The Apollo 11 Moon Landing Party At The Ontario Science Centre
Last weekend, I attended a celebration of the 50 year anniversary of the first moon landing, the Apollo 11 mission. This party was held at the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto. I took notes, of course. (grins) And I thought maybe you might be interested in some of my highlights.
Dr. Robert Thirsk, Canadian Astronaut
Dr. Robert Thirsk, a Canadian Astronaut who was part of the STS-78, and Soyuz TMA-15 (Expedition 20/21) missions, who had flown on the space shuttle Columbia and also spent 6 months on board the International Space Station, shared his experiences in space.
He stressed that accomplishments in space have benefited us here on Earth. The technology used for the Canadarm, for example, form the basis for robotics being utilized today for neurosurgery. This science is saving lives.
Astronauts are expected to perform at a high level but they’re also expected to have fun. Being in space should be a joy. It is a special experience. Yet there are important tasks to accomplish.
He says his body’s reaction to takeoffs took some getting accustomed to. There’s a rush of bodily fluids rising up in his body. He could feel his intestines lift.
It takes 2 to 3 days to adjust to being in space. After 3 to 5 days, he felt like he was born there. Once he returned to space, there was another 2 to 3 day adjustment period. He couldn’t get out of his seat by himself when they landed on Earth. He had to be assisted.
Dr. Robert Thirsk spoke about how watching the Apollo 11 Moon Landing made him want to become an astronaut. However, there were no Canadian astronauts at the time. They were all Americans or Russians. So he didn’t think that was possible for him. I thought it was interesting how this lack of representation impacted him.
He is excited about the future of space exploration. He’s certain we’ll visit an asteroid in 10 years or less and we’ll be walking on Mars in 15 to 20 years. Those Mars astronauts are alive today, which is a fascinating fact. If you’re a teacher, you could be teaching the first being who steps on Mars.
Dr. Robert Thirsk talked about how being an astronaut is a lifelong role. He’ll be a spokesperson for the space program for life. It will always be part of him.
Cailin Gallinger, Planetary Geophysicist
Cailin Gallinger, a planetary geophysicist and a member of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter’s (LRO) Diviner instrument science team, relayed some interesting facts about the moon.
The same side of the moon always faces us (which is why folks talk about the dark side of the moon). The moon is moving farther and farther away from Earth. It is also shrinking as it emits heat.
That’s one of the reasons why eclipses are so special. Many years ago, the moon would have appeared much larger than the sun. Many years from now, the moon won’t cover our view of the sun. It is only during this special slice of time that the moon perfectly covers the sun during an eclipse.
The surface of the moon can be either extremely hot or extremely cold, depending on what we perceive here on Earth as its fullness (the amount of its illuminated surface). Below the moon’s surface, the temperature is moderate, however. This makes me suspect that any future settlements on the moon will be situated at least partially below the surface.
One of the missions of LRO was to search for water. Water can be used for rocket fuel. They did detect water in the South Pole of the Moon. Cailin Gallinger believes that will be the site for a future permanent base on the Moon.
Wilfred Buck, Science Facilitator For The Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre
Wilfred Buck, Science Facilitator for the Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre and a member of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation, talked about First Nations’ contributions to astronomy.
He stressed that every group of people on Earth has names for the stars and an interest in science. They experimented, tested theories, used science in everyday life and it factors in their beliefs about themselves.
The Cree, for example, believe themselves to be star people, spirits learning to be human. Their origin stories are very similar to wormhole theory (based on the theory of relativity). They believe their people traveled through holes in space to reach Earth.
One of the Crees’ constellations, that of a bear, is also rooted in a story about how the bear went around the Earth four times, picking up the momentum necessary to fly into the sky. That’s the slingshot effect, something astronauts use today.
Wilfred Buck shared that members of the First Nations were extremely interested in the Apollo 11 moon landing. The astronauts landed on terrain that was special to his people. They weren’t surprised that water was eventually found there. Their stories foretold there would be.
