1234759
submission
OriginalArlen writes:
NASA's next-generation rover, the nuclear-powered, laser-equipped Mars Science Laboratory is reported to be at a serious risk of cancellation due to budget and schedule overruns, including non-delivery of vital parts by a subcontractor. Costs are running over $2B so far, and the already thin schedule of Mars missions planned for the next decade — with budget ring-fenced for an outer planets flagship mission — is in danger of further cuts if MSL's budget is expanded.
417321
submission
OriginalArlen writes:
The UK government has announced an ambitious plan to expand the existing, already extensive offshore wind turbine farms to an estimated 7000 units, enough to generate 20% of the UK's power needs by 2020. The newly green-friendly Conservative opposition party is also backing the scheme. Wonder what they'll make of it in Oregon...
400315
submission
OriginalArlen writes:
The BBC has a first look at NASA's initial concepts for a manned Mars mission, currently pencilled in for 2031. The main vehicle would be assembled on orbit over three or four launches of the planned Ares V heavy lift rocket. New abilities to repair, replace, and even produce replacement parts will be needed to provide enough self-sufficiency a 30 months mission, including 16 months on the surface. The presentation was apparently delivered at a meeting of the Lunar Exploration Management Group, although there's nothing on their site yet.
226607
submission
OriginalArlen writes:
Universe Today has a fascinating article discussing the difficulty of executing EDL (entry, descent, landing) on Mars for vehicles bigger than MER, Viking and Pathfinder, and for manned craft in particular. Airbags can't be used for obvious reasons, but the atmosphere is too thin to be used for parachutes or aerobraking by large heavy vehicles, and the stronger gravity (compared to the moon) makes an Apollo-style powered descent impossible. The best current idea is a huge inflatable torus called a hypercone.
197867
submission
OriginalArlen writes:
The science fiction writer Charlie Stross has written an excellent and comprehensive explanation of why, a million SF books, movies and games not withstanding, human colonisation of other star systems is impossible. This may seem a controversial idea, although it seems commonsensical to many — fortunately, Charlie makes a clear-headed and unarguable case, so far as I can see.
Nevertheless it would be interesting to see reasoned responses from the community who believe this is not merely possible, but inevitable — and even, as Hawking has said, vital for the survival of the species. So, who's right — Hawking or Stross?
160527
submission
OriginalArlen writes:
UniverseToday reports new research which suggests dark matter could have condensed to form 'dark stars' (nothing to do with black holes) in the early universe. As they would have been very massive and "burned" very slowly, fueled by non-fusion reactions, they could still be with us. Astronomers hope to better constrain theories of early galaxy and star formation with observations of gravitational lensing events caused by these ghosts of the primordial universe. No word from John Carpenter on the prospect of solipsistic thermostellar bombs...
42284
submission
OriginalArlen writes:
(From the "you couldn't make it up" dept?)
In a story so surreal I had to check the primary source, the Register reports that the (London, UK) Metropolitan Police are trialing the use of eight tiny cams, mounted in the police helmet, to provide 360 degree evidence gathering in the event that an officer witnesses a crime. The press release also gives more evidence of the stealth spread of ubiquitous ANPR systems across the country as a spin-off "benefit" to the London car congestion-charging scheme, which is likely to be rolled out across the country in the next few years. Are we already living in a Panopticon Society?
32629
submission
OriginalArlen writes:
Polar bears may be threatened with extinction, but the retreating Arctic ice is also opening new shipping lanes, according to this report by MSNBC. Proof that climate change need not be all bad news?
