SoraNews24 —Japan News—

It is a rare and amazing achievement that we humans have managed to set foot outside the constraints of our lonely planet. And with the prevalence of social media, it is now easier than ever for the humans who are farthest away to communicate with the rest of us down on the ground.

Astronauts stationed on the International Space Station are always finding clever new ways to blow our minds. One such person is Koichi Wakata, the former commander of the ISS, whose gravity-defying photo is currently circling the globe and getting the full Internet meme experience as it does.

Internet, Japan
(funny • ISS • Koichi Wakata • Photoshop • space)

Will whiskey aged in space taste smoother? Suntory is set to experiment this month

Krista Rogers
Aug 3, 2015

Japanese brewing and distilling company Suntory Holdings Limited recently announced their plans to send samples of whiskey to the International Space Station in order to investigate the effects of zero gravity on the aging process.

Japan
(alcohol • drinks • JAXA • science • space • Suntory • Whiskey)

Awkward: Teacher tries to show his students space DVD, accidentally shows them porn instead

Evie Nyan
Mar 13, 2015

Sometimes it’s hard work being a teacher, especially when you’re passionate about a subject and your students couldn’t care less. No wonder some teachers find themselves just going through the motions and counting the days until the next school break.

But sometimes, being a little TOO passionate can be even worse than phoning it in. And that goes double when you fail to check your lesson material in advance and wind up sharing a little too much with your students, as one teacher in Japan learned when he tried to show his kids a science video but accidentally gave them a peak at his porn stash instead.

Internet, Japan
(crime • scandal • school • space • teacher)

Team aims to pierce moon with Evangelion’s Spear of Longinus

Anime News Network
Jan 31, 2015

Hakuto, Japan’s first civilian team that aims to send an unmanned lunar expedition, announced that it is providing technical assistance to the “Project to Pierce the Moon With the Spear of Longinus” on Friday. The “Project to Pierce the Moon With the Spear of Longinus Committee” unveiled its plans as part of the 20th anniversary of the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime. Hakuto is the only team from Japan competing for the Google Lunar XPRIZE.

Japan
(Anime News Network • Evangelion • moon • space • Spear of Longinus)

Fantastically bright, green meteor in Japan caught in amazing videos

BUSINESS INSIDER
Nov 5, 2014

The evening of Nov. 3 had a big surprise for people in Japan: A big, bright meteor streaked across the sky, giving locals an absolutely stunning light show.

You can see the green and orange light of the meteor as it falls toward Earth. These colors are likely due to the presence of magnesium and sodium in the meteor itself that produce green and orange light, respectively, when subjected to extreme heat.

The celestial event took place over western Japan and was reported within a couple of hours of a series of US meteor sightings across the East coast.

In Japan, cameras at the Fukuoka airport caught this amazing footage:

Japan
(meteor • space • video)

Hello Kitty will deliver your messages as part of a special campaign…from space!

Krista Rogers
Aug 19, 2014

Sanrio’s beloved character has embarked on a special mission this year–all the way to space!

The “Let’s Send a Message from Space! Campaign” (「宇宙からメッセージを送ろう！」キャンペーン) is part of the festivities to celebrate Hello Kitty’s 40th anniversary in 2014. Our favorite feline friend was even launched into space back in June, and her makers are now taking applications from anyone in the world to display messages on the digital display board inside her satellite. Wouldn’t it be cool to see your very own message delivered from space?

Global, Japan
(anniversary • campaign • Hello Kitty • Messages • space)

Space sakura have returned to Earth with cherry blossom superpowers

Casey Baseel
Apr 18, 2014

Rather than wading into the debate as to whether a tree covered in beautiful cherry blossoms or a piece of cutting edge technology is the more representative symbol of Japan, you could split the difference by awarding the title to one of the sakura cherry trees grown from seeds that were taken into space. Not only do they combine the country’s admiration of both nature and innovation, their seeds’ journey to the stars seems to have imparted some of them with the amazing ability to bloom in just half the time of regular cherry trees.

Japan
(cherry blossoms • cool • flowers • sakura • science • space)

North Korea releases new logo for space agency, Internet forgets how acronyms work

Preston Phro
Apr 3, 2014

For a country that allegedly has little contact with the outside world, North Korea somehow manages to end up in the news an awful lot. While it’s hard to tell how much of what we hear and read is true, sometimes a nugget of truth–beautiful, hilarious truth–slips through the cracks of propaganda on both sides of the ideological line and leaves us giggling.

As you’ve probably heard, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has recently unveiled the logo for their year-old space agency, NADA. Though they may have expected fanfare or at least a bit of grudging respect, the main response they got was an Internet full of giggles.

Internet, North Korea
(logo • NADA • NASA • North Korea • space)

Pocari Sweat sports drink aims to be the first beverage to land on the moon

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Feb 20, 2014

That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for…electrolytes?

The makers of Pocari Sweat, the unfortunately named Japanese sports drink with a salty flavor reminiscent of actual sweat, have just announced plans to launch the bottle beverage into space, hopefully making it the first drink to ever set foot bottle on the moon.

Japan
(launch • moon • pocari sweat • space • sports drink)

Sleep in a spaceship and be waited on by robots at China’s newest capsule hotel

Philip Kendall
Nov 20, 2013

Regular RocketNews24 readers will know how much we love capsule hotels – and tiny spaces in general, for that matter – to the point that we were genuinely saddened when one of the country’s premier locations announced last month that it was to close its doors. So when we caught a glimpse of the new Pengheng Space Capsules Hotel in Shenzhen, China, which combines minimalist hotel accommodation with a futuristic vibe similar to that of the Evangelion hotel rooms we’ve drooled over for so long, we could barely contain our excitement.

Join us after the jump for a photo tour of this awesome new capsule hotel!

China
(capsule hotel • cool • hotel • space)

Calling All Evil Billionaires: The Dream of Space Flight Can be Yours for a Fraction of Your Fortune

Mike
May 15, 2013

It used to be that to go to space you needed to join NASA and become an astronaut. But you’re an evil billionaire, and you’re far too busy being evil for all that training in the gravitron.

Lucky for you and whatever evil space plans you’re hatching, SXC (Space Expedition Corporation) offers the dream of space travel to any commoner with US$100,000 lying around, a pittance that will barely put a dent in your underground chamber of dubiously acquired gold bricks.

There are also a number of other aerospace companies offering a variety of space travel flavors, from a few minutes in orbit to a full 9 days at the International Space Station (ISS), complete with space walk. Let’s take a look at the different space travel packages offered, including one that costs US$150 million.

Global, Japan
(cool • space • travel)

Darth Vader Head Planetarium Lulls You to Sleep Then Haunts Your Dreams

Mike
Mar 13, 2013

Some people like a little white noise or some relaxing music to help them sleep, but for us, sleep just won’t come unless there are epic sci-fi space battles playing out above our heads. Maybe we have a bizarrely specific type of sleep disorder.

Japan
(Darth Vader • space • Star Wars • technology)

Where No Kitty Has Gone Before… Amazing Video From a Middle School Science Project

Kay
Feb 7, 2013

Space: the final frontier. This is the voyage of a homemade rocket carrying the fearless Hello Kitty as its sole passenger. Its mission: to explore the effects of altitude on air pressure and temperature, and to boldly go where no Kitty has gone before… Read More