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.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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...

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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.

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NASA's PlanetQuest website allows you to keep track of the discovery of exoplanets. Need a new setting for that epic space opera you are writing during November's novel in one month project?

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George Tarsoudis is a amateur astronomer who specializes in photographing our Moon and the other bodies in our Solar System. Some very good stuff here!

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Dark Roasted Blend takes a look at the Soviet version of the shuttle. They have a very nice selection of pictures, but don't show the ultimate fate of some of the test vehicles: stranded in a foreign land or converted into a theme park attraction. more...

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Via Dark Roasted Blend, a great collection of space art from Russian, America and more!

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Given the Moon's lower gravity, future missions will have to be careful that their own rocket plumes don't cause trouble for bases, supplies or scientific instruments.

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In the evening sky, Mars is getting quite bright. It'll never get "as big as the Moon" as that internet tall tale that circulates now and again claims, but now is the time for some good views.

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What would be a good method for building a base on the Moon or Mars? Most concepts involve rigid structures. However, as Bigelow Aerospace's Genesis I has proved (using technology originally developed by NASA), inflatables might be the answer. Here's a concept for such a lunar base, soon to undergo testing in some harsh Earth environments.

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Probably the only thing about HDTV that has gotten me interested in the technology: stunning images of our Moon and planet taken by Japan's Kaguya orbiter!

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Klyde Morris reveals the real reason behind the long life of the rovers on Mars.

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Take a look at today's Astronomy Picture of the Day. And to think that dark skies like this once were seen everywhere. No wonder people have lost their sense of wonder (pun intended).

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I haven't seen an official note yet, but Rand Simberg has posted that Robert Bussard has passed away. Wikipedia confirms this. He threw off ideas the way some folks shed skin. Physics will be that much the poorer for his death.

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I open up today's The New York Times and find a big article on adding a home observatory to your house. Geekdom spreads!

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From the description this does not actually appear to be about October-ish subject matter such as ghosts, but the title certainly caught my eye. Another addition for Mount Toberead!

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Opportunity has dipped its toes into Victoria Crater, stopping at a band of bright bedrock partway down the slope of the crater. The rover will bring its suite of instruments to bear as soon as mission managers are sure that safety checks (needed because of the 25 degree tilt of the rover) are working.

"This will be the first of several stops within this band of rock," said Steve Squyres of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., principal investigator for the science payloads on Opportunity and its twin rover, Spirit. "By sampling it at several different levels in the crater, we're hoping to figure out the processes that led to its formation and its very distinctive appearance." more...

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