The finalists have been announced for the 2017 Hugo Awards, managed by the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS). There are good selections in the group, and the finalist lists are always a good place to find recent works that others … Continue reading
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There are countless tales that involve space colony missions moving at sub-light speed, covering the vast distance between stars over the course of hundreds, or even thousands, of years. There are two main options for these extraordinarily long voyages–sleeper ships … Continue reading
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On the topic if extinction level events, the one that comes most often to mind is the risk of an asteroid or comet hitting Earth. There is plenty of evidence that collisions occur. The Moon’s surface is full of impact … Continue reading
“By understanding the information processes underlying life, we are starting to learn to reprogram our biology to achieve the virtual elimination of disease, dramatic expansion of human potential, and radical life extension.” – Ray Kurzweil, The Singularity Is Near With … Continue reading
A toroid is a figure shaped like a torus. Common examples abound, such as rings, hoops and doughnuts. It’s an attractive shape for large space vessels, and it appears in numerous science-fiction settings as well as on the drawing boards … Continue reading
Taking a closer look at large cylindrical vessels, several types and examples appear in space agency research projects as well as books, movies, TV and video games. (For the introductory overview of this topic, see Large Space Vessels.) The 1970s … Continue reading
There is a plethora of potential events outside human control that can lead to mass extinction on Earth. It’s happened before. Fortunately, such events are few and far between. Nevertheless, it is worth paying attention to the potential for at … Continue reading
The two most basic design concepts for long-term, high-population space vessels (either orbiting space colonies or ships designed for a long-duration traverse) are the cylindrical model and the toroidal model. NASA and other space agencies have studied these design concepts … Continue reading
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The future of space exploration seems brighter now than it has for some time. This isn’t to say that it hasn’t always been bright. It has. Granted, manned missions have not gone far since Apollo 17. Many of us envisioned, … Continue reading
Just in time, the Rosetta mission’s Philae lander has been found by Rosetta’s high-resolution camera wedged in a dark crack on the comet. Philae found. Credit: Main image and lander inset: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA; context: ESA/Rosetta/ NavCam – … Continue reading
ANOTHER WRONG WORLD And Other Off Beat Tales at AMAZON $2.99
J. C. Conway 