The Tech Gonzo Diary

Imagine an alternate present where the space shuttle hadn’t been such a disaster and the Cold War hadn’t been sole the driver for the space program. Where the dreams of the sixties came true, and the fears of the seventies were never realised. Where the whole Earth is powered by clean energy and humanity has a presence that extends at least as far as Jupiter.

This is the utopian world of Moon and the story of the dark secret that makes it all possible.

Sam Rockwell plays Sam Bell, an engineer on a small lunar base overseeing the mining production of Helium-3, the new clean energy the Earth now runs on.  He’s coming up to the end of his three year contract and is beyond ready to go back home and see his wife and kids.   His job mostly seems to involve supervising the operations of big, hulking mining drones that eat moon dirt,  collecting their payload when they’re full.

His sole companion is a robot, GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey), whose only goal is to keep Sam safe.  He cuts Sam’s hair, monitors his psychological state and is the intermediary with the headquarters on Earth.

Occasionally Sam receives video messages from his wife, but for some mysterious reason direct comms with Earth are broken.

This is the set-up for the film, quickly established.  What happens next is a fascinating exploration of memory and identity.  A Philip K Dick level science-fiction story; corporations with questionable morality.. a man that might not be what he thinks he is, and the robot that might be his only ally (OR his most dreaded enemy.. they play up the 2001 references wonderfully).

All this in a setting that looks retro, which really reinforces the alternate-present that this could be.  The lunar base is not some all-white, shiny future thing; it looks assembled out of 1970s pre-fab materials, as if after SkyLab America did keep pushing onwards, and matter-of-factly established a permanent presence on the Moon, which corporations simply took over. It’s all just business up here in space.

Mining is a dirty business, and Sam’s EVA suit looks well worn and grimy.  When he journeys out in his lunar rover, with it folded down, oh my,  I’ve never wanted a white flight cap so much.   Give me this lunar grunge chic, I need it now!

If there was any doubt about Sam Rockwell, that’s put aside here.  He is AMAZING, especially when [redacted spoiler].  He carries the whole film with ease.

Now, I never saw that Fed-Ex movie with Tom Hanks,  Cast Away, but I doubt it compares to this.  And robots are way cooler than volleyballs anyway, especially when they incorporate an emoticon screen; when it cried, I teared up too.  GERTY is the best robot on screen since Wall-E.

Duncan Jones has made a stunning debut.  I hope he is left alone to make something equally brilliant in his next piece.

5 Stars

from NASA

NASA and Google to Bring Space Exploration Down to Earth

NASA Ames Research Center and Google have signed a Space Act Agreement that formally establishes a relationship to work together on a variety of challenging technical problems ranging from large-scale data management and massively distributed computing, to human-computer interfaces.

As the first in a series of joint collaborations, Google and Ames will focus on making the most useful of NASA’s information available on the Internet. Real-time weather visualization and forecasting, high-resolution 3-D maps of the moon and Mars, real-time tracking of the International Space Station and the space shuttle will be explored in the future.

“This agreement between NASA and Google will soon allow every American to experience a virtual flight over the surface of the moon or through the canyons of Mars,” said NASA Administrator Michael Griffin at Headquarters in Washington. “This innovative combination of information technology and space science will make NASA’s space exploration work accessible to everyone,” added Griffin.

“Partnering with NASA made perfect sense for Google, as it has a wealth of technical expertise and data that will be of great use to Google as we look to tackle many computing issues on behalf of our users,” said Eric Schmidt, chief executive officer of Google. “We’re pleased to move forward to collaborate on a variety of technical challenges through the signing of the Space Act Agreement.”

…

NASA and Google intend to collaborate in a variety of areas, including incorporating agency data sets in Google Earth, focusing on user studies and cognitive modeling for human computer interaction, and science data search utilizing a variety of Google features and products.

“Our collaboration with Google will demonstrate that the private and public sectors can accomplish great things together,” said S. Pete Worden, Ames center director. “I want NASA Ames to establish partnerships with the private sector that will encourage innovation, while advancing the Vision for Space Exploration and commercial interests,” Worden added.

