20 July 2019 is the fiftieth anniversary of the first manned landing on the Moon. Mission Insignia of Apollo 11- Image from NASA On 21 May 1961 President John F Kennedy made the following address to the United States Congress: 'I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade… Continue reading Apollo 11 lunar landing
Tag: Space
e-book from Explaining Science on Venus
Updated 7 December 2025 I have now updated my e-book on Venus, the planet closest to the Earth in distance, size and internal composition, and the third brightest natural object in our sky after the Sun and the Moon. Topics include how Venus appears from Earth and the fact that Venus’s phases can only be… Continue reading e-book from Explaining Science on Venus
American crewed spaceflight in 2019
Since the retirement of the Space Shuttle in July 2011, America has been unable to put any astronauts into orbit around the Earth. Instead, it has been in the difficult situation of having to rely on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS). This situation may change… Continue reading American crewed spaceflight in 2019
Chinese Moon missions
Like many people, I was very excited to hear the news on 3 January that the Chinese spacecraft, Chang'e 4, had landed as planned in the Von Karman crater on the far side of the Moon. Chang’e 4 in the Von Karman crater. The crater lies in the South Pole-Aitken basin on the far side of… Continue reading Chinese Moon missions
What altitude does space begin?
Virgin Galactic plans to resume spaceflights for wealthy customers at around $600,000 per flight, lasting 2.5 hours with only 5 minutes above 80 km. The definition of the boundary of space varies, with the Karman Line at 100 km supported by the FAI, while the FAA considers it at 80 km.
Explaining Science 