Space Technology

What Astronauts Ate on Their (Simulated) Mission to Mars Recipes!

Six scientists -- some of them accomplished chefs -- emerged from four months in a simulated space habitat where their mission was ... to eat. The purpose of the study, conducted on an isolated lava field about 8,000 feet above sea level on the northern slope of Mauna Loa on Hawaii's Big Island, ... More >>

The Mission Is Sake

Bobak Ferdowsi: The JPL Mohawk Guy

One of the fascinating Angelenos featured in L.A. Weekly's People 2013 issue. Check out our entire People 2013 issue here. Last year's Mars landing by the NASA rover Curiosity was a nail-biter broadcast live from the control room at the Jet Propulsion Lab in La Cañada Flintridge. Yet as the r ... More >>

Living on Mars Time: What If Your Day Lasted 24 Hours, 39 Minutes and 35 Seconds?

Kirsten Siebach didn't want to go to the party. "There's just no way I can make it at 10 p.m.," she found herself thinking, "because that's breakfast time." For weeks Siebach had been falling asleep in church and calling her mother daily to check her own sanity. But it was her friend's birthday, so ... More >>

Caltech Crafts Gingerbread Mars Rover

One giant leap for a pastry chef? We've seen a lot of cool gingerbread houses around town, but nothing tops the gingerbread Mars Curiosity rover that the nerdy minds at Caltech have come up with. Crafted by Kevin Isacsson, head chef of the Athaneum, the Pasadena university's private dining club, the ... More >>

Foote Notes

Skateboard Riot in Hollywood As 500 Gather For Bake And Destroy Film: PHOTOS

Updated at the bottom. First posted at 10:30 p.m. Saturday. Some of the skateboarders who had lined up to see skate film Bake And Destroy ended up throwing rocks and bottles at police tonight in what will probably become known as the Hollywood Skater Riot of 2012. So far no injuries or arrests wer ... More >>

Space Shuttle Endeavour is Home: PHOTOS

In laid-back, SoCal style, the space shuttle Endeavour was more than fashionably late to its final home, the California Science Center, but people along its 12-mile route from LAX to Exposition Park didn't seem to mind the extra viewing time. The Endeavour got to its destination today at 1:10 p.m. ... More >>

Space Shuttle Endeavour Street Closures and Viewing Areas

After months of preparations--tree cutting, power line lifting, street sign removing--the day is finally upon us. The space shuttle Endeavour left LAX on its final mission to Exposition Park late last night. And it's traveled a few dozen feet so far. There will be rolling street closures to accomo ... More >>

Los Angeles Traffic Is Still The Worst In The Nation

If the space shuttle Endeavour's trip from LAX to Exposition Park seems slow going this afternoon, that's just another day on the streets of L.A. The latest TomTom quarterly report on traffic congestion, Los Angeles is maintaining its top-dog status in the nation. Issued this week, the study says ... More >>

Endeavour's Tree-Chopping Truth: Readers Weigh In

Five Space Shuttle Endeavour Disaster Scenarios

The Endeavour is scheduled to begin it's excruciatingly slow steamroll through South Los Angeles tomorrow afternoon... but the move will likely be delayed if rain remains in the forecast. (The shuttle's fragile tiles absorb water like little sponges, adding to the shuttle's already considerable 170, ... More >>

Endeavour's Road Trip to California Science Center Expected to Draw Masses to L.A. Streets

You thought Endeavor fever was over once the retired space shuttle hit the ground at LAX following its amazing flyover last month. You're wrong. The fever has only begun. Because L.A. will get an even closer look at the shuttle next week. That's way cool, except that the cops are worried too many ... More >>

Endeavour's Tree-Killing Debut

Steve Soboroff falsely said the chopped trees were dying, sick

Space Shuttle Endeavour Flyover Photos: Los Angeles Gets An Eyeful

Rarely have so many Angelenos bothered to look to the skies for a situation not involving an LAPD helicopter or Kobe Bryant. Shortly before noon the space shuttle Endeavour made its final flight before lading at LAX and heading for a few weeks of storage ahead of its debut as an exhibit at the Calif ... More >>

Endeavour Flyover List Includes Disneyland, Getty Museum, Universal Studios

The LAPD really thinks you're retarded. Here's your chance to prove the department wrong. You see, L.A. police officials are afraid that you'll be so wowed by the site of retired Space Shuttle Endeavour cruising above town on a 747 that you'll take your eyes off the road and crash your car Friday m ... More >>

Space Shuttle Endeavour: Why Isn't the California Science Center Conducting an EIR Before Cutting Down 265 Trees?

