Tag Archives: Space Travel

Podcast #5: Mercury

Urban Astronomer avatarPosted on by

Welcome to the 5th episode of the Urban Astronomer Podcast! We’re well on our way in the grand experiment of deciding how exactly to format the show, and today we’re trying yet another combination! We’ll start off by answering the question first asked in a classic Urban Astronomer article, one originally written back in 2010 and that’s been consistently popular with our readers:  Will an astronaut explode if they take off their helmet? Our feature item introduces my new co-host, and … Continue reading →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:27 — 12.3MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | Email | Deezer | RSS | More

What do astronauts eat in space?

Urban Astronomer avatarPosted on by

Apparently the two most popular questions people like to ask astronauts are how the toilet works in zero gravity, and what the food is like.  The answer to the first question is “reasonably well”, but the second deserves a little more time.  Happily, this infographic recently landed in my mailbox from the good folks at Labely.com which looks at the evolution of food in space from Yuri Gagarin’s pioneering first orbit up till the modern meals served on the International Space … Continue reading →

Mission to Mars: Why we must go

Urban Astronomer avatarPosted on by

This entry (Mission to Mars: Why we must go) was originally written for my Now Look Here! blog, but I reckon it’s relevant for Urban Astronomer too: I listened to a series of Naked Scientists podcasts recently, on the various competing plans to launch a human mission to Mars. One episode stood out in particular, asking whether this was something that we need to spend money actually doing.They assembled a panel of various experts and authorities to debate the issue, and while … Continue reading →

Will an astronaut explode if he takes off his helmet?

Urban Astronomer avatarPosted on by

We’ve all seen it happen in science fiction films. The expendable character is outside the space ship, or trapped in the air-lock.  The space suit is damaged, or the helmet is removed.  His friends frantically bang on the glass as we get a nice close-up of his face as it blows up like a balloon.  And then… well it depends on the film.  Sometimes he freezes solid and shatters like glass, other times he explodes in a messy shower of … Continue reading →

Mystery Spiral over Norway

Urban Astronomer avatarPosted on by

This spiraling light appeared in the sky over Norway in the early hours of 9 December, 2009. The videos are a lot less spectacular, but still quite mysterious: Mystery Lights over Norway There’s a decent write-up about it here at http://www.universetoday.com/, along with the possible explanation that it was a Russian ICBM, on one of several scheduled test launches which obviously went wrong. The Russians, however, were adamant that they hadn’t launched anything, despite shipping warnings to avoid that area because … Continue reading →