Opportunity Problems

NASA's Mars rover Opportunity has been losing data due to a computer memory problem.  Engineers have isolated the cause, however, and they think there's a software fix.

Opportunity has been roving Mars for ten years now after its mission was supposed to last 90 days.

Venus And CO2

Carbon dioxide makes up about 96 percent of the atmosphere of Venus, but some researchers say at one time the planet may have had oceans of carbon dioxide fluid.

That would've been supercritical CO2.  In a supercritical state, carbon dioxide can shift between being a gas and being a liquid and back virtually instantaneously.  Venus would have been a really strange place.

Europa's Geysers

Geysers on Jupiter's moon Europa, discovered in December, 2012, are intermittent in nature.  They have not been detected again.

So, gathering samples of Europa's subsurface ocean by flying through geyser plumes may not be so simple.

Lunar Tractors And AI

If the first human outposts on the Moon will be in lava tubes or caves, lunar tractors will need to be developed to carry the elements of the outposts inside, to their new homes.  Also, because the rock above will block radio signals as well as deadly radiation, artificial intelligence programs capable of directing the installation of the outpost on its own may need to be developed.

Such an AI development project could, by itself, spark revolutionary progress across the economy, from manufacturing to healthcare.

Macroweather On Mars

Researchers have found that Mars, like Earth, has macromeather-- a state between daily weather and long term climate.

They think understanding macroweather could help understand all worlds with atmospheres.

Earthrise

One of the most important photographs yet taken was snapped on Christmas Eve, 1968, as Apollo 8 orbited the Moon.  It shows the Earth in the blackness of space above the lunar surface.

"Earthrise" helped spark both the space advocacy movement and the environmental movement.  Though envinmentalism was around before 1968, the photograph helped drive home the point that Earth is a special place.

Forty Two Years

Forty two years ago, the latest humans stood on the Moon.  That was just before the Watergate scandal broke.

Momentum is now building to return to the Moon, this time to stay permanently.  With luck, in a few years, the scouts of Apollo will be followed by the settlers of a new era.