In the four years since its launch, Kepler has chalked up 122 new and confirmed planets. It’s also caught the scent of nearly three thousand additional objects, of which probably 80 percent or more will turn out to be other-worldly orbs.
I don’t think the space station is innovative. Going to the moon was innovative because we had no idea how to do it.
Whether solid rockets are more or less likely to fail than liquid-fuel rockets is debatable. More serious, though, is that when they do fail, it’s usually violent and spectacular.
It is difficult to imagine evolution in alien planets operating in any manner other than Darwinian.
The motions of the comets are exceedingly regular, and they observe the same laws as the motions of the planets, but they differ from the motions of vortices in every particular and are often contrary to them.
We must still think of ourselves as pioneers to understand the importance of space.
As an astronaut, especially during launch, half of the risk of a six-month flight is in the first nine minutes.
To me, there is something superbly symbolic in the fact that an astronaut, sent up as assistant to a series of computers, found that he worked more accurately and more intelligently than they. Inside the capsule, man is still in charge.
Astronauts are very professional and when they’re preparing for launch, they prepare for it as the most serious endeavor of our lives.
Growing up in the ‘60s and early ’70s, with the space flight and the Apollo program, I always loved planes. I always loved rockets and I always loved space travel.
I think most astronauts are not risk takers. We take calculated risks for something that we think is worthwhile.
Space offers extraordinary potential for commerce and adventure, for new innovations and new tests of will. As Americans, we can’t help but reach for the stars. It’s our nature. It’s our destiny.
Why is there space rather than no space? Why is space three-dimensional? Why is space big? We have a lot of room to move around in. How come it’s not tiny? We have no consensus about these things. We’re still exploring them.
I’ll tell you, being involved in human space flight, it is an emotional endeavor. I think it brings in the highest highs and the lowest lows.
I certainly remember building model rockets. It was fun to watch the rocket blast into the air, suspenseful to wonder if the parachute would open to bring the rocket safely back.
Perhaps, as some wit remarked, the best proof that there is Intelligent Life in Outer Space is the fact it hasn’t come here. Well, it can’t hide forever – one day we will overhear it.
I believe that there may be intelligent life on other planets.
The day is not far off when we will be able to send a robotically controlled genome-sequencing unit in a probe to other planets to read the DNA sequence of any alien microbe life that may be there.
I do believe there is life in outer space. Mathematically, there has to be, and if you believe as I do that there is a creator of the universe, then how can we be so arrogant to believe he created life here and nowhere else?
If we ever start communicating with living creatures from other planets, the number one priority is, how are you going to communicate information? Even between different cultures here on Earth, you get into communication problems.
We have the capability – physically, technically – to protect the Earth from asteroid impacts. We are now able to very slightly and subtly reshape the solar system in order to enhance human survival.
It’s very dangerous to put astronauts on a moon base where there’s radiation, solar flares and micro meteorites. It’d be much better to put robots on the moon and have them mentally connected to astronauts on the Earth.
Life science research can be done on multiple platforms. Since we have a very small number of people flying into space, the more people you have, the better.
Mars missions will require up to three years in reduced gravity, so we need to make sure astronauts can not only survive but thrive as they move outward to explore this new world.
I watched the moon landing as a boy, and I thought that was the most exciting thing ever, going into space, orbiting Earth and exploring other planets. That looked fantastic.
