“If we can put a man on the moon, why can’t we put a man on the moon?” goes the old joke. Fact is, we probably can put someone on the moon but without the threat of Russia getting there first (as was the case in the 1960s), the motivation just isn’t there anymore. Today, […]
Space travel
Posted inLife + Outdoors
From Mars Believer to Skeptic, Part 2
Continuing from last week, here’s more on why I think talk of exploring and colonizing Mars is a boondoggle at this stage. Water is going to be a Big Deal. Actually, obtaining liquid water on Mars will be a snap compared to the moon, where it’s been compared to extracting moisture from concrete. But it’s still […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Is the Great Wall Visible from Space?
“… The Chinese Wall, which makes a considerable figure on the terrestrial globe, and may be discerned at the moon.” Such was the opinion of Rev. William Stukeley (1687-1785), who was as wrong about seeing the Great Wall of China from the moon as he was about Druids building Stonehenge. No matter; it’s a good […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Lunar Boondoggle?
We are in the middle of another space race, according to Vice President Mike Pence, “just as we were in the 1960s.” No, not with those Sputnik-launching Ruskies this time. Today’s race is with the Chinese. In his speech to the National Space Council earlier this year, Pence cited, as evidence of China’s lunar ambitions, […]