SpaceX Postpones Cargo Launch, Daring Rocket Test to Saturday

SpaceX delayed its next robotic cargo launch toward the International Space Station — which also featured a bold rocket-reusability test — by another day, to early yesterday morning. The launch was supposed to happen Tuesday but was stopped before liftoff because of an issue with an actuator on the Falcon 9's second stage. The primary objective of the launch was to send the unmanned Dragon — which is loaded with more than 5,000 pounds of food, scientific experiments and spare parts — on its way to the orbiting lab. But SpaceX will also try to bring the Falcon 9's first stage back to Earth for a pinpoint landing on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean. This is a bold move for them to try to include both a delivery and a experiment in one but if it is successful it will be a great stride in reusable rocket technology which will overall decrease the cost of rockets by a lot if they won't have to keep building the rockets but only having to refuel them. We will learn the success of this experiment in a month when the ship comes to earth.

http://www.space.com/28201-spacex-postpones-dragon-launch-rocket-test.html

SpaceX's Elon Musk to Reveal Mars Colonization Ideas This Year

 The billionaire entrepreneur behind the private spaceflight company SpaceX Elon Musk is saying he will be unveiling his concepts for the Mars colonization later this year. Musk started SpaceX in 2002 with the dream of sending people into space. Musk has gotten into a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to do 12 delivery missions to the international space station. The fifth delivery was made early yesterday morning, the launch was delayed because there was complication with the rocket. Musk did a "Ask Me Anything" session on Reddit Monday evening where he answered question ranging from the mundane (how much he sleeps) to others more related to future explorations (asking if Jupiter's icy moon Europa should be a target for future exploration). 

http://www.space.com/28215-elon-musk-spacex-mars-colony-idea.html

Tiny Greenhouse Could Fly Plants to Mars in 2018

In 2018 Mars One (a nonprofit based in the Netherlands) is planning to send a tiny self-contained greenhouse to mars to see the potential of plant growth in mars. Seed was chosen out of 35 designs to be the one that is gonna be launched in a couple years. Of course Mars One has to see if this is feasible and if the analysis shows that it isn't they will choose one of the ten runner ups. This is a major step in our colonization efforts of Mars because it will allow us to see if their might be a chance of success and how to improve them. It would also make the colonization easier if there was plant life on the planet before humans travel there in 2025. I can't wait to see the results of this experiment and what it will tell us about Mars.

http://www.space.com/28165-tiny-greenhouse-mars-one-colony.html

CATS in Space: NASA Probe to Examine Climate Change

NASA's Cloud-Aerosol Transport System instrument (CATS) was set to launch toward the orbiting lab yesterday morning aboard SpaceX's robotic Dragon cargo capsule and it will track clouds and tiny particles of dust, smoke and pollution in Earth's atmosphere that influence climate so that we can better understand climate change. CATS will shine a LIDAR (light detection and ranging) instrument on the atmosphere to measure where particles are, what sorts of particles are within view and how they are distributed. It will also see how day and night affect aerosols and clouds. This is not only beneficial to scientists to help understand the evolution of our atmosphere but could also help us in future atmospheric investigations of other planets. This could help us with better knowing about weather patterns and predicting when storms may emerge. While the things it can study are limited in can still greatly advance our own understanding of something that is part of our daily lives. 

http://www.space.com/28216-spacex-dragon-launch-nasa-cats-instrument.html

Did Gravity Save the Universe from 'God Particle' Higgs Boson?

The recently discovered Higgs boson, which helps give particles their mass, could have destroyed the cosmos shortly after it was born, causing the universe to collapse just after the Big Bang. But gravity, the force that keeps planets and stars together, might have kept this from happening. It's amazing to think that the universe might not have developed the way it has because of something that we can't even see. It's because of gravity that that didn't happen and the universe was allowed to expand and not snuff its self out right after the Big Bang. Because of the curve in space-time it increased the mass of the Higgs Boson and made it more difficult for them to attract one another. Scientists are researching this interaction more and seeing how it affected the early universe. It really makes you wonder and appreciate gravity more because without it earth or even this universe wouldn't exist and also marvel at the power and importance of things that we can't see with out own eyes.

http://www.space.com/28181-gravity-higgs-boson-universe-destruction.html

No Alien Signals Detected From Kepler's New Exoplanet

SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) utilized the Allen Telescope Array (ATA) to study HIP 116454b, an exoplanet 180 light-years away in the constellation Pisces. This exoplanet measures 2.5 times the diameter of Earth and was the first discovery made by Kepler in its rebooted "K2" mission. However, this planet doesn't seem to host any life or at least any technologically advanced life because we haven't been able to detect any radio singles coming off of it. Just because this search wasn't a success doesn't mean we have to give up but in stead put more of an effort into trying to find alien life on other planets. This exoplanet is the first of many attempts of trying to find life on other planets.

http://www.space.com/28207-seti-alien-signal-search-kepler-exoplanet.html

Happy Birthday, Stephen Hawking!

World-renowned theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking celebrates his 73rd birthday on January 8th. He has become a very prominent and important figure in the scientific community for his work with black holes which combined quantum physics with Einsteins theory of relativity. It is incredible how much work Hawking has been able to accomplish when he has had ALS (a degenerative motor neuron disease that attacks the neurons that control muscle movement) for a large part of his life and hasn't been able to move in years. He didn't let the disease stop him and he continued to make strides in his chosen field and become one of the most recognized scientists in the world.

http://www.space.com/28210-stephen-hawking-73rd-birthday.html