“NASA has collected and processed more information about our planet and universe than any other entity in the history of humanity,” said Chris C. Kemp, director of strategic business development at Ames. “Even though this information was collected for the benefit of everyone, and much is in the public domain, the vast majority of this information is scattered and difficult for non-experts to access and to understand.

“We’ve worked hard over the past year to implement an agreement that enables NASA and Google to work closely together on a wide range of innovative collaborations,” said Kemp. “We are bringing together some of the best research scientists and engineers to form teams to make more of NASA’s vast information accessible.”

NASA and Google also are finalizing details for additional collaborations that include joint research, products, facilities, education and missions.

via

previously Google partners with NASA

from CNN.com

NASA wants permanent moon base

NASA’s plans for returning people to the moon — an objective called for by President Bush in 2004 — includes establishing a permanent outpost that would be used to prepare for a manned trip to Mars.

The moon base would be at either the north or south pole of the moon, NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale said during a news conference Monday at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Increased sunlight at the poles would allow better use of solar energy to power the outpost, she said.

NASA’s lunar architecture team decided it would be better to establish a base than to conduct individual missions to the moon, as in the Apollo program of the 1960s and 1970s, she said.

Team scientists believe astronauts could use the moon’s natural resources to maintain the outpost, and could use the base to prepare for the trip to Mars, an objective also set forth by Bush.

Sorties to other locations on the moon could also be carried out from the outpost, Dale said.

Deputy Associate Administrator Doug Cooke said one promising location is the Shackleton Crater at the south pole.

In addition to having an area that is almost permanently sunlit, it is adjacent to a permanently dark area that might yield water ice.

NASA Associate Administrator Scott Horowitz said the goal is to conduct the first manned missions to the moon by 2020, starting with short stays by four-person crews that would establish the outpost.

He estimated that perhaps by 2024 there might be a continual presence on the surface, with crews rotating in and out, as is done with the international space station.

Before the manned missions, NASA plans a series of robotic missions. The first of these, using the lunar reconnaissance orbiter, is scheduled for 2008.

The orbiter is designed to create high-resolution maps, look for good landing sites and search for water ice and other resources.

NASA said an important component of the moon mission will be international participation.

The space agency will reach out to other nations to determine how they would like to take part.

via

– finally!

from New Scientist Space

Mock lunar landers to go head to head in X Prize Cup

Mock moon landers are set to compete for millions of dollars in prize money at next week’s Wirefly X Prize Cup in Las Cruces, New Mexico, US.

As the US prepares to return humans to the Moon, ambitious young companies are trying to build their own versions of a Moon lander for the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge, a NASA-backed contest. It will be one of the headline events at the competition promoting private spaceflight on 20 and 21 October.

There are actually two levels to the competition. In Level 1, the mock landers will launch up to 50 metres high, hover for 90 seconds and then land vertically on a concrete pad 100 metres away.

For Level 2, entrants will launch their rockets, hover for 180 seconds and then land on an uneven simulated Moon surface 100 metres away. For both levels, the rockets can refuel before making the return launch back to the first pad.

Time will present a big challenge. Teams have just two and a half hours to drive from a staging area to the launch pad, pressurise and fuel their vehicles, and complete the challenges.

Up to $2.5 million is up for grabs. The Level 1 winner will win $500,000 and the runner-up will get $150,000. The big money comes with the Level 2 competition. First place gets $1.25 million, second place $500,000 and third place $250,000.

“I think it’s quite likely we will give out at least one check this year,” says Will Pomerantz, space projects director with the X Prize Foundation, which is running the competition.

Permit application

Still, prize money will probably be left unclaimed. Four teams are registered for the competition, but it is not yet clear how many of them will actually participate.

As of Friday, none of the teams had been given experimental launch permits by the US Federal Aviation Administration – a requirement for the competition – although the permits could still be issued until the start of the event on Friday.

The companies have to show the FAA that their vehicle is well controlled and would not pose a hazard to a crowd sitting 1 kilometre away. They also need to make two test flights to qualify for the permits.

“We don’t want anyone flying their vehicle for the first time in front of a large crowd,” Pomerantz told New Scientist.

One company in particular has emerged as the frontrunner. Armadillo Aerospace of Mesquite, Texas, US, is run by John Carmack, creator of the hugely successful Doom video games and was a contender in the $10 million Ansari X Prize, a contest for the first private group to send a reusable crewed spacecraft to the edge of space twice within two weeks.

