Articles by Kayla Iacovino

Will.i.am to Broadcast New Song on Mars via Curiosity Rover [UPDATED]

Tomorrow, for the first time in history, a song will be broadcast from Mars by none other than will.i.am. The Curiosity rover will be pumping out his new song, “Reach for the Stars,” a new composition about the artist’s passion for science, technology, and space exploration. At the same time will.i.am’s charity, i.am.angel, in partnership with Discovery Education, will announce a new program that brings NASA into K-12 classrooms. [UPDATED with a video from the event]


Science Saturday: Lava Flows in the Quad + Curiosity Updates + Neuron Video + New Space Planes + More

The post Vegas Con blues had got us down for a while, but now we’re back in action with a brand spanking new edition of Science Saturday! This week: see real live lava flows moving through New York, get the latest updates on our newest Martian friend Curiosity, watch proteins swimming through neurons, hop on the next Dream Chaser flight into orbit, and more! All this, plus our gadget of the week, in which a real hovercraft takes a test-drive!



Science Supplemental: Mars Curiosity Lands Tonight at 10:31PM PST

Tonight at 10:31pm Pacific time, NASA will attempt to land the largest, most powerful, and most complicated instrument ever to set wheels on the surface of Mars. Curiosity (aka Mars Science Laboratory), which weighs about as much as a Mini Cooper and has the wheel base of a Hummer H2, will be on Mars tonight. Whether it lands safely or leaves a Hummer-sized crater remains to be seen.


Science Saturday: 5th Pluto Moon + Higgs Boson Party + Solar Storm + New Tricorder + More

Welcome back to Science Saturday! This week, discover Pluto’s 5th (yes, 5th) moon with a little help from Hubble; Celebrate the Higgs Boson discovery, and learn why you should care; prepare for intense, low-latitude aurorae thanks to a solar storm currently bombarding Earth; and detect brain injuries with a modern Tricorder. All this and more, plus our gadget of the week: animated augmented reality app for Android devices.


Science Saturday: V’Ger’s Journey + Near-Miss Asteroid + Colored Poo + Planetrise + More

This week on Science Saturday, get the latest update on Voyager and her journey into interstellar space; witness video captured of a near-miss asteroid; diagnose your ailments by checking the color of your poo; and see ‘planetrise’ from exoplanet Kepler-36c. All this, and more, plus our gadget of the week: The USS Enterprise turn table!



Science Sunday: Move to Mars + Extreme Microbes + Chinese Taikonaut Launch + Nanodiamonds + More

Welcome to this week’s late edition of Science Sunday! This week, join Mars One and fly to (and live out the rest of your days on) Mars; discover some extreme microbes in the Mars-like south american desert; witness China’s next manned (and perhaps womanned?) space launch; and create diamonds by burning a candle. All this and more, plus our gadget of the week: the self-making bed!




Picard, Kirk, and Friends Journey into Space on Gigantic Balloon

Captains Kirk and Picard have officially made it into space! Aboard a high altitude balloon, that is. A few weeks ago we reported one man’s quest to kickstart a campaign to send action figures of Captains Kirk and Picard (and their friends) 100,000 feet into the upper atmosphere. Well, he’s done it with the help of a large team of friends and cameramen. Hit the jump for photos!


Science Saturday: Treknology for a Modern Starship Enterprise

What might a modern day Enterpsie look like? This week we take a look at some up and coming technologies that draw some intriguing parallels to 23rd century Star Trek. The line up: Google’s Knowledge Graph as the Enterprise computer; New military translation tech as the ship’s UT; Antimatter engines to fuel the Enterprise; Pulsar navigational charts for use in Stellar Cartography; Asteroid mining and hazard mitigation; and quantum teleportation for use in the ship’s communications array.


Science Saturday: New Old Mayan Calendar + Vesta Views + Build The Enterprise + Transparent Aluminum + More

Welcome to another exciting Saturday filled with Science! This week: how the earliest known Mayan calendar does NOT predict our doom this December, the fascinating miniplanet of Vesta, a guy on the internet says we can build the Enterprise in 20 years, and a quick look into the world of transparent aluminum (hello, computer!). All this and more, plus our gadget of the week: the 3D Cylindrical Display.


