Video: Brian Cox Talks About Alien Life – A 2026 Special

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Professor Brian Cox discussing the evolution of intelligence. (Science Time channel)

If you have followed the career of English physicist Brian Cox, then you know he is a dynamic speaker who has hosted several series on astronomy, including Wonders of the Solar System and Wonders of the Universe.

In this short video from Science Time channel, “Brian Cox Talks About Alien Life – A 2026 Special,” Professor Cox walks the viewer through the chances of finding intelligent life among the 60 billion exoplanets in our galaxy that lie within the habitable zone. To be clear, he is not very optimistic.

The series does not cover much new ground except for some hopeful comments about the James Webb Space Telescope investigating the atmospheres of exoplanet (with Professor Cox wondering whether we will find life on an exoplanet before we find it on Mars). Even so, it is still enjoyable to spend a little bit of time playing around with the Fermi Paradox again.

One of the more intriguing ideas being discussed here and elsewhere is the idea that we may not want to limit our ideas to biological life. The longevity of a civilization may be dependent on its ability to evolve from carbon-based to silicon-based lifeforms. While not explicitly discussed in the video, that could broaden our search beyond a star’s habitable zone yet also frustrate our attempts to find biological signatures in an exoplanet’s atmosphere.

Again, it is worth your time to listen in. I would just ignore the goofy animations that accompany the discussion.

Space Quote: Are We Ready for Extended Space Travel by Humans?

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Image by Olena from Pixabay.

“As an astronaut, I believe our current technology may not have solutions for critical situations we are bound to face moving away from low Earth orbit, and this incident illustrates exactly that. NASA needs to address some urgent and sometimes uncomfortable questions. For example, should a doctor always be on the crew? Should a spaceship heading to Mars have high-tech medical capabilities and facilities — not just a ‘med kit’? A kit consisting of only medications, saline solution, a defibrillator and a few basic instruments places a crew at a serious disadvantage if things really go south.”

-Statement for former NASA astronaut Clayton Anderson in a Washington Post editorial published after this week’s return of four crew members who needed to be evacuated from the International Space Station due to a medical emergency. Had the health issue occurred six months into a trip to Mars the circumstances would have been dire without sufficient health resources. This is more evidence that acquiring the necessary hardware for space travel may be the easy part compared to the software, also known as humans.

Pic of the Week: Liftoff of the New Glenn Rocket

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket as it launched from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on November 13, 2025. (Blue Origin)

This week’s image comes from Scientific American magazine’s best space photos of 2025. It shows Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket lifting off from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on November 13, 2025. It was carrying NASA’s twin Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) spacecraft, which are destined for Mars. The two identical spacecraft will investigate how the solar wind interacts with Mars’ magnetic environment and how this interaction drives the planet’s atmospheric escape.

Some Good News for NASA

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Image by Prawny from Pixabay

Today the House and Senate came together to agree on NASA’s FY 2026 budget, and the news could not have been better. Overall, NASA is looking at basically a flat budget (compared to a threatened 24 percent cut) with only a 1 percent cut in science funding from last year’s level (compared to the threatened 47 percent cut). The only thing left on the table – or should we say on the Martian surface – is the sample return.

Of course, all of this came after the Agency gutted its personnel, threatened the remaining employees, and demoralized everyone down to the janitors. After you add to that the cancelling of science conferences, the end of student programs, and trashing of libraries and data, you can imagine the cheers are present but weak due to exhaustion.

Credit certainly goes to a House and Senate that showed bipartisan support for the maintenance of NASA and its missions. This should make the new NASA Administrator very happy as he tries to sort through the muck from earlier this year and find a path forward.

Now we just has to hope that this bill can get through the White House. Given that foreign policy is the preferred policy these days, and DOGE is MIA, it may actually happen.