Planetes #01 (Tokyopop, 2003). Planetes #02 (Tokyopop, 2003). Planetes #03 (Tokyopop, 2004). Planetes #04a (Tokyopop, 2004). Planetes #04b (Tokyopop, 2004), Makoto Yukimura.

Combined review can now be found here.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 10:54 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Here's an advance look at an upcoming set from Spacecraft Films. Their Space Shuttle: First Flights set will include a look at early proposals including the USAF's Dynasoar vehicle.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 07:43 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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NASA Watch points us towards a very tiny taste of this production. It is inspired by the so-called Collier Space Program of the 1950's.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 10:29 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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After way too long a time, Elon Musk updates the SpaceX site with a writeup on progress, some nifty pictures and even embedded movies. Hey, look! They're building a rocket!

Is the Falcon IX going to beat the Ares I into space?

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 09:59 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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One of our martian probes (the rover that won't quit) Spirit has found a patch of nearly pure silica on Mars. This could be a sign that that either a hot-spring environment or an environment called a fumarole, in which acidic steam rises through cracks.

Why is this important? Well, on Earth (the main source for our database) such environments teem with microbial life. Could we have found a prime target for the planned Mars Science Laboratory or a later mission?

Sounds like a big deal to me. NASA Watch wonders why NASA hasn't given this more attention. I wonder the same thing, the only notice I found was in a non-US media outlet.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 10:59 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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An article implies that Robert A. Heinlein's influence is declining. The evidence? That the literati don't take him seriously anymore. Is being compared to Heinlein a help or hindrance to a new science fiction writer? One such writer speaks up (and to be honest, the main reason I picked up John Scalzi's books was because of the comparison to Heinlein!)

Looks like it is time to trot out this 1980 essay by Spider Robinson again! more...

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 04:01 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Expedition: Being An Account in Words and Artwork of the 2358 A.D. Voyage to Darwin IV; Wayne Barlowe (Workman Publishing, 1990, ISBN 0-89480-629-7, cover by Wayne Barlowe).

The review is now found here.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 11:51 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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