Nasa

Using data and imagery captured by its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, NASA compiled this wondrous look at our Moon, showing off details of its surface, its North and South poles, its massive craters, what might lie beneath its crust, and locations astronauts have visited.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory has been capturing high-def images of our sun for more than 7 years. Here’s footage captured by two of their systems – the larger one showing visible light, the smaller one showing extreme UV light, and the line graph displays sunspot activity.

As of 2012, by NASA’s count there are 809 manmade objects on the Moon. You can find the full list here. Spacecraft make up the bulk of our moon litter, but Half as Interesting points out that we left a wide variety of “artifacts”, including poop.

A fascinating simulation created by a team of scientists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The animation approximates the movements of smoke, sea salt, and dust as they traveled around the globe due to storms and wind currents in 2017. Original video here.

The crew of Expedition 53 on the International Space Station couldn’t order delivery, so they decided to make some pizzas for themselves. We assumed all of toppings would just float off in the microgravity environment, but with enough sauce, they seem to stick pretty well.

Conceptualized by LEGO Ideas member Maia Weinstock, the Women of NASA set commemorates the achievements of four NASA scientists and entrepreneurs: Nancy Grace Roman, Margaret Hamilton, Sally Ride and Mae Jemison.

NASA’s Halloween treat is a set of short eerie audio clips. These celestial whistles, moans and screams were converted from radio emissions captured by various spacecraft from across the Solar System. Cassini’s beats are legit nice.

Harow’s Apollo 11 table features an accurate scale model of part of the Moon’s surface. The craters were carved into fiberglass and then covered with resin. The table’s brass and aluminum alloy feet are based on the Lunar Module’s landing pads. Limited to 8 units.

The FA-5 penlight was made exclusively for astronauts in the Apollo and shuttle missions. It proved particularly useful in the infamous Apollo 13. Barbolight’s replica retains the flashlight’s brass alloy construction but adds LEDs and water resistance up to 300ft.

Unlike other LEGO space shuttles, KingsKnight’s proposal is a 1:110 model, the same scale as the recently released LEGO Apollo Saturn V set. The design includes the tank and boosters, the Canadarm, a satellite, swappable decals, and seven microfigures.

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.

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.

LEGO enthusiast Lia Chan built this masterfully scaled and detailed model of the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39a. It includes the Space Shuttle Atlantis, the crawler transport system and the launch platform itself.

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.