Dear President Trump

Dear President Trump

I am writing to you about Space Exploration and the way we need to be pursuing matters.

As you would be aware, Roscosmos are at work on an Angara-A5V heavy-lift carrier rocket Moon colonization mission.

This is a really big deal for the Russians, as they missed out on the chance to walk on the Moon, once Neil Armstrong made a bootprint on the surface.

Meanwhile, all these decades later, NASA is like a headless hen. Seemingly not quite sure which project they ought to be working on. Understandably to a degree, I suppose.

Since they never quite know if their current activities could alter direction at a moment's notice. For instance, President Obama disrupted plans back in 2010, once he got the notion into his head of how amazing landing on an asteroid might be.

And his 2010 comments: "I just have to say pretty bluntly here, we've been there before," seemed to indicate that returning to the Moon was somewhat beneath him.

Personally, I believe NASA needs to temporarily shelve all its current work, yet again. And wholly concentrate on ensuring that the Roscosmos mission is a resounding success.

The mission to colonize the Moon is a wonderful opportunity for U.S. and Russia relations to be brought to an even spectacularly higher point. You and President Putin are already pretty close. But by ensuring his Moon mission definitely is a success, I believe you will become brothers.

Space is an extremely unforgiving place, where even the tiniest error can result in horrendous consequences. So, NASA needs to walk alongside Roscosmos on this upcoming mission. To ensure America is always there, should assistance ever be needed.

Sir, this Moon mission is one in which you and President Putin need to be sitting side-by-side throughout. Possibly you both might consider moving over to reside together here in Australia. Just for the duration of the mission, of course! To ensure you are never far from each other, should a quick chat ever be required.



Image Credit: Wikipedia

Taskmistress Space

Taskmistress Space

I read a piece by a blogger who says that the two recent space travel losses should serve as a wake-up call that the leading role in US space travel needs to rest in the hands of NASA.

What difference does it make whose hands space travel rests in, as long as it is resting in someone's hands; as long as it is getting done. Who will play the leading role in space travel will be the person whose team is able to get the job done; whoever it is who can deliver the goods; whoever it is who is able to put the runs on the board.

Orbital Science Corporation and Virgin Galactic are simply two companies that have learnt a lesson.

What lesson is that?

• That Taskmistress Space is ruthless.

• That she rarely (if ever) takes prisoners.

• That she doesn't tolerate sloppiness in any way, shape or form.

• That she's the meanest, most ferocious and nastiest Taskmistress ever -- with not an inkling relinquished to anyone unless they absolutely worship her.

Image credit: Microsoft

Dear President Obama

 

Dear President Obama

I am writing to allay any concerns you may have about the possibility of the next American space vehicle not being able to make it to the Space Station in one piece.

http://ournextplanet.blogspot.com.au/2014/10/an-accident-yeah-right.html

Mr Obama, I don't feel there is any need for you to be concerned, as President Putin will always be available with a Russian vehicle if there are any further mishaps.

Kind regards
Eamonn

Sat 01 Nov 2014

Message from Erik:

We got it covered Eamonn

Message to Erik:

Erik,

Did you predict that the replenishment mission to the space station (which just exploded a few days ago) was not going to be successful... If so, when you knew that the mission was going to be a failure, did you place a bet for $1M with someone (who believed that the mission was going to be a success)... So, does this mean you are now a million dollars richer? 

 

Image credit: Wikipedia

An "Accident" - Yeah, Right!

 

An "Accident" - Yeah, Right!

Why do the news media insist on calling spaceflight explosions accidents?

I suppose life can be difficult for news reporters. Orbital Sciences' executive vice president Frank Culbertson has been reported as having advised his staff to keep tight-lipped around reporters. "Definitely do not talk outside of our family," the former astronaut has been quoted as saying. [1]

But the fact is, every time there is an explosion — like this latest which has happened at the Wallops Island launch pad — it was done by a human being.

Somebody messed up, in some way.

Someone dropped the ball.

They screwed up.

How could someone have screwed up?

Many ways, for example:

• Lack of adequate security (ineffective screening of personnel, which resulted in a person being involved who was able to sabotage the mission).

• Allowing illiterate personnel to be involved with the program.

"WHAT! — how could such a thing happen?"

