An agency of the United States Federal Government responsible for the civilian space program as well as aeronautics and aerospace research.
Questions tagged [nasa]
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Did NASA invest a million dollars in the research of a space pen, when the USSR simply used a pencil?
I encountered this picture of the "Russian space pen" from the MIT Museum gift shop
When NASA first started sending astronauts into space, they realized that the ball-point pen would not work at zero gravity.
A million dollar investment and two…
SIMEL
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Was Opportunity's last message to Earth "My battery is low and it's getting dark"?
On February 13 2019, NASA announced that Opportunity - a Mars rover launched in 2003 with an intended longevity of three months - was likely to be dead.
In the wake of this event, and the outpouring of emotion it triggered, I've seen the following…
Prometheus
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Do Milankovitch Cycles fully explain climate change?
The Milankovitch Cycles is the effect on the climate caused by variations in astronomical movements by the Earth relative to the Sun.
A recent Natural News article attributes of the recent effects of climate change to Milankovitch Cycles:
For more…
Velimir Tchatchevsky
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Neil Armstrong: “One small step for man” or “one small step for a man”?
Today on Facebook the Science Museum (London) posted:
#OTD in 1930 American astronaut and aeronautical engineer Neil Armstrong was born.
In July 1969, Armstrong and Apollo 11 pilot Buzz Aldrin performed the first manned Moon landing. When he…
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Did Neil Armstrong write such a letter to a skeptic?
Today, I saw a tweet with an image that claims to contain the answer of Neil Armstrong to a teacher that was skeptical of the moon landing (see below).
Of course it's not the image of a real letter, that's not the point. It's about the content.
What…
DarkDust
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Did NASA director Charles Bolden claim that an alien invasion will happen soon?
Russian news site "Federal News Agency" (FAN) today published "Директор NASA заявил, что до вторжения инопланетян осталось несколько месяцев":
Директора NASA Чарльза Болдена отправили в отпуск по болезни, после того, как он публично заявил, что…
user5341
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Were the Space Shuttle's computers incapable of handling end-of-year roll-overs?
There is a claim circulating on Facebook that space shuttles couldn't fly near the end of the year because its onboard computers could not handle a year turnover.
Searching for the claim, I found Y2K-like fears create shuttle scheduling crunch,…
Calmarius
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Is NASA working on warp drive?
I am cynical about a report on Gizmodo that NASA is developing Warp Drive. This was trending on Google Plus tonight and gathering a bit of attention.
http://gizmodo.com/5942634/nasa-starts-development-of-real-life-star-trek-warp-drive
Working at…
Paul
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Did NASA receive a tax refund on a diamond window when it left the Earth aboard a space probe?
According to Hughesscgheritage.com:
“Probe” is an export; diamond duty saved—Hughes News January 6, 1979
The cost of HAC’s highly successful Pioneer Venus mission was reduced by $12,474 because of an agreement established 10 years ago between the…
JonathanReez
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Did a NASA study show that arsenic-based bacteria are possible?
A while ago a NASA funded study claimed that they could get bacteria to incorporate arsenic into their DNA.
Life forms based on different elements than life on earth have been speculated about in science fiction for a long time, the most prominent,…
Mad Scientist
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Did Neil Armstrong find aliens on the moon?
There is a story told in Timothy Good's book Above Top Secret: The Worldwide U.F.O. Cover-Up and repeated by The Examiner and Global Paranormal in which Neil Armstrong saw aliens on the moon, and this was covered up.
Here are the…
Daud
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Does unadjusted NASA climate data show no long-term global warming?
The Real Science blog by "Steven Goddard" claims that NASA have altered their data in the USA and other countries to show global warming.
Right after the year 2000, NASA and NOAA dramatically altered US climate history, making the past much colder…
user20862
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Did astronauts leave footprints on the moon?
Our Young-Earth Creationist physics teacher stated that he does not believe that man actually stepped on the moon. That topic has been well covered here.
One of his arguments, however, was that gravity on the moon was not strong enough for…
Moe
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Did NASA refuse to pay a $400 fine for littering caused by the deorbiting of Skylab?
The Wikipedia article on the city of Esperance states:
In 1979, pieces of the space station Skylab crashed onto Esperance after the craft broke up over the Indian Ocean. The municipality fined the United States $400 for littering. The fine was paid…
Zaibis
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How long did the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger survive?
I came across this Snopes page recently, which presents the claim that the astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger survived until the crew compartment hit the water, and then debunks it.
If the cabin depressurized immediately, the crew…
HDE 226868
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