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires that any project which "may have a significant effect on the environment" be prefaced by an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) -- an often lengthy document investigating the project's possible effects on both the natural environment on the urba ... More >>

Los Angeles, Inglewood Officials to Sacrifice 400 'Majestic' Trees in Way of Space Shuttle Endeavour

"Space exploration events are like the Olympics; everyone just feels good," Inglewood Mayor James Butts said at a triumphant press conference on the September 20 arrival of the space shuttle Endeavour. And the spacecraft's 12-mile trip from LAX to the California Science Center on October 13, added ... More >>

Curiosity Aside, Mars Could Experience Earthquake, UCLA Researcher Finds

If you think space is the final frontier, you might be in for a disappointment. While NASA's Curiosity rover is snapping shots of a crater and hoping to find earth-like life on the Red Planet, UCLA scientists have discovered it has a lot in common with Southern California. It turns out Mars has te ... More >>

Monster Pothole in 405 Construction Zone Flattens Hella Tires, Backs Up Traffic for Miles

Let's hope incoming NASA space shuttle Endeavour doesn't hit one of these babies on its road trip across Los Angeles. Last night around 8 p.m., just as rush hour was about to die down, the pothole to trump all potholes was unearthed on the 405 North -- right smack dab in the middle of Metro's lates ... More >>

Curiosity Rover Lands on Mars

The NASA rover Curiosity landed on Mars tonight, setting off cheers at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, which guided the car-sized traveler 154 miles to the red planet in search of signs of life. The landing was confirmed shortly at 10:31 p.m., according to NASA: NASA's Curiosity rover has ... More >>

The Next Generation of Space Food: Vegan Thai Pizza, Hydroponic Gardens Chefs on Mars

Despite what those freeze-dried ice cream sandwiches from the museum gift shop might lead you to believe, designing astronaut food is a lot more complex than it might appear. Nobody understands this better than the NASA food scientists who are currently planning a menu for the prospective 3-year mi ... More >>

Meet Mark Wallace, NASA's Interplanetary Travel Agent

"Thank you for having me!" he says at the end. "Any questions?" In a tiny, hole-in-the-wall art gallery in central L.A., a rocket scientist is wrapping up a talk titled "Getting There: Science Fiction ... and Fact." The gallery founder, wanting to add a bit of oomph to a space-related exhibit, had r ... More >>

'Caine's Arcade' Star Visits NASA Scientist Who Built Cardboard Rockets When He Was a Kid

And here we thought the story of Caine Monroy, the 9-year-old who built a full-scale cardboard arcade in his dad's Los Angeles auto shop, couldn't get any more adorable. How wrong we were! "Caine's Arcade" filmmaker Nirvan Mullick, who's now a member of the kid's staff, just posted a photo to Faceb ... More >>

10 Awesome Photos of Space, From 'The History of Space Photography' Show in Pasadena

Four hundred years ago, stargazing was practically illegal. The Roman Inquisition sentenced Galileo for supporting Copernican astronomy, and most people still believed the earth was flat. Fortunately, science has since come a long way, and now, NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena has made space e ... More >>

Astronauts Crave Hot Sauce, Horseradish

While astronauts clearly get a kick out of taking advantage of zero gravity and eating M&Ms like Pac-Man eating Pac-Dots, what they want the most isn't candy. According to recent reports from NPR and ABC News, the men and women who boldly go where few have before constantly reach for a hot pepper o ... More >>

NASA Seeks Volunteers for Astronaut Cooking Challenge

Are you unemployed? Hungry? Have you always wanted to be an astronaut? NASA may have just the job for you. The space agency is seeking six volunteers to live on a simulated Mars base on a Hawaiian lava flow for four months to test meals that could be served on an eventual mission to Mars, Sci-Tech ... More >>

Stout Brings Burgers to Studio City, Santa Monica

Courtesy of SpacecraftA rendering of Stout in Studio City.​Another day, another Spacecraft CG rendering. This time it's the new locations of upscale burger and beer bar Stout, which is set to open outposts in Studio City and Santa Monica. (Despite the nightmarish parking in the Cahuenga Corrid ... More >>

Elon Musk's L.A.-Based SpaceX to Send Private Spacecraft to International Space Station

