Messenger

The American Messenger space probe Messenger has flown past Mercury.

Since I'm rereading a bit of E E "Doc" Smith at the moment I'll fail to be impressed unless it encounters a load of six-legged aliens hurling around super death rays in a volley of superlatives.

Space Couture

Orbital Outfitters has gone to Hollywood special effects man Chris Gilman to help design suits for tomorrow's space tourists.

They're dashing, I'll grant you, but I still prefer to go with a classic.

Christo, Call Your Service

How to fight the scourge of Earth-impacting asteroids? Wrap them in Bacofoil.

Then pop them in a medium oven for two hours and serve with butter, sour cream, chives, and crumbly bacon.

Mullahs in Space!

Iran announces that it intends to put a man in orbit within ten years.

First the Chinese and now this. What is it about repressive tyrannies that makes them want to spend incredible amounts of money with no hope of return for the honour of retreading ground covered by the superpowers half a century ago?

Next up: Zimbabwe pledges to discover the New World.

Starship Stumbles

Interstellar spaceflight in our lifetime? In anybody's?

The maths, as usual, is the killjoy.

Red Planet Rumours

There are rumours that a White House briefing indicates that a major announcement is going to be made about life on mars.

I don't see what more needs to be said. While the original BBC series was pretty good, it's pretty obvious that the American version on ABC will be a dry disappointment.

A Bit Far From the Shops

The good news is that prime beachfront property on a secluded lake is available at a knockdown price.

The bad news is that the lake is liquid ethane and it's on Titan. That's not a problem, is it?

Space Pee

Nasa is asking its employees for urine samples. Eight gallons of them.

The reason for this is that the Orion... EIGHT GALLONS?!?

Better One, Or Two

Nasa engineers working in their spare time have come up with an alternative to the new manned rocket system that is safer, more reliable, and cheaper by $35 billion.

Naturally, Nasa is seriously considering this proposal and... Oh, who am I kidding?

Microsats

Nova 2

Nova 2: another British bid in Space Tourism race with a ticket price of £98,000.

If Britain is going to build space rockets I'd prefer something more along the lines of Prof. Quatermass' ideas, but you can't have everything.

Garden Mars

I used to be less than convinced about the necessity for colonising Mars, but the latest results of the NASA Phoenix probe has me looking forward to the day when we can expect to see our skies dark with the annual return of the asparagus fleet from the red planet.

Coming Attractions

From orbital fuel depots to electric solar sails; what's coming next in space technology.

Nuclear drive still sitting on the same back burner as that cancer cure.

Solar Power Outage

The Sun is supposed to be entering a new phase of activity, but is two years late. According to Saku Tsuneta with the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan,

It continues to be dead,. It's a small concern, a very small concern.

Um... I've got some jumper cables, if that's any help.

Galaxy Map

For the really, really lost.

Climate Change on Jupiter

We didn't listen!

Crewedly Crews

Astrium have unveiled their idea for a "crewed" spacecraft based on the Jules Verne class cargo carrier.

We have a similar type of craft in the Anglophone world, only we follow proper grammar and call them "manned".

Update: I particularly like the way they refer to "non-human items".

Translation: Cargo.

Space Boomerang

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station demonstrate that a boomerang can fly in zero gravity.

Good to see Nasa isn't wasting its budget on frivolities.

You Aren't Here

The Japanese space agency has released high-definition lunar maps based on their recent Selene reconnaissance mission.

Moonbase 3 is in the sort of northy bit.

Vanguard: World's Oldest Spacecraft

Vanguard marks a half-century in orbit.

Still the cutest little space-grapefruit.

XCOR Aerospace

A new contender in the spaceplane race promises to fly within two years.

Cool.

Death Star

Astronomers at the University of Sydney have discovered that,

A spectacular, rotating binary star system is a ticking time bomb, ready to throw out a searing beam of high-energy gamma rays – and Earth may be right in the line of fire.

Somehow it makes rototilling the garden a bit pointless.

One-Way to Mars

Mr. Jim McLane, a former NASA engineer, claims that the most cost-effective way of carrying out a manned Mars mission is to send one man on a one-way trip.

That's "one way" as in "not planning on bringing him back," not "no guarantee of bringing him back." According to Mr. Lane,

When we eliminate the need to launch off Mars, we remove the mission’s most daunting obstacle.

