1000408 Is Anyone Up There?

April 4, 2011

Is Anyone Up There?

NASA makes one last effort to contact a Mars Rover that has been silent for more than a year

By Andrea Delbanco

Hello? Is anyone up there? NASA's twin Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, have been exploring the Red Planet since 2004. But a little more than a year ago, NASA lost contact with Spirit. The space agency has tried several strategies to make contact with the rover, but Spirit has not sent back any signals. Now, NASA's gearing up to give it one more try. If it doesn't work, will it be time to say goodbye to Spirit?

Twin Rovers

Spirit landed on Mars on January 4, 2004. Three weeks later, Opportunity arrived. Soon after, the rovers parachuted to opposite sides of Mars. Spirits' original mission was only designed to last for three months, but Spirit has worked for more than five years doing bonus-time extended missions. Both rovers have made important discoveries about ancient Mars, including wet environments that may have been able to support microbial life.

Spirit is solar-powered. It got stuck in a sand trap in April 2009. The rover tried to wiggle free, but stayed stuck and could not tilt itself toward the sun as the Martian winter approached. Without enough energy reaching its solar panels, it went into hibernation and has not communicated since March 22, 2010.

One More Try

The fact that Spirit has not called home likely shows that something is more seriously wrong than just a power issue. NASA scientists are losing hope of ever reconnecting with Spirit, but they will give it one more try. Ground controllers are paging Spirit over a range of frequencies and at different times during the day in case its internal clock stopped working and it lost track of time. They also are commanding the rover to turn on its backup radio transmitter in case the main one is dead.

If this final effort to connect isn't successful, NASA will shift the focus to Opportunity. Spirit's odometer is stuck at 4.8 miles, but Opportunity is still on the move. It has travelled 16.6 miles so far, and is currently rolling towards another crater it has yet to explore.

Max- There’s a lot to explore in space, especially on Mars, because we need to know can the planet be our second Earth. There are also many planets that we can live, but most of them are too far, and may also have problems for living on it. So we think Mars is the best place for humans to live, and there are some similar things than Earth. Now, two rovers are exploring Mars from seven years ago, and they are executing some missions. But, five years after they were on Mars, one of the rovers, called Spirit, was stuck on a sand trap, even the rover wanted to free itself from the trap, it couldn’t! So it started sinking, and it can’t be adjusted towards the Sun, and Spirit is solar powered, so it ran out of energy after about a few months, and it stopped connecting from a year ago.   When Spirit was stuck into the sand trap, it had some problems with some things. Its internal clock stopped a few times, and the radio transmitter was also broken so they had to use the backup radio transmitter. Now, NASA gives one last try to connect with Spirit. If it fails, it is the end for Spirit, and NASA would focus on the other rover, Opportunity. So can it be connected?

Deadly Snake Escapes

Deadly Snake Escapes

A venomous Egyptian cobra has gone missing at the Bronx Zoo, in New York City

By Kelli Plasket

Do you speak Parseltongue? The snake language may only exist in the world of Harry Potter, but it sure would be useful for zookeepers in New York City this week. On March 25, the Bronx Zoo shut down and secured its Reptile House after zookeepers discovered that an Egyptian cobra had slipped out of its private enclosure and disappeared.

The missing cobra is just a few months old, 20 inches long and pencil thin. Egyptian cobras are most commonly found in Northern Africa. The snakes can eventually grow to up to 9.8 feet long. It is one of the most venomous, or poisonous, species of snake. A cobra's bite can be deadly if not treated properly. However, cobras aren't likely to attack humans unless they feel threatened. Zookeepers are confident that the missing snake is contained in a nonpublic, isolated area of the building.

"Right now, it's the snake's game," Bronx Zoo director Jim Breheny says in a statement on the zoo's website. "At this point, it's just like fishing; you put the hook in the water and wait. Our best strategy is patience, allowing her time to come out of hiding."

The cobra is likely hiding in a warm, closed-in space. The snakes can live for a long time without food or water, so it could be days or weeks before the snake comes out of hiding in search of food, experts say.

Snake Around Town

In the meantime, an anonymous Twitter user is having some fun with the missing cobra. The unidentified user created an account with the username "BronxZoosCobra" on Twitter, a social networking site. By Wednesday, it had more than 140,000 followers. The account documents the snake's fictitious adventures exploring New York City. "I want to thank those animals from the movie Madagascar. They were a real inspiration," the "snake" posted.

