Today is a day for short updates, rather than deep essays. Update number 1: if you're interested in going to Mars, check out this podcast from Popular Mechanics in which I discuss the challenges astronauts would face living and working on Mars. The magazine will be running a series of articles on the future space travel, including one by me on the Red Planet. (NB: contrary to how PM introduces me, I am not officially "New York Times astrobiology reporter." The Times just lets me write about life elsewhere when a cool story arises.)
- Log in to post comments
More like this
By Dr. Adrian Brown
Planetary physicist at the Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life in the Universe, SETI Institute, and Gail Jacobs
When most people look at photos of the Martian landscape, they see the kind of dry topography that, while attractive, shows only that at first glance Mars…
By Dr. Richard Quinn; Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life in the Universe, SETI Institute, and Gail Jacobs
Is the surface of Mars really sterile, or could there be still-undiscovered traces of life littering this hostile landscape? Chemist Richard Quinn focuses on understanding the reactive…
By Dr. Rosalba Bonaccorsi
Environmental Scientist at the Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life in the Universe, SETI Institute, and Gail Jacobs
Rosalba, what first sparked your interest in science?
I've always had big dreams -- even as a young girl. As soon as I started to walk, I took an…
In this post: the large versions of the Life Science and Physical Science channel photos, comments from readers, and the best posts of the week!
Life Science. Baby birds awaiting a meal. From Flickr, by SuperFantastic
Physical Science. Chemoluminescent luminol. From Flickr, by everyone's idle…
For whatever little it might be worth, I saw the new sci-fi movie "Sunshine" last Friday, and while it contains more than enough stuff and nonsense, some of the scenes on the spaceship were actually very interesting. I would recommend it to persons interested in space travel--especially the psychology of space travel. How they got their gravity, I don't know, and the third act is painfully out of place, but the notion of what might happen to a crew of eight over a long journey is explored decently.
I am pretty skeptical about the journey to Mars. It would take astronauts 6 months to get there then remain on the red planet for one year then return to Earth. What's the odd of returning home safe? The excursion can also be exciting. I look forward reading the articles.