This should be a very useful on-line resource.
Category Archives: Space Science
An Upside-Down Space Carnival
…over at Ian Musgrave’s place, Down Under.
A Smiley Solar System
Some nice astronomical pictures from Down Under.
Lunar “Science”
Rob Coppinger describes some potential scientific research that could be performed on the moon. As I note in comments over there (assuming that he approves it) he seems to be under the misapprehension that a lunar base (particularly a lunar base that will be as insanely expensive to build and support as NASA’s planned architecture would render it) can be justified on the basis of science return. It cannot.
I think that the root of the problem lies in his statement:
Back in August (how time flies!) I began to set out Hyperbola’s architecture for exploration…
Despite the name “Vision for Space Exploration,” this really isn’t about exploration (as I’ve also noted before). Exploration is just a means to an end. Even more, it’s not about pure science, or knowledge for knowledge’ sake. If we can’t come up with some compelling reasons for developing space technology (and more affordable means than Constellation as currently planned), it’s simply not going to happen.
And Now For Something Completely Different (Part Two)
Jeff Patterson conquers the solar system.
Alphabetical
Irene Klotz is hosting the latest carnival of space, with a different theme.
Perseids
It’s that time of year again. They peak tonight (or rather, early tomorrow morning). Be sure to get out of town, though. You won’t see any but the very brightest with city lights around.
Hope Remains
…for life on Mars. Actually, there are a lot of people who should hope that we don’t find life on Mars, if we ever want to colonize it ourselves.
Big Deal
I have a new piece up on this week’s non-discovery of water on Mars.
Overhype?
Is this really as big a deal as NASA is making of it?
Data from recent missions to Mars has been building toward a confirmation of the presence of water ice. However, “this would be the first time we held it in our hands, so to speak,” says Bryan DeBates, a senior aerospace education specialist at the Space Foundation. Evidence from other locations in the solar system, including Earth’s moon, Saturn’s Enceladus moon and Jupiter’s Europa moon, have strongly hinted at the presence of water–NASA confirmed a liquid lake on Saturn’s Titan moon on Wednesday–but no direct observation of water has been made.
Haven’t we been pretty certain for years that there was ice on Mars (and outer planet moons, and comets)? What’s the big deal here? If there’s a story at all, it seems to me that it’s about the amount of water available, not the fact that we have “direct confirmation.”