Image description: Yesterday, Dr. Li Desheng performed an artificial insemination on the female giant panda, Mei Xiang, at Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
Scientists and veterinarians decided to try artificial insemination on Mei Xiang, after she failed to get pregnant by the giant male panda, Tian Tian. Mei Xiang was under general anesthesia during the procedure.
In the coming months, scientists will monitor the panda’s hormone levels to determine if she is pregnant. The procedure was live tweeted on the The National Zoo’s twitter feed (@NationalZoo) using the hashtag #pandaAI.
Learn more about Mei Xiang’s procedure.
Photo from Smithsonian’s National Zoo
Image description: Clouds created by NASA’s Anomalous Transport Rocket Experiment (ATREX). ATREX is a Heliophysics sounding rocket mission that will gather information needed to better understand the process responsible for the high-altitude jet stream located 60 to 65 miles above the surface of the Earth.
Learn more about the misson from NASA, and watch video of the launch on YouTube.
Photo from NASA
Image description: For soldiers patrolling Afghanistan roads, improvised explosive devices can be devastating for those in armored vehicles, but the new Pelvic Protection System can help. The system includes two layers of protection, including the Tier I protective under-garment, called the “PUG,” and the Tier II protective outer-garment, called the “POG.”
Both components of the system are worn like shorts. The PUG is worn under a soldier’s pants. It can be worn in place of underwear, or over the top of underwear. Some soldiers have called them “Kevlar boxers” or “combat underpants” and it’s not far from the truth. Learn more about these Kevlar underpants.
Photo by PEO Solider, U.S. Army
Aurora Borealis over Northern North America and Canada
Video description:
This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 30 on board the International Space Station on January 29, 2012. This video begins as the space station is passing over the dark waters of the North Pacific Ocean northeast towards Vancouver Island. The Aurora Borealis can be seen far north, where both the under side and top of the aurora are visible. They continue to pass over Canada until the sun begins to come up in the east while over Quebec.
Video from NASA
Image description: On May 19, 2005, NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit captured this stunning view as the Sun sank below the rim of Gusev crater on Mars. This Panoramic Camera mosaic was taken around 6:07 in the evening of the rover’s 489th Martian day, or sol.
From NASA:
Sunset and twilight images are occasionally acquired by the science team to determine how high into the atmosphere the Martian dust extends, and to look for dust or ice clouds. Other images have shown that the twilight glow remains visible, but increasingly fainter, for up to two hours before sunrise or after sunset. The long Martian twilight (compared to Earth’s) is caused by sunlight scattered around to the night side of the planet by abundant high altitude dust. Similar long twilights or extra-colorful sunrises and sunsets sometimes occur on Earth when tiny dust grains that are erupted from powerful volcanoes scatter light high in the atmosphere.
Photo by: NASA/JPL/Texas A&M/Cornell