Lightweight approach

Their vehicles, called Pixel and Texel, do not resemble traditional rockets. They use four spherical fuel tanks placed around a central engine and run on ethanol and liquid oxygen.

The company has done the shorter Level 1 flights in the past but has not successfully completed the 180-second flight necessary to win the Level 2 competition (watch a video of their Pixel vehicle hovering in a September test).

Micro-Space of Denver, Colorado, US, says they will compete if the FAA awards their experimental permit in time. They are taking a lightweight approach to the competition, using a vehicle that weighs just 45 kilograms unfuelled.

“Our situation is far worse and farther behind the eight ball than Armadillo’s,” says Micro-Space director Richard Speck. “I think that they (the FAA) are probably going to give up and turn us down.” If so, the company is negotiating to fly their vehicle with a tether attached to it as a demonstration at the event.

But two other teams that had registered for the competition will not actually vie for the prizes. Masten Space Systems of Mojave, California, say they will not compete this year because of technical problems – their rocket’s throttle valves did not open fast enough, potentially causing some instability during flight.

They will attend the X Prize Cup and do some static engine demonstrations. They may be ready for a test flight within the next few weeks, says CEO David Masten.

Last-minute preparations

Acuity Technologies, a company based in Menlo Park, California, is also registered for the event, but they decided two weeks ago that their rocket motor was not going to be ready in time, says president Bob Clark.

The lack of preparation is partly due to the fact that NASA and the X Prize Foundation did not announce the contest until May 2006, giving teams only a few months to put everything together.

Pomerantz says that there will likely be many potential teams watching the competition from the bleachers this year, hoping to learn something for their future lander entries. And any prize money not won this year will carry over into next year’s competition.

The event is one of NASA’s Centennial Challenges, which builds on the success of the X Prize and is designed to stimulate innovation in space exploration.

Northrop Grumman is sponsoring this competition. Grumman built the original Apollo lunar module that sent astronauts to the surface of the Moon.

They hope to be the ones to build NASA’s next-generation lunar lander, though company spokesman Brooks McKinney says they may meet their future competition for the contract at the challenge.

“It’s really about creating a variety of opinions on how to do something and letting he market in the end decide for itself,” McKinney says. “We think it’s good to help the process move along.”

from NASA

NASA Names New Crew Exploration Vehicle Orion

NASA announced Tuesday that its new crew exploration vehicle will be named Orion.

Orion is the vehicle NASA’s Constellation Program is developing to carry a new generation of explorers back to the moon and later to Mars. Orion will succeed the space shuttle as NASA’s primary vehicle for human space exploration.

Orion’s first flight with astronauts onboard is planned for no later than 2014 to the International Space Station. Its first flight to the moon is planned for no later than 2020.

Orion is named for one of the brightest, most familiar and easily identifiable constellations.

“Many of its stars have been used for navigation and guided explorers to new worlds for centuries,” said Orion Project Manager Skip Hatfield. “Our team, and all of NASA – and, I believe, our country – grows more excited with every step forward this program takes. The future for space exploration is coming quickly.”

In June, NASA announced the launch vehicles under development by the Constellation Program have been named Ares, a synonym for Mars. The booster that will launch Orion will be called Ares I, and a larger heavy-lift launch vehicle will be known as Ares V.

Orion will be capable of transporting cargo and up to six crew members to and from the International Space Station. It can carry four crewmembers for lunar missions. Later, it can support crew transfers for Mars missions.

Orion borrows its shape from space capsules of the past, but takes advantage of the latest technology in computers, electronics, life support, propulsion and heat protection systems. The capsule’s conical shape is the safest and most reliable for re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere, especially at the velocities required for a direct return from the moon.

Orion will be 16.5 feet in diameter and have a mass of about 25 tons. Inside, it will have more than 2.5 times the volume of an Apollo capsule. The spacecraft will return humans to the moon to stay for long periods as a testing ground for the longer journey to Mars.

– you know, when I was a kid I was sure I could be an astronaut.. ’cause they were saying they’d have the ISS finished by 1995, so surely space would be all happening by the time I was of age.. and look how that turned out, they’re only just adding a second chunk to the ISS right now