Group items tagged

Scientists

unveiled the discovery, naming and description of a sharp-clawed, 500-pound, bird-like dinosaur

that roamed the Dakotas with T. rex 66 million years ago

Its jaws were tipped with a toothless beak, and its head sported a tall, rounded crest similar to that of a cassowary (a large ground bird native to Australia and New Guinea)

The neck and hind legs were long and slender, also comparable to a cassowary or ostrich

the forelimbs of Anzu were tipped with large, sharp claws, and the tail was long and robust. Says Dr. Lamanna, "We jokingly call this thing the 'Chicken from Hell,' and I think

First astronauts selected

In 1959, NASA announced the selection of America's first seven astronauts for project Mercury. Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard and Donald Slayton were chosen from 110 applicants. Their training program at Langley, which ranged from a graduate-level course in introductory space science to simulator training and scuba-diving. Project Mercury, NASA's first high profile program, was an effort to learn if humans could survive in space. NASA required astronaut candidates to be male, not over 40 years old, not more than 5' 11" height and in excellent physical condition. On 5 May 1961, Shepard became the first American in space

Apollo XIII rescue

In 1970, an explosion during the Apollo 13 mission led to one of the most spectacular rescue missions in US space history. The explosion aboard the Odyssey spacecraft left the crew stranded for four days more than 200,000 miles from Earth. An oxygen leak forced the Apollo 13 astronauts to abandon ship and return in lunar module. Against all odds, the three astronauts and thousands of others brought the capsule safely back to Earth. The astronauts were Fred Haise, Jack Swigert, and Commander Jim Lovell, and the mission was to have made the third manned landing of the moon

Apollo 13 launch

1970, Apollo 13, the third manned lunar landing mission, began with the successful launch of the spacecraft Odyssey from Cape Canaveral with crew James Lovell, Fred Haise, and John Swigert. Two days later, on 13 Apr disaster struck 200,000 miles from earth. A liquid oxygen tank exploded, disabling the normal supply of oxygen, electricity, light, and water. Swigert reported: “Houston, we've had a problem.” The lunar landing was aborted. After circling the moon, the crippled spacecraft began a long, cold journey back to earth with enormous logistical problems in providing enough energy to the damaged fuel cells to allow a safe return. On 17 Apr, with the world anxiously watching, tragedy turned to triumph as the Apollo 13 astronauts touched down safely in the Pacific Ocean

Helicopter

In 1877, a steam-engine driven helicopter model built by Enrico Forlanini rose 40 ft (12 m). The machine weighed 3.5 kg (7.7 lbs). Its coaxial rotors were powered by a two-cylinder steam engine. Just before takeoff the spherical steam accumlator was charged with 10 atmospheres of pressure, enabling the craft to rise and remain aloft for 20 seconds. Forlanini (1848-1930) was an Italian pioneer of scientific aviation. He built a hydroplane, which could take off on water (1905) and a new type of semirigid aircraft in1914. He also invented the hydrofoil boat. Alexander Graham Bell secured the Italian's patents to pursue his own interest in hydrofoil development

The mission's investigations at the Kimberley are planned as the most extensive since Curiosity spent the first half of 2013 in an area called Yellowknife Bay

At the Kimberley

researchers plan to use Curiosity's science instruments to learn more about habitable past conditions and environmental changes.

The object journeys 80 to 452 AU from the sun, never approaching Neptune (30 AU) or Pluto (39.5 AU).

The new world is roughly 450 kilometers across, just one-fifth Pluto's diameter

If Pluto were as big as a basketball, Sedna would be a softball and the new world a mere golf ball

Astronomers have discovered a probable dwarf planet that orbits the Sun far beyond Pluto

Together with Sedna, a similar extreme object discovered a decade ago, the find is reshaping ideas about how the Solar System came to be

been searching for more objects like Sedna for more than 10 years now.

A new study

has developed a new drug that can manipulate the body's natural signalling and energy systems, allowing the body to attack and shut down cancerous cells.

ZL105,

Opportunity rover on Mars has gotten a 70% boost in power over the past few weeks

A good portion of that comes from the fact that its springtime in Mars’ southern hemisphere where Oppy now sits

so the Sun is now shining longer and higher in the sky.

ESA sent a wake-up call to the 100-kg (220-lb) lander riding aboard the Rosetta spacecraft

bringing it out of its nearly 33-month-long slumber and beginning its preparation for its upcoming

landing on the surface of a comet in November

The rover experienced a partial cleaning of dust from its solar panels

Combined, the seasonal effect and multiple dust-cleaning events have increased the amount of energy available each day from the rover's solar array by more than 70 percent compared with two months ago

First cell phone call

In 1973, the first portable phone call was placed by inventor Martin Cooper. The phone was 10 inches in height, 3 inches deep and an inch-and-a-half wide and weighed 30-oz. Since then, cell phones have shrunk to a mere palm-size weighing 4-oz, and are used by a billion people around the world. Cooper's first ''shoebox'' phone replaced a car phone of the time that weighed more than 30 pounds and cost thousands of dollars. A car phone owner had to drill a hole in his car to install the antenna and most of the phone sat in the trunk. A control unit with a handset was placed inside the car

Challenger

Mrs Potts sad iron

In 1983, the space shuttle Challenger roared into orbit on its maiden voyage. It was named after the British Naval research vessel HMS Challenger that sailed the Atlantic and Pacific oceans during the 1870's. Challenger joined the NASA fleet of reusable winged spaceships and flew nine successful Space Shuttle missions. But on 28 Jan 1986, its tenth launch, the Challenger and its crew of seven were lost 73 seconds after launch when a booster failure resulted in the breakup of the vehicle