Dragon hooks up with space station; Carbon’s journey from stars to Mars

Drum roll and applause please! At 8:56 a.m. CDT space station astronauts Don Pettit and André Kuipers successfully captured the SpaceX Dragon capsule with the robotic arm while flying 251 miles over northwestern Australia. Once berthed, the astronauts will unload … Continue reading →

Dragon cargo ship approaches the space station earlier today. Click photo to watch a live feed of the docking. Credit: NASA
Drum roll and applause please! At 8:56 a.m. CDT space station astronauts Don Pettit and André Kuipers successfully captured the SpaceX Dragon capsule with the robotic arm while flying 251 miles over northwestern Australia. Once berthed, the astronauts will unload about 1,200 lbs. of food and supplies and re-load Dragon with equipment. The cargo ship is designed to safely return to Earth. The mission is the first private, non-governmental venture to the space station.
Methane is one of the simplest organic molecules
Yesterday we met a star that puffs out clouds of carbon soot like a chain-smoker. All carbon ultimately originates from the interiors of stars, where it’s created through the fusion of simpler elements. Released into space, carbon combines with other elements like hydrogen and oxygen to form organic compounds.
One of the simplest ...