Our star

Welcome EKT, our universe in 6 pounds, 8 ounces.

free falling

Steve Fossett

Here's hoping that aviation adventurer Steve Fossett is found alive in the New Mexico desert. Fossett has been missing for 5 full days now after taking off in a small aircraft on Monday. He didn't file a flight plan (not necessary for the trip he was planning to execute) and the beacons from his aircraft never reported so rescuers are currently searching a large swath of New Mexico desert looking for the proverbial needle. Adventurers like Fossett are currently the financial and inspirational drivers for bold private aviation efforts, including private spacecraft.

Rovers back in action

The global dust storms on Mars have finally abated (for now) and the Spirit and Opportunity rovers are getting back to work. The dust storms nearly ended the rover missions by severely diminishing the amount of sunlight the rover solar panels were able to absorb. Fortunately, the brightening skies have allowed the rovers to recharge and start moving again. Opportunity is currently sitting at the lip of the enormous Victoria crater and will enter the crater sometime next week.

balloon in space

The image above was taken from an altitude of 117,597 feet above the surface of the Earth. It was taken with a Nikon Coolpix digital camera from a helium balloon launched in Alberta, Canada on August 11, 2007. As best I can gather from their website, the balloon was launched by a group of radio/space enthusiasts with their own money and a digital camera that can be bought at any store. I consider this accomplishment a part of the growing civilian exploration of space, the cutting edge of that effort being companies like Virgin Galactic that will soon offer paid seats to space.