◆ What Lies Ahead ◆
The Future?
The future has always been speaking. The question is whether anyone is listening. These are the warnings, the alarms and the celestial signals pointing to what comes next.
THE FUTURE
A Year on Mars
The first crew to reach Mars will spend roughly 500 days on the surface before the planets align enough to let them leave. Here is what the first year might actually look like.
The Fermi Paradox: Are We Alone in the Universe?
Are we alone in the universe? The conditions for life appear to be everywhere. The evidence for it, beyond Earth, is nonexistent. The Fermi Paradox has been asking why for seventy years.
When Will Humans Land on Mars? The Honest Answer
NASA says the 2030s. SpaceX has been saying the 2020s for the better part of fifteen years. The honest answer to when humans will land on Mars requires getting past the press releases and into the engineering, and the engineering is where the story gets complicated.
The Asteroid That Almost Hit the Moon: 2024 YR4 and What It Taught Us
For a few weeks earlier this year, asteroid 2024 YR4 had a genuine, calculated probability of striking the moon in 2032. Scientists ruled it out in March. What the episode revealed about our planetary defences is considerably less reassuring.
Humanity Is Building a Base on the Moon. Here Is What That Actually Means.
NASA has scrapped its plans for a lunar space station and is building a base on the moon instead. A permanent human presence on another world. The timeline is real, the money is committed and the first phase has already begun.