Mining Asteroids
You might assume asteroid mining aims to extract resources, returning them to Earth for a ready supply of precious metals. That’s what AstroForge is all about. The Huntington Beach, California-based
Publication: Cosmos
The Internet of (Temporary) Things
The last boundary of data collection is from non-silicon-based systems like clothes, food, the environment or even our own bodies. Welcome to the Internet of Disposable Things (IoDT), where temporary or ultra-cheap sensors are embedded or affixed to any number of inexpensive media that aren’t computer-based. … Continue readingThe Internet of (Temporary) Things
Perfect Motion
More than just letting us stand on hind legs and move around the environment, the book draws on various neuroscientific principles to argue that walking is inextricably linked to several of aspects of the human condition that have made us who we are, like creativity. … Continue readingPerfect Motion
Never Enough
Disarmingly open about her own history of addiction, Never Enough is full of stories about Grisel’s decade or addiction, risky behaviour and wasted years. Tales of her first drink at 13, or feeling nothing at a beloved grandfather’s funeral because she was hopped up on Quaaludes are heart-wrenching. … Continue readingNever Enough
Actually, It Is Rocket Science
Since pre Nazi-era Germany, rocketry and space programs have undergone constant incremental shifts with the odd seismic change, and if SpaceX has anything to do with it, we might be in the midst of one of the biggest with the Raptor. … Continue readingActually, It Is Rocket Science
Jared Diamond Writes About Upheaval, But is ‘Cautiously Optimistic’
I’ve gotten huge amounts of support from academics. There’s a small fringe of academics who dislike things I write and who are personally jealous that someone whose training was in gall-bladder physiology comes and writes about history in Australia. But if you’re going to be an author writing for the public you’ve got to develop a thick skin. … Continue readingJared Diamond Writes About Upheaval, But is ‘Cautiously Optimistic’
Why the Next Generation of Rockets Will Be Powered By Methane
After more than half a century of heavy, dirty and complex fuels taking us to space, there’s been a shift thanks to the new titans of spaceflight. One of the
Continue readingWhy the Next Generation of Rockets Will Be Powered By Methane
When Skylab Came Crashing Down
With public interest in space travel waning and the popularity of the US government plummeting thanks to the quagmire in Vietnam, budget cuts scuppered further moon landings and a Saturn V was freed up. NASA reworked von Braun’s plans for the hardware available, and Skylab was born. … Continue readingWhen Skylab Came Crashing Down
Das Uncrewed Boot
So far the attention– and controversy over the dehumanisation of war – has been on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) rather than seagoing craft, but with the Orca we’re entering the age of the XLUUV, the Extra-Large Unmanned Underwater Vehicle. … Continue readingDas Uncrewed Boot
The Time Machine
James Webb will make Hubble look like the first prototype from Galileo’s workshop by comparison. … Continue readingThe Time Machine