If you were as dorky as I was growing up, then you probably encountered at least one of those Ladybird ‘Outer Space’ books that predicted how we’d all be driving flying cars and using time-travelling shoes by now, pouring over the lush artwork and dreaming of your visits to the space hotel.
Look at this! Amazing isn’t it? That ruddy great thing is hovering a mile above your head right now, allowing space-science types to fiddle with doohickeys and tinker with whatjamacallits in between updating their twitter accounts and looking down your chimney at you in the bath. This gorgeous image of the international space station was even enough to awe astronauts, according to astronaut Stephen Robinson:
‘To look up and see what humankind could really accomplish in space was just almost impossible to believe. It seemed like science fiction,’.
Anyway, there’s a ton more awesome imagery here, so check it out and help support your local interstellar journeyman!
Aliens! If Hollywood is to be believed, the US Airforce is the only hope we’ll have against a full-on extra-terrestrial invasion, although in recent years the evidence (well..Independence Day…) shows that they’d be ably backed up by Her Majesty’s forces. Well, not any more baby.
Today saw the MoD shut down that most vital area of national defence-UFO investigations! According to a spokesman for the RAF:
“There is no defence benefit in such investigation and it would be an inappropriate use of defence resources.”
After a half-decade in which bug-eyed space beasts have resolutely refused to appear in the skies over London, the ministry will instead focus its budget on more oil rich/important issues like blowing up most of the middle east, presumable handing over space defence to the Green Lantern Corps.
Here in Britain, politics often consists of laclustre, grey little politicos making speeches full of promises they’ll never keep. Luckily the U.S voting machine likes to add a little more glamour to proceedings, as evidenced by this actual, real campaign video currently trying to nab your vote in Birmingham (way down in Alabam). Watch in awe and tell us you wouldn’t vote immortal space ninja!
We’ve alreadsy noted the various nutjobbery going on at the world’s largest Space Agency this week, but for those of you with an interest in Lunar exploration, not to mention watching Ragnarok unfold via YouTube, be sure to check out NASA’s homepage as the latest moon mission unfolds this summer.
The LCROSS sattelite is the first US mission into Lunar orbit in a decade, and, if the planned crash landing/hi-ex incident goes awry, it could well be it’s last, and they will kindly be livestreaming the entire event here.
Duck and cover people. Duck and cover.
