Warning: Most of this is entertaining stuff — few things are better than seeing government-grade explosives do what they do best — but some of it is not. The article includes footage of both the Challenger and Columbia disasters, and they're not easy to watch. Because we in no way want to sensationalize either tragedy or the attendant loss of life, we suggest you avoid those two clips.

[Wired]

The flight test of Ares I-X, originally scheduled for sometime before noon today and now scrubbed, will eventually — when it takes off — provide NASA with an early opportunity to test and prove flight characteristics, hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I.

Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Click "next" to scroll through the steps involved in dropping the giant space shuttle on the even larger cargo jet. Humorously, the technicians painted a note stating "Attach Orbiter Here" with the sarcastic note: "Black Side Down."

The shuttle is towed to the mate-unmate dock.
Photo credit: NASA/ Jim Grossmann
The orbiter is towed into the seven-story mate-unmate dock.
Photo Credit: Matt Hartman
The shuttle is attached to the lift and prepped.
Photo Credit: Matt Hartman
Prep includes inspecting the shuttle and getting it ready for flight. In transit, they're not supposed to encounter turbulence or moisture.
Photo Credit: Matt Hartman
The rear is covered with a shield to reduce drag.
Photo Credit: Matt Hartman
The rear of the jet, including the stabilizer, are fixed in place.
Photo Credit: Matt Hartman
Every inch of the orbiter is carefully investigated and sealed for flight, which is often as low as 10,000 feet to avoid extreme temps.
Photo Credit: Matt Hartman
The entire shuttle is raised.
Photo Credit: Matt Hartman

Photo Credit: Matt Hartman

Photo Credit: Matt Hartman
Once the orbiter is raised ot the proper height (note, it takes a while) the 747 SCA is towed into place.
Photo credit: NASA/ Jim Grossmann
Once the shuttle is properly positioned over the plane it's then dropped onto the special supports.
Photo credit: NASA/ Jim Grossmann

Photo credit: NASA/ Jim Grossmann
Once the shuttle is connected they tow both back out.
Photo credit: NASA/ Jim Grossmann
The shuttle is now ready to take off.
In flight over the desert, they get to do the opposite on the other end to get it off and ready to take off.
Image credit: NASA
To see a time lapse video of this process check out Gizmodo

Should the Constellation program ever bear distant fruit, mankind will take its first steps on Mars, several decades after first steps on a much closer celestial body. Peter Dushenski, editor of CarEnvy.ca, has imagined a future where Martian humans are faced with the dilemma of choosing a car for a Red Planet already lined with maglev tracks:

Let’s say that the year is 2086 and you’ve just moved to the Mars Colony. You’ve been assigned a job as a geologist in search of mineral deposits that can be exploited and marketed back on Earth. Since you’ve left your family back on Terra Firma, you’re free to take any car you want with you, but, your residence at the Shangri-La hotel only has one garage stall. Thanks to your handsome relocation allowance and your necessity for nothing more than one seat, your mind reels with the possibilities.

It’s a fun, beautifully rambling read, illustrated with hand-drawn-hand-photoshopped art. Read the rest of it here.

Utilizing mars rover-like drone robots to precision rake the soft, dusty surface of the moon and using the natural shadows created from the resulting trenches, Moon Publicity intends to auction 44 spots to accredited investors and companies for placement on the moon some time in the near future.

A few question arise— How will they get the robots to the moon's surface? What are the legal ramifications, if any? Will a governing body step in to prevent us from having to look at Vince the "ShamWow" guy every night?

We know they're somewhat legit because they've provided a semi-legible press release and a 3D animated demonstration. Oh, and they have a blog.

Robots to Advertise on the Moon

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, July 20 /PRNewswire/ — It's one giant leap for robot-kind. New Shadow Shaping technology creates images on the Moon that can be seen from Earth. Robots are used to create several small ridges in the lunar dust over large areas that capture shadows and shape them to form logos, domains names, memorials or even portraits. Talk about the Man in the Moon! You can even carve your initials in a heart to impress your sweetheart.

The advertising potential is mind-boggling. Never in history have companies been able to penetrate every market on Earth, reach every person on the planet, and touch them at an emotional level only possible with the beauty of the Moon on a starlit night. Twelve billion eyeballs looking at your logo in the sky for several days every month. And since there is no atmosphere on the Moon, the images last for thousands of years.

