With the recent announcement of Project Constellation as part of President Bush’s new space initiative, now is a good time to examine past attempts at building a successor to the Space Shuttle, so that we may maintain a fresh perspective. Written by James Burk of the Project Constellation weblog.
Filed under: Articles on February 5th, 2004 | 3 Comments »
With the Mars Express Beagle 2 lander set to touch down on the red planet in a little over a week’s time, Stuart Atkinson writes a letter to the lander that has the potential to change our understanding of Mars and our place in the universe.
Filed under: Articles on December 16th, 2003 | 2 Comments »
Have we lost our dream for seeing humans on Mars? Following the historic close approach of Mars in August, Stuart Atkinson eloquently expresses what many Mars exploration advocates must be feeling. “I’ve been giving almost the same talk, showing almost the same slides, detailing almost the same damned timeline for over a decade, to schools, community organisations, night school classes, and nothing has changed; we haven’t moved forwards an inch.” But he still thinks that there’s hope, if only we have the courage to declare that life is the reason why we wish to go to Mars.
Filed under: Articles on September 17th, 2003 | 3 Comments »
What’s the best way to raise Mars’ profile in the public? Stuart Atkinson believes that, quite literally, we need to place it in the public eye with a visual extravaganza named Mars - The Movie. And to give the red planet the justice that wasn’t given to it by certain recent movies, it will naturally be filmed on IMAX…
Filed under: Articles on August 7th, 2003 | 13 Comments »
“As a 16 year old space fanatic, I watched the maiden flight of Columbia in a state of breathless anticipation and excitement…” Stuart Atkinson, a lifelong space enthusiast and long time contributor to New Mars gives us his thoughts on the Columbia disaster and where we should go now.
Filed under: Articles on February 6th, 2003 | 6 Comments »
Stuart Atkinson comments on this week’s news of NASA’s new nuclear powered spacecraft project - Prometheus - with a healthy dose of realism, thoughts about cloning, and life on Mars and in the universe. It’s not science that will get the public to support a manned mission to Mars, argues Atkinson - it’s all about life.
Filed under: Articles on January 25th, 2003 | 5 Comments »
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In an excellent article, Stuart Atkinson examines the relationship between explorers and artists. During the exploration of the ‘New World’ and the Wild West, explorer-artists such as John White and George Catlin played a vital role in the settlement of America by bringing the landscapes they painted home, inspiring many to travel to the frontiers. Atkinson argues that during the exploration of Mars, artists could once again allow people at home, on Earth, to appreciate the essence of the red planet in a way that no photo can.
Filed under: Articles on September 15th, 2002 | 5 Comments »
The Mars Society’s annual convention represents the high point of the year for a worldwide community of members, meeting to discuss the latest developments in Mars-related science, public and political outreach, education and the arts. Patrick Banks writes a retrospective of the Mars Society after it returned once again to Boulder, Colorado for its fifth convention in August.
Filed under: Articles on August 20th, 2002 | 1 Comment »
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Many people often ask why we should go to Mars - what could we possibly learn from a dead planet millions of miles away? Dr. Chris McKay, a NASA planetary scientist specialising in the study of Mars, believes that Mars may be able to help us answer three simple questions: How did life begin? Are we alone? And where are we going? New Mars Staff Writer Joel McKinnon talked to Chris McKay about these three questions, panspermia and whether we can afford to wait to go to Mars.
Filed under: Articles on June 25th, 2002 | 2 Comments »
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Ever since the days of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne, science fiction has formidably shaped the public’s perception of science and in some cases has predicted its progress. While authors such as Arthur C Clarke hit the mark on satellites and others successfully predicted mechanical pets and artificial meat, we have still yet to see glorious spinning space stations. Award-winning author and astrophysicist Gregory Benford recently dealt with these issues in a lecture given at Foothills College in California, and talked also about the human passion for exploration and the corresponding tendency to withdraw into isolation, as well as possibility of terraforming the Moon. New Mars staff writer Joel McKinnon covered the event.
Filed under: Articles on June 13th, 2002 | 9 Comments »