BTS On The Moon!

South Korea has launched its first lunar mission, officially joining the modern-day space race. The mission entails the delivery of the Danuri orbiter—an unmanned satellite that’ll circle sixty miles above the lunar surface, taking measurements of the moon’s natural resources and deep crevices where the surface temperature stays below 300 degrees Fahrenheit. But before Danuri gets to the moon, it has to complete a four month journey where it will travel towards the sun then slingshot back as it falls into lunar orbit—a lengthy but fuel efficient transit. Once it arrives, the team decided the best way to test the internet connection would be to stream a BTS music video.
The mission is the result of a collaboration between South Korea’s space agency KARI and the United State’s NASA, with the satellite being carried into orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. But the South Korean agency has already done plenty on its own, with its successful launch of Nuri, a three-stage rocket, as well as maintaining a network of satellites in orbit.
Danuri’s launch further signals an escalation of the newly minted space race, with Japan, India, and China having also recently sent unmanned instruments to the moon. With so many looking moonward, we're sure to learn so much more about outer space in the coming years!
Featured Product
Boeing 747 - EI-BED Horizontal Stabilizer
Cool Things!

Organic Glass Found Among Remains of Roman Guard
One of the most dramatic events in the history of the Roman Empire was the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. It is unknown how many perished during the eruption and its fallout, however, haunting images of contorted Pompeiians frozen in time by searing gas and ash paints an image of hellish, alien conditions. In a bizarre twist of the otherworldly occurrence, scientists have found the only documented instance of a victim whose brain was turned to glass by flows from the eruption.

The Mysterious Origin of the St. Mark's Square Lion!
Keeping a watchful eye over what Napoleon knew as “the drawing room of Europe,” the winged lion of St. Mark’s Square in Venice, Italy, is a majestic sight. The origin of this iconic statue has been cloaked in mystery, but in September of 2024, a group of chemists, archaeologists, geologists, and art historians shed more light on this sculpture’s story.

The Hun Family Tree
Specimen Deep Dives

Returning to the Moon: The Apollo 14 Mission

The Secrets of the Space Shuttle: Learn about Mini Museum's Shuttle Tile Material!

Gondwana: When the Earth Was One
Long Form Articles

The Top 5 Most Expensive Star Wars Collectibles Ever Sold
When Star Wars debuted in theaters on May 25th, 1977, it launched an international phenomenon spanning decades of film history. Today, the series has had countless spinoffs, tv shows, books, and merchandising emblazoned with its characters and symbols, for which fans are ready to part with a pretty penny. Here are the top 5 most expensive Star Wars memorabilia items ever sold.

The Biggest Dinosaurs to Walk The Earth
For 165 million years across the Mesozoic Era, dinosaurs reached incredible, towering sizes, but curiously the evidence suggests the largest came at the end of the Age of Dinosaurs. This may seem ironic. After all, larger animals have smaller populations and require more food, thus making them susceptible to environmental stresses. On the flip side, if a large animal is able to survive a mass die-off, their genetic predisposition to a large size will quickly spread in a reduced population. This is what we see in the Late Cretaceous: dinosaurs of many different clades reaching their apex.

The Largest Meteorites Ever Discovered on Earth
Meteorites have fascinated humans since we first started looking up into the night sky. Since then, our ability to track and study them has greatly improved, but the fascination remains. Here is a countdown of the 5 largest meteorites ever found!