Random thoughts on politics, current events, popular culture, and whatever else interests me.
Thanks to the Artemis program, the United States and international and commercial partners will return astronauts to the moon in a few years. But, going beyond brief sorties to the lunar surface, what are the plans for a permanent base or settlement?
Saturday, May 18, 2024
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On the face of it, it looks like America and its international and commercial allies should get back to the moon years before China, if everything turns out right, avoiding the embarrassment of being beaten in Moon Race 2.0.
Saturday, May 11, 2024
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The Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3), consisting of a CubeSat the size of a microwave oven and a solar sail, took off on board a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from Launch Complex I on the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. After reaching 600 miles above the Earth, the ACS3 deployed its sail.
Saturday, May 04, 2024
Not all of China’s space efforts are focused on science or on exploration. There is a serious race to the Moon in a quest for mineral resources and China is sending us a message with this mission. Chang’e 6 will land in the resource-rich South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin. Specifically, China is targeting a crater called “Apollo” which is named in honor of America’s great lunar achievement. Apollo’s interior and adjacent craters are named for Apollo astronauts and memorialize deceased NASA employees including the lost crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia. Chang’e 6 will literally raise a communist Chinese flag there. The Chinese are extremely careful with protocol, any small slight is intentional.
Friday, May 03, 2024
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Tuesday, April 30, 2024
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Sunday, April 28, 2024
With NASA having selected two Japanese astronauts to fly on Artemis missions to the moon, speculation abounds about which other country will get a ticket to walk on the lunar surface. Recent world events and the technological acumens of countries in the region suggest the next non-American moonwalkers should be from the Middle East.
The Genius of Israel: The Surprising Resilience of a Divided Nation in a Turbulent World #CommissionEarned
Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle #CommissionEarned
Saturday, April 27, 2024
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According to the White House, in exchange for Japan providing a pressurized vehicle that will greatly expand astronauts’ ability to explore the lunar surface, NASA will include two Japanese astronauts in future Artemis missions to the moon. They will be the first non-Americans to walk on the moon should their Artemis mission happen before a planned Chinese flight.
Imagine how great minds think alike: NASA can save the Mars Sample Return mission by going commercial
Saturday, April 20, 2024
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If you turn the other cheek, you get it in the neck with Iran: John Kennedy
More wit and wisdom from the irreprisble Sen. John Kennedy. No not that one, the other one.
Sunday, April 14, 2024
Recently, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk addressed employees at the Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas and shared his thoughts about the future of the Starship launch vehicle, in which hopes of returning to the moon and going on to Mars are invested.
Saturday, April 13, 2024
Friday, April 12, 2024
America in the Age of O.J. Simpson
If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer by OJ Simpson
#CommissionEarned