![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
May. 2nd, 2013
Extreme terrestrial environments like tropical deserts, polar or alpine regions are a challenge to life – some microorganisms like lichens or cyanobacteria nevertheless survive under these extremely irradiated, dry or cold conditions. Could it be possible that these so called ‘extremophile’ microorganisms would also be able to live, for example, on or right below the Martian surface?
Earlier experiments like BIOPAN or EXPOSE-E brought samples of microorganisms into space. During BIOPAN, different organisms were exposed for ten days to space vacuum, cosmic radiation and selected wavelength ranges of solar extraterrestrial electromagnetic radiation. EXPOSE-E offered the scientists the possibility to expose extremophiles to different conditions under long-duration exposure up to 1.5 years. In both experiments the extremophiles even coped with real space conditions. Could these lichens be candidates for a life on Mars?
The Harper government is under fire for cutting Elections Canada’s budget even as the agency struggles to address rampant procedural errors and widespread allegations of cheating during the last federal vote.
The Basics of Space Flight
May. 2nd, 2013 09:42 am
Basics of Space Flight is a tutorial designed primarily to help operations people identify the range of concepts associated with deep space missions, and grasp the relationships among them. It also enjoys popularity with college and high-school students and faculty, and people everywhere who are interested in interplanetary space flight.
I really dislike playing the gender card, but when someone chucks a whole packet of cards in my face, it becomes harder to ignore.
OK, something happened and I’ll be really brief about it. The discussion went like this:
Me: I heard you are interested in hard SF
Publisher: yeah, we are, but… *looks uneasy*
Me: … if it’s written by a woman?
Publisher: yeah, I hate to say that, but yeah