Keith’s note: NASA just turned 66. Jimmy Carter just turned 100. Too bad NASA does not remember its own past – a past currently being sent to the stars.

Keith’s note: Nine years ago – on 7 November 2014 – I had a chance to visit a large scale model of the “Ranger” Spacecraft used in the filming of “Interstellar” (my original 2014 posting “Visiting Interstellar’s Spacecraft” with lots of pictures). A large tent was erected in a parking lot at the Udvar Hazy Facility near Dulles, Airport in Virginia 11 miles from my house. So I visited it more than once. Often times I was the only person in the tent other the lone security guard. Then I went inside to view the film on a vast IMAX screen in original film projection format. I was spoiled. I really loved this film for the way if portrayed a personal approach to the exploration of the universe – the small aspects and the vast aspects. The twin Voyager spacecraft travel ~ 3.5 AUs (325.5 million miles) a year – so they’ve both traversed around 3 billion miles outward across interstellar space since the movie came out. Meanwhile back on Earth we are still tearing our planet’s life support system apart – indeed the fires and natural disasters depicted in the film ring far more true today than they did in 2014. And of course we are doing much the same thing to our society – thus adding to the impetus to move outward. Oh yes: they almost used the NASA worm logo in the movie – and almost spelled my last name right on the aft end of Ranger 😉 Some of my favorite lines (there are so many to chose from):

• “We must reach far beyond our own lifespans. we must think not as individuals but as species. We must confront the reality of interstellar travel.”
• “Mankind Was Born On Earth. It Was Never Meant To Die Here.”
• “We Used To Look Up At The Sky And Wonder At Our Place In The Stars. Now, We Just Look Down And Worry About Our Place In The Dirt.”
• “Do not go gentle into that good night; Old age should burn and rave at close of day. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” (Dylan Thomas)
• ” We’ve always defined ourselves by the ability to overcome the impossible. And we count these moments. These moments when we dare to aim higher, to break barriers, to reach for the stars, to make the unknown known. We count these moments as our proudest achievements. But we lost all that. Or perhaps we’ve just forgotten that we are still pioneers. And we’ve barely begun. And that our greatest accomplishments cannot be behind us, that our destiny lies above us.”

Keith’s note: I got this response from NASA GSFC PAO with regard to my initial posting last night. This is what happens when a biologist (me) thinks they are a know-it-all. I stand thoroughly corrected. My initial post follows below this correction. Hi, Keith. You write: “Anyone who saw the film Interstellar would recognize the similarity between the NASA and film images of a black hole. Oddly there is no […]

Review of “The Farthest: Voyager In Space” – Becoming Interstellar “In 1977 the twin Voyager spacecraft left planet Earth bound for the outer reaches of our solar system – and beyond. What they discovered changed our way of thinking about how worlds are built and broadened our notions of where life might be found. The story of this audacious project is told in the captivating new documentary “The Farthest” which […]

Breakthrough Initiatives Summit on Life in the Universe and Space Exploration “Breakthrough Initiatives today announced its second annual Breakthrough Discuss scientific conference, which will bring together leading astronomers, engineers, astrobiologists and astrophysicists to advance discussion surrounding recent discoveries of potentially habitable planets in nearby star systems. The two days of discussions will focus on newly discovered Earth-like ‘exoplanets’ in the Alpha Centauri and TRAPPIST-1 planetary systems, and new evidence that […]

U.S. lawmaker orders NASA to plan for trip to Alpha Centauri by 100th anniversary of moon landing, Science “Representative John Culberson (R-TX), a self-professed space fan who chairs the House appropriations subpanel that oversees NASA, included the call for the ambitious voyage in a committee report released today. The report accompanies a bill setting NASA’s budget for the 2017 fiscal year, which begins 1 October; the full House appropriations panel […]

Visiting Interstellar’s Spacecraft, SpaceRef “I had an opportunity to stand next to a spaceship from the film “Interstellar” this morning and fly through a simulation of yet another spacecraft from the film. I am not going to post a review yet for “Interstellar” since I can’t really discuss the film in any detail without revealing important aspects. That said, there have been trailers and other PR efforts online for months […]

Keith’s 4 Nov note: I saw “Interstellar” this evening – in 70mm IMAX on the largest screen in Virginia. I saw “2001: A Space Odyssey” in Cinerama – the IMAX of the day – when the film first came out and was stunned by the experience. That happened again this evening. Interstellar is deep and a wonder to behold. It is profound and loud and yet sublime and simple – […]

I had an opportunity to stand next to a spaceship from the film “Interstellar” last Friday and fly through a simulation of yet another spacecraft from the film.

INT. FRONT PORCH, FARMHOUSE – NIGHT COOPER: (sighs) We’ve forgotten who we are, Donald. Explorers, pioneers. Not caretakers. Donald nods, thoughtful. Weighs up his words. DONALD: When I was a kid it felt like they made something new every day. Some gadget or idea. Like every day was Christmas. But six billion people … just try to imagine that. And every last one of them trying to have it all. […]