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Baby Steps

~ J.S. Pailly ~ 2 Comments

With all of NASA’s budget cuts, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture when it comes to space exploration.  Right now, we hear nothing but bad news.  But we have to remember the International Space Station is still up in the sky, astronomers are still finding lots of new planets, and private companies are very close to taking over where NASA left off.

At a conference for the advancement of science, Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield said humanity will look back on the 21st Century as a series of baby steps into space.  Yes, we’ll fall down a lot and get a few bruises, but we’re still learning, and we have to take those baby steps before we can go a lot further.

Diagram showing which countries contributed which parts to the International Space Station. Click picture to enlarge.

Hadfield is scheduled to go to the International Space Station in December.  During his time aboard the ISS, he says he will be trying to solve basic problems about human space travel, like blood chemistry, nutrition, and waste.  Astronauts aboard the ISS are working on approximately 100 different experiments to make it safer and easier for humans in the future to travel beyond Earth orbit.

For about two months, Hadfield will be in command of the space station.  He will be the first Canadian to have that honor.

For the original article on Chris Hadfield’s statements, click here.

Stop Wasting NASA’s Money

~ J.S. Pailly ~ Leave a comment

Dear Federal Government,

Once again, you are cutting funding for one of NASA’s most exciting and promising projects.  This time, it’s ExoMars, a project done in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA).  The ExoMars Mission was to determine if life exists or ever did exist on Mars.

Although I am disappointed, I do understand, and I certainly can’t say NASA is being treated unfairly.  The budgets of almost every government agency, at both the state and federal level, are being slashed, and with the national debt as high as it is the US must try to reduce spending.  As important as ExoMars is, I know other important programs are suffering too.

However, tens of millions of dollars were already spent on ExoMars, according to Dr. G. Scott Hubbard, a planetary scientist for NASA and a professor at Stanford University, in addition to a reported 200 million euros spent by ESA.  An estimated $10 billion was already spent on the Constellation program, NASA’s effort to return to the Moon, before that was cut last year.

So, Federal Government, whatever program you decide to let NASA work on next, give them a chance to finish it.  It is a far greater waste of money to cancel one program after another than to allow one of them run to completion.

Signed,

James S. Pailly

Science Enthusiast and Concerned Citizen.

Star Trek and Doctor Who: Together at Last

~ J.S. Pailly ~ 1 Comment

It’s been a long time since I’ve bought a comic book, but I might have to go get this one.  IDW Publishing has announced the first ever comic book crossover between Star Trek and Doctor Who.  These are the two longest running science fiction television shows of all time, and in my opinion they are two of the best.

According to the IDW website, the story will feature the Eleventh Doctor teaming up with Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D to defeat the Borg and the Cybermen.  Anyone familiar with both series should immediately see why these two enemies would join together.  The only thing that would make this even better is if Darth Vader showed up somehow.

There were rumors awhile back that Paramount and the BBC were talking about a crossover staring the Tenth Doctor and the crew from Star Trek: Enterprise.  But nothing ever came of it.

Click here to visit the IDW website and learn more about the Star Trek/Doctor Who crossover.

Clara’s Molecule

~ J.S. Pailly ~ Leave a comment

The classic story of an inventor tinkering in his basement is a thing of the past.  Most new discoveries require NASA sized budgets, enormous research facilities, and the support of governments, large corporations, or major universities.  Except that isn’t always true.

Recently, a fifth-grade student named Clara Lazen invented an entirely new molecule.  Her science teacher had handed out the traditional ball and stick model pieces to make molecules, and she assembled a bunch of carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen in a completely new and unexpected way.  When she was done, she asked if she’d made a real molecule.

Clara and her science teacher.

Her teacher and a chemist at Humboldt State University have determined that it is an entirely new molecule.  Clara’s molecule, which has the catchy name of tetranitratoxycarbon, may even be useful for energy storage.  Now her name will appear on a paper in a major scientific journal.

Everyday people like Clara can still make major discoveries.  Science is not just for the well-funded.  Tetranitratoxycarbon might even help us solve the energy crisis, but most importantly, Clara and her classmates reportedly have a new enthusiasm for science, something that is rare in American children these days.

Click here for the original article from themarysue.com.

Why Newt Gingrich’s Moon Base Matters

~ J.S. Pailly ~ 8 Comments

Newt Gingrich has been widely ridiculed by both the media and his fellow Republicans for wanting to return to the Moon and establish a lunar colony by 2020.  What hasn’t been discussed is that the Moon and the rest of the Solar System are packed full of untapped natural resources.  The Moon in particular has plentiful helium-3, which could be used as a carbon-free, radiation free fuel source.

Moon Base Alpha as seen in Space: 1999.

