News

MajorTim.space exhibited at New Scientist Live at ExCel London!
The event took place 28th September – 1st
October!
We ran our hovercraft workshop and a quiz with prizes!

With special guests in
attendance to the event – including
Tim Peake, Helen Sharman and Al Worden!

We were able to meet Tim Peake , Helen Sharman and Al Worden again, but this time in a private meeting backstage after their talk!

Later on we had two special visitors to our stand who took part in our activities….

Libby Jackson – Astronaut Flight Education Programme Manager for the UK Space Agency!

After all of the visitors had left…..

Al Worden – Apollo 15, retired NASA astronaut!

We had a fantastic time meeting so many enthusiastic Young Space Explorers, who had a great time making their hovercrafts and testing their knowledge in our quiz (with prizes including MajorTim.space Anniversary badges)!

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More photos from Amelia’s Photography here!

After two decades in space, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has completed it’s final orbit around Saturn.  Just one month shy of its 20th launch anniversary!

Today 15.09.2017 Cassini plunged into Saturn fighting to keep its antenna pointed at Earth as it transmitted its farewell.  In the skies of Saturn, the journey ended, as Cassini became part of the planet itself.

Having disbursed almost every bit of the rocket propellant it carried to Saturn, operators have deliberately plunged Cassini into the planet to ensure Saturn’s moons will remain pristine for future exploration – in particular, the ice-covered, ocean-bearing moon Enceladus, but also Titan, with its extremely intriguing pre-biotic chemistry.

Launched on Oct. 15, 1997, the mission entered orbit around Saturn on June 30, 2004 (PDT), carrying the European Huygens probe.

After its four-year prime mission, Cassini’s tour was extended twice.   Its key discoveries included the global ocean with indications of hydrothermal activity within Enceladus, and liquid methane seas on Titan

The European Huygens Probe

The Huygens probe successfully landed on Saturn’s largest moon Titan on January 14th, 2005.  The descent lasted two hours and 27 minutes. The probe survived another 72 minutes on the surface of Titan.  This was the first and, so far, the only landing in the outer solar system.  Huygens holds the record as the most distant landing from Earth.

Beginning in 2010, Cassini began a seven-year mission extension in which it completed many moon flybys while observing seasonal changes on Saturn and Titan. The plan for this phase of the mission was to expend all of the spacecraft’s propellant while exploring Saturn, ending with a plunge into the planet’s atmosphere.
In April 2017, Cassini was placed on an impact course that unfolded over five months of daring dives – a series of 22 orbits that each pass between the planet and its rings. Called the Grand Finale, this final phase of the mission has brought unparalleled observations of the planet and its rings from closer than ever before!

Goodbye Cassini  #GrandFinale

Quick facts –

MajorTim.space is proud to say that we will be exhibiting at New Scientist Live September 2017! – ExCeL London!

New Scientist Live has some special celebrity guest speakers this year – including …..
Tim Peake, Helen Sharman, Al Worden, Chris Packham, Chris Lintott, Jim Al-Khalili, Helen Czerski, Adam Rutherford and many more!

It’s our first anniversary, and we will be celebrating by running drop-in ‘build your own mini hovercraft’ workshops, and a quiz where there is a chance to win a prize – including MajorTim.space anniversary badges! 

So come and find us at stand 425 in the COSMOS Zone, to have some fun and learn about astronomy and friction in the process!

For more information about our workshop click here 

To book tickets and find out more about New Scientist Live 2017 click here

We look forward to meeting you!

Last weekend MajorTim.space was running drop-in workshops at RawFfest over two days!

RawFfest is a Youth Arts Festival, and this year was held at  Venue Cymru in Llandudno!

We had a great turnout of people coming to make a hovercraft and to take part in the quiz!

Keep an eye on the blog for more upcoming workshops!

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More photos by Amelia’s Photography here – Amelia’s Photography – RawFfest 2017

MajorTim.space will be running  drop-in workshops at RawFfest – Youth Arts Festival held at Venue Cyrmu in Llandudno, North Wales!

In this science experiment, you will make your own mini hovercraft using a CD and a balloon.   Come and learn about Friction and experience just how enjoyable combining Art and STEM is!

This is a drop-in workshop being run on both Friday 18th and Saturday 19th August!

To take part in RawFfest 2017 you need to book tickets!

To find out more and to book your tickets check out the RawFfest website – http://www.rawffest.wales/

This workshop from MajorTim.space has been sponsored by…….
Clearly Drinks Brands Ltd
Currys PC World – Llandudno

The Bluedot is a festival of discovery, at the grounds of a deep space observatory! 

Set against a backdrop of the iconic Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank, bluedot combines music with a ground-breaking programme of live science experiments, expert talks and immersive artworks! 

I camped and met so many inspiring scientists, presenters, oceanographers and Astronomy/STEM ambassaders again – including Mark McCaughrean, Helen Czerski, Chris Lintott and Pete Lawrence!

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For more photos of the Bluedot from Amelia’s Photography, click here

It is one year today since Tim Peake returned to Earth from space!

He described the journey back as “the best ride I’ve been on ever”, adding: “The smells of Earth are just so strong”.

His return marked the start of another incredible year for Tim, which included touring and writing his own book!

Children have been inspired by his Principia Mission – in a way that they may not have been interested in space especially from a scientific or mathematical point of view, but have been drawn in through a number of different ways, such as competitions, challenges and experiments!

This is a very special post because it is the first, of many interviews by MajorTim.space!

I would like to thank the wonderful Dallas Campbell for this interview, he is very keen to promote science and is a brilliant, lively presenter!

Watch the video until the end (there is more to follow after the quote)!

ESA astronaut, Thomas Pesquet landed on the steppe of Kazakhstan yesterday (2nd June) with Russian commander Oleg Novitsky in their Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft after six months in space.   After a four hour flight from the International Space Station, they touched down.

The return was routine – or as routine as you can get for a ride that requires braking from 28 800 km/h to zero.  The heatshield copes with the 1600°C as the spacecraft enters the atmosphere, parachutes and retrorockets provide the final braking, and moulded seats cushion the impact – but it is still a wild ride.

Thomas took part in more than 60 experiments during his Proxima mission, and set a new record for the number of hours spent on science in a week, as part of an Expedition Crew.

Welcome back to Earth Thomas!

Back on Earth!
Source – France 24

On this day (18th May 2017), 26 years ago, in 1991, Helen Sharman Became Britain’s first astronaut!

27 year old Sharman, from Sheffield, blasted into to orbit, from Baikonur cosmodrome in the Soviet republic of Kazakhstan, with fellow astronauts, Anatoly Artebartsky and Sergei Krikalyov – aboard the Soviet Soyuz TM-12 space capsule.

“Astronaut wanted, no experience necessary”

Helen Sharman, a former chemist, won her place in space in 1989, after answering an advertisement she heard on the radio – “Astronaut wanted, no experience necessary”.