Cassini

After 13 years in the Saturn system, the Cassini mission ended on September 15, 2017, when the probe plunged into Saturn itself.

The mission is responsible for most of what we now know of Saturn, its rings, and its moons.

Lunar Trip?

SpaceX was scheduled to fly a manned mission around the Moon in 2018.

So far, it has flown no manned flights.

EMP

Perhaps the most potentially consequential story touching space in 2017 involves the North Korean ICBM that could reach America.

The American media tends to couch that threat in terms of losing a city, but the bigger threat involves creating an electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, by detonating a thermonuclear bomb in space.  That could take down the U. S. power grid.

Bruce McCandless

Former astronaut Bruce McCandless, the first human to spacewalk untethered to his ship, died last week.

He was 80.

Gravitational Waves

The discovery pf gravitational waves in 2017 confirmed Einsteion's description of space.

It also meant astronomers can now use those waves as well as light to study the universe.

Vandenburg Launch

SpaceX launched satellites from Vandenburg in California yesterday.

UFO reports followed as the booster put on a show.

Falcon Heavy

SpaceX' Falcon Heavy rocket is now on the pad at Cape Canaveral.

It's scheduled to launch next month.

UFOs

A former UFO investigator for the Pentagon says we may not be alone in the universe.

He says more attention should be given to reports by military pilots who see vehicles in the sky that seem to be well beyond any aircraft they know.

Pulsar Life

A new study finds pulsars could possibly have life-bearing planets.

The worlds would likely be super Earths because their atmospheres would be a million times as thick as Earth's to block the pulsars' deadly radiation.

UFOs

The New York Times reports the Pentagon has been actively studying UFOs since 2007.

The Pentagon contends the project shut down in 2012, but there are indications it continued after that and may still be active.

Silk Road

Satellite imagery is revealing lost empires and outposts along the legendary Silk Road trading route in Afghanistan.

Unfortunately, the area is too dangerous at present for the sites to be studied from the ground.

Kepler 90

Astronomers have established the Kepler 90 star system has at least eight planets, the last two being found using artificial intelligence.

There may be even more planets in the system.

SpaceX Success

SpaceX successfully launched a Dragon cargo ship to ISS today.

It was done with a previously flown booster-- a step forward.

Ceres

A new study suggests the dwarf planet Ceres may still be active.

It also suggests the mysterious bright spots on Ceres could indicate the little world once had a global ocean.

Moving Out

Space industry experts have argued recently that humanity's expansion into deep space is inevitable.

They didn't say how or when, though..

New Space Policy

President Trump signed a new space policy order yesterday which says America will return to the Moon and go on to Mars.

The policy has broad support in industry and in Congress.

Intellectual Infrastructure

There are many challenges to overcome-- scientific, technological, financial, political-- before we colonize Mars.

Legal questions of sovereignty, jurisdiction, property rights, and commercial rights all have to be answered, as well.

Mullenberg

Boeing CEO Dennis Mullenberg responded to Elon Musk, saying he was confident the first person to set foot on Mars will fly there on a Boeing rocket.

We'll see.

Musk

 

Elon Musk is challenging Boeing to beat him in putting humans on Mars.

 

Musk plans to start colonizing Mars in 2024.

K2-18b

Researchers have found a world 111 light years away that could harbor life.  It's called K2-18b.

K2-18b is a super-Earth that orbits in the habitable zone of a red dwarf.

Big Bang Questioned

A new paper suggests the universe did not begin with the Big Bang, but has been expanding and contracting forever.

There is no physical evidence to choose either theory.

Europa

The conclusion of a new study strengthens the case for plate tectonics on Europa.

That, in turn, strengthens the case for life in Europa's subsurface ocean.

Truth

Thousands of people all over the world over decades have told stories of being abducted by aliens.  Most offer no proof, but the narratives are often consistent down to details.

Should these people, therefore, be believed, at least as far as investigating their claims?  So far, the mainstream media has largely ignored them.

Voyager 1

Voyager managers recently tried to ignite the backup thrusters of Voyager 1, which hadn't fired in 37 years.

Amazingly, they worked!

Mars Water

If Mars has salty water on its surface, it might come from underground aquifers, researchers say.

They cite ponds in Antarctica as analogies.