Archivo etiqueta «Exploración espacial»
By Robert Zubrin, president of Pioneer Astronautics and of the Mars Society (www.marssociety.org). An updated edition of his book The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must, has just been published by the Free Press (THE WASHINGTON TIMES, 24/08/11):
America’s human spaceflight program is adrift. The space shuttle has made its final flight, and the Obama administration has no coherent plan what to do next. Instead, it has proposed that the United States waste the next decade spending $100 billion to support a goalless human spaceflight effort that goes nowhere and … Seguir leyendo
By Nicholas de Monchaux, an assistant professor of architecture and urban design at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 21/07/11):
With the final space shuttle mission scheduled to end this morning when Atlantis glides to earth, and with only uncertainty to follow for NASA’s manned spaceflight program, this may seem like the moment to weep for the lost promise of the space age.
It is not. I have shed tears of wonder and awe at the scale and achievement of NASA’s manned spaceflight program, but not for its inexorable … Seguir leyendo
By Michael Benson, the author of Beyond: Visions of the Interplanetary Probes and Far Out: A Space-Time Chronicle. An exhibition of photographic prints based on “Beyond” is currently on view at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 11/04/11):
Fifty years ago Tuesday, an obscure Soviet Air Force lieutenant named Yuri Gagarin climbed onboard an eminently conventional form of transport — a converted city bus — and headed toward another order of vehicle altogether: a towering rocket, on top of which was mounted a gleaming spherical Vostok capsule encased in a … Seguir leyendo
By Mary Roach, the author of Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 10/04/11):
Soviet sculpture renders all its subjects larger than life, but few more so than Yuri Gagarin, who became the first man in space on April 12, 1961, nearly 50 years ago. A gleaming, 125-foot-tall titanium statue of the world’s most famous cosmonaut stands at the nexus of three freeways in Moscow, arms outstretched like a cold war superhero.
Gagarin’s achievement, and the Soviet playbook that shaped it, made him the most celebrated Soviet hero since Lenin, a … Seguir leyendo
By Ray Jayawardhana, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Toronto and the author of Strange New Worlds: The Search for Alien Planets and Life Beyond Our Solar System (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 27/03/11):
I remember the first time the concept of another world entered my mind. It was during a walk with my father in our garden in Sri Lanka. He pointed to the Moon and told me that people had walked on it. I was astonished: Suddenly that bright light became a place that one could visit.
Schoolchildren may feel a similar sense of … Seguir leyendo
By James C. McLane III, a former NASA engineer and associate fellow at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (LOS ANGELES TIMES, 06/02/11):
We can establish a human outpost on Mars in our generation, and reputable scientists are finally getting on board with the idea. Risky though it may be, we have the technology to place a person on the Red Planet. But, if NASA demands that the Mars explorer must return to Earth, then the idea becomes more like science fiction, and colonization probably can’t be achieved within the lifespan of those now reading this article.
