Tag: Space Exploration

Various and Sundry

Alien Life, But Not As We Know It

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

Common refrains I hear from sci-fi fans are both “I want the aliens to be more alien” (often when referring to certain film or TV aliens) and “You have to check this out: the aliens were really alien” (often when referring to certain books). The latter sentiment makes sense, because when you start considering how evolution might have taken place on other words, the bilaterally symmetrical humanoids that dominate much of cinematic science fiction seem … Read more

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Various and Sundry

Spaceguard is On the Case

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

When I watched the recent film Don’t Look Up — as a great deal of other Netflix subscribers appeared to– they mentioned the very real Planetary Defense Coordination Office which made me think instantly of Spaceguard, which isn’t an official overall terms, but dangit, I’m not alone in thinking of it. In fact, overall efforts appear to be inspired by that vision of science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, visions that have born fruit over … Read more

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Various and Sundry

Where’s Alien Waldo?

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

Some days, do you ever wonder, what with all the exoplanets being discovered and concerted studying of the skies, where all the aliens are? And why haven’t we found any evidence of them? And do they make their spacecraft entirely out of the black box? Well, Jill Tarter is here to clear some of that up. And by “clear up,” I mean “tell you how much we don’t know.” Mind you, it might be good … Read more

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Various and Sundry

Space Race, ISS-Sequel Edition

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

I could say it’s the recent big-screen adaptation of Dune, but really any time is a good time to muse about the state of space exploration. And the space race is evidently heating up in Earth’s orbit, as per Eric Berger’s article for Ars Technica. Several groups, both national and commercial, are looking to have a permanent station in orbit. Well permanent for a while, since nothing gold can stay, due to wear and tear … Read more

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Various and Sundry

Send in the Drones: Mars Edition

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

I’m bumping the post I planned for today because yesterday, we had some cool goings-on with space exploration, a topic some readers will know I follow (not the least because I enjoy science fiction and write science fiction — and who doesn’t like science fiction rooted in at least some science fact?). NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter has made the first powered flight on another planet, more than 117 years after the Wright brothers’ historic flight on … Read more

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Various and Sundry

International Legal Frameworks… IN SPAAACE!

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

Star Trek has influenced a lot of scientists and futurists, but recently, NASA namechecked the veteran sci-fi franchise when they talked about the Artemis Accords, a series of principles that they hope all spacefaring nations agree to, as covered by Ryan Britt for Inverse. Good stuff. (By the way, I was rather gratified to know that I already had the tag ‘Space Law‘ and also that there’s a novel called Space Lawyer, which I shall … Read more

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Various and Sundry

Raise the Fungal Radiation Shields!

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

I’d heard earlier that a particular radiation-loving fungus had been observed near Chernobyl, but this article by Stephen Johnson in Big Think explains how they’ve been testing it for SPAAACE TRAVEL. Specifically, they’ve been testing it on the International Space Station with the idea that some form of this radiotrophic fungus could help shield astronauts bound for Mars. So, in other words: really, really cool. And will I work this into some future episode of … Read more

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