Well, there are people in our society who have an illiteracy condition which affects their performance on the job. These individuals usually operate hidden from view.

Who are these hidden illiterates?

Meet them:

"[T]he office worker who can’t figure out why his computer erased an important document; the dentist whose fillings need to be replaced more often than they should; the mechanic who “fixed” your car three times for the same problem..."

Find out more:

http://www.appliedscholastics.org/education-issues/hidden-illiteracy-the-ignorance-of-ignorance.html


Reference:
[1] (foxnews.com/science/2014/10/28/unmanned-nasa-rocket-explodes-after-liftoff)


Image credit: Wikipedia

Rosetta Rendezvous

 

Well Done! 

For this magnificent achievement by the European Space Agency.

www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/Rosetta_arrives_at_comet_destination

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosetta_(spacecraft)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Space_Agency


Comet/Asteroid-related story I have been working on:
The Contingency Plan


8 August 2014
New Norcia

Well Done! to those involved with the New Norcia radio telescope (here in Western Australia) for the part they have played with the Rosetta mission.

www.enjoyspace.com/en/news/a-decisive-manoeuvre-for-rosetta

www.astronomywa.net.au/index.php/Non-commercial/european-space-agency-deep-space-ground-station-new-norcia.html

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Norcia_Station


Image Credit: ESA

Why Space Should be Kept a Nice Place

Why Space Should be Kept a Nice Place
By Loki

If we are destined to live in space in future, as we have so befouled and besmirched this once-beautiful Earth of ours that we can no longer live in serenity and peace on it, then it is necessary to keep in mind that we do not do a whole spate of things that we have been doing down here below. First of these would be that we should all live far closer to the source of our produce than we currently do. After all, what is so wonderful about living on top of one another in an urban environment? The rural landscape is far more spiritually regenerative, and if one has ready and ongoing access to the Internet, then one is not even missing out on the concourse of which the average human being is so fond. In space, I can visualise us all having our own veggie patches grown hydroponically, for starters.

Another aspect of our current existence that we should avoid like the plague, which it most definitely is, is the tendency to litter. OK, OK, in the developed world, you tend to have regulated this one more or less out of existence, but in the developing world (like here, in South Africa) every fence, bush and park, unless it is kept under constant surveillance, tends to be bestrewn with garbage of all description. Living on the fringes of a small fishing village, as I do, one can’t even take one’s dog for a walk in the veldt without worrying that she is going to cut her paws on all the broken glass bottles lying around (partly due to some of us feeling more inclined to feed our addictions, rather than to savour the beauty of the remaining wildlife around us). So, litter should, ideally, be kept far from outer space – the answer lying mainly in valuing even that which we wish to discard. What we throw out inevitably has a use elsewhere, as long as we avoid hedonistically thinking only of ourselves. We need to think of our tomorrows, and to overcome the distorted lens of our own myopia before it is too late.

We need, too, to respect others’ personal space. For a few generations, at least, we ought to be able to get that one right in outer space, due to the, as yet, under population of that dimension (fortunately for us, despite the corporeal renderings of Baroque artists, the angelic hosts tend to take up little physical space). As one who longs for a hermit’s cell (albeit one that is linked to the Internet 24/7), the mass invasion of the cities has been viewed with an increasing sense of horror. One can only pity those who, for reasons of work (and play), choose, or are forced, to live in areas where people are so crammed together that even to claim a small cubicle for oneself is out of the question. When I was working full-time, and still constrained by my enforced urban existence, I loathed those open-plan offices with their obligatory camaraderie – far better for me the joy of at least having one’s own office, which I did, eventually, obtain. Call me a grumpy curmudgeon, if you will, but I like my space. Hopefully, in outer space that possibility will remain for a long, long time.


Image Credit: Microsoft

Copyright © 2014  Loki — All Rights Reserved

Dear President Putin

 

Dear President Putin

I am writing to congratulate Roscosmos (Russian Federal Space Agency) for the extremely difficult task it has chosen to undertake under your leadership, namely: colonizing the Moon by 2030.

Over the last couple of days I have been reading a book 'Mankind Beyond Earth' by Dr Claude A. Piantadosi; one thing in particular which caught my attention was the fact that the Moon has such hot and cold temperatures. It had never occurred to me before that the temperatures there would be anything other than similar to Earth. So the task that Russia has in front of it will truly be fraught with immense difficulties.

