Science Fiction Ratatouille

Cosmic material that has settled on the moon over billions of years could shed light on where a peculiar type of nitrogen in our solar system came from.

The Air Force’s X-51A scramjet vehicle has set a new record for the longest hypersonic flight.

Jeff Hanley, the top manager of NASA’s Constellation program, has stepped down to become associate director for strategic capabilities at JSC.

The six astronauts who flew back to Earth aboard shuttle Atlantis Wednesday said their trip was a blast, and they wish they could ride a space shuttle again.

Jupiter’s moon Europa has a salty ocean, and scientists have long wondered if life could be found there. A new study finds that Europa also has enough oxygen to support an ocean teeming with life.

Author Jeanne Robinson (b.1948) died on May 30. Last year, Robinson was diagnosed with a virulent form of biliary cancer which has not responded to treatment. Robinson, the wife of Spider Robinson, co-authored the Stardance novels and won the Nebula and Hugo Awards in 1978 for the original novella, “Stardance.” Robinson has also [...]

With summer taking its toll on programming, options for original shows are definitely on the slim side. While it might be time to hit the beach, there are a few tidbits that may be worth exploring, including a couple of premieres for Ghost Hunters Academy and Drop Dead Diva.

This week Grace goes on trial in Saving Grace, Gene reconnects with someone from his past in Ashes to Ashes, Steve and Tango take on new cadets on Ghost Hunters Academy, Happy Town returns with new episodes as Tommy looks for his missing wife, Moonlight comes back from the dead, Past Life has an out-of-body experience, the Lucian Alliance plots to take the Destiny on Stargate Universe, Merlin finds romance on Merlin, the Doctor meets the Dream Lord on Doctor Who, Antonio Sabato Jr. takes off his shirt on the Syfy flick Princess of Mars, and Jane faces disbarment on Drop Dead Diva.

Here’s what we have to look forward to this week on sci-fi, fantasy and paranormal TV, along with non-sci-fi shows that involve sci-fi or fantasy storylines or stars.

Movie legend Dennis Hopper passed away on May 29 from cancer. Most people will probably remember him as the mad bomber in Speed or the creepy villain of Blue Velvet. He was in Apocalypse Now and directed as well as starred in Easy Rider, the ultimate ’70s free-spirit biker movie.

His 46-year career has something for everyone. At SCI FI Wire, here we remember Hopper’s trips to the future, battles with monsters and just plain weird stuff from other dimensions.

This doesn’t sound like it will end well for humanity:

A Japanese government panel has produced a draft paper outlining how humanoid rover robots will begin surveying the moon by 2015, according to a report by the prime minister’s office.

As part of the $2.2 billion project, the droids will begin construction of an unmanned base near the south pole of the moon that will be powered by solar panels, according to the panel chaired by Waseda University President Katsuhiko Shirai.

JUNE 1960 STUNT MAN – “‘Putting a man in space is a stunt: the man can do no more than an instrument, in fact can do less.’ So said Vannevar Bush, chairman of the Board of Governors of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in a statement to the House Committee on Science and Astronautics. ‘There are far more serious things to do than to indulge in stunts. As yet the American people do not understand the distinctions, and we in this country are prone to rush, for a time, at any new thing. I do not discard completely the value of demonstrating to the world our skills. Nor do I undervalue the effect on morale of the spectacular. But the present hullabaloo on the propaganda aspects of the program leaves me entirely cool.’”

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Vannevar Bush – United States – Massachusetts Institute of Technology – New York City – New York