“A space tourism industry is being built on the proposition of personal and existential transformation. But at what cost?”
space
Posted inEditor's Pick
There are Trees in the Future, Or, A Case for Staying
“Why struggle to stay?” In an essay at Protean, Lupita Limón Corrales weaves her reflections about pandemic life, new ways of living, and leaving California, especially through the lens of the remote work revolution. Writing about the first year of the pandemic — and the collective show of solidarity during 2020’s summer of racial reckoning, […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
Brownsville, We Have a Problem
“SpaceX’s investment likely does mean a change in economic status and power for Brownsville. But the money and vision of the world’s second-richest man could also upend the culture and values that make Brownsville special to its community, a fear that has riven the people of this usually quiet place.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Finding My Father Among the Astronauts
“It took more than a decade for me to realize that I never really wanted to become a pilot so much as I wanted to become like my dad, to achieve what others deemed impossible.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
If Aliens Exist, Here’s How We’ll Find Them
“We are near the end of Darwinian evolution, but technological evolution of intelligent beings is just beginning.”
Posted inArts & Culture, Featured, Highlight, Quote Posts, Quotes, Science & Nature
A Fond Farewell to a Friend: the Arecibo Telescope
“Exploring the cosmos is a way for us to know ourselves. Each time we look up, in some way we are making contact with each other, with our past, present, and future.”
Posted inFeature, Featured, Science & Nature, Story
An Atlas of the Cosmos
We’ve mapped Mars, the Moon, the solar system, even our own galaxy. Which means there is only one thing left to understand in this symbolic way and that is the entirety of the cosmos.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Weird Space That Lies Outside Our Solar System
Launched in the 1970s, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 — the first two spacecraft and human-made objects to leave our solar system — have reached interstellar space and now beam back images from this mysterious region.
Posted inBooks, Highlight, Nonfiction, Quote Posts, Quotes
‘We All Live in the Great Database in the Sky’: On Silicon Valley and UFO Culture
“The idea seems to be that we all live in the great database in the sky, occasionally summoning aliens with our minds.” Emily Harnett explores Silicon Valley’s appropriation of UFO culture.