Well Done! for having the vision to set such a high goal for your nation, and I hope you are as equally successful with completing the mission as President John F. Kennedy was when he achieved the task of landing a man on the Moon last century.

_____________________________________________


UPDATE

Sent: Friday, 13 December, 2019

Subject: Double Celebration


Dear President Putin

As the 2020 New Year approaches, the mission target date for Roscosmos colonizing the Moon by 2030, will have a countdown of exactly one decade.

Since contacting you on 3 August 2014 [http://ournextplanet.blogspot.com.au/2014/08/dear-president-putin.html], Loki posted the following comment: "One only wonders whether the Russians intend to use political prisoners as the construction teams..."

I responded with the following:

"An interesting point is that one of the primary reasons for the British settlement of Australia was to establish a penal colony to alleviate pressure on crowded UK jails.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convicts_in_Australia

"And if a prison was built on the Moon, it could well end up being a really dreadful 'Hell-off-Earth' for anyone incarcerated there."

Sir, if you do intend to use prisoners to achieve Moon colonization by 2030. Maybe you would allow me to make a suggestion:

What if you personally make a deal with these prisoners. By offering them their freedom, in exchange for assisting you achieve mission success by the target date.

This way, not only will you be able to celebrate New Year's Day 2030 with having successfully colonized the Moon on target. You will also be able to celebrate having finally gotten these prisoners off your hands. A double celebration!

_____________________________________________


UPDATE

Tues, 17 Dec 2019

Colonization Plan

"Russia is planning to begin building a human colony on the Moon by 2030. Initially, the Moon base would be crewed by no more than four people, with their number later rising to maximum of 12 people."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonization_of_the_Moon

"Overall, Russia will complete the moon mission using six separate launches of the upcoming Angara rocket."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3653942/Russia-s-plan-conquer-moon-Nation-send-12-cosmonauts-lunar-surface-ahead-creating-permanent-base-2030.html

_____________________________________________


UPDATE

Sun, 5 Jan 2020

Subject: Polar Bears

Dear President Putin

It is breaking my heart reading about what is happening to all these polar bears. With them losing their home as the ice sheets melt...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_bears

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_mass_invasion_of_Russian_polar_bears

Why polar bears invaded a Russian village
https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/12/18222072/polar-bear-invasion-novaya-zemlya-russia-garbage-climate-change

Russia islands emergency over polar bear 'invasion'
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47185112

Polar bears 'running out of food'
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-42909866

More:
https://www.google.com/search?q=Russian+Polar+Bear+Invasion

~ ~ ~

Something I recently wrote:

The Earth appears to have certain constraints built in.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming

"Global average temperatures declined for thousands of years, until fossil fuel-based industrialization beginning roughly 200 years ago reversed the decline. Global warming has intensified in recent decades."

Does this mean that the human race was not meant to have an industrial age, that if we had stuck with riding horses all would have been well?

"Because the climate system has large thermal inertia, it can take centuries for the climate to fully adjust."

Does this mean the situation is already at such a point, that even if we attempted to rectify matters at this point in time, that it would be several generations before our actions even showed a noticeable difference?

"Greenhouse gases trap heat radiating from the Earth to space. This heat, in the form of infrared radiation, gets absorbed and emitted by these gases in the atmosphere, thus warming the lower atmosphere and the surface."

Why can't we do something to these greenhouse gases?

Like maybe:

Convert them to some other type of gas. Or figure out some way to vent the gasses into space.

There is probably a really simple way to fix matters, and all we have to do is come up with what it is.

Because why would we be on a planet that didn't allow us to progress beyond a pre-industrial age?

Unless this is some sort of prison planet that we are never meant to leave.

Not meant to conquer Space.



