Archives
Recent
Mars
Until this past week, it was looking as if the United States was repeating the fate of other declining great powers, in at least one notable respect, China’s Ming Dynasty. Some 600 years ago, the Ming emperors sent forth into the unknown a series of massive fleets to travel the seas and acquire
. . . Read more
Date:
8/6/2012
Imagine you were planning to hike the entire Appalachian Trail -- all 2,181 miles from Georgia to Maine -- without stopping to replenish supplies. What would you set out with in your backpack? The answer is obvious. Almost everything you carried would be food or water, because that's what you
. . . Read more
Date:
11/7/2011
As the final mission of the Space Shuttle approaches, a feeling of sadness and regret hangs over the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Despite protestations by senior political appointees that the space agency has an exciting future, most of us sense it isn't so. NASA's signature
. . . Read more
Date:
7/6/2011
The greatest adventure in human history is ending in its infancy. NASA's human spaceflight program, a signature achievement of American civilization, is dying. The program was conceived during the bleak days following Russia's launch of Sputnik in 1957, and then was energized by President John
. . . Read more
Date:
4/25/2011