January 23, 2013 | 419 notes

When We Blew Up Arizona to Simulate the Moon

Thanks to a well-timed tip from landscape blogger Alex Trevi of Pruned, Venue made a detour on our exit out of Flagstaff, Arizona, to visit the old black cinder fields of an extinct volcano—where, incredibly, NASA and its Apollo astronauts once practiced their, at the time, forthcoming landing on the moon.

Read more. [Image: Venue]

(via theatlantic)

December 6, 2012 | 49 notes

Gravity Map Reveals Pulverized Moon Surface NASA’s twin Grail probes have created an ultra-precise gravity map of the moon, revealing that its crust is almost completely pulverized. The surprising find suggests that Earth, Mercury, Venus and Mars endured a similar beating billions of years ago. - Continue reading at Space.com. Photo: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MIT / GSFC Ed note: Incredible photos of Earth at night as viewed from space. NASA calls it, Black Marble.

Gravity Map Reveals Pulverized Moon Surface

NASA’s twin Grail probes have created an ultra-precise gravity map of the moon, revealing that its crust is almost completely pulverized. The surprising find suggests that Earth, Mercury, Venus and Mars endured a similar beating billions of years ago. - Continue reading at Space.com.

Photo: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MIT / GSFC

Ed note: Incredible photos of Earth at night as viewed from space. NASA calls it, Black Marble.

July 30, 2012 | 73 notes

Flags from Apollo Moon Landings Are Still Standing Images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) reveal that six American flags from Apollo missions have remained intact. More on the status of the flags from the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal. Ed note: Shadows from the flags are cast on all sites except for Apollo 11. Check out this rare footage from the mission, remixed and in HD.

Flags from Apollo Moon Landings Are Still Standing

Images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) reveal that six American flags from Apollo missions have remained intact. More on the status of the flags from the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal.

Ed note: Shadows from the flags are cast on all sites except for Apollo 11. Check out this rare footage from the mission, remixed and in HD.

May 2, 2012 | 366 notes

The Biggest Supermoon in Years is Coming Saturday Night! The moon will make its largest, most stunning appearance of the year—an event known to scientists as “the perigee-syzygy of the Earth-Moon-Sun system” and to the popular skywatching public simply as the “supermoon.” Photo: (the supermoon of March 2011). NASA / Bill Ingalls Ed note: Did you know that in the 50s and 60s it was thought that in the future newlyweds would honeymoon on the moon?

The Biggest Supermoon in Years is Coming Saturday Night!

The moon will make its largest, most stunning appearance of the year—an event known to scientists as “the perigee-syzygy of the Earth-Moon-Sun system” and to the popular skywatching public simply as the “supermoon.”

Photo: (the supermoon of March 2011). NASA / Bill Ingalls

Ed note: Did you know that in the 50s and 60s it was thought that in the future newlyweds would honeymoon on the moon?

January 26, 2012 | 36 notes

Lunar Colonies of the Future (1969) The May, 1969 issue of Science Journal features an article by Dr. Rodney Wendell Johnson about lunar colonies of the future. Dr. Johnson was the Advanced Planner for NASA’s Advanced Manned Mission Program Office. Illustration by Roy G. Scarfo Ed note: Check out more from Paleofuture at Smithsonian.com and also check out Paleofuture’s Tumblr featuring many more illustrations.

Lunar Colonies of the Future (1969)

The May, 1969 issue of Science Journal features an article by Dr. Rodney Wendell Johnson about lunar colonies of the future. Dr. Johnson was the Advanced Planner for NASA’s Advanced Manned Mission Program Office.

Illustration by Roy G. Scarfo

Ed note: Check out more from Paleofuture at Smithsonian.com and also check out Paleofuture’s Tumblr featuring many more illustrations.