, instead of worrying about the rover, he’s wondering what would happen if he mixed lavender in with his apricot jam.” I admire these people like few others. A belated congrats to NASA on getting Curiosity to the red planet in one piece! —MN

Red Planet, Green Thumb: How a NASA Scientist Engineers His Garden

I’ve seen enough shuttle launches streak the sky off the Atlantic coast to count myself a NASA fanboy. So when I caught this article, I felt a touch of warmth inside, knowing that the pioneers of the cosmic frontier still take time away from the business of combing Mars to decompress in the garden. Or, at least one NASA scientist does, a man with a killer limoncello recipe and perfect hair.

“A lot could go wrong, and it’s now out of his hands, but here in the garden, Steltzner takes charge. Surrounded by morning glory and fish peppers, kafir lime bushes and zinfandel grapes, he weeds and snips. Soon, instead of worrying about the rover, he’s wondering what would happen if he mixed lavender in with his apricot jam.”

I admire these people like few others. A belated congrats to NASA on getting Curiosity to the red planet in one piece! —MN

11:07am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZV1L5yR3qcrB
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(Notes: 20)
  
Filed under: NASA Steltzner gardening garden 
July 7, 2012
laboratoryequipment: Lichen Prove to be Toughest Life on EarthYou can freeze it, thaw it, vacuum dry it and expose it to radiation, but still life survives. ESA’s research on the International Space Station is giving credibility to theories that life came from outer space– as well as helping to create better sunscreens. That’s not a desktop computer tower or an in-flight beverage cart up above. It’s the Expose-E. Sort of like Wall-E in that it’s capable of venturing into space while also storing plants inside of itself for safe keeping. Well, maybe not safe keeping, but some kind of keeping. After 18 months spent strapped to the outside of the ISS, braving all the highs and lows of existence in a vacuum, the vegetative matter inside came home. And scientists found that lichen, of all things, had proven some of the toughest stuff on or off the Earth. Now, scientists are wondering if lichen’s ability to exist in the void moves us closer to believing that life hitched a ride to this planet on an asteroid. They also want to use the stuff to make sunscreen lotion. So I guess that’s a thing. —MN

laboratoryequipment:

Lichen Prove to be Toughest Life on Earth

You can freeze it, thaw it, vacuum dry it and expose it to radiation, but still life survives. ESA’s research on the International Space Station is giving credibility to theories that life came from outer space– as well as helping to create better sunscreens.

That’s not a desktop computer tower or an in-flight beverage cart up above. It’s the Expose-E. Sort of like Wall-E in that it’s capable of venturing into space while also storing plants inside of itself for safe keeping.

Well, maybe not safe keeping, but some kind of keeping. After 18 months spent strapped to the outside of the ISS, braving all the highs and lows of existence in a vacuum, the vegetative matter inside came home. And scientists found that lichen, of all things, had proven some of the toughest stuff on or off the Earth. Now, scientists are wondering if lichen’s ability to exist in the void moves us closer to believing that life hitched a ride to this planet on an asteroid.

They also want to use the stuff to make sunscreen lotion. So I guess that’s a thing. —MN

(via scinerds)

10:31am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZV1L5yOtKfHM
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Filed under: science plants botany ISS lichen NASA 
February 7, 2012

the-star-stuff:

Most Beautiful National Parks Seen from Space

1. Everglades National Park. Credit: USGS.

2. Yellowstone National Park. Credit: NASA.

3.Death Valley National Park. Credit: USGS/NASA.

4. Denali National Park. Credit: University of Maryland Global Land Cover Facility.

5. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Credit: NASA.


12:00pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZV1L5yG22AVB
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Filed under: National Parks NASA 
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