to mars, never to return

In an exciting new development, NASA is planning ahead (probably the only organization in the United States to do so). NASA has begun funding research into a long-term 100-year program dedicated to deep-space projects. Included in this package is a new but simple proposition that few have even considered to make manned missions to Mars more economically viable.

Long has NASA said they would send men to Mars and return them home safely however few have been able to make such a mission economically viable. What some have suggested is to cut out the return trip, with launching off Mars the most economically and technologically difficult part of the undertaking. Now obviously this isn't press-conference worthy news, because of the inherent commotion it would cause but it is an extremely intriguing idea.

Under this concept one or two astronauts would be sent to the red planet on a one-way ticket, knowing they would never return to Earth. Now one immediately thinks, "suicide mission" however under this concept missions would be sent to resupply the astronaut regularily with the ultimate goal of setting up a self-sufficient base. Eventually more manned missions would follow up, expanding the base and human presence on Mars.

It really seems a promising concept. What's more is it would encourage further action in deep-space.Where, in the Apollo program, astronauts landed on the Moon, went home and then the world largely forgot about space for 40 years, one-way missions to Mars would necessitate further missions and interest in deep space. The proposal has also been made to send astronauts to Mars' moons Phobos and Deimos in the same manner.

Instead of the old barbaric way of NASA, building, conquering, abandoning, this program could be the necessary stepping stone to making humans an inter-stellar species. Instead of abandoning the program in a been-there-done-that fashion, they will build, conquer, pioneer, and... build.

Girls Don't Like Space.

Its true. Girls don't like space. And I'm not talking emotional space, ones personal bubble. I'm talking outer space. The final frontier. Take a poll of all the women you know, chances are if they are under 30, 99% don't have any interest in space whatsoever. Female: space is boring, empty and space travel a pointless and unexciting endeavor. Now that's not to say that all men and boys love space, but the number of boys who grow up idolizing astronauts is markedly higher than the number of girls. What is it about the male psyche that draws them to outer space? A cold, inhospitable, desolate void where nothing can logically survive without mechanical life support (even this point is argued against by Star Trek. See, space whales). What is the appeal? Is it the science, or is it the adventure? Or some combination thereof? In the 1500s did the boys all rave about the New World, adventures and untold riches while the girls scoffed at them and played hopscotch? Who's to know? Of course, there are female astronauts, female space enthusiasts, it just seems they are quite rare, especially in this time of space stagnation. And truly my interest in space was only sparked after going to the Kennedy Space Center and seeing the Shuttle launch in the third grade. Somewhere along the way I forgot my dream of being an astronaut though. I could have been on my way to the moon or Mars, isolated from the bulk of humanity for years at a time. So yeah, there are some downs, but I can't see how you can't recognize the excitement of the adventure. The prospect of doing something completely new and untried. Of breaking the limits of human exploration and forging new and exciting goals. In the end, this post has nothing to do with gender, just a growing disinterest in space exploration in today's world. My friend wrote it much better; it sounds much less sexist than my own. Here it is: Classic Renaissance: The Space Age (Warning: May contain painfully forced metaphors and pedantic douchebaggery.)

The Final Frontier

The sub-atomic particles that we are built from will never die
They will not dissipate,
They will not dissolve,
They will not disappear.
Their energy is infinite.
It will last forever.
Billions of years from now,
The energy that once maybe up the beauty of human existence,
The planet Earth,
The Sol System,
The Milky Way Galaxy,
And the once tangible and explorable universe,
Will reach into the depths of space never to form that beauty again.
On this scale our existence seems feeble,
In the grand scheme of time and space.
So why not expand our existence,
Reach for the stars while we can,
Use our remaining resources to make our presence known,
And teach other life that they too must preserve their existence?
Or we can burn out,
Expend our resources without developing the alternatives,
And no species human or otherwise,
Will ever reach from Earth into the final frontier.
Is Earth doomed to failure?
Or merely meekness?
It is human desire to be bigger, better and stronger,
And exploration is second nature.
We have time, but not a lot,
And it is a noble goal, to preserve and propagate.
If we are important, should we not save ourselves,
and ultimately prosper?

Movement Musician of the Week: Shad "Get Up"

District 9 out of 10

Last night, I went to see the movie District 9. It is difficult to formulate my thoughts on the movie as of yet. You can tell this from the reviews given by movie-goers and critics alike. Some love it and some hate it. Personally, I really liked it. District 9 is a first in many ways. It is the first alien thriller to have prolonged exposure of the alien species to humans, it is the first to have the aliens portrayed as the underdogs and it is the first to show the socio-political tensions between the clashing extraterrestrial civilizations. From the very beginning, with its documentary style that slowly fades to a traditional fiction movie, the story had me intrigued and I spent most of the movie with a curious, thoughtful look on my face.

District 9 is essentially a slum set up outside Johannesburg in South Africa to house an alien population the "Prawns" which has landed on Earth without the ability to go home. In this slum we see the typical shady activities of life in Johannesburg, in Prawn weapons dealing, inter-species prostitution and drug trafficking (in catfood). We also see various factions trying to discover the secret to operating the Prawn weaponry; government agencies such as the MNU through scientific means and Nigerian gangs through witchcraft. The government controlled slum creates a mood reminiscent of the apartheid era in South Africa with signs dictating where humans and non-humans are allowed to travel, do business, and live.

While humans try to exploit the Prawns for everything they can offer including flesh, the aliens attempt to carve out a niche and a living in the Johannesburg community while being suppressed by military agents and fought by angry human citizens. In ways South Africa was the perfect setting for this movie, as it is the most culturally, ethnically and racially diverse nation in the world and has long experienced racial tensions and bouts of xenophobic violence; foreigners are nothing new to South Africa. With that and South Africa's clash of tribal and modern civilization it is the perfect place for first contact.

If you go into the movie expecting Independence Day or Signs where the aliens are purely malicious and it is a struggle for human survival, you are not going to enjoy this movie. The best way to enjoy this movie is to go into it with absolutely no expectations and just take it in as you go. If you can't help but have expectations, expect slum politics and economics. Don't expect the humans to play the good guys because the movie brands humans as selfish and don't expect a heroic defeat of alien supremacy because the aliens are definitely the underdogs. District 9 is an atypical alien invasion movie. Because of this, I give it a 9 out of 10 for trying something completely different.