Fiction For Now
Fifty years ago today, emissaries from Earth--riding in a command cabin the size of a car, and guided by a computer less powerful than a modern smartphone--landed on our Moon and left Homo sapiens' first footprints on another world. In honor of the Apollo 11 anniversary, I chose this date to launch the print edition of my lunar-based... Continue Reading →
Isn't every day Earth Day? We don't have any days on Mars or the newly discovered exoplanet orbiting dwarf star LHS 1140 (yet). Astronauts had a few days on the moon in the 1960s and 70s, but for most of the seven billion humans in the universe, the only days we have are Earth days.... Continue Reading →
“How can you terraform long-distance?” “Robots and microbe bombs.” A gleam of enthusiasm lit Ash’s face. “It’s really cool. Our scientists engineer microorganisms that can build up the atmosphere and fix nitrogen in the soil—.” “More gene hacking.” Skye sniffed. “Didn’t you learn anything from Spores?” “Yes. That organisms can thrive even in harsh environments... Continue Reading →
...When Ash woke, the Vator’s cable shone across the inky sea, a nanothread umbilicus glittering with electromagnetic energy. The quad landed among a dozen others on the massive anchor platform. “Ugh, I hate being the last one back,” said Thorn, glancing around at the other vehicles. “There’s going to be a line for the de-con pods.” ... Continue Reading →
_del_8_de_octubre_de_2014_07.JPG "Next Sunday’s Matchup: Earth’s Shadow @ Moon")
Next Sunday night, there will be more to watch than just football! Americans who can tear their eyes away from the Broncos/Lions matchup will witness an astronomical show that hasn't taken place in over thirty years: a supermoon eclipse. A supermoon occurs when the moon turns full phase at its perigee--the point of the lunar orbit closest to... Continue Reading →
Only twenty days until the adaptation of The Martian hits theaters! The sci-fi survival tale will undoubtedly fuel interest in the feasibility of real-life trips to the Red Planet. NASA head Charles Bolden anticipates such a mission could occur in the 2030s, although Martian author Andy Weir thinks 2050 is a more reasonable timeline. In either case,... Continue Reading →
