Haunting the Web Since 1999
“Another lunar scientist familiar with the findings said: ‘This is the most exciting breakthrough in at least a decade. And it will probably change the face of lunar exploration for the next decade.’” NASA comments tomorrow, so be ready to hum a few bars…
“‘The space program began the day humans chose to walk out of their caves,’ says Chang Diaz. ‘By exploring space we are doing nothing less than insuring our own survival.’ Chang Diaz believes that humans will either become extinct on Earth or expand into space. If we pull off the latter, he says, our notion of Earth will change forever.”
With that red meat for the space cadets among us, the Smithsonian’s Air & Space Magazine surveys current theoretical endeavors in propulsion mechanics, including nuclear-based rocketry and fusion. “I grew up watching Apollo, and the systematic and well-thought-out march to that. And they did it. When you look into pioneering topics, there are those people who don’t want to touch it because it’s too far out there. But if it’s mature enough for you to at least start asking the right questions, and you do an honest job, then you can be a pioneer.“
Honestly, this is pathetic. As I said here, it’s time to raise our expectations of what we can achieve in space, and fund manned exploration of the solar system accordingly. Particularly given how much we’re blowing on the Pentagon’s space toys at the moment, we could stand to spend a bit more on one of the most important collective human endeavors still before us.
“I always knew I’d live to see the first man walk on the Moon. I never dreamed I’d see the last.” — Jerry Pournelle. Forty years after Apollo 11, it’s time to reach for the stars once more.
“So why do tech geeks love space? Though they may have the resources — a trip to space will now set you back some $45 million — this can’t be the full answer: You don’t see Donald Trump or P. Diddy signing up for an astro-mission. What makes it worth it for the tech geeks?” The Big Money‘s Julia Ioffe tries to ascertain why dot.com miliionaires pay out the nose for space travel. Uh, because it’s there?
“‘There’s a documentary called Orphans of Apollo that’s stated this well,’ he explained. ‘There’s a generation of us, who are the tech leaders of today, who were universally inspired to go into science and technology because of the NASA Lunar Space Program. And the reason the movie is called Orphans of Apollo is because, in many ways, we feel orphaned by the fact that the space industry has not done a good job of capitalizing on that momentum of what many of us believed were the first steps into space, carrying the mission of human space flight farther and farther into deep space.’“
I guess he’s just a lonely spaceman: In the trailer bin of late, Sam Rockwell may or may not be going mad at the end of a three-year lunar stint in the trailer for Duncan Jones’ intriguing throwback to seventies sci-fi, Moon. (Jones, by the way, happens to be the son of Major Tom himself, David Bowie. Is he freaking you out, Bret?)
If not, the always-striking Charlotte Gainsbourg grapples with Rosemary’s Baby-like visions and possible demonic visitations in this disturbing (and slightly NSFW) preview for Lars von Trier’s Anti-Christ. Taken together, these beg the question: What seems like a worse idea — trusting an artificial intelligence that sounds like Kevin Spacey or venturing deep into the woods alone with Willem DaFoe?
“The last Twitter post said it all: “01010100 01110010 01101001 01110101 01101101 01110000 01101000.”” Or, in other words, Ground Control to Phoenix Lander: You’ve really made the grade. Having seemingly succumbed to the Martian winter at last, the Mars Phoenix Lander is pronounced deceased by NASA. “NASA official Doug McCuistion counseled people to view Phoenix’s end as ‘an Irish wake rather than a funeral. It’s certainly been a grand adventure.’…While some followers said farewell to Phoenix in computer language today, others kept it simple. ‘Good bye Phoenix, I love you :(,’ said user patach.“
Europa, Enceladus…Titan? The ESA’s Cassini-Huygens probe discovers a liquid lake on Saturn’s largest moon, although it’s definitely not water. ““Detection of liquid ethane in Ontario Lacus confirms a long-held idea that lakes and seas filled with methane and ethane exist on Titan.” [Via Quiddity.]
ESA’s Mars Express sends back some impressive postcards from Mars. “Over the last five years its stereo, high resolution camera has taken thousands of images of the surface, revealing the planet’s awe inspiring beauty in unprecedented detail.”
“‘There’s nothing about it that would preclude life. In fact, it seems very friendly,’ said mission scientist Samuel P. Kounaves of Tufts University. ‘We were flabbergasted.‘” Hope y’all like asparagus: Early tests by the Mars Phoenix seem to indicate that the Martian soil is more nutrient-rich than anyone expected. “Carbon-based organic material, however, has not been found and may be impossible to detect with the equipment now on Mars.“