In all the excitement over the NASA Mars rovers’ various landings, photo shoots, malfunctions, recoveries and excursions, another aspect of their mission has been neglected: what could be called their teaching, as opposed to their learning, mission. As Spirit and Opportunity keep fit and busy on the Red Planet, the two cute, smart, pliant robotic explorers are giving us humans daily lessons in how we should live.
November 29th, 2003
Experts fear orbiter Nozomi will collide with, pollute Mars The Japan Times
Experts are growing anxious that Japan’s beleaguered space probe Nozomi may contaminate Mars if it happens to collide with the Red Planet, possibly on Dec. 14. They say there is a roughly 1 percent possibility that the Nozomi, Japan’s first orbiter of Mars, will impact the planet due to malfunctions with its electrical system and numerous other factors.
November 13th, 2003
Come to Disney, go to Mars The Japan Times
Mission: Space, a new ride/space flight simulator at Epcot Center, part of the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, takes Disney guests in a whole new direction — straight up into space. The byproduct of a partnership between computer giant Hewlett Packard and Disney, Mission: Space cost approximately $100 million to construct, making it one of the most expensive attractions at the world-famous theme park. It is also the most technologically advanced attraction.
November 1st, 2002
Bean me down, Scottie, bean me down The Japan Times
I don’t think the human race will survive the next 1,000 years, unless we spread into space. There are too many accidents that can befall life on a single planet. But I’m an optimist. We will reach out to the stars. So said cosmologist Stephen Hawking last year. Optimist or not, it is clear there are many formidable hurdles to clear before we will be able to live for extended periods away from Earth. It may take centuries before we have truly colonized space, but the prospect — especially after the Space Shuttle Atlantis returned to Earth last week — no longer belongs to science fiction.