You are browsing the archive for Obama Archives - Martian Chronicles.
15 April 2010
Thoughts on Obama's Space Speech
In case you missed it, you can click here to watch Obama’s speech at NASA today and read the transcript here. Overall there were not a lot of surprises in this speech. NASA still gets a budget increase. The shuttle is still on-track for cancellation, the Constellation program is also going to be canceled, with transportation to and from the ISS to be provided by private companies. The ISS will …
1 February 2010
NASA's New Budget
The internet has been a whirlwind of wailing and gnashing of teeth, interspersed with the occasional optimistic or guarded response, as space advocates respond to Obama’s fiscal year 2011 budget request for NASA. In case you haven’t heard, the main points of the FY2011 budget are nicely summarized in this overview document: Increase of $6.0 billion over 5-years (FY 2011-15) compared to the FY 2010 Budget, for a total of …
9 September 2009
If This is Socialist Propaganda, Please, Send More
Surely by now you have heard that president Obama attempted to brainwash our nation’s children with socialist propaganda yesterday. It is apalling, isn’t it? An outrage! But have you actually heard or read what he said? I’ll let his words speak for themselves: I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. Every single one of you has something that you’re good at. Every single one of you …
24 July 2009
The Future of NASA
Earlier this week I mentioned that there is an ongoing evaluation of the future of human spaceflight at NASA. The so-called “Augustine commission” has been tasked to: “conduct an independent review of ongoing U.S. human space flight plans and programs, as well as alternatives, to ensure the Nation is pursuing the best trajectory for the future of human space flight – one that is safe, innovative, affordable, and sustainable. The …
4 May 2009
We live in the future
I often say (or at least think to myself) that we live in the future. Especially when I’m traveling. It’s constantly amazing to me that I can get anywhere in the world in less than a day. I can make a routine trip out to California for a conference, when 150 years ago that would be the journey of a lifetime, and would involve diseases and caulking wagons to cross …
27 February 2009
A Glimpse at NASA's future…
…Or at least at the future budget. The fiscal year 2010 budget summary was released by the White House yesterday, and there was a little bit of info about NASA. First and foremost, NASA is getting some more money! A total of $2.4 billion, counting the stimulus also. That in and of itself is refreshing. But also very interesting is how NASA’s budget is divvied up, and what that means …
4 February 2009
NASA on the Pancam Spinoff
Science@NASA has a nice article about the Mars rover spinoff technology and the awesome inauguration picture that I wrote about before. Go check it out!
24 January 2009
Pancam spinoff enables 1,474 Megapixel Inauguration Photo
Remember how I posted about the cool commercial PanCam spinoff that can take giant panoramas? Well apparently photographer David Bergman used it to take a monstrous 1,474 megapixel image of the inauguration! The level of detail is amazing. Go take a look and remember that the space program helped make this image possible.
15 January 2009
Citizen's Briefing Book
Ever wish you could tell the president something? Now you can! change.gov has started a new feature called the citizen’s briefing book where people can submit their own ideas and give other ideas a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down”. The ideas that are voted up by the most people will be presented to President Obama once he takes office. There are some great ideas and some weird ones on the …
6 January 2009
Obama's Solution to NASA's Moon Woes?
Apologies for the slow posting lately. I’m paying for my sloth over the holidays by rushing to get an abstract written for this year’s Lunar and Planetary Science Conference by Thursday, which means I need to have something resembling results… I thought it would be worth taking a moment and pointing you at this article, though. If I’m reading it correctly, it suggests that Obama may make the moon effort …