NASA to Smash Rocket Into Moon Tomorrow

Wants to go boldly into future with 'grandiose' space vision

(NEWSER) - A stellar idea or just lunacy? Either way, Newt Gingrich wants an American colony on the moon by the end of his second term, reports Politico . Speaking in Florida, home to much of NASA, Gingrich called his moon proposal a "Northwest Ordinance for space," and "grandiose," comparing it to visions by Abraham Lincoln, the Wright brothers, and John F. Kennedy. "I accept the charge that I am grandiose and that Americans are instinctively grandiose,” Gingrich said. “Does that mean I’m visionary? You betcha.” More»

Discovery stuns lunar experts

(NEWSER) - Water has been detected in moon rock brought to Earth by Apollo astronauts, reports Space.com. A team used a new super-sensitive technique to discover the water in volcanic glass beads in the rock. The stunning find, detailed in the journal Nature, is forcing scientists to rethink theories about the moon's origin 4.5 billion years ago. More»

Rest of the world collaborates while fearful US falls behind

(NEWSER) - While the rest of the world cooperates incessantly on all matters extraterrestrial, the US, hampered by self-imposed regulations meant to keep weapons out of enemies' hands, is swiftly losing dominance of the final frontier, the Washington Post reports. The US’ military space program is still gargantuan, but the civil program, NASA included, suffers from “limited public interest in space activity.” More»

He gives rare interview ... to Australian accountants

(NEWSER) - Fans of the space program are in for a treat: The normally reticent Neil Armstrong sat down for an hourlong interview about that moon landing of his with, of all outlets, the Certified Practicing Accountants of Australia. Some highlights:

• 50-50: "I thought we had a 90% chance of getting back safely to Earth on that flight but only a 50-50 chance of making a landing on that first attempt. There were so many unknowns ..."
• Close call: When Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin descended to the moon's surface in the Eagle, the on-board computer was guiding them toward a rocky, steep area. "Not a good place to land at all," says Armstrong. "I took over manually and flew it like a helicopter out to the west direction, got into a smoother area without so many rocks and found a level area and was able to get it down there safely before we ran out of fuel." There was "something like 20 seconds of fuel left."

We should listen to Gingrich's space ideas: Jeffrey Goldberg

(NEWSER) - Jeffrey Goldberg is not what one might call a Newt Gingrich fan, but as he sat on the tarmac at Reagan National Airport gazing at the space shuttle Discovery as it prepared for its final flight, he realized something: "On the matter of space exploration … Newt Gingrich is exactly right." With no immediate plans to put Americans back into space, the US space program is "aimless." Writing for Bloomberg, Goldberg argues that "every year that goes by without a grand vision for space exploration [is] a year in which thousands of students otherwise inclined to study science fail to discern its romantic and heroic possibilities." More»