Elon Musk and Mars: SpaceX CEO and our multiplanet species →

When pressed, Elon Musk doesn't explicitly want to retire on Mars, or die there. "(It's just) as good a place to die as any", he says. No, that just was a silly sound-bite.

All he really wants to do is save the human race.

“The attitude of the people I saw wasn’t just a general pride, as strong as it was, in doing something cool. It was that they were doing something important. And again, not just important in some vague, general way, but critical and quite specific in its endgame: making humans citizens of more than one world. A multiplanet species.”

Love.

Asimov on Humanity

“...Dr. Seldon, you disturb the peace of the Emperor’s realm. None of the quadrillions living now among all the stars of the Galaxy will be living a century from now. Why, then, should we concern ourselves with events of three centuries distance?”

“I shall not be alive half a decade hence,” said Seldon, “and yet it is of overpowering concern to me. Call it idealism. Call it an identification of myself with that mystical generalization to which we refer by the term, ‘humanity.’ ”

I'm re-reading "Foundation" and as when I was much younger, I'm struck by this brief exchange (from 1942, loosely based on the "History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" writings) that defines our inability to look to and plan for the future.

Vital projects that range from fixing public school education, to rebuilding public infrastructure, to planetary science and outward exploration are suffering and setting our country and entire species back. Will we ever look forward? Will we ever truly set the stage for our grandchildren to chart the stars from an intimate seat amongst the vast depths of space?

Relive Apollo 8 →

Great post by Robert Sorokanich on re-living the Apollo 8 launch. You can watch the video right in the post.

Borman, Lovell and Anders left Earth 45 years ago today, and their moon orbit remains one of the most awe-inspiring moments in humanity's short history.

What's next?

New trailer for In Saturn's Rings →

What an incredible project by a DIY filmmaker. I can't wait to see the full run next year.

Watch it full-screen, on the highest resolution available (choose "Original" for 4k)

After watching, how can you:

1) Not want to go to space?

2) Not want to support our space program?

Thanks to xkcd for a typically well-illustrated perspective on the usual bullshit arguments. 

View fullsize

Confirmed: A Star System with Three Potentially Habitable Planets! →

...well, as "confirmed" as we can confirm things with current technology. 

But either way...progress. Only 22 light years away!

Where's that warp drive? 

Mars One Wants to Send 4 People to Mars. Permanently. →

​Chances are very, very good that this entire endeavor falls through, and quickly. Or maybe it'll be ten years or so, and then they'll run out of money and crash and burn. Theoretically, of course.

Or maybe, just maybe, this is the kind of crazy shit that needs to happen to keep planetary exploration going. Because the federal budget sure isn't gonna cut it.​

I'd love to see more private money come on board early, to give the entire project some legitimacy. Otherwise it's gonna be difficult to even get to the reality show stages. That said, if they do get there, it could be a phenomenon like we've never seen.​

I can't wait.​

Gizmodo: How NASA's Nuclear Rockets Will Take Us Way Beyond Mars →

The first people to step on to the surface of Mars won't arrive aboard the chemical-fueled rockets that delivered Apollo 11 to the Moon—they simply don't provide enough thrust to get to the Red Planet before exposing their crews to months of dangerous space radiation. Instead, NASA is turning to long-ignored nuclear-thermal rocket technology to deliver the first Martian explorers into history.

Gizmodo put together a nice history of nuclear rocket development. Unfortunately the headline's a little misleading. Manned nuclear rocketry is in no way guaranteed, as the details here prove.​ 

​The piece also doesn't give any consideration to legitimate competing ideas, like solar sails (sounds crazy, but they'd work - kind of - and would need to be huge) and especially futuristic sounding ion engines (slow start, but capable of huge speeds as the ship progresses). 

​And there's little here on timing, aside from how long it'll take to develop the plutonium. Sadly, we're in no rush to send humanoids to Mars. Building a feasible rocket is just a baby step.

Being Scientifically Inclined →

"…our society has become so technologically based that you really can’t be a fully operating citizen unless you understand basic science. How are you supposed to make judgements about the health of your children if you don’t believe in science? How are you supposed to make a judgement about a generation of fuel and power if you don’t believe in science? You can’t operate as a sensible voting member of a democratic society these days unless you understand fundamental scientific principles to a degree."

From an interview of David Attenborough by Brian Cox and Robin Ince. Couldn't agree with this more. And I think it applies not only to operation citizens, but obviously -- and perhaps most glaringly -- to politicians. How do we intend to advance with 75 year old members of Congress who shun even email? How are they supposed to understand NASA's needs, or climate change models, or net neutrality arguments?​