Recap

Space, Mars & the Moon

Space historian and author Robert Zimmerman discussed various space-related topics, such as exploration, commercial ventures, the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Bigelow Aerospace is skipping an interim module and moving ahead with their plan to launch a space station by the end of this decade, he reported (see article below for more on this).

The Mars Rovers have shown remarkable endurance, having just weathered heavy dust storms, he detailed. The next Mars lander, the Phoenix (due to arrive on the red planet in 2008) will be attempting a "soft landing," --such landings haven't had success since the Viking probe, said Zimmerman. The Face on Mars, he believes, is not an artificial structure, but rather a mesa with geology that is different than here on Earth. He noted that one of the things that most fascinates him about our solar system is how each planet and moon is totally unique.

The Hubble, which will be the topic of his forthcoming book The Universe in a Mirror, has revealed surprises like the universe is expanding as fast at its edges as in the center. He expects that the next generation space telescope, the James Webb, will also provide discoveries that could differ from what scientists currently predict.

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New Space Station

Bigelow Aerospace recently announced they're accelerating their space development plans. Their Sundancer module, a space station capable of housing three crew members, could be ready to launch before 2010. Read more in Alan Boyle's Cosmic Log.