According to the updates, the cobra has already visited several New York tourist spots, including the Empire State Building and the Museum of Natural History. "Holding very still in the snake exhibit at the Museum of Natural History. This is gonna be hilarious!" read one post. And how does a snake with no thumbs or Internet access manage to update a Twitter page? The snake's explanation: "Ever heard of an iPhone? Duh."

Max- Cobras are already very dangerous, but this deadly cobra just escaped from the zoo! The zookeepers found this cobra missing, while it started to crawl around New York City.   This cobra, which is an Egyptian cobra, is deadly. It can grow to a long size, and it’s deadly. But it doesn’t bite people when it saw them; it only bites when they feel threatened. So I’m not really sure how many people did it bite. The cobra also went to many famous buildings, and it kept hiding a few days.   Some users also started to use blogs to talk about the missing cobra. Those blogs had some fun with the cobra and many people saw it.   After the cobra escaped, it can take a few weeks to find that cobra and take it back to the zoo. Because the places that cobras live have a lot of food and water, so it may take a long time to see the cobra come out of the hiding place because of hunger.

Also, after reading this article, happy April Fools Day(this article isn't fake)!

1000319 Japan's Nuclear Fears

Japan's Nuclear Fears

More trouble takes hold of the Asian nation after a strong quake and powerful waves caused deadly destruction last week

By Jonathan Rosenbloom and Kelli Plasket

The effects of the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan last Friday are still playing out at Japan's nuclear power plants. Nuclear reactors at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are experiencing cooling problems after the tsunami waves knocked out the plant's power and backup power.

On Monday morning, an explosion occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi plant that blew off the roof of one of the buildings. Some radiation—energy that can be harmful at high levels—has been released into the air as efforts continue to shut down the reactors. Two of the three reactors that were operating when the quake struck have since been damaged. Cooling problems at the reactors have led to nuclear fuel overheating and fires, causing fears of a meltdown at the plant. Now, 50 workers are working around the clock to flood the reactors with seawater to cool off the fuel rods.

Fears of radiation exposure in Japan are slowing down recovery efforts from the tsunami. Some 70,000 residents have been evacuated from the 12-mile area around the plant. Another 140,000 people in a 19-mile area have been told to stay indoors. Many outside of the area are heading south, just to be safe. Radiation exposure testing centers have been set up for residents, but authorities believe that most people have not been exposed to high levels of radiation.

A Rippling Effect

The massive earthquake that struck Japan last Friday registered a 9.0 magnitude—upgraded from an original 8.9-magnitude reading by the U.S. Geological Survey. It was the most powerful temblor to hit Japan since officials there began keeping records 140 years ago. Before this, the country's worst earthquake was an 8.3 temblor in 1923. Japan lies on the "Ring of Fire"--an area rimming the Pacific Ocean. About 90 percent of the world's earthquakes take place in that region. With the updated 9.0 reading, Friday's quake ranks as the fourth largest quake in the world since 1900, scientists say.

The center of the quake was located about 17 miles beneath the ocean floor, in a spot 80 miles off the eastern coast of the island nation. "The earthquake has caused major damage in a broad area in northern Japan," Prime Minister Naoto Kan said. This week, millions of people are still without water, food or heat as recovery efforts continued and as new problems arose at the nation's nuclear power plants.

Dozens of cities and villages along a 1,300-mile stretch of coastline were shaken by violent tremors Friday. Because it struck below the Pacific Ocean, the quake set off waves as high as a three-story building. The monstrous waves, called a tsunami (soo-nah-mee), swept away homes, boats and cars as the water roared several miles inland, stopped, and rolled back out to sea. Highways buckled, telephone lines snapped, and fires broke out. Hundreds of aftershocks, or smaller quakes, have followed the big quake, causing more damage and forcing residents to seek safety outside.

Tokyo, Japan's capital, is about 230 miles away from the center of the quake (Click here to see a map of Japan). But even there, people felt the ground shake. Buildings swayed, at least 2 million homes were without electricity, and trains stopped running. "At first it didn't feel unusual, but then it went on and on. So I got myself and my wife under the table," said Jesse Johnson, an American living in Tokyo. "I've lived in Japan for 10 years and I've never felt anything like this before. The aftershocks keep coming. It's gotten to the point where I don't know whether it's me shaking or an earthquake."

Japan's Devastation

The total damage, deaths and injuries won't become clear for days or even weeks. On Wednesday, Japanese officials reported that the death toll has reached more than 3,600, though thousands remain missing. "In the 65 years after the end of World War II, this is the toughest and the most difficult crisis for Japan," Prime Minister Kan said.

