What Scratching the Surface is really about.
background: illustration by Luis Peres for Scratching the Surface
Moon or bust?
Here’s the most thorough evaluation of the the latest push for the Moon that I’ve found. The TL;DR is that the winds are all over the place. This push is likely to fail. But we should root for it anyway because it’s shaking things up.
Ars Technica An impressive stack
Wowza! He’s talking about an Orion atop a ULA second stage atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy. We live in interesting times.
FJ-rover
I had a Hilux for years that would take me anywhere I pointed it. For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted an FJ40. I’m not a big fan of the modern FJ. But this…when can I get one?
Mercury is closest to all
If you give this a little thought, it makes perfect sense.
Off the shelf to the Moon
This is a fascinating development. The head of NASA just opened the door for commercial launch of NASA lunar missions.
“If we tell you, and others, that we’re going to launch in June of 2020 around the Moon, I think we should launch around the Moon in June of 2020. And I think it can be done. We should consider, as an agency, all options to accomplish that objective.”
Inspiring kids
“I want to inspire that first girl who is going to walk on Mars.”
We share the same goal!
the Guardian Where is Dawn Colony?
A while back I posted about how the writing of science fiction is a race with the progress of science. Here’s a perfect example: where is Dawn Colony? I’ve been hesitant to place it at a specific location on Mars because the more specific I get, the more likely it is I’ll be wrong. Perhaps they live near the southern end of one of the study areas mentioned in this article.
I’m open to other suggestions.
Planetary Science Institute SpaceX Demo-1
In the wee hours of tomorrow morning (3/2/19), SpaceX will be launching its Crew Dragon for the first time. While it will not be carrying people, this is a big deal. Continue reading “SpaceX Demo-1”
Asteroid mining
“… there are no major technological barriers keeping us from harvesting the resources of the Moon and asteroids. All the barriers are financial.”