Don’t Miss ISS in the Night Sky

Look up at the Spring sky and you might see the International Space Station that flies over Philadelphia four to seven times every day. There are three astronauts on board at the moment, but that will grow to six this month. The US is counting on Russia to help continue missions into space by providing launch vehicles and capsules to take people up to earth orbit. Although some may be skeptical that they are up to the job, it’s important to note that Russian spacecraft are simpler than ours, but tend to be more reliable. A new rover will be landing on Mars on August 6th and will be part of the next series of rovers looking for evidence of life on Mars. This one could live on for quite a while since this rover will not use solar panels for energy. Also, that super moon you saw on Saturday may not have been as large as you think. All this and more on this week’s Sky Talk.[audio: st20120507.mp3]