One Year on Mars!

Exactly one year ago today, Curiosity has landed on Mars. Followed by the unblinking eyes of millions of people around the world, the rover began its career with a daring, never before seen maneuver: lowered onto the surface from a hovering rocket-powered skycrane. Although the landing was an incredible feat of engineering, it was only the beginning, the first step in an incredible journey to unravel the mysteries of the red planet. For all the science nerds out there, here are a few quick facts about Curiosity's first year on Mars:

Curiosity has...
... sent home over 71,000 images.
... traveled a little over a mile.
... fired more than 75,000 shots from its laser spectrometer.
... drilled into and analyzed 2 martian rocks.
... discovered ancient river beds.
... found evidence of PH-neutral water.

In the coming year, the rover will began its journey to Mount Sharp where layers of sedimentary rock promise a treasure trove of scientific data, a window back to a Mars very different from the one today. Although its destination lies about 5 miles from its current position, engineers at JPL hope to cover the distance in just under a year thanks to Curiosity's newly updated driving software. They will, of course, stop several times to do what they are the best at: science.

Lastly, here are two videos from the JPL team commemorating the landing and the 12 months that followed afterwords:

Quote of the Month

"Equipped with his five senses,

man explores the universe around him

and calls the adventure Science."

- Edwin Powell Hubble

A Legend Reborn in 2014

About a year ago, the news of Seth MacFarlane’s (Family Guy, American Dad) intention to recreate the late Carl Sagan’s classic Cosmos series, the show that inspired so many of today’s scientists, came as a huge surprise. Some were skeptical, of course, but I think I can say with certainty that the majority of people welcomed the idea, perhaps hoping that the 2014 remake would have similar, far-reaching impacts as the original. The possibility is certainly there! Ann Druyan, Carl Sagan’s wife and co-writer of the original show, is actively involved with the remake, while the host will be none other than everyone’s favorite Neil deGrasse Tyson. Cosmos is quickly shaping to be one of the most anticipated TV shows of 2014 (well, at least among the scientifically inclined), and yesterday Fox released the first trailer:

Yet Another Promising Kickstarter!

It has only been two weeks since the successful Kickstarter campaign of the ARKYD space telescope, and I have already come across another promising proposal. And let me say this right at the beginning: I have donated the largest sum of money to this project among all the ones I have supported, and by a huge margin. I have two reasons for it. First and foremost, I think this idea is worth our attention and support, and I will explain why shortly. Secondly, unlike ARKYD where you had a campaign backed by considerable media attention—most likely due to the group of influential people in the board of Planetary Resources—this project is really down to earth; just a few university professors who want to make their dream a reality. And since I tend to sympathise with that dream, I am willing to risk my money in hope it will one day become a reality, and I hope that after explaining this idea, at least some of you will follow suit.

Where Are the Space Shuttles Now?

With the recent opening of the Atlantis exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, all the retired space shuttles had found their final resting place. Although I am not a particularly huge fan of the space shuttles (for some of reasons read this article), they do represent a huge part of space history, and that is undeniable. Therefore, I thought it would be a worthwhile effort to collect where they are now.

  “Explorer”

Explorer is somewhat of a cuckoo in the nest because It is not a flight capable shuttle but a high-fidelity replica. It was built for the Kennedy Space Center as an exhibition item, based on real NASA blueprints, and later moved to Houston when the KSC received its real space shuttle. It is currently sitting in an outdoor display area in the Johnson Space Center in Houston, but plans to move it indoors as part of a larger space shuttle exhibit are under consideration. Interestingly, the JSC recently launched a contest to rename the shuttle. Apparently they did not like the name Explorer...

The ARKYD-100 Is Funded!

17,614

backers

$1,505,366

pledged of $1,000,000 goal

The Arkyd 100 Space Telescope

About a month ago, Planetary Resources—the company that caused quite a stir a while back when announced its intention to mine asteroids—created a Kickstarter campaign. Their intent with it was not to make money—looking at the investors at the company’s website, they probably do okay in that area—but to offer the public access to one of their small space telescopes expected to launch in 2015, called the Arkyd-100. Since the telescope is intended for the public, the company is asking for one million dollars to crowd fund it.

While this idea seems a little far fetched at first—after all, what can one million dollars buy in an industry that already operates on billions—but if anyone has a chance to pull this off, it is Planetary Resources. Since the company does not need to design the telescope from the ground up, “simply” re-purpose one of their already existing designs, they can send it up with their own fleet of asteroid hunting space telescopes. So, in essence, the team at Planetary Resources offered us the opportunity to hitch a ride with them to space. This, I think, is pretty cool, and apparently I am not the only want thinking that. Twenty days into the Kickstarter campaign, the Arkyd-100 space telescope had surpassed the one million dollars mark, not only giving the project a clear, green light but also marking a significant milestone in citizen science.

Build an Organizer for Arkham Horror

If someone asked me what my favorite board game was, I would probably have to say Arkham Horror from Fantasy Flight Games. Among its many great qualities, the one I like the most about the game is its complexity. With intricate rules and an army of bits and pieces, Arkham Horror provides a fun and long-lasting experience—extra fun if you happen to be a devotee of H. P. Lovecraft. Complexity, however, often comes with a price, and, in the case of Arkham Horror, this price is difficult storage. The large number of components can be tricky to properly store and organize—especially if someone invested in one or more of the game’s many expansions. Of course, you can always use tackle boxes and be done with it, but there are those of us who would like to use something a little more fitting to this great game; preferably, without spending too much money on it. That is where I come in.

In this article, I will guide you through the process of building the above pictured wooden organizer to replace the plastic insert that comes in the game’s original box. My goal is to present you with something that is relatively simple to construct—without any previous woodworking knowledge—yet still looks professional and elegant. Furthermore, this organizer is not only good looking but also highly functional, able to hold the core game and an extra expansion comfortably in one, tidy box.

Although this was my first attempt to work with many of the tools and material I used in this project, I feel confident that I learned enough from my own experience to write this guide in such detail that you do not have to suffer through my mistakes again. So, if you feel up for the task, read on and start building!

Is This the End of Console Gaming?

It has been quite some time since I last posted anything here, and I apologize. This new Xbox One craze, however, kind of forcing me to get back into the writing game as I care deeply about this issue

First of all, if you haven’t heard what is going on, here is a quick recap: the new Xbox, called the Xbox One, has features that basically cripples the used game market, has a mandatory DRM (Digital Restrictions Management) system, mandatory installs, a Kinect sensor that is forced on you whether you want it or not, and a crap-load of other restrictions. But the most important thing is basically the killing game ownership. In the next generation, you will no longer buy games, you will lease them, and if you don’t check in with the company over the internet after a certain amount of time, you cannot play! That is right! You cannot play a single player game without checking in with Microsoft first and then after every 24 hours! And if the company goes under or decides it wants out of the console business, there goes your game collection with it.

Just a Quote

"Science is more of a process, 

then a list of answers."

                                               - Neil deGrasse Tyson