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Doc’s Orders
She wants both sides of her cyborg—the medic AND the beast.
A fully functional cyborg is balanced. His machine half and his organic half work together to produce the perfect warrior.
Doc isn’t fully functional.
The G Model operates at the two extremes. When his machine is in complete control, he’s the logic-driven medic, saving lifespans. Once his organics take charge, he becomes the savage beast…and beings die.
Both sides of Doc want to be the first to claim his female.
Allinen is one of the few beings in her small settlement who wasn’t born with a fated mate. Determined to belong somewhere, she has crafted a plan to leave the planet.
That plan doesn’t involve a huge stormy-eyed male who alternates between cool seduction and out-of-control ravishment. Doc isn’t her fated mate. Allinen knows that. But his dual nature and forbidden embraces tempt her to forget forever and indulge in more immediate delights.
Neither side of Doc views their relationship as being temporary. Her conflicted cyborg is prepared to battle her family, her planet and death itself to keep her.
Buy Now:
Amazon US:
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Amazon UK:
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NASA at CES 2016
I was SUPER excited to see that NASA was at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). This was their first time at the show and they brought all the tech a space junkie could want to see.
There were mini rovers, a Mars simulator, and plenty of people to answer questions.
Robonaut 2 made an appearance. He is still legless, our poor humanoid robot. Robonaut 2 was designed to test the feasibility of robots taking on the more mundane tasks in space. He’s been to the International Space Station where astronauts tested his capabilities.
And there were humans at the booth, including Astronaut Dr. Don Thomas, who was signing autographs (folks were sneaking in questions also).
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Crash And Burn
Crash was manufactured to be one of the best warriors in the universe. The cyborg has spent many human lifespans fighting the enemy. But, unlike his battle-loving brethren, he doesn’t enjoy killing. When he escapes the Humanoid Alliance, he vows to never end another life.
Then he meets Safyre, an infuriating human female, and he considers breaking his vow.
Safyre will do anything to save her friend, the being she loves like a sister. She’ll ravish a huge hunky cyborg, kiss his best friend, and invoke scorching hot desires the male never realized he could feel. Dark soulful eyes, a quick wit, and a tempestuous passion won’t divert her from her mission.
Love, and a planet-destroying weapon, however, might stop her permanently.
Pre-order Now:
On Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Crash-Burn-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B019EBKIF2
On Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crash-Burn-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook-x/dp/B019EBKIF2/
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SciFi Saturday News – Toilet Problems In Space, Supermassive Black Holes And Is Star Wars SciFi?
Here is the round up of the SciFi stories that inspired me this week
Supermassive Black Hole Swallows Star
Nothing says SciFi to me like black holes. (grins)
“A team of scientists has witnessed a supermassive black hole swallowing a star and spitting out a “jet” of matter.”
Toilet Problems In Space
Dark is in but your SciFi romance is a little too grim for your liking. Nothing lightens the mood like potty humor.
Mika McKinnon shares the story of a real life toilet malfunction.
“If that’s not bad enough to have the suction of pure space applied to the most delicate of regions, a sadistic quirk of spacecraft design means that all fresh air for the shuttle enters through the roof of the bathroom. Extremely cold, barely-heated-above-liquid fresh air rushed down on Gregory as the depressurization klaxon rang out, waking all his companions.”
More Awesome Photos From Space
Wired shared yet more inspiring space photos this week
Including this photo of galaxy M82.
Not A UFO
Sorry, folks. That light in astronaut Scott Kelly’s photo wasn’t a UFO.
“That’s one explanation. Another one—admittedly a bit more prosaic—is that the “UFO” is a reflection off the space station window. Even likelier is that it’s an overhanging piece of the station itself that happened to catch a bit of light. The ISS is larger than a football field, with solar wings, experimental platforms and habitation pods hanging off of it in all directions. It’s actually not all that easy to get a clear shot without some piece of hardware getting in the way”
Is Star Wars SciFi?