In the last decade, the Chinese government has engaged in an aggressive space program.  They’ve sent men into space, done spacewalks, and are now building their own space station to compete with the International Space Station (ISS).  At the rate they’re going, experts believe China could establish a permanent presence on the Moon as early as 2022 and claim it as their territory.

A new space race is on, whether the American public knows it or not, and I for one do not want China to call dibs on the Moon’s helium-3.  We should take Gingrich’s proposal seriously, not mock him (at least not for this).

The good news, especially for anyone who doesn’t want to vote for Gingrich, is that his proposal is not the only one.  According to a report from Space.com, the Russian space agency is talking to NASA and ESA (the European Space Agency) about building a Moon base as a project of international cooperation, just like the ISS.

I’d prefer to see an international Moon base rather than the Americans only one Gingrich proposes so that the Moon’s resources can be shared by all of humanity and not hoarded by one country.  The important thing right now is that we’re talking about it.  The more the public learns about this issue, the more they’ll understand it and the more they will want to see a permanent outpost on the Moon.

Links

Green Women

~ J.S. Pailly ~ Leave a comment

I’m not looking forward to the kind of stuff I’ll get in the spam filter for this, but here goes…

The classy people who brought us the Moonlight Bunny Ranch—America’s most famous brothel—have come up with a new idea.  According to an article from a CBS affiliate in Las Vegas, they plan to open a science fiction themed brothel.  The population of geeks in this country is growing, and as the stereotype tells us none of them have girlfriends.  So obviously they’ll all jump at this.

Dennis Hof, the man who created and owns the Moonlight Bunny Ranch, is even hoping to get Sci Fi celebrities like William Shatner to support his new project.  I suppose the slogan could be, “Now you too can make love to green women.”

I only have one thing to say about the Sci Fi brothel.  Mr. Shatner, please don’t do this.  Please, please do not do this.

For the CBS article, click here.

Should the Moon Become the 51st State?

~ J.S. Pailly ~ Leave a comment

On Wednesday (January 25, 2012), Republican Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich visited Florida’s space coast, the region surrounding the Kennedy Space Center, and gave a speech about the current state of the American space program.  He called it an embarrassment, citing the current arrangement to fly US astronauts on Russian space craft, and explained his bold vision for how to fix it.

Image courtesy of C-SPAN.

Gingrich’s three main goals were to establish a base on the Moon, create more Near Earth activity (including science, tourism, and manufacturing in space), and develop a continuous propulsion spacecraft capable of reaching Mars.  He called for NASA to change its bureaucratic ways and for private enterprise to take on more of the burden of space flight.  He also said he wants space launches to become routine.  He wants to see five to eight launches a day.

Image courtesy of wpclipart.com

As for that Moon base, which he plans to establish by the end of his second term, he wants to allow American citizens living on the Moon to petition Congress to become a state once the lunar population reaches 13,000.  I would prefer to see the Moon base as a project of international cooperation, like the I.S.S., but I understand Gingrich’s thinking.  He says he wants young Americans to dream of being one of those 13,000 lunar pioneers so that they’ll want to study math and science, and they’ll want to take part in this new space race.

I have some problems with Gingrich and his policies, but he and I have at least one thing in common.  He described his romantic belief that our destiny is in space, a belief shaped in part by science fiction writers like Isaac Asimov.  I share his belief, and I am also a fan of Asimov.

I’m not saying I’ll vote for him, and I’m not advocating that you should or should not vote for him either.  Space policy is one of many issues to consider when choosing a president, but I find it refreshing and even exciting to hear a major presidential candidate talk about returning to the Moon and going to Mars.

In last night’s GOP debate, it seemed clear none of the other Republican candidates know or care to know much about space.  That was disappointing.  If Gingrich does become the Republican nominee, it would be interesting to see him and President Obama debate the current and future state of the American space program.

Click here to see Gingrich’s full speech on C-SPAN.

SOPA and PIPA

~ J.S. Pailly ~ Leave a comment

The 21st Century is turning out to be pretty cool.  We don’t have flying cars (yet), but we do have smart phones, and privately funded space travel looks promising.  We also have the Internet, a vast forum powered by technology where everyone can make their voices heard, even little known science fiction writers like me.  It’s perhaps the greatest advancement in free speech since the First Amendment was written.

By now I’m sure you’ve heard about SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and its companion, PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act), two bills proposed in Congress meant to protect copyright holders from online piracy.  Unfortunately, it turns out Congress is run by old people individuals aged 60+ who don’t know how computers work, and the bills they’ve written will most likely destroy free speech on the Internet.  Many websites, regardless of their innocence or guilt, would not survive the lawsuits SOPA and PIPA would generate.

China already censors the Internet.  Many Middle Eastern dictators wish they had, but social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have already helped overthrow them.  If the United States wants to spread freedom and democracy throughout the world, the Internet is one of its best tools.  Far more effective than guns or bombs.  So why would the US government attack the Internet?

I’ve put a great deal of work into this blog and my short story series, The Tomorrow News Network, which is published online.  I don’t want to lose it all when some corporation decides—on a whim—that I’ve violated their copyright.  If a company as big as Google feels threatened by SOPA and PIPA, what chance do I have?  What chance does any private citizen have?

I live in Pennsylvania.  I’m represented in Congress by Senators Pat Toomey (Republican) and Bob Casey (Democrat).  We just went though some gerrymandering redistricting, so I don’t know who represents me in the House anymore.  But Senator Toomey, Senator Casey, Congressman Whoever, I want you to know something: if you vote to censor the Internet, I will vote against you.  I doubt you read this blog, and I doubt you even care about my vote, but I promise I will vote for whoever runs against you in your next election.

* * *

Update (January 29, 2012): Last I heard, Congress canceled votes on both SOPA and PIPA; however, the issue has not gone away.  Politicians in Washington are still looking for ways to stop online piracy.  Whether they choose to do so responsibly or not is still an open question.

My God! It’s Full of Planets!

~ J.S. Pailly ~ Leave a comment

Fans of 2001: A Space Odyssey will remember Dave Bowman’s last words before disappearing into the alien monolith: “My God!  It’s full of stars!”  Turns out where there are stars, there are even more planets.  Scientists are discovering new planets everywhere, some in stranger places than ever expected.

When the search for planets outside our Solar System (aka: exoplanets) began, even a planet as large as Jupiter was too small to find.  Now we’ve found the first exoplanets smaller than Earth.  Although they are all too close to their parent star to be habitable, their discovery proves that our technology and techniques are improving.  I expect in the next few years scientists will discover so many smaller-than-Earth planets they won’t be able to study all of them.  Click here for more on the KOI-961 system and its tiny planets.
Quadruple Saturn Moon Transit Snapped By Hubble
Source: Hubblesite.org

New research suggests the planet Saturn isn’t as special as we thought.  Scientists have discovered another astronomical body with large rings, but they’re not exactly sure what the rings encircle.  It may be a planet, or it may be a brown dwarf.  It could even be a small star with rings, which—with all due respect to Saturn—would be way cooler.  For more on this Saturn-like object, click here.

Scientists have even discovered planets that really live up to their name.  Planet is Greek for wanderer, and a recent survey of the sky found at least ten Jupiter-size planets wandering aimlessly through space.  These planets once orbited stars but, for one reason or another, were ejected out of their original orbits.  These rogue planets are incredibly hard to find, but if there are ten as big as Jupiter we can assume there are many more, both big and small, hiding in the darkness.  Click here for more on rogue planets.

When the day comes that the human race ventures beyond our own Solar System, we’ll have plenty of places to go.  The nearest known exoplanets are orbiting Epsilon Eridani, roughly 10.5 light years away, but there are stars even closer and I wouldn’t be surprised if they have planets too.  Who knows?  A rogue planet might be right on our doorstep waiting to be explored.

Is the Space Race Over?

~ J.S. Pailly ~ Leave a comment

You probably thought the space race ended when America put a man on the Moon.  If not, you probably thought it at least ended with the Cold War.  Apparently you were wrong.  The United States is still competing with Russia for dominance in space, and it’s become such a cutthroat battle that the US went so far as to sabotage Russia’s latest mission to Mars.

At least, that’s what the Russians claim.  The head of the Russian Space Agency recently suggested that something may have happened to their Mars probe while it was in “the shadow.”  The shadow supposedly refers to the far side of the planet, which from Russia’s perspective happens to be where the US is.

The Russian probe, named Phobos Grunt, was supposed to land on one of Mars’ moons and return to Earth carrying soil samples.  For some reason, it failed to fire its rockets once in Earth orbit.  This is the fourth time Russia has tried to send a probe to Mars and failed, while NASA keeps sending one rover after another.  Phobos Grunt is expected to crash to Earth sometime this weekend.

So did the United States attack Russia’s probe?  Did the US fear Phobos Grunt would steal some of the limelight from NASA’s latest Mars rover?  Did the American government, which recently slashed NASA’s budget, still care enough to conduct secret operations against an unmanned Russian science mission?

As an American, I find this unlikely.  Americans love international cooperation in space.  The Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station both happened because of partnerships with other countries, and there’s a good chance the first humans on Mars will be part of an international team.  We even put a Russian character on the bridge of the Enterprise.  I for one was excited about Phobos Grunt and hoped the fourth time would be the charm.

What do you think?  Did the space race end, or is it still going on?