Movie: Project Hail Mary

Posted on by onespaceman2000

The long-awaited second feature film of a book by author Andy Weir is almost here. After enjoying both the book and later movie-version of The Martian back in 2015 (yes, more than a decade ago), we are ready for his next film based on his 2021 book Project Hail Mary.

Here is the summary from the book cover:

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.

Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.

All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone.

Or does he?

Basically, this story is about a lone astronaut that survives his peers on a long journey to save Earth only to encounter a sole-survivor, spider-like creature that can help him save Earth. This story might remind you of a 2024 film called Spaceman with Adam Sandler about a lone cosmonaut who travels far from Earth to meet with a spider-like creature. This creature is the sole survivor of a sickness but still able to find a way for Adam Sandler’s character to save Earth.

I’m not saying you have seen this movie before, but..

If you are interested in the story and science behind it, you might want to listen to an interview with the author on the Planetary Radio podcast.Andy Weir probably goes too far into the science, but it’s a good chance to dig a little deeper into the background of his book.

Surviving on an Ice Planet

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Aeon.co

Aeon always has some great articles every month, and one of these is titled “The Snowball Effect.”

The article discusses two periods when glaciers covered the Earth from pole to equator. The last time was 645 million years ago, with the ice remaining for about 10 million years. Even so, life survived and diversified under these conditions on a super-continent called Rodinia.

It may offer some lessons to us when we are looking at our Solar System’s moons as well as distant exoplanets wondering about the presence of life beneath a frozen surface. If the Earth was a snowball for millions of years before life as we know it came to be, it makes sense it would be the case elsewhere.

I recommend you review this article as well as others on Aeon. It is worth your time.

Study Findings: An Adolescent and Near-resonant Planetary System Near the End of Photoevaporation

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Image by Adis Resic from Pixabay

Nature Astronomy abstract of study findings:

Young exoplanets provide vital insights into the early dynamical and atmospheric evolution of planetary systems. Many multi-planet systems younger than 100 Myr exhibit mean-motion resonances, probably established through convergent disk migration. Over time, however, these resonant chains are often disrupted, mirroring the Nice model proposed for the Solar System. Here we present a detailed characterization of the ~200-Myr-old TOI-2076 system, which contains four sub-Neptune planets between 1.4 and 3.5 Earth radii. We demonstrate that its planets are near to but not locked in mean-motion resonances, making the system dynamically fragile. The four planets have comparable core masses but display a monotonic increase in hydrogen and helium (H/He) envelope mass fractions (from stripped to 1%, 5% and 5%) with decreasing stellar insolation. This trend is consistent with atmospheric mass loss due to photoevaporation, which predicts that the envelopes of irradiated planets either erode completely or stabilize at a residual level of ~1% by mass within the first few hundred million years, with more distant, less-irradiated planets retaining most of their primordial envelopes. Additionally, previous detections of metastable helium outflows rule out a pure water-world scenario for the TOI-2076 planets. Our finding provides direct observational evidence that the dynamical and atmospheric reshaping of compact planetary systems begins early and offers an empirical anchor for models of their long-term evolution.

Citation: Wang, MT., Dai, F., Liu, HG. et al. An adolescent and near-resonant planetary system near the end of photoevaporation, Nat Astron (2026).

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-026-02795-9

Study-related stories:

Florida Tech – “Assessment of Rare Teenage Planetary System Deepens Understanding of Cosmic Evolution”

Universe Today – “Adolescence Is Tumultuous, Even For Exoplanets”

Daily Galaxy – “Scientists Discover ‘Teenage’ Planetary System, Unlocking Secrets of Cosmic Growth”

Pic of the Week: Martian Highlands

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): (ESA/DLR/FU Berlin)

This week’s image comes from the the European Space Agency (ESA). Captured by ESA’s orbiting Mars Express, you are looking at a portion of the crater-covered Arabia Terra, which is a large plain in Mars’s ancient highlands. You can read more about this Martian region by visiting this site.

Here is the ESA’s description of what you are viewing:

A high‑resolution overhead view of a rocky, desert‑like landscape on Mars. The surface is mostly reddish‑brown with patches of darker blue‑grey tones. Many circular impact craters of different sizes are scattered across the scene, some with raised rims and shadowed interiors. Subtle ridges, eroded valleys, and textured terrain patterns run diagonally through the image, giving a sense of ancient geological activity. The overall impression is of a dry, rugged, and heavily cratered Martian surface.

Senator Cruz Has Big Ambitions for NASA

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): A artist’s rendering of Nanoracks, Voyager Space, and Lockheed Martin’s Starlab commercial space station. (Nanoracks/Lockheed Martin/Voyager Space)

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, earlier today highlighted some of the sections in the NASA Authorization Act of 2026 designed to counter Chinese ambitions on the Moon while also keeping the US in the forefront of space stations.

In a Committee press release, he stated:

Let me touch on a few highlights of the NASA Authorization Act.  The bill— 

  • Directs NASA to create a permanent “moon base” so we can get there before the Chinese; 
  • Keeps American astronauts in space, extending the ISS through 2032 and requiring the launch of two independent commercial space stations before the ISS can be retired; 
  • Protects against disclosure of NASA tech secrets to Chinese spies; and 
  • Restores fiscal discipline while modernizing NASA’s workforce through public-private partnerships. 

This all sounds good, but first we need to successfully get to the Moon before worrying about permanent versus temporary Moon bases. I would rather we focus just getting a manned spacecraft back on the Moon after more than 50 years. The more burdens we place on these initial missions, the less likely we will have the chance to land on the Moon.

Mr. Musk’s complex dance with multiple Starships was designed to handle a spacecraft with four astronauts and a complex lunar habitat. A simpler mission just to replant the flag may have made more sense if the latest Space Race is about being the first to get back on the lunar surface. And if a Moon base is really a national priority, we should be able to find the funds do to both – a quick, basic mission to put boots on the lunar surface and a more complex mission supporting a Moon base. However, last year’s proposed budget cuts indicated the White House doesn’t know what it wants.

In terms of a space station, the idea of getting more years out of the enormous investment in the International Space Station makes perfect sense. That said, requiring long-term investment from the commercial sector for space stations seems presumptuous. While NASA can support the design of future stations, it cannot ensure their construction and viability. Besides, it is not clear we have enough research, both government and commercial, to support one space station. Do we really need two? And should that be NASA’s decision?

I believe the private sector can decide on the need for space stations all by itself, and so far it has not shown enough interest in this area. The government is good at big things, while the private sector has very specific profit-driven interests when it comes to space missions, like anything else. So far, the commercial funding seems to be drifting towards orbiting data centers and even space tourism. Is this what Senator Cruz envisions?

We may need to simplify our milestones if we are trying to beat the Chinese and maintain our presence in space. Big ideas need to be supported with big budgets and/or clear private sector benefits. With the current administration starting costly wars around the world while also sending mixed signals to the private sector via excessive tariffs and various crony-capitalist actions, we will be lucky to keep the lights on at NASA.