For … Seguir leyendo
Por Esther Dyson miembro del Consejo Asesor de la NASA e inversionista en dos iniciativas de viajes espaciales, XCOR Aerospace y Space Adventures. Traducido del inglés por David Meléndez Tormen (Project Syndicate, 20/01/11):
Hace más de 50 años (1957), los soviéticos lanzaron el primer satélite en órbita del mundo, superando a EE.UU. en el espacio. Para los estadounidenses, el “momento Sputnik” fue un llamado de atención que empujó a Estados Unidos a aumentar la inversión en tecnología y educación científica. Meses más tarde, EE.UU. lanzó el satélite Explorer 1, con lo que la carrera entró en movimiento. Se animó a … Seguir leyendo
By Paul Davies, the director of the Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science at Arizona State University and the author of The Eerie Silence: Renewing Our Search for Alien Intelligence (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 14/05/10):
For centuries, speculation about the existence of life elsewhere in the universe was the preserve of philosophers and theologians. Then, 50 years ago last month, the question entered the scientific sphere when a young American astronomer named Frank Drake began sweeping the skies with a radio telescope in hopes of picking up a signal from an extraterrestrial civilization. Initially, his quest was considered … Seguir leyendo
By G. P. Peterson, president of Georgia Tech (THE WASHINGTON POST, 23/04/10):
Our space program, once the envy of every nation on Earth, has been showing its age of late. Its ambitions, though laudable, are starting to appear a little outdated. Technologies that once dazzled the masses now seem almost everyday and routine. Visions of new planetary terrain, once the fodder of science fiction, seem somewhat commonplace in light of the discoveries made by robotic spacecraft and the capabilities of other countries. And while the moon remains a fascinating destination, an entire galaxy of other regions – and countless … Seguir leyendo
Par Robert Zubrin, ingénieur en astronautique et président de la Mars Society. Traduction: Pierre Brisson, président de la Mars Society Switzerland (LE TEMPS, 17/02/10):
Le 2 février 2010, l’administration Obama a annoncé une nouvelle politique spatiale. Elle comporte trois décisions essentielles: le subventionnement par la NASA du développement de systèmes privés pour acheminer les astronautes jusqu’à la Station spatiale internationale; l’annulation du programme Constellation consacré au développement des équipements nécessaires aux vols habités vers la Lune; l’abandon du concept de fixation d’objectif de mission pour les vols habités, au profit d’une approche basée sur le financement d’une recherche technologique ayant … Seguir leyendo
By James Cameron, the writer and director of “Avatar“and “Titanic” and the NASA Advisory Council from 2003 to 2005 (THE WASHINGTON POST, 05/02/10):
What do rockets burn for fuel? Money. Money that is contributed by working families who have mortgages and children who need braces. And why do the American people support our efforts in space? Because they still believe, to some extent or another, in that shining dream of exploring other worlds. So it could be said that rockets really run on dreams.
The exploration of space is the grandest adventure challenging the human race. As … Seguir leyendo
By Mark Henderson, science editor (THE TIMES, 02/02/10):
Our planet has just enjoyed a weekend of rare company. The “wolf Moon”, as it is known to native Americans, has hung huge and full at its nearest point to Earth. Mars, meanwhile, has made its closest approach in six years, its red glow almost as bright as any star. Yet at this moment of tantalising proximity to our celestial neighbours, Barack Obama stands accused of pushing them farther away.
The Nasa budget that he presented yesterday cancels the new rockets that might return astronauts to the Moon and the plans … Seguir leyendo
Por Jean-Jacques Dordain y Maurici Lucena. Son, respectivamente, director general y presidente del Consejo de la Agencia Espacial Europea (EL PAÍS, 30/12/09):
Hace 40 años, el hombre pisó por primera vez la Luna. Cuarenta años después, las dos grandes potencias que compitieron ferozmente por alcanzar la Luna cooperan todos los días a bordo de la Estación Espacial Internacional. En la actualidad, una tripulación de seis astronautas de distintas nacionalidades vive y trabaja de forma permanente en un inmenso laboratorio, del tamaño de un estadio de fútbol, que orbita 250 kilómetros por encima de nuestras cabezas fruto de la colaboración … Seguir leyendo
By Edward Lu, a former astronaut and the program manager for advanced projects at Google (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 21/12/09):
In Silicon Valley we have a saying: launch early, launch often. It’s an acknowledgment that successful, innovative companies are the ones that rapidly try new ideas, see what works, improve their products and repeat. Businesses that launch frequently are also able to take advantage of economies of scale to make launchings faster and easier. In many ways, the key to innovation is speed of execution.
NASA, an agency that depends on innovation, could benefit from the same mindset. To … Seguir leyendo
By William S. Marshall, a staff scientist with the Universities Space Research Association based at the NASA Ames Research Center (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 20/11/09):
Picture a habitat atop a hill in warm sunlight on the edge of a crater near the south pole of the Moon. There are metal ores in the rocks nearby and ice in the shadows of the crater below. Solar arrays are set up on the regolith that covers the Moon’s surface. Humans live in sealed, cave-like lava tubes, protected from solar flares and sustained by large surface greenhouses. Imagine the Moon as the … Seguir leyendo