• Television: Stars on Mars

    The silly reality shows are now reaching for the stars, or at least a distant planet, with William Shatner leading the way. Fox’s new program Stars on Mars, premiering on June 5th, will feature numerous celebrities trying to survive in a “Mars-like” atmosphere. Planned guests include Lance Armstrong, Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon, professional football player…

  • Space Stories: Threats to Artemis, Two Saudis Visit the ISS, and Signs of the Japanese Lunar Crash

    Here are some recent stories of interest. —Axios: “NASA Return to the Moon Could be Imperiled by Politics“ Efforts to insulate Artemis from possible cuts, delays and cancellation are facing a major test with the current budget fight on Capitol Hill. If NASA’s funding is stalled at the 2022 enacted level or reduced, agency administrator Bill Nelson has…

  • Podcast/Book Review: Jesuits Find an Exoplanet to Explore

    If you are looking for a new podcast as well as a new book, the two come together via the podcast Alienating the Audience. Comedian Andrew Heaton and his buddies have plenty of fun poking various science fiction topics, including Star Wars and Star Trek. One of the recent episodes discussed a new book, The…

  • In Case You Missed It/Television: JWST on 60 Minutes

    Last month 60 Minutes had a piece on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), titled The Origin of Everything, that provided viewers with more amazing images. I recommend the episode. I also plan to watch a few more times myself. For a taste of the episode, here is Matt Mountain, who heads up JWST’s operations…

  • Disney Drops Out of the Star Wars Hotel Business

    Earlier I wrote about the high cost of attending a new Star Wars-themed hotel at Disney World in Florida. Well, the experiment has run its course and the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser experience will officially end September 30, 2023. You still have time to blow a bundle of money on this should that be your thing.…

  • Blue Origin is Now Part of the Artemis Mission

    While SpaceX is building the lunar lander for the Artemis III mission, Blue Origin is back in the game building the next lunar lander for a follow-up human landing at the Moon’s southern polar region as part of Artemis V. The NASA contract with Blue Origin for this second mission is $3.4 billion. Blue Origin’s…

  • Pic of the Week: Ice Chemistry

    This week’s image is from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). It shows Chamaeleon I dark molecular cloud where both stars and planets are born. Here is more about the image from NASA: A Webb image of the central region of the Chamaeleon I dark molecular cloud, which resides 630 light-years away. This image primarily…

  • Starship: Date of Second Launch Still Unclear

    We know that the April 20th Starship launch did a fair amount of damage to the Boca Chica, Texas launch site, so no one expected a second attempt in 30 days. Now SpaceX is proposing a second launch as early as June 15, but asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a 6-month window just…

  • Space Stories: End of a Lunar Mission, Ancient Rivers on Mars, and the Second TROPICS Launch

    Here are some recent stories of interest. —Engadget: “NASA Ends its Lunar Flashlight Mission“ NASA has pulled the plug on its Lunar Flashlight project, which was designed to look for sources of ice on our nearest neighbor. The agency spent the last few months trying, and failing, to get the craft to generate the necessary amount…

  • Space Quote: New Horizons Can Do Much More

    “New Horizons can still do great science for the rest of its time in the Kuiper belt. But stopping it next year is both premature scientifically and unwise from the standpoint of fiscal policy. I am very concerned about this, and it is fair to say that I am in good company.” -Statement by Alan…