Horizon Zero

Welcome To The Future. Finally.

Jim "Titanic/Avatar" Cameron and Google's Eric Schmidt have partnered with a startup company to explore and conduct Near Earth Asteroid mining.

All These Worlds Are Yours...

Save Europa.

Which is a shame,  because scientists now say the Jovian moon has 'lakes' of warm water below the shell of ice that covers the surface.

And where there's water, there's the potential for life.

You know what, screw the Monoliths. They're ten years late for First Contact as it is.

Oceans Larger Than Earth Itself

Astronomers have discovered the largest reservoir of water in the universe (so far) surrounding  a quasar over 12 billion light years away.

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NASA confirmed yesterday the existence of a fourth satellite orbiting the previously-known-as-a-planet object called Pluto. (If Pluto isn't a planet, do we still call them moons?)

There are already several movements afoot to name the new celestial body - right now Goofy and Cerberus seem to be the most popular.

I could get behind Cerberus. It fits thematically. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at the popularity of naming it Goofy, but c'mon people.

Australian Student Finds Universe's Missing Mass

It wasn't missing though, it was right there all the time.

What this means for Dark Matter, or the inevitable (or is it?) Gib Gnab of the universe, I don't know yet.

Our odds of surviving it are probably still as good as a whelk's chance of surviving a supernova.

A Planet's Worth of Dry Ice

Scientists have discovered a huge deposit of Carbon Dioxide in the form of dry ice at the southern pole of Mars - nearly as much as the CO2 in the present day Martian atmosphere.

This would seem to support the theory that Mars was once a much wetter, more breathable place. With sufficiently advanced technological know how, perhaps it could be again.

 

Everything Old Is New Again

NASA is said to be narrowing its selection of the STS successor to one of four commercial designs. You can take a look for yourself here.

I find it interesting that three of the four are capsules. Granted, most of the major milestones of the space program were accomplished in capsule craft, but it seems like a step backward in many respects. One of the supposed advancements of the space shuttle was the "launches like a rocket, lands like an airplane" nature of the craft, which saved us the step of having to splash down in a large body of water. The logistics of a splashdown make it a no go for civilian passenger space traffic.

There is, of course, a way to move large numbers of people and large amounts of materiel into space, but no one will ever allow it. More's the pity.

And A Star To Steer Her By

NASA has released a video narrated by William Shatner to commemorate the legacy of the Space Shuttle program. There are only two shuttle missions left before the program is retired and the shuttles are stripped and sent to museums.

James T. Kirk would never allow this. He'd put together a insane plan, steal a shuttle in a daring launch and use it to save humanity. Oh, he might have to sacrifice the shuttle in the process but a blaze of glory is a far better resting place than Los Angeles.

Happy Anniversary, Yuri Gagarin

Fifty years ago today, the Space Age began when cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the Earth.

Since 2001, the occasion has been celebrated every April 12th as Yuri's Night.

It's a shame that the event isn't more widely recognized - America's fascination with space seems to have slipped off the map of late, even as exciting advances are being made in private space ventures.

Would a privately funded excursion to the moon recapture our attention? We can't just keep orbiting the Earth forever. The riches of the solar system must be exploited!

NASA Telescope Spots 'Space Ghost'

 
No, not that one. This one.