Send Captains Kirk and Picard to Space

Meet Logan Kugler, a space enthusiast/trekkie with one simple goal: to send Captains Picard and Kirk into near-space — well, their action figures at least! Kugler has started a now fully funded (but still taking pledges for the next 24-hours) Kickstarter project to finance a high-altitude balloon that will send action figures of Captains Kirk and Picard along with their respective starship models (and a few of their friends) to a height of 120,000 feet along with cameras to capture the entire event. They are even selling the Kirk action figure and the model of the USS Enterprise that he flies to space on for the next 24-hours on their Kickstarter page!


Science Saturday: Meteor Shower Tonight + Solar Flare + Asteroid Mining + Popocatépetl Erupting

This week in Science Saturday, watch the peak of tonight’s Lyrid meteor shower, watch an explosion on the sun, look forward to asteroid mining becoming a reality in the near future, and feel the volcanic tremors of Popocatépetl volcano. All this and more, plus our gadget of the week: the high-speed evacuated tube transport system.




One-Night-Only Performance “TRIGGERS” to Star Manu Intiraymi & Kipleigh Brown

If you’re in the LA area on April 23rd, don’t miss Manu Intiraymi (VOY’s Icheb) and Kipleigh Brown (ENT’s Jane Taylor) in a one-night-only performance of “TRIGGERS”, a neo-noir drama showing at The Blank Theatre Company in Hollywood. The performance is directed by James Kerwin who you may remember as the writer/director of Yesterday Was a Lie, an independent neo-noir film starring Kipleigh Brown and Chase Masterson (DS9’s Leeta).


JJ Abrams to Direct Star Trek: Excelsior Starring George Takei as Capt. Sulu + Cameron Mackintosh Announces Star Trek: The Musical [April Fools]]

It is a big news day today for Star Trek with two major production announcements. First, it was announced this morning that George Takei will star as Captain Sulu in the next Abrams-directed Star Trek film, Star Trek: Excelsior, with Roberto Orci penning the screenplay. Not too long after that news broke, Sir Cameron Mackintosh, noted theatre producer, announced that he would be adapting Trek for the stage in his production of Star Trek: The Musical.


Science Saturday: Really Real Tricorder + Apollo 11 Salvage + Feeling Robot Skin + Inside Out Star + More

Welcome back to another knowledge-packed edition of Science Saturday! This week: see the realest “real” tricorder ever, hoist huge Apollo 11 engines from the sea floor, give an android skin that can feel, and witness a star explode and then turn itself inside out! All this and more, plus our gadget of the week: the Marshall mini fridge.


Science Saturday: Real Universal Translator + Io Moon Map + Solar Storms on the Rise + How to Blow Up Stars + More

Hello and welcome back to another exciting (and long overdue) edition of Science Saturday! This week: hear Microsoft’s real-life universal translator, map out the volcanic moon Io, feel the heat from increased solar activity, and make stars blow up with the help of NASA. All this and more, plus our gadget of the week: the indoor cloud machine.


Five Year Mission: Interview With the Trekkie Rock Band + New Album YEAR TWO

You’ve heard this story before: Group of nerds assembles to create sci-fi-centric rock band. And, let’s be honest, you’ve always been disappointed. Not this time. Five Year Mission is, dare I say, the first of it’s kind — a really fantastic Star Trek rock band! On the eve of their second album debut, YEAR TWO, TrekMove got an exclusive interview with the 5-man geek band. More after the jump.


Science Saturday: Mars Mission Launch Today + Underwater Brinicle + Botched Russian Spacecraft + More

Welcome back to Science Saturday! This week: watch the launch of Mars Science Laboratory today, live on NASA TV, witness the underwater “icicle of death” caught on film for the first time, and duck and cover from falling botched Russian Mars mission. All this and more, plus our gadget of the week: NeverWet superhydrophobic spray.



Science Saturday: Roddenberry Research Center + Skeptic-Funded Climate Study + A Star is Born + Tractor Beam Tech + More

Bored during your late-night duty shift in Cargo Bay 2? Take a break and read about this week’s science news! This week: Roddenbery’s new stem cell research center, the results of a skeptic-funded climate change study, witness a star being born (literally), and try out the new astronaut tractor beam! All this and more, plus our gadget of the week: the Holodesk!





Science Monday: Backyard Supernova + Newborn Stars + Lunar Pizza + New Mars Crater + More

Ready for this week’s science fix? Welcome to Science Monday. This week: Spot a supernova from your own backyard (with nothing but a pair of binoculars!), watch a star being born, order pizza — on the moon, and discover Endeavor crater with Mars rover Opportunity! All this and more, plus our picture of the week: a look at Earth from Juno.