Random thoughts on politics, current events, popular culture, and whatever else interests me.
The liftoff of China’s Chang’e 7 mission to the moon has been delayed into 2027. Ars Technica reports that the Chinese are being vague about the exact reasons for the delay, only suggesting it is due to, adhering to “the principle of proceeding prudently and reliably, and ensuring absolute success.”
Saturday, August 29, 2026
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Thursday, August 27, 2026
Wednesday, August 26, 2026
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Sunday, August 23, 2026
With the Artemis program going full out to establish a base on the moon and with dreams by SpaceX’s Elon Musk to build a city on Mars, the question arises about how these worlds will be governed once humans are living on them. Adriana C. Ocampo Uria, a planetary scientist and self-described space ethics specialist, has taken to Space News to propose one answer.
Saturday, August 22, 2026
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Sunday, August 16, 2026
Redwire, working through its space-based pharmaceutical subsidiary, SpaceMD, has bought the first operational flight of the SpaceX Starfall to continue the research and development of drugs using microgravity to improve their potency and other qualities. If and when the company creates space-manufactured drugs, they will constitute the first physical product created beyond the Earth.
Saturday, August 15, 2026
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Thursday, August 13, 2026
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Sunday, August 09, 2026
“Star City” — the spinoff of the alternate history television series “For All Mankind” — concerns a Soviet-crewed flyby of Venus taking place in the early 1970s. The mission is fraught with Cold War intrigue and Soviet-era paranoia and corruption.
However, many people do not know that NASA seriously considered a similar space mission during the same timeframe.
Saturday, August 08, 2026
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The miracle of the latest test flight of the SpaceX Starship was not the launch, as spectacular as it always is. The true miracle of the Starship’s 13th flight occurred at the very end.
Saturday, August 01, 2026
Friday, July 31, 2026
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Recently, Vice President JD Vance appeared on the Joe Rogan podcast for a wide-ranging interview. One of the subjects that came up was space colonies, which is topical, considering the Artemis program and Elon Musk’s dreams of settling Mars.
Recently, Andy Weir, the author of such bestseller science fiction novels as The Martian and Project Hail Mary, announced that he was working on a new book. He did not reveal much about the subject, but hinted that AI would be a plot element. The revelation counts as potential good news for those who believe that the burgeoning technology of artificial intelligence constitutes, on the balance, a boon for humankind.