Arthur C. Clarke

Artist’s depiction of OSAM-1 docking with a satellite.Image: NASAAn ambitious NASA project designed to test satellite refueling in space, known as OSAM-1, has been discontinued after significant technical, cost, and scheduling difficulties. The cancellation comes in the wake of an October 2023 report from NASA’s Office of Inspector General that cited “poor performance” by Maxar, the primary contractor for the project. - George Dvorsky Read More Artist’s depiction of OSAM-1 docking with a satellite.Image: NASAAn…

Jupiter’s icy moon Europa produces plenty of oxygen every day, according to new findings based on data from NASA’s Juno spacecraft. The moon has long been of interest to astrobiologists because of the possibility that life could exist in its subsurface ocean. - Isaac Schultz Read MoreRead more... Jupiter’s icy moon Europa produces plenty of oxygen every day, according to new findings based on data from NASA’s Juno spacecraft. The moon has long been of interest to astrobiologists because of the possibility that life…

We’re rapidly approaching the quarter mark of the 21st century, but instead of being at the brink of a radical transformative stage, such as the futuristic vision akin to Arthur C. Clarke’s Star Child from 2001: A Space Odyssey, we’re still throwing proverbial bones into the sky. China's Plan to Land Astronauts on the MoonSuch is the feeling I get in the wake of three recent Moon missions, in which two spacecraft, Japan’s SLIM and Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus, survived despite falling awkwardly onto the lunar surface,…

Image: HeadpressOk, this isn’t a sci-fi or fantasy book, but it’s definitely in the realms of horror. In the hands of film scholar and director Kier-La Janisse—who made Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched, the definitive documentary on folk horror—it’s guaranteed to be a fascinating adaptation. Severin Films announced the project earlier this week in a press release, and described the book as follows: “Documenting the intersection of ethnographic documentary, the dystopic future visions of JG Ballard, and the 1970s snuff…

British actress Margaret Tyzack on the set of 2001: A Space OdysseyPhoto: Sunset Boulevard/Corbis (Getty Images)In 2024, it feels as if our society’s technology is propelling forward in an unknown trajectory. Just this week, a person had a computer chip installed in their brain.Commentators and reporters annually try to predict where technology will go, but many fail to get it right year after year. Who gets it right? More often than not, the world resembles the pop culture of the past’s vision for the future. Looking to…

When NASA attempted to return to the Moon for the first time in 50 years on January 8, more was at risk than just $108 million worth of development and equipment. The agency earned the ire of the Native American Navajo people, who made a bid to stop the launch because of an unusual inclusion in the payload.China's Plan to Land Astronauts on the MoonThe Peregrine lander (which completed its controlled re-entry into the atmosphere late last week) was carrying human ashes, including those of famed science fiction author…

Astrobotic, the team behind the Peregrine spacecraft, is urgently working to extract any possible value from its failing mission. This comes after a catastrophic propellant leak occurred just after yesterday’s launch, ending the spacecraft’s attempt to land on the Moon.China's Plan to Land Astronauts on the MoonThe 2,829-pound (1,283-kilogram) Peregrine lander reached space early yesterday, after the picturesque inaugural launch of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket. Following orbital insertion, Astrobotic,…

An upcoming launch will usher in a new era of commercial payloads being dropped off to deep space destinations like the Moon. As we gain greater access to space, things are going to start getting weird.China's Plan to Land Astronauts on the MoonOn Monday, Astrobotic’s long-awaited Peregrine lunar lander will blast off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying government and commercial payloads to the Moon. The lander is packed with a host of scientific instruments from NASA, a swarm of tiny robots from Mexico, and even a…

Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander is slated to blast off on Monday, January 8, carrying an assortment of goodies, including cutting-edge scientific rovers, bitcoin, and a piece of Mount Everest. No doubt, this ain’t your grandfather’s Moon mission, as the era of commercial space deliveries is now upon us.China's Plan to Land Astronauts on the MoonThe Moon will never be the same, thanks to a NASA-funded initiative meant to foster a new era of lunar exploration and enable private companies to deliver stuff to the lunar…

Image: © Grace Aldrich, 2023/The Folio Society“It is the late 1970s and the United States and Soviet Republic are on the cusp of entering outer space. However, just as space travel is within their grasp, alien spaceships descend over the earth’s major cities ... five years later, the Overlords have taken over the world. American illustrator Grace Aldrich elevates the tension and uneasiness in the narrative to present the strange new reality in six unnerving illustrations, while her striking binding design features the…