Blog – Page 21 – Generation Mars

November 15, 2019

Apollo 12: way more fun

I think I would have preferred to go second.

“Whoopee! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that’s a long one for me.”

The Second Moon Landing Was Much Rowdier

With a successful first mission in the books, the crew of Apollo 12 was under less pressure.

The Atlantic

November 13, 2019January 29, 2022

Scratching the Surface on Planetary Society list!

The Planetary Society’s Emily Lakdawalla publishes an annual list of recommended children’s books about space. Scratching the Surface made it onto this year’s list!

I’m honored to be included with all these other great titles.

Emily Lakdawalla’s Recommended Space Books for Kids, 2019

Welcome to my 11th annual list of recommended space books for kids! This year I had more than 80 books to read, and I’ve winnowed the list to recommend 29. There are books for all ages from 0 to 18 and beyond.

November 13, 2019

Unexplained oxygen fluctuations

Oxygen levels above Gale Crater appear to fluctuate seasonally and scientists don’t yet know why.

With Mars methane mystery unsolved, Curiosity serves scientists a new one: Oxygen

For the first time in the history of space exploration, scientists have measured the seasonal changes in the gases that fill the air directly above the surface of Gale Crater on Mars. As a result, they noticed something baffling: oxygen, the gas many Earth creatures use to breathe, behaves in a way that so far…

phys.org

November 5, 2019

ISS as Mars transit testbed

Transit to Mars using current technology takes about six months. How might a crew react to that length of time in close quarters, moving ever farther from Earth? The ISS could provide a testbed and training facility for such a trip.

A Journey to Mars Starts on the Space Station

NASA wants to use the International Space Station as a facility for Mars-analog missions.

October 14, 2019

Meteor crater

50,000 years ago, a cosmologic eye-blink, the Earth gained 300,000 tons of nickel-iron mass in about ten seconds. Meteor Crater Natural Landmark is a cool stop along I-40 in northern Arizona.

Pair this with my Video clip 05: Luck

October 13, 2019

House of Eternal Return

There is a house in Santa Fe that isn’t right. Reality has fractured and worlds are colliding. Surprisingly, it’s not that bad. Pleasant, even. Visit Meow Wolf and see for yourself. Just keep track of your kids.

October 2, 2019

Look at it. Just look at it.

ESA’s Mars Express orbiter has been snapping pics for 16 years. This recently released pole-to-pole image is astoundingly beautiful. Be sure to click through to the article, where there’s lots of discussion of the details.

Mars Is Heaven!

A new and staggeringly huge image from Mars Express shows the Red Planet from pole to pole.

SYFY Official Site

September 2, 2019

Interview with Neal Stephenson

Neal Stephenson, commenting on a bunch of stuff.

Neal Stephenson Wants To Tell Big Stories

Neal Stephenson is the author of some of the most prescient and beloved science fiction of the last 30 years, including Snow Crash, The Diamond

Reason.com

His comments regarding personal freedom in a Martian colony don’t gel with mine. The social system that I imagine in Generation Mars has a great respect for personal freedom.

However, that is tempered by a level of social responsibility that we would likely find unrecognizable here on Earth.

August 30, 2019April 25, 2020

Paperback is published!

This is it! Scratching the Surface is available in paperback starting today on Amazon, B&N online, or special order at any book shop.

Generation Mars is hard science fiction for kids.

August 23, 2019

Author’s copies

Look what came today!

Scratching the Surface comes out in paperback August 30, available for pre-order now.

The Kindle version is available now. If you already have it, please consider leaving a review on Amazon.