A large-scale emergency response operation continues in northern Japan. As of Monday, about 15,000 people have been rescued. A 60-year-old Japanese man floated on a piece of his house's roof for over two days. He was rescued 10 miles offshore Sunday when sailors spotted the man waving a red flag.

Many of the world's nations have offered to assist Japan. President Obama has ordered five Navy ships to head for the island to help, as well as search and rescue teams. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is closely watching the situation. She promised immediate disaster relief assistance. "We are working closely with the government of Japan to provide additional help," she said in a statement. As the damage becomes clearer, Japan may need all the help it can get.

Max-This quake in Japan is really a big disaster! After that big quake at March 11th, many tsunamis started to attack everywhere in Japan and some other places in the Pacific Ocean, and now it was the nuclear disaster! The power plants also started to explode, and the nuclear power started to spread in Japan. Now, I heard that three parts of the nuclear power plant has exploded, and one part of that is going to explode. But if that part of the nuclear power plant explodes, it is very dangerous! Because after it explodes, the air will have some dangerous elements. Now, many people started to spray water into the power plant to avoid it exploding, and about 200 people even rushed in the power plant to let it cool down! This mission is really dangerous, experts estimate about 70 percent they would die in this mission, and if they didn’t die, they also have to suffer cancer forever! So I think these people are the last people to save Japan. If they fail, the east half of Japan will be destroyed!

1000311 Big Earthquake in Japan

Big Earthquake in Japan

By Max

     Today, a big earthquake happened in Japan. This earthquake was very big; the magnitude in Japan was 8.9. This earthquake is the fifth largest earthquake in the whole world, and the biggest earthquake ever in Japan. At about 7:00 pm, already 41 people died and even more people are missing. This earthquake also caused some big fires and some big tsunamis that can attack the whole Pacific.

     Recently, I think there are too many earthquakes in February and March. At February, New Zealand’s earthquake was so big, that rebuilding may take 10 years. At March, five earthquakes happened in only three days! These five earthquakes all almost reached to magnitude 6!

     Scientists found out that the “super moon” is going to happen in March 19^th. This thing occurs when the moon is close to Earth as possible, and something scary is going to happen, but we don’t know what it is. We maybe think these earthquakes would be related to the “super moon”, but the scientists don’t think so. At least we know, our world is very dangerous right now.

1000304 Woody Wins An Oscar

February 28, 2011

Woody Wins an Oscar!

The Academy Award for Best Animated Film goes to Toy Story 3

By Brenda Iasevoli

Toy Story 3 took home the Oscar for Best Animated Film on Sunday night at the Academy Awards, in Hollywood, California. The Disney/Pixar cartoon beat out The Illusionist and How to Train Your Dragon.

 The director of Toy Story 3, Lee Unkrich, accepted the award. "Thank you to audiences all over the world who came out in historic numbers and embraced a movie about talking toys that, hopefully, had something very human to say," he said.

This is the fourth Oscar win in a row for Disney's Pixar Animation Studios. In all, Pixar has produced six of the 10 Oscar winners for Best Animated Feature, including Finding Nemo, Wall-E and last year's winner, Up.

Toy Story 3 also scored a golden statue for Best Original Song for "We Belong Together," by Randy Newman. The cartoon was nominated for Best Picture, but that honor went to The King's Speech.

A Royal Success

The King's Speech snagged four out of a possible 12 Oscars, for Best Picture, Actor, Director and Original Screenplay. In the film, actor Colin Firth plays King George VI of Britain, who struggles to overcome his stutter with the help of a speech therapist, played by Geoffrey Rush.

To make the film accessible to a wider audience, it will be edited and re-released with a PG-13 rating instead of an R. (An R rating prohibits anyone younger than 17 from seeing the film without an adult.) The retooled version softens the main character's fits of cursing, or swearing.

Firth doesn't like the idea of cleaning up the language, especially since King George VI's angry swearing fit helps him to momentarily overcome his speech problem. "Really, it's about a man who's trying to free himself through the use of certain words," Firth said backstage at the Academy Awards. "I still haven't met the person who would object, so I think the film should stand as it is."

An Inspirational Ending

The Academy Awards show ended on a high note. The fifth-grade chorus from Public School 22, in Staten Island, New York, stole the show with their performance of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." The kids swayed and moved to the beat. They closed their eyes and gestured with their hands. In the end, their performance earned them a standing ovation from the star-studded audience and high-fives from Academy Awards co-host Anne Hathaway.

Chorus leader Gregg Breinberg said an Academy Awards producer had become a fan of the kids after watching online videos of their performances of hit songs, including Lady Gaga's "Just Dance."