I love hearing from writers, about their view on the worlds they create.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens writer, Lawrence Kasdan, shares
“Star Wars is its own genre. It’s not really science fiction. It’s really something on its own, fantasy and myth and science fiction and Flash Gordon and Akira Kurosawa all mixed up together…. It can be anything you want it to be.”
What has inspired you this week?
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Vapor is the most advanced cyborg the Humanoid Alliance has ever developed. He’s a finely honed weapon, a warrior without parallel, half man and half machine. No lock can contain him. No being can stop him. Whatever he wants, he takes.
He wants Mira Breazeal, the Designer’s daughter.
She’s his one temptation, his sexy target. Vapor shouldn’t crave her caresses, steal her kisses, make her scream with ecstasy. The cyborgs want her dead and they would question his loyalty if he didn’t kill her. The humans would shoot him on sight if he dared to touch her.
Their love is forbidden. Their desire could be lethal. One human and one cyborg will risk everything for a moment of passion.
Buy Now:
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Breathing-Vapor-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B015UN87JC/
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Breathing-Vapor-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B015UN87JC/
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Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-ca/ebook/breathing-vapor
Topics: SciFi News | Comments Off on SciFi Saturday News – Toilet Problems In Space, Supermassive Black Holes And Is Star Wars SciFi?
SciFi Saturday News – Star Wars Posters, New Star Trek Show, Terraforming Mars and Close Calls In Space
Here is the round up of the SciFi stories that inspired me this week
Star Wars Posters And A Fun Q&A With JJ Abrams
Famous folks bombarded Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens’s director JJ Abrams with questions in an amusing Q&A.
Even George Lucas participated.
“”JJ, what happened to Darth Vader’s grandchildren?” Lucas asked.
“Oh, George, this is great. You tell me man, you made all this sh** up.””
Close Calls In Space
Do you need an exciting plot twist in your new SciFi novel?
There’s a great new series called Secret Space Escapes, which highlights near misses on space missions.
Astronaut Jerry Linenger shares
“Whenever you’re operating on the edge of human ability, you’re going to have close calls. We’ve had quite a few. But because we usually come out of them successfully people say that it’s fine when it’s actually quite hairy.”
Terraforming Mars
Thinking about setting a story on Mars?
Mars’ atmosphere will make terraforming (turning Mars into an Earth-like planet) even more difficult.
Bruce Jakosky, principal investigator of NASA’s MAVEN mission, shares
“It’s [atmospheric CO2] not there. It’s been removed from the solar system entirely, so it’s not possible to bring it back.”
New Star Trek Show
As of this date, we know very little except there will be a new Star Trek show in 2017.
io9 had some fun musing about what they’d like to see.
Inspiring Photos
Wired shared some truly inspiring photos from The NASA Photo Archives.
Including this photo of dust surrounding V838 Monocerotis, a red supergiant.
What inspired you this week?
Subscribe To My Release Day Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
Vapor is the most advanced cyborg the Humanoid Alliance has ever developed. He’s a finely honed weapon, a warrior without parallel, half man and half machine. No lock can contain him. No being can stop him. Whatever he wants, he takes.
He wants Mira Breazeal, the Designer’s daughter.
She’s his one temptation, his sexy target. Vapor shouldn’t crave her caresses, steal her kisses, make her scream with ecstasy. The cyborgs want her dead and they would question his loyalty if he didn’t kill her. The humans would shoot him on sight if he dared to touch her.
Their love is forbidden. Their desire could be lethal. One human and one cyborg will risk everything for a moment of passion.
Pre-order Now:
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Breathing-Vapor-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B015UN87JC/
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Breathing-Vapor-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B015UN87JC/
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-breathingvapor-1897324-340.html
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/breathing-vapor-cynthia-sax/1122718203
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-ca/ebook/breathing-vapor
Topics: SciFi News | Comments Off on SciFi Saturday News – Star Wars Posters, New Star Trek Show, Terraforming Mars and Close Calls In Space