"Finally dependency on government to travel beyond Earth is over," says inventor David Kent Jones. "This new commercial incentive will turbo charge space technology development. Shadows are just the beginning; eventually robots will be planting crops on other planets."

Beginning July 20, 2009, the fortieth anniversary of man's first step on the Moon, exclusive licensing for this patent pending technology is publicly available. Moon Publicity is accepting bids from accredited investors and companies for 44 lunar regions until October 20, 2009. You could license moon-imaging technology potentially worth a fortune in advertising value for about the cost of an SUV. Minimum bids start as low as $46,000. For more information visit MoonPublicity.com.

[Moon Publicity]

In the gallery below, we'll take you through the delivery of the Saturn V to the launch pad, the Earth rising over the moon, to the landing on the lunar surface and the return back to Earth. Enjoy this monumental day as you never truly know where we'll step foot next.

Image Credits: ApolloArchive

Apollo 11 rolls out of the massive Vehicle Assembly Building
May 20, 1969
Apollo 11 rollout
May 20, 1969
aerial view of Apollo 11 rollout
May 20, 1969
The Saturn V moves at one mile per hour down the crawlerway toward pad 39A
May 20, 1969
Searchlights illuminate the Apollo 11 space vehicle at Launch Complex 39A during a Countdown Demonstration Test
July 11, 1969
The crew crosses the CM access walkway on swingarm #9
Apollo 11 space vehicle with astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. lifting o ff July 16, 1969.
liftoff of Apollo 11
liftoff of Apollo 11
Apollo 11 liftoff as viewed from the launch tower
medium-distance view of Apollo 11 liftoff
Moonbound Apollo 11 clears the launch tower
Apollo 11 climbs toward orbit
Launch team members view the Apollo 11 through the firing room windows
Apollo 11 as viewed from an Air Force EC-135N plane


view from Earth orbit
orbital view / Sabine and Ritter craters
Earthrise sequence - Earth emerges over lunar horizon
Earthrise sequence - Earth emerges over lunar horizon
Earthrise sequence - Earth rises over lunar horizon
CSM "Columbia" over Craters Taruntius K, Taruntius P, and Dorsum Cayeux (in Mare Fecunditatis). Partially visible are craters Anvil and Taruntius H.
Inspection of Lunar Module "Eagle" after undocking
July 20, 1969
Flight controllers Charles Duke (Capcom), Jim Lovell (backup CDR) and Fred Haise (backup LMP) during lunar module descent
LM separation from CSM
view from LM window just after landing
July 20, 1969
Armstrong's first photo after setting foot on the Moon
July 20, 1969
lunar surface / LM strut
Aldrin backing out through LM hatch
Aldrin exits the LM
July 20, 1969
Aldrin beside solar wind experiment
Aldrin salutes U.S. Flag
Aldrin's bootprint in the lunar soil
Aldrin poses for portrait / Armstrong's reflection in visor
Armstrong photo of landing site from a distance
LM ascent stage returns from the moon's surface
July 21, 1969
LM approaches CSM for docking / earthrise in b.g.
July 21, 1969
view of full lunar disc during return trip
crescent Earth photographed during return trip
Mission Control celebrates Apollo 11 mission

The first successful launch came last September after a very public and very embarrassing failed launch while attempting to carry another Malaysian satellite, a small NASA satellite and the ashes of James Doohan, the actor who played Scotty on the original Star Trek TV series.

Launched from the Kwajelein Atoll in the South Pacific, the SpaceX Falcon 1 rocket was charged with delivering the lightweight Malaysian satellite, RazakSAT into orbit and did so successfully nearly ten minutes into the trouble free flight.

With the end of NASA's space shuttle program approaching ever so quickly, privately funded companies like SpaceX are beginning to look like the future of space flight, that is, until Congress approves heavy funding for the next NASA space delivery system. [Wired]

Spirit beached herself on Sol 1925 (June 2, 2009) in the softened soil region named "Troy." By using her microscopic imager instrument (NASA speak for camera) mounted on the end of her robotic arm, engineers were able to create the panoramic image below to figure out how stuck she really is. The camera is designed to take images of objects 6 centimeters (2.4-inches) in front of the lens, which explains the ultra blurry photo of Spirit's underbelly. Let's hope they free her soon, she's got aliens more dirt to find.

[via NASA.gov]