"The Academy has done everything they can to make the students feel like this is their night," Breinberg told TFK. "That's the best part. It's wonderful to see the kids being treated respectfully. I'm so proud."

The P.S. 22 Chorus members aren't strangers to fame. In recent years, they have performed for President Barack Obama, Lady Gaga and Beyoncé. Since chorus members change every year, singing at the Oscars is the new group's first big gig. What's next for the singing sensations? The 65 fifth-graders will perform on The Oprah Winfrey Oscar Special, today.

Max- The Oscar Awards is very hot recently in America. Everyone in the whole world is excited about who won the Oscar awards, and what exciting performances are performed. On last weekend, my family watched the Oscar awards in the evening. We knew that the whole ceremony was so long, so we only watched one part of the program. We saw Toy Story 3 won the best animated film and best music (?), and also saw many shorts’ awards. In the middle, we also saw some singers singing the movie’s songs. I think the best part of the show is playing some movies remix, including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Toy Story 3 and some other movies. It was really funny! We also know that the new movie, “The King’s Speech” was very popular now, and the movie had 12 nominated awards, so it’s very easy to get an Oscar on a popular movie. At the end of the show, I know that this movie got 4 Oscars. And the film, “Black Swan”, got the best actress award, and also I think this movie is very good, so I’m looking forward to see this movie. In the Oscar Awards, the competition of all the awards are very intense, but we should thank all the actors for giving us many good movies to watch.

1000218 Hooray For Hickory

Hooray for Hickory!

A Scottish deerhound named Hickory takes the top title at the Westminster Dog Show

By Andrea Delbanco

Competition was fierce at the 135th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, in New York City. Millions of people tuned in to watch the two-day, televised event to find out who would win Best-in-Show.

 The Westminster Dog Show is the oldest and best-known canine contest in the United States. It has taken place in New York City every year since 1877. This year, nearly 2,600 dogs representing 170 breeds entered the competition at Madison Square Garden.

America's New Top Dog

Hickory's full name is Foxcliffe Hickory Wind. The 85-pound Scottish deerhound, who loves to chase deer and rabbits, comes from a big farm in Virginia. "She's not used to lights, camera and noise," says her handler, Angela Lloyd. But Hickory wasn't intimidated by the big-city competition at the Garden.

Hickory's final round of competition on the famed green carpet included a Scottish deerhound, a Pekingese, a Portuguese water dog, a Chinese shar-pei, a smooth fox terrier, a bearded collie and a black cocker spaniel. Hickory became the first of her breed to win the title of America's Top Dog. The 5-year-old dog de-thrones last year's winner, a 4-year-old Scottish terrier named Sadie.

"I think Hickory could feel my lead that I was excited and went with it," said Lloyd. For Lloyd, who won a different prize once at Westminster in 1998, it was a dream come true. "People who own, breed, show dogs dream of this day," she said.

Hickory's prizes include a purple-and-gold ribbon and a shiny silver bowl. She'll also get to enjoy a steak dinner and a trip to the top of the Empire State Building—a whole lot of big-city fun for a newly famous farm dog.

Max-Dogs are not only cute or cruel, but they can do many actions. In normal life, we have dogs to play and feed them. But some people maybe knows how to learn dog tricks, because dogs are naughty sometimes, like pooping in the wrong place, scare some people or even bite them. So we command the dog some tricks, like telling it to lie down, sit down, or tell them don’t bark at night. Also some people will teach the dog to catch Frisbees, and teach them how to swim. I think this winner’s owner had taught Hickory a lot of tricks.   Dogs aren’t the same as the other animals. Like comparing the dog with a monkey, dogs aren’t smarter than monkeys, but dogs are people’s good partners. We love dogs, so we can share our life with dogs. Sometimes dogs are good helpers. The help the cops the solve crimes. And some rich people buy dogs to keep them happy. So that’s why dogs are loyal to humans, and why people need them so much.

Aaron and the Princess

  Aaron and the Princess

One day, Aaron went to a costume party, and met a girl who dressed up into a princess. At the party, Aaron really loved this girl very much, so he asked for her address and telephone number. After the party, Aaron went to the girl’s home. He got his guitar and started to sing. But he sang so loudly at night, the neighbors woke up and started to argue at Aaron. Aaron was so shocked! He realized the address was wrong, so he went home sadly. After he walked home, some people gave him a surprise! He saw all the people in the costume party, and also saw the princess! They celebrated another party, and everyone played happily. Aaron also danced with the princess, and went home with the princess! Aaron was happy today, because he found his own girlfriend.