Nasa

Adam, Will and Norm got their hands on the awesome LEGO Ideas NASA Apollo Saturn V scale model rocket a bit earlier than us mere mortals. Watch them unbox, methodically knoll parts, and build the set. Assembly and story time start at 2:25.

Designer Duane King is making exact replicas of the plaques (same size and material) that were placed on board the Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 space probes as a message to extraterrestrials. The laser-engraved plaques come with unreleased Pioneer stamps.

Motion designer Christian Stangl turned thousands of photos from NASA’s Apollo missions into an animated collage that provides a photorealistic recap of the moon landings. Music by Wolfgang Stangl.

From the underappreciated corner of YouTube comes Johnson Space Center’s channel. NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center has been uploading awe-inspiring videos taken by astronauts working just outside the International Space Station.

Based on a proposal by LEGO Ideas members Felix Stiessen and Valérie Roche, this model kit features a 3ft-tall (1:110 scale) model of the Saturn V, the most powerful rocketship ever built. It comes with a lunar lander and three astronaut microfigs. Drops 6/2017 for $120.

Launched in 1997, the Cassini space probe has been providing NASA with data about Saturn and the moon since 2004. It’s now running out of fuel. Erik Wernquist made this excellent CGI short film to sum up Cassini’s contributions and its final mission.

From the Apollo 15 mission in 1971 onwards, every manned space flight has had a Nikon camera onboard. Here are a few time-lapse videos made using Nikon cameras aboard the International Space Station. We recommend playing the video at 0.75x speed.

Trappist-1 is a star that’s 39 light years away from the Earth. Astronomers recently shared that they found seven planets orbiting Trappist-1, and that all of them could have liquid water and thus could support life. Learn more about our neighbors here.

Did you know that NASA wants to make an asteroid orbit the Moon so that astronauts can explore it? Or that it helped create The Learning Channel? Or that it had its budget cut multiple times? Okay maybe that last one isn’t a secret. More in Mental Floss’ video.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab shows off a small robot that’s capable of driving straight up the side of a building. One version uses gecko-like microsuction to stick to smooth surfaces, while another uses insect inspired microspines to grab onto rough walls.

A box set that contains the media in the Voyager Golden Record – a gold-plated copper phonograph record carried by the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 space probes as a message to extraterrestrial beings. It consists of 3 vinyl records, a hardcover book and a lithograph.

Amazing video of the flame of a rocket engine captured with NASA’s new High Dynamic Range Stereo X (HiDyRS-X) camera system. This new technology allows scientists to see every minute detail of a flame, rather than just the bright orange plume we’re used to seeing.

We’ve always been under the impression that astronauts had to pack light, but one silly piece of cargo found its way onto the International Space Station – a gorilla suit. Unless that’s a real gorilla, and he already ate astronaut Scott Kelly. Today’s official hashtag: #SpaceApe

By combining water, food coloring and an Alka-Seltzer tablet, astronauts on the International Space Station created orbs which hover momentarily in space, then start bubbling apart like tiny planets that are about to go supernova. Watch in 4K if your display supports it.

What’s up Pluto? We come in peace! Launched in 2006, NASA’s New Horizons probe finally flew past Pluto as part of its over 3 billion mile journey. It took us 50 years, but we’ve now flown by all of the classic planets in our solar system.

Astronauts at the International Space Station recently acquired 4K cameras for capturing sights both inside and outside the ISS, which should help in research as well as in reaching out to the public. Download for local playback here.

“When I opened the hatch, I had the whole universe in front of me.” NASA’s documentary looks at the history and future of spacewalks, from Alexey Leonov’s pioneering spacewalk in 1965 to the plans to explore Mars.

NASA’s impressive new electric rover vehicle can deftly maneuver into the tightest of spaces, thanks to independent four-wheel 180º steering. It can also be remotely operated. We want one of these just to drive around town now.

NASA, GoPro and the Internet Archive released this amazing footage taken by astronaut Terry Virts when he went outside the International Space Station to upgrade its docking station.

YouTuber Neil Smith used Cinema 4D and the Octane Render plugin to turn the mission patches of NASA’s manned moon missions into 3D animations. You can buy the stills from the video as one large print.

This video taken from one of the Endeavour’s F/A-18 escorts shows the shuttle flying over some of Los Angeles’ landmarks before touching down at LAX for its 2013 parade. You can visit her at the California Space Center.

In the first part of Smarter Every Day’s space series, Destin talks to astronauts Scott Kelly and Greg Wiseman to give us an idea of how the Soyuz spacecraft works and how it docks with the International Space Station.

In March 1969, astronaut Rusty Schweickart was being filmed spacewalking as part of NASA’s Apollo 9 mission when the camera jammed. He was told to stay put, giving him time to take in his unbelievable view of our planet.

The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) continuously takes images of the sun at various wavelengths. These beautiful time-lapse videos are made of images captured by the spacecraft over the last five years.

Because it’s in synchronous rotation with our planet, the Moon always faces Earth on one side, aka the near side. But thanks to the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, NASA was able to map the far side of the Moon.