Discovery Channel aired Top Ten Helicopters on their “Top Tens” show last May 24, Saturday. Here’s a recap of the Top Ten results:

10 – Bell 47
9 – Focke-Achgelis Fa-223
8 – VH-3D Sea King
7 – CH-47 Chinook
6 – Mil Mi-24 “The Crocodile”
5 – OH-6 Cayuse
4 – AH-1 Cobra
3 – UH-1 Huey
2 – UH-60 Black Hawk
1 – AH-64D Apache Longbow

If you missed watching the featured show on TV, here’s the clip: (from youtube.com)

The International Space Station’s one and only toilet has broken, leaving the three-man crew in a sticky situation.

While one of the crew was using the Russian-made toilet last week, the toilet motor fan stopped functioning. Since then, the liquid waste gathering part of the toilet has been working on and off. Russian officials don’t know the cause of the problem and the crew has been unable to fix it. They have used the toilet on the Soyuz return capsule, but it has a limited capacity. They are now using a back-up bag-like collection system that can be connected to the broken toilet.

NASA may order an in-orbit plumbing service call when space shuttle Discovery visits next week. But until the galactic plumber arrives, the crew will have to make do with their makeshift system when they need to go number one. Fortunately, the solid waste collecting part is working properly.

NASA’s Mars Phoenix Lander is currently sending photos of Mars’ surface on the first day of its three-month mission: to analyze the soils and permafrost of Mars’ arctic tundra for signs of past and present life.

Mars Phoenix Lander is capable of scooping ice and dirt in search for organic evidence that life once existed there or to prove that life currently exists there. Like some NASA spacecrafts, it comes equipped with a robotic arm specifically for the mission.

Peter Smith, an optical scientist of the University of Arizona said:

“We are not going to be able to answer the final question of is there life on Mars. We will take the next important step. We’ll find out if there’s organic material associated with this ice in the polar regions. Ice is a preserver and if there ever were organics on Mars and they got into that ice, they will still be there today.”

The twin to the Mars Polar Lander spacecraft, Phoenix was supposed to travel to Mars in 2001 as the Mars Surveyor spacecraft but Polar malfunctioned and crashed during its descent into Mars’ atmosphere in 1999 due to various design flaws and other malfunctions. The mission’s failure, as well as another spacecraft called the Mars Climate the same year, led NASA to put future missions on hold and to think strategically for “better, faster, cheaper” approach. In 2003, Mars Phoenix, literally and figuratively, had risen from the ashes of Surveyor.

NASA team was concerned with the landing system of the Phoenix. NASA had not successfully landed a probe on Mars using landing legs and stabilizing thrusters since the 1970s Viking missions. Three successful Mars landings, Pathfinder and the Spirit and Opportunity rovers have used massive airbags that inflated around the landing craft just before landing to cushion the impact. The Phoenix doesn’t have airbags like other aircrafts of NASA since it was too big and heavy which could interfere with its functioning.

Phoenix Lander’s landing site was targeted for the far northern plains of Mars, near the polar ice cap. Mars Odyssey spacecraft data indicate large quantities of ice there, likely in the form of permafrost, either on the surface or just barely underground. In 2004, the rover Opportunity found evidence that a salty sea once lapped the shores of an area near Mars’ equator called Meridiani Planum. Astrobiologists generally agree that it’s best to look for life in wet places, just as NASA’s Mars exploration strategy, “follow the water” became the unifying theme.

These days, traveling along with the whole family is the true leisure of vacation. Even if we’re not yet on our final destination, it is still a must to look after our children. Especially the tots.

Airports are beginning to realize that child travelers wander off and their parents don’t know what to do when they lost the child. Fortunately, airports in the United States and those abroad are developing imaginative, interactive children’s play area and some airports are franchising child-centric shops that have educational and entertaining items on offer.

Some of these features are aviation-themed play areas which keeps the children occupied while waiting for a flight while also teaching kids something about aircraft and air travel.

In Baltimore/Washington International Airport, they have a flight-themed play area in the observation gallery which displays airplane parts like the tail, wings, to let kids see aircraft up-close.

In Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport has an aviation-themed play area with a miniature traffic control tower, runway, model airplanes and so on. The whole area is padded and places for adults where they can watch the little ones are provided.

In San Francisco International Airport showcases a museum, the Louis A. Turpen Aviation Museum, built on the footprint of SFO’s 1930s passenger terminal with replicas of a huge globe of the earth, vintage Pan American pilots’ and flight attendants’ uniforms and other mementos. On the mezzanine level are sterling wall-mounted photographs of early air travel. The museum is located in the international terminal and mostly attractive to children 11 years old and above.

Also, some U.S airports had opened shops that feature Discovery Channel, National Geographic and other educational toys, books and maps. Airports overseas are going through similar upgrades for a more child-friendly environment.

These will be more convenient to have around but nothing beats attentive parenting and checking on kids constantly.