The ESA's comet lander Philae is probably dead.

Philae arrived at the surface of comet 67P, (also known as Churyumov-Gerasimenko) in 2014 - delivered there by ESA's Rosetta probe.

Philae and Rosetta communicated for 57 hours after-which Philae became sporadic and finally silent.


ESA has sent a "last-ditch" message to the lander in hopes of triggering a response-the bad news is that it seems to have failed.

click here for complete Wired Article

  

SyFy Renews "The Magicians" For A Second Seasons

Syfy has announced that the popular series The Magicians has been renewed for a 13 episode second season that should air some time in 2017.

Check out the full article by clicking HERE 

Apollo astronaut Edgar Mitchell Dies at 85

 

For those of you who live under a rock (that includes me...!) We have suffered a tragic loss of a precious and irreplaceable commodity.

Apollo 14 crew member Edgar Mitchell has died at 85, one of only 12 men to walked on the surface of the Moon.

The Apollo 14 Luna mission set records almost from the moment the L.E.M.'s pads touched the powdery surface.

The team of Edgar Mitchell and Alan B. Shepard Jr. set mission records for the time of the longest distance traversed on the lunar surface; the largest payload returned from lunar surface (94 pounds of lunar rock and soil), the longest lunar stay time (33 hours). They were also the first to transmit color TV from the lunar surface.

Beam Me Up episode #462

In episode 462 the main story is Accidental Death, a bit of a “flash from the past” from author Peter Bailey.

News from the blog: first off from Kallamus is comments on the Chronicles of Shinara and Star Trek. Next are my observations on “Space 1999” plus where they can play a behind the scenes short, this concerning the intricate modeling of the ships that was done.  Next, with new detectors, it may be within scientists’ reach to observe gravity Waves.

Has the 9th planet truly been discovered?

Carole sent in photos of folks that will most likely be future inductees into the Darwin Awards list.
That about ties it up for another episode.  I hope you enjoy the podcast.

Cygnus Supply Craft. Sporting New Solar Array

Cygnus's newest improvements are effective, efficient and by many descriptions - adorable.

When the S.S. Deke Slayton II launched in December, it was the first mission of the
newly-upgraded Cygnus spacecraft.

The upgrades included an expanded cargo hold and reworked service module, but most striking of all is the new solar panels. Like the rectangular bars on every other spacecraft (including older-model Cygnus spacecraft), the Cygnus now sports a pair of round Ultraflex solar arrays.

The design is not form alone however. The round fan-fold allows for higher performance at a lower mass than typical arrays. The arrays also fold up smaller than traditional arrays, reducing the stowage volume  when launching. 

Check out the Gizmodo article HERE