Some aeroplane engineers had the same idea about landing gear, but that never proved very popular except with certain circles in the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Mr. McLane says that this approach is in keeping with the spirit of Charles Lindbergh or Captain Scott, who both took tremendous risks, but he overlooks the fact that Lindbergh was attempting to reach Paris, which had a good return liner service and was inhabited, albeit by Frenchmen, and Captain Scott and his men had no intention of taking up permanent residence at the South Pole. Even immigrants to the New World who had no plans to return home went with the tacit understanding that two-way trade was the point of the entire enterprise, not a dumping into a prison without hope of reprieve.

Counter proposals that just shooting the volunteer in the head is even more cost effective were not received gracefully.

Shado of a Doubt

The United States announced that one of its missiles successfully destroyed a "rogue spy satellite" in the upper atmosphere.

I don't know, but I've seen this sort of thing before. Was Commander Straker anywhere in the vicinity?

Update:

Don't Leave Earth Without It

And now for the really paranoid, we present dog tags engraved with vital information that will allow alien Good Samaratins to return you to Earth should you be abducted by flying saucers or fall through some inconvenient rift in the space-time continuum.

We recommend that you also keep several billion dollars in your shoe to cover coach fare.

Space Cabbage

NASA is adding kimchi to the International Space Station's menu.

They've been wanting to test that emergency escape plan for years.

Flying High

Japanese scientists have developed a paper airplane that will fly in space.

Cure for cancer somewhere on the list.

Mission to Mars

Mona's Lab looks at the 1963 prediction of the Mars Mission that never was.

Worse luck.

1957 All Over Again

According to the Guardian, Iran's "peaceful" space programme is keeping pace with its "peaceful" nuclear programme. No doubt to be followed by a "peaceful" targeting programme and "peaceful" MIRV programme.

It's amazing how the Guardian's correspondent could spill so much ink on Tehran's ambitions to put a satellite into orbit without noting that the difference between an orbital booster and an ICBM is simply a matter of intent.

SpaceShipTwo

Sir Richard Branson unveils SpaceShipTwo,

Niceshipbutitsnamecouldusesomeproperspacing.

When Worlds Collide

A giant cloud of hydrogen gas is about to collide with our galaxy.

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In 40 million years.

Never mind. Carry on.

Mars Reprieve

NASA has stated that the asteroid converging on Mars will not strike the red planet on 30 January.

In other news, Mars has postponed the Earth invasion until a more suitable time.

Space Striptease

I remember seeing this clip of James Burke doing a space striptease when it was first broadcast on the BBC... way too long ago.

Call me biased, but I somehow prefer this one.

Cats in Space

Finally, the space programme is paying off.

Shuttlski

Buran: The "other" space shuttle.

Australia in Space

"Academics" in Queensland are up in arms about the exploration of space for fear that we might turn the Moon and Mars into extraterrestrial versions of Australia.

Taking barren, lifeless balls of dust and converting them into prosperous, free, democratic friendly, hard-working Anglophone nations that swear fealty to Her Britannic Majesty and boast beautiful beaches, loads of beef and lamb, superb seafood, barbecues, scuba diving, sailing, horseback riding, decent beer and Vegemite? A staunch ally through a century of war and conflict? The sort of place that my wife keeps asking me if we should emigrate to?

When do we start?

Seeking

Paul Allen's latest venture gets off the ground as the first bits of the Allen Telescope Array (ATA) comes online as part of a $50 million search for intelligent life elsewhere in the universe.

The builders hope that they will receive the first signals by 2025, though loyal readers of Ephemeral Isle will recall that such a message has already been received and it isn't exactly what Carl Sagan had in mind.

Space Guns

The Russians have been packing iron in their spaceships since 1982.

Unfortunately, lasers are not involved.

Sputnik at Fifty

Fifty years ago the Soviet Union ushered in the Space Age with the launch of Sputnik.

A pity it had to also be a certified brown-trouser moment for free men everywhere.

The Intruder

I don't think NASA realises half the trouble they cause mucking about with space probes in other people's backyards.

Reading the Obvious

BBC headline:

Great 'cosmic nothingness' found

They must have seen this year's Booker Prize list.

Is That a Meteorite In Your Pocket Or...

Interfax reports that thieves have stolen a three-ton meteorite from the yard of the Tunguska Space Event foundation.

In response, foundation administrators have initiated mandatory pat-down searches of all visitors.

Space Tailoring

MIT has an press release on its programme to produce an updated version of the Space Activity Suit.

Technically, it looks like a winner, but it may meet with some resistance from traditionalists and astronauts with chubby thighs.