Shatner

William Shatner has said recently he might be interested in going to space.

Shatner had previously said he would not go.

Mars

Perseverance is on its way to Mars.

The nuclear-powered rover will search for evidence of life.

VG

Virgin Galactic may be one test flight away from getting its FAA operator's license.

Following that, VG plans a few more test flights with passengers before beginning commercial operations.

Perseverance

NASA's  Perseverance rover is set for launch to Mars early Thursday.

Accompanying the rover will be Ingenuity, the first interplanetary helicopter.

Exoplanets

Two new studies suggest that at least some mini-Neptunes could be rocky,water super Earths in disguise.

Intense solar radiation, it seems, can play hob with atmospheres.

Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise is reportedly in talks with Universal Studios to shoot a feature film in space.

Initial budget estimate is $200 million.

China

China has launched Tianwen-1, its first major mission to Mars.

A lander carrying a rover is scheduled to touch down in February.

Russia

Russia has tested a space-based anti-satellite system, according to the U. S. Space Command.

Moscow is also urging adoption of a treaty banning space weapons.

Bombardment

A new study suggests a huge asteroid shower pounded Earth and the Moon 800 million years ago.

The bombardment may have caused Earth's deepest ice age.

Venus

New research suggests Venus may still be geologically active.

The study identified 37 features that show evidence of recent changes.

UAE

Japan successfully launched United Arab Emirates' first interplanetary probe over the weekend.

It will reach Mars in February.

UFO

Senator Marco Rubio is pushing for the government to release its information on UFOs.

That's the most recent step in what could be a campaign for disclosure.

JWST

NASA has once again delayed launch of the James Webb Space Telescope.

The new launch date is October 31, 2021.

Apollo 11

Fifty-one years ago today, Apollo 11 launched to the Moon.

The U. S. had gone from being a small nation hugging the Atlantic coast of North America to leading humanity into space in well less than two centuries.

Electric Life

New research suggests a link between the electrical frequencies used by biological cells and that of lightning in the skies of early Earth.

Exactly what the connection is remains unclear.

Pluto

Five years ago today, New Horizons flew past Pluto.

It provided our first real look at Pluto, which turns out to be a complex little world.

Musk

Elon Musk is reportedly worth $70 billion.

SpaceX accounts for about $15 billion of that.

Perturber

Some astronomers think a huge planet exists far out in the Solar System, merrily perturbing the orbits of other objects with its powerful gravity.  Others say the perturber might be a grapefruit-sized black hole.  Still others say there is no perturber.

The next generation of Earth-based telescopes should settle the matter.

Pulsars

Astronomers have found that neutron stars in binary systems can have radically different masses.

If two such neutron stars merge, creating a pulsar, that pulsar can behave oddly.

Life

A new study suggests planets that formed early in the galaxy's history are more likely to host life.

Those planets are more likely to have magnetic fields that protect life from radiation.

NASA Money

A House bill would cut NASA's requested 2021 budget by about $3 billion.

The Senate can restore the funds.

Israel

Israel successfully launched a spy satellite yesterday.

Its main target is likely Iran.

Perspective

As of May, Berkshire Hathaway had $137 billion dollars in cash.

That's nearly seven times NASA's annual budget.

Aphelion

Earth is at  its farthest from the Sun today.

The fancy word for that is aphelion/

MUFON

In June alone, 601 UFO reports worldwide were submitted to MUFON.

Of those, 446 were from the United States.

Quantum

Physicists have more evidence that quantum principles operate in the macroworld.

That has intriguing philosophical and theoretical implications.

Space Perspectives

A new company, Space Perspectives, plans to offer trips to the edge of space under a balloon.

Cost of the roughly six hour trip, based in Alaska, will be $125,000.