Humans in Space
Can Life Survive in Space?
I’ve got a new post up at The Science of Starcraft! This time I tackle the question of whether unprotected living things could ever survive in the vacuum of space. Go check it out! Filed under: Astrobiology, Fun Stuff, Humans in Space, Science Fiction, Science of Starcraft Tagged: evolution, life in space, radiation, space suit, [...]
Force Fields and Plasma Shields
Force fields are common in lots of science fiction, but how realistic are they? That’s the question I tackle in the latest Science of Starcraft post. Head on over and check it out! Filed under: Current Research, Fun Stuff, Humans in Space, Magnetic Fields, Science Fiction, Science of Starcraft
We Didn’t Fake the Moon Landings
But I want to get one of those dramatic glowing tables! Filed under: Fun Stuff, Humans in Space, NASA, The Moon, Video
Space-Based Solar Power: a solution to our burning need for energy
People burn things. This crude way to get energy has done wonders for us as a species, but I think it’s about time we moved on. It’s easy to forget how important burning stuff is in modern times because the burning is mostly hidden. Most of our electricity comes from burning coal and gas, but [...]
The Biological Singularity
If you’re a sci-fi reader, you are probably familiar with the idea of the “technological singularity“. For the uninitiated, the Singularity is the idea that computational power is increasing so rapidly that soon there will be genuine artificial intelligence that will far surpass humans. Essentially, once you have smarter-than-human computers, they will drive their own [...]
Ares 1-X vs Falcon 9: A Comparison
Well, I’ve been a bad space blogger, and didn’t write anything about the spectacular successful launch of SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on June 4th. Considering the ongoing wailing and gnashing of teeth over the cancellation of Constellation in favor of using commercial rockets to send astronauts to the ISS, I thought it would be worth [...]
Ice Caves on Mars!
Hey, guess what? There might be caves with ice in them on Mars! You should go check out my post about this cool new possibility over at Universe Today! Filed under: Astrobiology, Humans in Space, Universe Today, Water on Mars
The Case for Mars: Autotuned
For me, none of the newer symphony of science videos can match the sheer catchy-ness of the original, but this one is about exploring Mars, so I can’t complain too much. Check the Symphony of Science page for other autotuned science-themed music videos. Filed under: Fun Stuff, Humans in Space, space policy, Video
The “explorer” analogy and US spaceflight
The other day, the blog Sociological Images had a thought-provoking post about a Canadian ad campaign which invokes the idea of exploration and discovery to promote Canadian tourism. It got me thinking about one of the most common defenses of U.S. space exploration: that it is the natural next step for a nation founded on [...]
Big Pictures: Space Shuttle and Mount St. Helens
The Big Picture has been on a roll lately, with two sets of particular interest to planetary and space-types. First, is the feature on the final launch of the space shuttle Atlantis last week: Second, today is the 30th anniversary of the explosive eruption of Mount St. Helens, and there are some amazing photos that [...]
