Jun 132024
 

Artist’s Idea of Hayabusa above the Asteroid

Hayabusa returned to earth in 2010 from its trip to collect samples of Near-Earth Asteroid 25143 Itokawa. The unmanned Hayabusa (Peregrine Falcon) launched from a Japanese space center on May 9, 2003, and it landed on the asteroid on November 19, 2005. It collected samples of the asteroid and successfully brought those samples back. The samples reveal that the asteroid is more like a meteorite than an earth rock. Children can learn more at: Hayabusa.

Oct 132024
 
Copiapo Rescued and Rescuers Celebrate!

Copiapo Rescued and Rescuers Celebrate!

Copiapo miners were rescued in 2010!  A mine cave-in in the Atacama Desert near Copiapo, Chile, had trapped 33 men underground on August 5. The men had rushed to an emergency shelter underground. Drilling apparatus found the location of the men seventeen days later. Oxygen, food, water, and letters from friends and family began reaching the men a few days later. Meanwhile, rescue operations, an international effort, continued on the surface. At one point experts thought the miners would not be rescued until late December. However, good fortune and expert drilling finally created an escape plan. One by one the men were brought up in a capsule. They were all successfully brought to earth’s surface before midnight on October 13, 2010!