SpaceXDragon.​The Space Shuttle might be a relic of the past, but that doesn't mean America isn't still going to space. More and more, it's becoming a private affair. Elon Musk's Hawthorne-based SpaceX was given a preliminary green light by NASA today for its second space mission. This one wi ... More >>

Kitchen 24 West Hollywood Opening

Courtesy of SpacecraftA CG rendition of Kitchen 24 in West Hollywood.​A few more details about the new Kitchen 24 outpost in West Hollywood. Co-owned by Dave Dickerson, who's also a partner in Fairfax coffee shop Commissary (one of our favorite mid-summer affogato stops), the newest Kitchen 24 ... More >>

Active Child on His Debut Album, Rent-to-Own Harps, and Breaking into Churches

Brent MartinsActive Child​Harps by and large are pretty unpopular instruments. Why? Well, it's not easy to rock out on a harp. They're hard to play with your teeth. You can't pound on them, and there is no chance of an Air Harp Competition starting anytime soon. However, if you're not looking ... More >>

Shuttle Atlantis Launches with Yeast Onboard

NASAThe launch of space shuttle Atlantis on the morning of July 8, 2011. It will be NASA's final space shuttle mission.​When NASA's final space shuttle mission successfully launched this morning, along with four astronauts and thousands of pounds of jet fuel Atlantis was carrying some unusual ... More >>

Welcome Back to Earth, Space Shuttle Endeavor! Next Stop: Los Angeles (VIDEO)

Space Shuttle Endeavor -- soon to be horizontal, en route to LAX.​We, along with Tucson massacre survivor Gabrielle Giffords, were relieved to see NASA's shuttle Endeavor make a safe landing in Florida just after midnight. (Video evidence after the jump.) Hats off to Mark Kelly, Giffords' loya ... More >>

Endeavor Space Shuttle to Get Permanent Home at California Science Center in Exposition Park, NASA Says

NASAEndeavor.​Updated after the jump with reaction from Exposition Park-area county leader Mark Ridley-Thomas. As NASA retires its space shuttle program, L.A. will get a piece of that history -- permanently. The space agency announced today that the California Science Center in Exposition Pa ... More >>

Studly Astronaut From L.A. County High School To Command NASA's 'Discovery' Mission

NASATemple City High, Class of 1978​Updated after the jump: NASA has postponed the 39th and final Discovery mission until at least Nov. 30. Well, that was anticlimactic. Originally posted at 11:04 a.m. Venice has Morrison; Long Beach has Snoop; Compton has the venerable Coolio. Now, the San ... More >>

'The American Astronaut' Brings 'The Girl With The Vagina Made of Glass' And More Sci-fi, Musical-Western Hits to the Downtown Indie

'The American Astronaut' Brings 'The Girl With The Vagina Made of Glass' And More Sci-fi, Musical-Western Hits to the Downtown Indie

Pasadena, We Have A Problem: NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander Kaput

NASA​NASA officials in Pasadena this week officially gave up on the Phoenix Mars Lander after the little tyke went incommunicado and appeared to be damaged by ice as it succumbed to winter conditions on the red planet. The spacecraft had already collected images of Mars and successfully compl ... More >>

Dr. Andrew E. Johnson: The Visionary

Food In Space: German Chef Cooks For The International Space Station

It's been 40 years since the lunar landing, when the idea of food in space suddenly became more fascinating than, well, the food on your plate. Remember Space Food Sticks and Tang? (Check out the old commercials, on YouTube, after the jump.) These days space food has gone more upscale than, say, Ast ... More >>

But How's the Food: Spacecraft/Kristopher Keith's Many Design Languages

Spacecraft, the design group headed by Kristopher Keith, has practically become synonymous with the revitalization of Hollywood's nightlife and dining scene. The firm's signature black and white signage, with its bold use of courier font, is a visual fixture around the neighborhood. Keith is the des ... More >>

Space Race Two: SoCal Loses Fight for Private Space Terminal to New Mexico

State turns instead to manufacturing ships, suits, even diapers

Lost On Earth

Put a Cork in It

7-Up Up and Away

Corporate sponsorship, civilian astronauts and inflatable space hotels follow in X Prize’s jet wash

Animating Mars

Spirit and the dream of life

Space(F)light

Sailing the solar wind to the stars

Surf Report: Billabong Threatens an International Incident

Coming Back to Earth

The shuttle disaster and the Quiet American within

Washington, We Have a Problem

My Own Private Spaceship