Comet Lander Deploys Drill, But Could Lose Power Tonight November 14, 2014

Philae, the lander currently on comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, may not be able to perform its extended mission — scientists at the European Space Agency worry that the probe may have landed in a spot too shadowy for solar panels to recharge its batteries. The ESA says it may not be able to contact the craft after Friday night.


Those problems have somewhat tempered the celebration of a new step in space exploration, after the lander ended its 10-year journey by landing on a comet more than 300 million miles from Earth Wednesday.

Philae lander’s CIVA camera

The fridge-size lander is standing on two of its three legs, and its solar panels are sitting in the shadow of a nearby cliff face forming the edge of a large crater where Philae was supposed to have made a soft touch-down on the comet, the European Space Agency (ESA) said.

Philae lander will travel with the comet as it continues its journey around the Sun. It should witness the plumes of vapourised gases emitted from the icy surface as the comet feels the rising heat of its orbital summer.

http://bcove.me/58njfmjr

In pictures: European Space Agency's Rosetta mission

Alaska Pipeline

Trans-Alaska Pipeline

Oil, carried here by the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, is fundamental to the state's economy. But Alaskans also face the effects of climate change in their daily lives

Scientist Scott Rupp of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks admits that Alaskans tend to avoid talking about the cause.

"You know, that's a tough thing for a place like Alaska," he says. "I mean, there's no way of getting around the pragmatic fact that we depend on fossil fuels for the majority of our state budget. We also experience the highest energy prices anywhere in the country."

25 Years After Spill, Alaska Town Struggles Back From 'Dead Zone'

fishing harbor on Orca Inlet

On March 24, 1989, the tanker Exxon Valdez struck a reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling 11 million gallons of crude oil into the pristine water. At the time, it was the single biggest spill in U.S. history. In a series of stories, NPR is examining the lasting social and economic impacts of the disaster, as well as the policy, regulation and scientific research that came out of it.

Slideshow

The Truth Behind Lie to Me

The Truth Behind Lie to Me

The Slave Ship "Fredensborg"

Norwegian Slavetrade

Norwegians like to think that slave-trade was 'none of our business'

The remains of one of the Danish slave ships, the Fredensborg, has been found in our days on the Norwegian coast where it was wrecked in 1768 after having sailed almost all the way along the triangular route. After the wreck of the Fredensborg was located and identified in 1974, one of the main tasks was to research the extensive written materials preserved in Danish and Norwegian archives pertaining to the ship’s journey. These texts, together with the items that were retrieved from the wreck – from exotic goods such as elephant tusks and dyewood to the crew’s tobacco cans and shoes with fine buckles – constitute probably the most thorough documentation of a slave ship found as a wreck anywhere in the world. Thus, it is known that on this voyage the Fredensborg took 265 Negro slaves onboard in Africa, 24 of whom died en route across the Atlantic. The survivors were sold at good prices at an auction in Christiansted on Saint Croix.

The Danish-Norwegian slave trade brought approximately 100.000 Africans to the New World as slaves, and according to Mr. Svalesen there is no reason to believe they were better treated than other slaves.

The transatlantic slave trade was the most extensive forced transportation of human beings in history. Millions of Africans were carried across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas. The ships are gone, but their tracks remain on the ocean floor.

This Internet exhibit is about the Danish-Norwegian slaver, "Fredensborg". The ship ran aground on the southern coast of Norway on December 1, 1768. 

Education Transatlantic Slave Trade (TST)

The United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO)Picture gallery

Add caption