Pictures from space for under $150.00

A group of MIT students wanted to see how cheaply they could launch a balloon into space to take pictures of our atmosphere. For under 150 bucks they turned a beer cooler, camera and prepaid cell phone with GPS into a mini Hubble telescope. Check out the full story Here and a list of what they used to do it Here.

Mecha from the garage

Carlos Owens is a 31 year old army mechanic that built an 18 foot tall mecha monster. It uses 27 hydraulic pistons to walk, bend, and move it’s arms and hands. Check out the full article Here.

Racing the sun

A  solar powered plane called “solar impulse” is set to circumvent the earth without using a single drop of oil. The plane will fly 45 miles per hour and take three weeks to complete one full circle around the planet. Check out the full story Here.

A two wheeled robot balanced drink

The final advancement for this article is a robot that has only two wheels. It uses gyroscopes similar to the Segway. The inventor is working on an automated version with proximity sensors and voice control so that it could take commands from a human from rooms away. Full article Here

(L to R) Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and John Glenn in front of the lunar module device at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington. Photograph: Marcus Yam/AP

The heroes of America’s moon landing last night called for the US to launch a mission to Mars and beyond, in a rare joint appearance aimed at reigniting interest in costly and risky manned space flight.

Now in their late 70s, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins and John Glenn recounted their exploits, describing the massive US effort to beat the Soviet Union in the space race that culminated 40 years ago today, when Armstrong and Aldrin stepped out of the Eagle moon lander on to the lunar surface.

Several of the men called on Barack Obama to lead the country on a second mission, this time to Mars. But the star of the evening, Armstrong, refused to be drawn into the debate, instead describing the Apollo mission that granted him worldwide fame as a “diversion” primarily useful as a peaceful outlet for cold war competition between the US and the Soviet Union.

“It did allow both sides to take the high road with the objectives of science and learning and exploration,” said Armstrong, the first human on the moon. But he noted the parallel development of the space programme and the intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of mass destruction.

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