Awesome Space

This drink coaster commemorates the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon. Concord Aerospace is making a limited number of these slate coasters, printed with a micro-scale recreation of the Sea of Tranquility. Look carefully, and you’ll see the Eagle lunar module, U.S. flag, and other details on the lunar surface. A magnet on back lets you display it on your fridge.

Outfit your spacecraft-inspired room with this multi-switch replica of the Apollo Command Module’s Master Alarm panel from Concord Aerospace. The panel has three on-off switches, three mom-off-mom contact switches, and a backlit momentary-contact alarm pushbutton. The industrial-grade switches can be wired to control lights or other electrical items.

Epic Spaceman explores our home galaxy, using a map of the United States to illustrate the relative sizes and distances of celestial objects like Earth and the Sun. We won’t spoil it, but suffice it to say the Milky Way is a massive place, and humanity occupies a teensy-weensy piece of it.

Jonathan Brooks’ science fiction short takes place aboard the International Space Station. When its lone astronaut loses contact with Earth and the station losing altitude, he starts wondering how he will survive and questioning what is real and imagined. Its creators began by searching the NASA Public Archives and wrote a story to match the source footage.

Bottle flipping is so 2016. But that didn’t stop Zac Alsop from bringing the trend back for an epic send-off. He teamed up with the guys from Sent Into Space to launch a water bottle to the edge of space. They came up with an over-engineered solution that keeps the bottle spinning, drops it close to Earth via parachute, then detaches for its final approach.

Imagine for a moment that humans have started to colonize space. Just like here on Earth, conflicts are likely to arise, and weapons may be drawn. The Infographics Show explores the physics at work in an outer space battle and how guns and bullets might work on asteroids, planets, and in the void of space.

ChenYi makes these stitched-edge cloth desk mats with colorful illustrations of our solar system. Measuring 35.4″ w x 15.7″ d, they’re big enough for a full-size keyboard, a mouse, and other desk accessories. Choose from six variants, including Celestia, Galaxy, Nebula, Orbit, Revolution, and a white Solar System.

Protect your tabletop the way the Space Shuttle was shielded on re-entry with these replica thermal tile coasters from Concord Aerospace. Each Astrocoaster is made from CNC-machined polymer, embellished with a serial number, and laminated to a Kydex base. On back, you’ll find felt pads and a strong magnet for fridge mounting. Price is for a set of four.

There are many great games on the Xbox Series X|S, but there’s not been a killer app for Microsoft’s console. That could change with Starfield, an action RPG developed by Bethesda Game Studios exclusively for the console and PC. This in-depth video explores the game’s vast universe, missions, character and ship customizations, and endless possibilities.

This fascinating tabletop showpiece features a miniature replica of our solar system. It uses magnetic levitation tech to float accurate models of each planet in orbit around the sun. The positions of each planet are synchronized in real-time using NASA data, and it’s available with a light-up sun. You can also accelerate the orbital speed for faster action.

Some LEGO astronaut minifigs go their whole lives only dreaming of space travel. Now, 1000 lucky minifigs have traveled to the edge of space courtesy of LEGO and Kreativ Gang. Three crews of 335 plastic astronauts flew to a height of roughly 35,500 meters aboard a carbon fiber and stainless steel space shuttle carried aloft by a weather balloon.

After building a scale model of the Solar System, filmmakers Alex Gorosh and Wylie Overstreet headed to the Mojave desert to create a physical model that illustrates time over 13.8 billion years. They dotted the dry lakebed with lights and combined those with video footage to show the passage of time. Download a printable version of their time scale here.

The latest from Concord Aerospace is a fully-functional light switch inspired by Apollo spacecraft switchgear. It can replace a standard single-pole US light switch and offers an optional flip-up switch guard. Each is made from steel, aluminum, and acrylic. In addition to standard designs, they can also customize the wording.

When a planet is ejected from its star system, it’s known as a “rogue planet.” You’d think that such a planet would be uninhabitable, but Bright Side explores the possibilities of living on a rogue planet by harnessing its geothermal energy make heat and light, and extracting water from underground sources.

VFX artist Teun van der Zalm takes us on an immersive journey through a simulated nebula formation. Thanks to modern graphics hardware and software, he created this striking visual from an incredible 15 billion particles illuminated with 250 virtual lights. Watch it in full screen in a dark room if you can.

Take a journey into hyperspace every time you raise your wrist. This eye-catching, space-themed wristwatch from Xeric has a textured sunburst dial and luminescent stars that appear to be zooming past your wrist-ship’s domed crystal windshield. Its hands feature a different glowing hue to stand out among the stars.

Luke Wilson stars in this original animated series about a graphic designer who moves all the way to Mars only to find out his job has been eliminated. Based on Nate Sherman and Nick Vokey’s award-winning short film, it’s a story of corporate bureaucracy and one man’s journey to rediscover himself. Coming to Max 4.20.23.

This LEGO Ideas creation consists of four mini artworks inspired by 1980s science fiction. Fan designer Jan Woźnica’s scenes feature colorful gradients contrasted with dark skies, rocket ships, stars, and moons. The four panels can be displayed individually or joined together and stand or hang on the wall. Available 5.8.23.

Given the vastness of the universe, it’s almost impossible to fathom that there aren’t other life forms out there. In this video from Kurzgesagt, they explore the hypothetical idea that aliens are just a few steps behind us, and will soon catch up with technology that allows them to explore space and visit other planets.

Concord Aerospace specializes in hardware inspired by space travel. They sell cool stuff like control switches and this round picture frame that looks like the window on the Apollo command module hatch. The 50%-scale replica comes in laser-cut acrylic or machined aluminum, with metal hardware and accurate markings.

Olivier Gomis created this impressive piece of furniture – a table that looks like it has a wormhole that connects two points of space and time. He built the table from rough walnut planks he cut into sticks and glued into grids. He then assembled them into rough shapes, turned the rounded pieces, then assembled and finished them.

AltDynamic created this metal model based on data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The miniature moonscape replicates the topography of the Linné Crater. Each is CNC-machined from a solid aluminum bar and comes as a 5″ x 5″ or 5″ x 8″ scene, with the larger model available in a blue or red finish.

Did you know that the sunlight you’re looking at now is 8-minutes old? Or that the most common maps completely distort the relative size of countries? Mental Floss Editor-in-Chief Erin McCarthy digs into these and plethora of other facts about our planet in this extensive trivia video.