Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Congress to the Rescue??

I'll be darned. Whod've thunk it.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/IT-Infrastructure/NASA-Space-Flight-Funding-Plan-Embroils-Congress-Obama-Administration-503112/

Boy, I hope this gains ground. It's the glimmer of hope I haven't seen in a long time.


Bipartisan effort to Boldly Go!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Hydrogen Highway

Now this is a project our stimulus dollars should fund.

http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/06/15/can-the-hydrogen-highway-exist/

One of the things keeping us from making a move to Hydrogen fueled vehicles is the lack of an infrastructure. So fund it. Put the stations in, and encourage the automakers t make cars that use it.

It'd be little different than the move from leaded gas to regular. Separate tanks, separate pumps, etc were needed for that back in the 70's. Start now, and the next generation of vehicles will be hydrogen powered.

Fund the infrastructure to put in the stations, or retrofit existing ones to carry hydrogen. Give automakers breaks, or funding to encourage partnerships areound development of hydrogen powered engines. Take bold steps.

Boldly Go!

Tons of water on the moon!

Scientists believe there is literally tons of water under the surface of the moon.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/06/15/moon-vast-amount-water/

What does this mean? It means we're wasting an incredible opportunity.

Recall that part of the original plan for Mars was setting up a staging area on the moon, and embarking on the trip to Mars from there.

One of the key resources we need is water, as it can be converted to drinking water, and broken down into it's base elements for both fuel and breathable air.

It's not only already on the moon, but plentiful. It's almost as though it was left there for us, as a key to our destiny amongst the stars, just waiting until we were ready to use it.

We are ready. The time is now. Go to the moon, and harness this water. Drill baby Drill! That water will take us to Mars and beyond.

Boldly Go!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Go Soyuz Go!

http://www.foxnews.com/slideshow/scitech/2010/06/14/russia-rocket-soyuz-prep/?test=faces#slide=1

Who would have thought it would come to this. Actually getting excited over a Russian spaceflight. As i started looking at this I caught myself thinking, wow, that looks pretty darned cool. Then the reality of what I was looking at set in.

Ronald Reagan is rolling over in his grave.

With 2 shuttle launches left is this what we've come to? We're relying on the Russkies to help us Boldly Go?

Sure we made nice with them after the cold war, but lately they've taken sides against us on a few little things. Terrorism, nuclear proliferation, Iran. You know, little things.

What in the world are the politicians thinking. We should have our own cool spacecraft. What a way to demoralize a nation. 'Yes we can' indeed.

Boy, do we ever need to Boldly Go!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Moon Dust and Alan Bean

Caught Alan Bean on the 6/10/10 episode of The Colbert Report. It was great to see him, and see the wonderful Apollo themed artwork he has created.

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/312115/june-10-2010/alan-bean

He has actually found a way to incorporate moon dust into his paintings by taking his American flag and mission patches, and incorporating tiny bits of them into his paint.

What I would give to own one of those pieces. I own no real 'art'. The peices in my home are mostly bought at stores like Target. But something like that, created by one of the few pioneers who set foot on the moon, with pieces of the moon in it. How wonderfully inspiring.

He reminded us as well, of the small group of men who actually made that amazing trip from the earth to the moon. They are all in their late 70's or older, and will be lost to us soon, as the inevitable happens to each.

What wonderful men they are. Those who had the privilege to live in a time when our nation looked to the stars. So fortunate we are to hear the stories they share.

These amazing men, who were able to Boldly Go.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Hints of life on a Saturn Moon!

This is big news. http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19005-hints-of-life-found-on-saturn-moon.html

Possible life on Titan. We should be able go see this firsthand by now. Instead, we're stuck hitching rides in low Earth Orbit, relying on robots and probes to do what Humans should be doing.

We are explorers by nature, and have always looked toward the unknown. Space is our next frontier. It is long past time we got serious about our destiny.

Time to Boldly Go!