Image Credit: Wikipedia

New World Prophecy

Will God’s Next Creation Be Humanless?
By Bonnie Roberts


The new world
is very old.
I am very old.
I am too old for this
new world,
which is not at all new,
but so old we cannot
remember its face
or how long it has taken
to carve it
to the bone
on which the young
thrive, like puppies
gnawing playfully at a gristle
never having tasted
meat
never having seen a forest
or known the feeling
and taste
of pure water
but I must have been
here when the volcanoes
burst, earth novaes,
and oceans heaved
new continents ashore
when the new world
was renewed
and will be again--
this time when continents,
concretes, and poisons
burn away, corrode, sink--
until the Right Ones
sit on cooled,hard lava
not scrape it
and everything else
away--
perhaps stick insects
and other strong
or hard-shelled things
without territory
and greed
will eat only what they need
and just be
in balance with Earth
and, sad, the young of this very old
world will not be here to see
that actual possibility,
that miracle
of a world without destroyers,
and at night,
the stick insects might beat
their wooden legs together
in quiet praise
as some things green
keep breaking through
the empty places
where all was lost.

Only the Creator will know
the immensity of what has been taken.
Eventually, the memory of mankind
will drift to a cold speck of stardust of Its Infinite Being,
like we remember our parents
when we ourselves are old:

We want them back
though we understand fully
that they are gone forever.
We are old and wise enough
to accept things the way they are

without looking back.


Note:
I see that I have major revisions to make, especially around the center section. "This time" and "perhaps" should connect more clearly and directly, without all the hyphens in between. I'll repair that eventually. I wouldn't send this poem out for publication. I wrote it one night about two years ago after I had heard of some horrible loss for the Earth--maybe someone slaughtering our wolves or Tar Sands ruining pristine lands in Canada. Whatever, it broke my heart. I think we are living among lost people. They have completely forgotten--if they ever knew--where they are.


Image Credit: Microsoft 

Copyright © 2012  Bonnie Roberts — All Rights Reserved

Previous Human Existence

Predicting the Future or Remembering the Past?

"Human extinction is a difficult subject to study directly since humanity has never been destroyed before," states the text on the Wikipedia page: 'Risks to civilization, humans, and planet Earth'.

But isn't this simply an assumption?

How do we know that humanity has never been destroyed before?

That humanity never existed before?

ONCE before, or even HUNDREDS OF TIMES before.

~ ~ ~

The following is something I wrote (which was published in the June 2014 edition of Good Reading Magazine, in response to an article). The article drew attention to the accuracy some writers had been able to achieve with their predictions: "Many novelists make up stuff that's so fantastic and improbable that it could never happen in the real world. But the passing of time shows that yesterday's outlandish fictional idea can often become today's reality. ALESHA EVANS takes a sometimes unnerving look at books that accurately predicted the future."

I responded...

Re Forecasters Of The Future (GR Feb14):
The idea that some have been able to predict our present circumstances is
indeed astounding. But what if something else is at work here; what if rather
than predicting, some are simply 'remembering'?

There is the somewhat esoteric proposition around that the human race may have
ALREADY been at this (our current) level of technological advancement before (possibly many times before).

The concept that any newly-blossoming planetary civilization is inherently
predisposed to totally annihilating itself. Thus, that it may require from the
human species as a whole, several 'increasingly-improving-attempts' (before
ultimate success is manifested) to progress beyond/through a certain 'danger
zone' on the evolutionary scale.

_____________________________________________


UPDATE

Sun, 27 Sep 2022

Subject: Has The Time Arrived

Is this where Humanity does the unthinkable?

'The president also threatened nuclear retaliation, saying that Russia had “lots of weapons to reply” to what he called western threats on Russian territory and added that he was not bluffing.' 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/21/putin-announces-partial-mobilisation-in-russia-in-escalation-of-ukraine-war

Where thousands of years of ancestral efforts could be wiped out, and with none of us left winners?


 

Image Credit: Microsoft

One Planet

If there were no countries, rather just one planet we all called home, human beings probably would be more friendlier, kinder and pleasant to each other and thus be a lot better off--except maybe the politicians, who might then not have anything to do. 

A Homeless Species?

Will human beings be able to find a new home during the 'window of opportunity' we have available (before the Earth's 'use by date' arrives)?

Earth's Fate:

When all life on our planet will be extinct..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sun


Predicted Future:

When the Earth is expected to be uninhabitable..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Earth


Future of the Earth:

Factors effecting our survival on planet Earth..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_of_the_Earth


Global Catastrophes:

Events which could inflict serious damage and destroy or cripple civilization..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risks_to_civilization,_humans,_and_planet_Earth

Image Credit: Microsoft