Gene Cernan R. I. P.

Eugene A. Cernan, NASA Astronaut (former)

Captain Cernan was the second American to have walked in space having spanned the circumference of the world twice in a little more than 2-1/2 hours. He was one of the two men to have flown to the Moon on two occasions, and as commander of the last mission to the Moon, Apollo 17, had the privilege and distinction of being the last man to have left his footprints on the surface of the moon.


As our students complete their coursework, we remember Gene and reflect on 'the right stuff'.



Apollo 17 - the last mission to the Moon.


Apollo 17 was a landmark mission for another reason. It represented the first flight of a trained scientist to the Moon. Harrison "Jack" Schmitt, a geologist, was the first U.S. scientist in space.


The astronauts departed the Moon on December 14, 1972 and returned to Earth on December 1972.

Rosetta Update at Ewell Astronomy Society

Nonsuch astronomers were delighted to welcome Matt Taylor of the European Space Agency to update us all on the Rosetta Mission to comet 67P.


Ewell Astronomy Society were fortunate to have a detailed and entertaining update on the findings of the mission, so far.


We look forward to hearing further findings and the results of the controlled crash later in the year.


Top 5 facts:


1. Comet 67P is 4km in diameter
2. Jumping 4cm on the surface would mean you will not return to the surface
3. Philae bounced 1km on landing
4. There is a variety of elemental and molecular chemistry, with exciting announcements due.
5. It does have the shape of a rubber duck!











Many thanks to Matt and Ewell Astronomy Society, especially for the model of 67P that the astronomers will be proudly displaying.


A great night!

Matt Taylor

Matt Taylor, British scientist with the European Space Agency will be visiting as a guest of Ewell Astronomy Society on Wednesday 10th February at 8pm.


He will be sharing his experiences of the Rosetta Mission to land on and analyse comet 67P. We hope he will share how the data returned is being processed and the conclusion so far.

New images of Pluto

Before New Horizons the Hubble Space Telescope showed us the detail of Pluto's dark spot:





After New Horizons we discovered so much more detail of Pluto, including these icy mountains which gave scientists many new puzzles to consider how they were formed.

Space Design Competition - International News

Nonsuch girls Trisha and Simran were selected at the National Space Design Competition to join the 12 member British team which went to the international final at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center this summer, competing against teams from all over the world.


British team ready the start at the Kennedy Space Center.

Students spent a week in Florida, with the competition at the Kennedy Space Center. After a few days rest, play and shopping students were ready to start the competition in earnest.

The three day competition concluded, after all teams have presented their technical proposals in the theatre. The judges went through the good and bad points of everyone’s proposals and eventually announced the winner.

Unfortunately we didn’t win, but those who are able to enter the competition next year will certainly try again.

An impressive journey and an invaluable experience that will undoubtedly help future careers.

We look forward to hearing the future successes of our amazing girls. Well done!


Follow the daily blog from Trisha here: http://uksdc.org/category/2015-competition/