playing golf on the moon (with David Bowie)

Open source software for planning the lunar mission

Yet again, it looks like others are doing our homework for us:

"If an outhouse on the Moon ran out of toilet paper, an intrepid settler might have to waddle about 240,000 miles to get a fresh roll back on Earth.

To make sure that doesn't happen, scientists have developed a software tool that tracks and ensures a reliable stream of necessities from the Earth to the Moon.

Released this month, the computer model, called SpaceNet 1.3, will be critical, say the scientists, for establishing a human presence on the Moon by 2020, as laid out in the space vision by President George W. Bush in 2004."

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070323_lunar_traffic.html

Even better news is that this software looks like it's open source: http://spacelogistics.mit.edu/software_tour.htm

Golf-Ball Sized Hail Damages Shuttle

"Maybe something a little prescient about this?" writes Rob Bevan when sending me this:

"The Shuttles March launch has been delayed to late April after golf-ball sized hail caused 7000 pits and divots in the foam that shields the fuel tank. NASA say it's the worst damage of its kind that they have ever seen, but hail is not a new problem for the agency. In 1982, a hailstorm damaged the sensitive heat shield tiles on the Columbia's wings. The damaged tiles then absorbed about 540 kilograms of rain. Once in space, the orbiter faced the Sun to allow the tiles to dry out."

http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/28/1327211&from=rss

Astronaut love triangle

And this is why David and I are going to have to be VERY careful about taking anyone else with us on our golf trip. Traditionally, it takes three to go to the moon, but crushes and fallings-out will inevitably happen:

A US astronaut has been charged with trying to kidnap a woman she thought was a rival for the affection of a space shuttle pilot. Navy Capt Lisa Nowak, 43, who flew to the international space station last July, was charged with attempted kidnapping, battery and other crimes. She drove from Texas to Florida to confront Colleen Shipman, disguised in a wig and trench coat.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6333975.stm

Top 10 movie spaceships

Yet more inspiration for our own rocket designs here: http://filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/95a45e26914c25ff862562bb006a85f2/6e86919f31c820c50825722a00689c42?OpenDocument

they're called pumpkin suits...

One of the great joys of getting an Arts Council grant for the PlayTime event - and at a stroke turning golf on the moon with David Bowie into a *serious* project rather than a rambling blog, oh yes - was that I could justify the purchase of a NASA-approved space suit. I look good in it, no?

Now I learn that the official colour of this outfit is pumpkin-orange:

"For all seven crewmembers - and especially the five first-time fliers - the real thrill came on Thursday when, dressed in pumpkin-orange spacesuits, they scrambled into their seats aboard the shuttle for the final few hours of a practice launch countdown.

"It's much more immediate when you come here and see the vehicle stacked on the launch pad as it is now," said Discovery astronaut Nicholas Patrick, a North Yorkshire-born, University of Cambridge-educated pilot and mechanical engineer who joined Nasa's astronaut corps in 1998. "It really looks like we're about to take off in it," he said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6159434.stm

 

Here come the Swedes. (He's 49)

In the thick of a complicated series of tasks to rewire the International Space Station - hopefully without serious interruption to the resident crew aboard - will be Sweden's first astronaut, Christer Fuglesang.

He is a 49-year-old particle physicist who joined the European Space Agency (Esa) astronaut corps 14 years ago. "I can put this exact date [in my mind] when I decided to at least try to become an astronaut," Fuglesang said. "Esa were announcing that they were looking for astronauts. "It was kind of like a classified ad in the newspaper. A friend of mine found it and he told me, 'Hey, I've found a new job for you'. "And I thought he was joking - I didn't really have a clear picture of becoming an astronaut, but I wanted to go to space if I could. So I made a pretty quick decision, 'Ja, of course I'm going to apply'."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6138282.stm

Tip from Gavin S about the timing of our golf trip

Some thing to think about when planning your trip! http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/07/nasa_computer/

X-Prize Cup

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6087088.stm

Is it an air show or a circus? A commercial trade fair or simple entertainment?

The X-Prize Cup held on a desert airfield at Las Cruces in New Mexico last weekend was all of these. Now in its second year, it is the premier event for space enthusiasts, attracting tens of thousands of visitors of all ages and a chance for very rich boys to show off some very big toys.

"I have a belief that we have to make space a personal experience," says Peter Diamandis, founder and chairman of the X-Prize Foundation. "For too long it's just been something you've seen on TV. You may have heard about someone who knows an astronaut. Kids have to believe that it is something they can do, something they can aspire to and dream about, just as we did when we were kids."

Astronaut etiquette

Astronauts gave etiquette lessons and practical advice to potential space tourists attending this week's International Symposium for Personal Spaceflight in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Some of the the tips are obvious, like clean up the toilet after using it, don't be a window hog, and avoid looking directly at the sun. (Apparently, one space tourist burned his retina by staring into the sun through a magnifying camera lens).

From New Scientist: "The space veterans also offered practical advice to save time and frustration in orbit. They suggested women with long hair might cut it if they are planning to be in space for more than a couple of days. On shuttle flights, some women with lengthy manes spend about one hour every three days carefully shampooing their hair, then dabbing it dry. This is time that could be spent looking out the window at Earth.     They also said duct tape proves useful for capturing dental floss or fingernail clippings that might otherwise float around the cabin and become a nuisance to other passengers."

http://www.boingboing.net/2006/10/18/astro_etiquette.html

Experience 3g force on the Booster - 31st Oct/1st Nov

Ever wished you were an astronaut? Get in training on the fearsome 
Booster that has thrilling forces of up to 3G. A space-flight surgeon 
and an astronautical engineer aid the experience of excitement in the 
last Thrill Laboratory.

http://www.danacentre.org.uk/events/2006/10/31/173