Artificial Intelligence and Space Exploration

IBM appears close to cracking functional Artificial Intelligence (AI). They’ve recently created a computer system named “Watson” that uses hundreds of processing algorithms simultaneously to filter, interpret and understand human language – relating questions to knowledge in a systematic way that lets it answer normal, spoken questions with uncanny results. -Truly uncanny. I mean, from […]

Humanity’s outpost in the sky

A short note this morning on humanity in the cosmos. In the above image, an outstanding French photographer managed to capture what otherwise would have whipped by in the blink of an eye. For an instant on May 22nd, the International Space Station (ISS) and the docked Atlantis orbiter (space shuttle) moved between Earth and […]

Suiting up for radiation

So, I’m heading out this week for radiological instrumentation training. And while I’m studying the latest in handheld “duck-and-cover” devices, I thought I’d take a second to talk about radiation protection. Actually, everyone is used to doing it. The dental chair. The strangely-shaped things in your mouth. The lead apron. -Or how about gooping up before […]

Columbia shuttle disaster board supports commercial spaceflight

A short note today on welcome news. While it isn’t necessarily new news at this point, it’s something that didn’t get a lot of play when it came out, and in my view it really should have. So, what is it? It’s a sigh of relief for everyone rooting for the success of commercial spaceflight: […]

Space spirals, UFOs, and modern rockets

Many of us remember the splash made when a mysterious (and somewhat terrifyingly bizarre) spiral was seen in the sky over Norway late last year. Admittedly, at first glance, it looks like a sure sign of the Apocalypse. However, take a closer look. It appears to be dusk. The wild, spiral display is still in […]

Why try to become an astronaut / astrowright?

When I reveal what my professional aspirations really are, I get this question a lot. -More than most would probably imagine. What with the risks and the trials, the personal expense and the unknowns, why seriously work to venture into a frontier where so many of the necessities of life are nonexistent? Sure, people […]

Personal orbital spacecraft within reach

Though few may realize it now, the stage is set for the first time in human history to enable someone or a small venture (with considerable financial backing) to assemble his or her own spacecraft using private, commercially-available, “off-the-shelf” spacecraft and equipment. And I want to fly one. The reality is that all of the current […]

Dealing with space contamination

Planetary Protection, despite how it sounds, does not refer to a Bruce-Willis-style suicide mission to save Earth from an incoming asteroid. However, it is one of those practical space exploration concerns that will only get more important with time. So, what is planetary protection (PP)? Think of it as the discipline of preventing the spread […]

Astrowright Academy and the Classroom of Tomorrow

Well, just a quick note this morning. Today is my first day of class as a graduate student in the University of North Dakota’s School of Aerospace Sciences Department of Space Studies program. So, you could say that my advanced academic push toward becoming an astrowright has begun. -And in true 21st Century form, as I commute […]

Titan eclipses Mars

Titan has eclipsed Mars. Not literally, mind you, but conceptually. With active surficial geology the likes of which are known only to Earth, and considering the recent discovery of possible biochemical signatures of alien life, to me Titan has become the most interesting exploration destination in the solar system. Take the above image, for starters. Whereas […]