Hours before sunrise on Monday morning, United Launch Alliance’s brand spankin’ new Vulcan Centaur rocket is scheduled to make its maiden flight carrying a historic passenger: Peregrine, the first American lunar lander to be sent to the moon in over 50 years. And its mission could mark a turning point in humankind’s exploration of the cosmos. Peregrine is not a NASA spacecraft, but one developed by Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic, a private company. If it survives touchdown, Peregrine will be the first commercial craft to successfully land on the moon — or any planetary body outside of Earth, for that matter. Astrobotic is among a small group of companies that have been selected to carry out lunar deliveries for the space agency over the next few years as part of NASA’s new Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. Peregrine Mission 1, expected to launch January 8 at 2:18AM ET, is the first of these operations under a $79.5 million contract with the space agency. But it’s a wholly commercial endeavor, and alongside the five payloads it’ll deliver for NASA to support the upcoming Artemis missions, Peregrine will have cargo for other clients on board too, at a cost of $1.2 million per kilogram (roughly 2.2 pounds). That includes mini rovers and science instruments, collections of art and archival material, a physical “bitcoin” and, controversially, human remains. Peregrine is headed for the moon’s nearside, the hemisphere that is always facing Earth. The 6-foot-tall,... Continue reading at 'Engadget'
[ Engadget | 2024-01-07 14:00:38 UTC ]
The best science fiction and fantasy book deals of the day, curated by Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-04-17 14:06:49 UTC ]
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Her science fiction writing won awards. Her tarot books won her a devoted following. And she created DC Comics’ first transgender superhero. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-04-13 20:05:34 UTC ]
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Back in 2021, the New York Police Department (NYPD) cancelled a planned deployment of the Spot robot dog [aka "Digidog"] following a public backlash. Now, New York City's current law and order mayor Eric Adams has brought the robot dog back for use in "hazardous situations," The New York Times... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-04-12 06:19:27 UTC ]
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The best science fiction and fantasy book deals of the day, curated by Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-04-10 13:54:15 UTC ]
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Science fiction has always been good at predicting distant futures and now governments are turning to them to ward off possible threats. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2023-04-10 13:17:28 UTC ]
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Pollack, who created the first mainstream transgender superhero, Kate Godwin, had been fighting Hodgkin’s lymphomaRachel Pollack, award-winning author, leading authority on tarot and the occult, trans activist and comic-book writer who created the first mainstream transgender superhero, has died... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-08 10:45:56 UTC ]
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The best science fiction and fantasy book deals of the day, curated by Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-04-03 14:22:26 UTC ]
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By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) Of all the writers of science fiction and speculative fiction writing in the twentieth century, a few names spring to mind as candidates for the most ‘prophetic’ writers in the field: William Gibson, who popularised the term ‘cyberspace’ and the idea... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2023-04-03 14:00:15 UTC ]
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By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) Of all the writers of science fiction and speculative fiction writing in the twentieth century, a few names spring to mind as candidates for the most ‘prophetic’ writers in the field: William Gibson, who popularised the term ‘cyberspace’ and the idea... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2023-04-03 14:00:15 UTC ]
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The best science fiction and fantasy book deals of the day, curated by Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-03-27 13:20:56 UTC ]
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Red your way into the best realistic science fiction, ranging from well-known classics to lesser known gems. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-03-24 10:35:00 UTC ]
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Writers, publishers and agents pay tribute to a warm, generous figure, author of more than 50 books ranging from SFF to crime to children’s literatureEric Brown, a prolific, award-winning author who published more than 50 novels, children’s books and short story collections, and who was the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-03-23 13:58:10 UTC ]
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The best science fiction and fantasy book deals of the day, curated by Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-03-20 13:42:08 UTC ]
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The best science fiction and fantasy book deals of the day, curated by Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-03-13 13:58:47 UTC ]
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Want a glimpse into the future of SFF? We look at some of the weird and wonderful standouts from The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2022. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2023-03-10 17:00:00 UTC ]
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The 2023 Nebula Award Finalists were announced by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association this week. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-03-09 15:15:00 UTC ]
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This exciting mix of new science fiction and fantasy novels out in March 2023 will help you finish off the worst of the winter. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-03-09 11:34:00 UTC ]
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The best science fiction and fantasy book deals of the day, curated by Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-03-06 14:26:01 UTC ]
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It is one thing to treat AI as a tool when it has no scope for emotion. It is quite another when AI has a full suite of emotional responses. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2023-03-05 19:19:51 UTC ]
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It often feels like the buzziest things to come out of CES every year are fascinating hardware, new applications of AI, and things that feel right out of science fiction movies. But, sometimes, the coolest things you find at CES are the most useful. Take, for instance, Deepstash... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2023-03-04 08:00:00 UTC ]
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