MetaFilter posts tagged with exploration and Space

One Way Ticket

william_boot — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:22:52 -0800

In the next few weeks, NASA will present President Obama with options for the near-term future of human spaceflight. A manned flight to Mars is one possibility. But if we do send astronauts to Mars, do we really need to bring them home again?

Spacehack

chrismear — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 08:52:07 -0800

Spacehack "A directory of ways to participate in space exploration. Interact and connect with the space community."

Do we really want that Moon base?

spaceviking — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:01:37 -0800

An election of a new President brings forth new ideas on the Vision for Space Exploration. The Planetary Society is lobbying to remove the Moon from the equation, which prompted Apollo astronaut, ex-senator, and geologist Harrison Schmitt to resign from the board in protest. Meanwhile moon-free plans proliferate. What will Obama do? Interesting hints are given in a position paper written by people associated with his transition team. The Planetary Society Responds. More analysis here.

How to land at the Martian north pole.

Brandon Blatcher — Wed, 14 May 2008 18:22:55 -0800

Seven minutes of terror. A short video on describing how the Phoenix probe will land at the North Pole of Mars on May 25th. Follow updates to the mission via Twitter and the blog. Previously

In tribute to Charlton Heston, Russia has begun a real-life Planet of the Apes.

myopicman — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 12:50:15 -0800

By 2020, Mars may have monkeys, adding to the impressive roster of primates in space.

Moonbase: Alpha

justkevin — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 20:13:00 -0800

NASA Plans Permanent Moonbase. The base, a potential stepping stone for further Mars exploration, will likely be situated near one of the poles. The advantages of a polar site (pdf) include a relatively moderate climate, possible hydrogen and oxygen resources, unexplored terrain and abundant solar power. They have apparently abandoned plans to use nuclear reactors, which is probably for the best.

Enough speculation Pluto, time to see if you really are a planet.

Phantomx — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 02:53:22 -0800

The New Horizons spacecraft will be the first man-made object to visit our controversial sibling planet. An Atlas V will be used to launch the craft to the fastest speed that man has ever hurled an object to the heavens. Due to this and the small size of Pluto, the probe will only be capable of one flyby. Today is the first day in the launch window that the rocket is hoped to be launched.

we came in peace

washburn — Thu, 22 Sep 2005 10:31:31 -0800

Moonbase Visions. You've read about and discussed NASA's plan to use new post-shuttle launch vehicles to return to the moon. But what, exactly, is the US planning to do on the moon? What would a semi-permanent moonbase look like? And why return at all? NASA's announced answers to these questions remain vague. But last year eleven sets of responses to these questions were offered to NASA in the development proposals submitted to NASA by eleven Aerospace concerns, each of which suggested different designs, missions, and philosophies for NASA's return to the moon. Some common themes:

Military: "Provide nationally assured access to orbital locations for the placement of observation systems" and "assured access to space for development of force projection systems and movements of logistics." (pdf link, p. 5) Commercial: "Commercialize space products and services" (pdf link, p.6) Public Relations: Keeping the public inspired with "regularly placed program milestones." (pdf link, p.7)

It's interesting to compare the details of these proposals. But taken together, they raise a broader question: does NASA's fear that the public will lose interest in this commercializing, militarizing, moon venture reflect an awareness that that the vision has finally been lost?

Alien planet

dhruva — Mon, 09 May 2005 22:41:07 -0800

Alien planet "The drama takes place on Darwin IV, a fictional planet 6.5 light-years from Earth, with two suns and 60 percent gravity. Having identified Darwin as a world that could support life, Earth sends a pilot mission consisting of the mothership and three probes." Discovery channel feature, Flash heavy site, via Pharyngula.

Mars Polar Lander found?

flug — Fri, 06 May 2005 11:11:07 -0800

Mars Polar Lander found? The Mars Polar Lander was lost while attempting to land on Mars in December 1999. An initial search for the lander was fruitless. But now Michael Malin of Malin Space Science Systems thinks he may have found the lander's parachute and crashed remains. Meanwhile, some scientists are worried about landers and crashed vehicles contaminating Mars; others think it's not a problem. [via Slashdot]

Return to Flight

Guerilla — Sun, 01 May 2005 15:23:36 -0800

So far the Return to Flight has been a bumpy ride for NASA. Apparently things over there are run like a bureaucracy and agency officials are worried about ice or foam insulation coming off the space shuttle again.

Will private companies eventually dominate space exploration and make NASA a thing of the past?

Who can invent for us a cartography of autonomy, who can draw a map that includes our desires? - Hakim Bey

absalom — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 17:51:57 -0800

Cartography is a skill pretty much taken for granted now, but it wasn't always so. Accurate maps were once prized state secrets, laborious efforts that cost a fortune and took years (or even decades) to complete.

How things have changed. (Yours now, $110) It took almost 500 years to map North America, but it's only taken one tenth of that to map just everything else. In the last 50 years, we've been able to create acurate atlases of two planets and one moon (with a second in the works). Actually, we've done a lot more than that. We're actually running out of things to map.

Maybe Not.

Mars RAWKS!

Vidiot — Sat, 28 Feb 2004 21:19:07 -0800

From R.E.M. to Whitesnake, by way of Tangerine Dream, Buster Poindexter, and the Bobs, here's what the Mars rovers listen to.

Venus

homunculus — Mon, 16 Feb 2004 18:10:49 -0800

Reprocessed images from the Soviet exploration of Venus.

Brace yourself for immediate disintegration

planetkyoto — Sat, 03 Jan 2004 18:32:22 -0800

Mars, take II - Still no word from Beagle 2 (discussed here), unfortunately, as Mars maintains its tough reputation. However, the first of two rovers much larger than 1997's very successful Pathfinder is expected to hit the Martian surface with a giant bounce tonight at 8:35 p.m. PST. Check out the realistic simulation videos of how it will land and get to work, then watch Nasa TV (RealVideo) for live coverage.

MAYORBOB — Wed, 05 Dec 2001 20:35:25 -0800

The romance versus the reality of man in space. According to this article, unless NASA gets an innoculation of a whole bunch of money, we are likely to be limited to maintaining no more than three longterm residents of the space station we are committed to building. How does this bode for our Star Trek vision?

OneBallJay — Fri, 02 Mar 2001 08:19:07 -0800

All your spaceship are belong to LEEIF. Someone stole the source code to the guidance package for the US space program, including GPS. Tomorrow Never Dies, anyone?

baylink — Fri, 02 Mar 2001 05:32:17 -0800

NASA admits "Dreaming isn't our job, anymore."

<sigh> We're never going to get off this planet. Crap.