Book Review: Me and The Biospheres – A Memoir by the Inventor of Biosphere 2

Me and The Biospheres: A Memoir by the Inventor of Biosphere 2 by John Allen; Synergetic Press, Santa Fe, New Mexico; (paperback) $39.95; 2009. The term “biosphere” was coined by geologist Eduard Seuss in 1875, which he defined as the place on Earth’s surface where...

Venus Orbiter, Solar Sail: Successful Launch

Japan’s H-IIA Launch Vehicle has successfully lofted the Venus Climate Orbiter, a solar sail experiment and several small mini-payloads. The booster lifted off on May 21 from the Tanegashima Space Center. AKATSUKI, the Venus Climate Orbiter mission (PLANET-C), is on...

Space Station Experiment: Breaking the Data Logjam

The International Space Station (ISS) is being used as a test-bed platform to help break the data logjam from Earth-orbiting satellites. NASA’s “Materials on the International Space Station Experiment” (MISSE) program, under the direction of the Naval Research...

Japan Ready to Launch Venus Orbiter, Solar Sail

Japan is ready to launch its Venus Climate Orbiter “Akatsuki” as well as a small solar power sail demonstrator, the IKAROS. The two payloads will be lofted via Japan’s H-2A booster from the Tanegashima Space Center. Liftoff is slated for Monday, May 17 at 5:45 pm east...

Drilling on Mars: Space Solution to Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill?

Could drilling on the red planet offer some insight into dealing with that horrific, on-going saga of an oil spill off the Louisiana coast? A host of solutions are being reviewed to cut off spewing oil from 5,000 feet below sea-level. U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu...