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 awards recognize outstanding literary achievements in 12 categories, including the Ray Bradbury Prize for Science Fiction, with winners to be announced April 16. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-03-02 15:00:14 UTC ]
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This new form of mobility will be very different from our current reality, which provides some unique design opportunities. The future of urban air mobility is often represented in utopian images. A wealth of fanciful renderings show flying vehicles taking off and landing vertically from... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2021-02-24 08:00:33 UTC ]
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Many of our favorite books are better as films. Other times, it’s better to stick with the book. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-02-23 17:17:00 UTC ]
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MANY HISTORIES OF CYBERPUNK emphasize its literary precursors — its borrowings from hard-boiled detective fiction, for example, or the proto-cyberpunk elements in the science fiction of writers such as Alfred Bester, John Brunner, Samuel R. Delany, Philip K. Dick, James Tiptree Jr., and others.... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books
[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2021-02-20 16:00:16 UTC ]
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Science fiction has often had an inspirational and positive relationship with space endeavors. But the new US Space Force is struggling with a pop culture public relations problem. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2021-02-19 13:20:06 UTC ]
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In short stories like “The Immortals” and novels like “The Listeners,” Mr. Gunn helped prepare readers for the future. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-02-11 17:10:44 UTC ]
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Tevis wrote science fiction greats like “The Man Who Fell to Earth” and the overlooked “Mockingbird.” Also, “The Hustler.” Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-02-03 17:15:28 UTC ]
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Find some immersive, out-of-this-world stories featuring LGBTQ+ characters in these excellent queer science fiction books. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-02-02 11:32:00 UTC ]
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“The Absolute Book,” by Elizabeth Knox, takes on a number of genres, while “Winter’s Orbit,” by Everina Maxwell, stays true to one. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-01-29 10:00:04 UTC ]
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Do you love your science fiction with a heaping side of humor? You’ve come to the right place! Pick up these funny sci-fi books, including Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-01-28 11:38:00 UTC ]
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If you’re on the hunt for new literary rabbit holes, today is your lucky day. The Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction, created by lexicographer Jesse Sheidlower (a former editor of both the OED and Random House Dictionaries) is “a comprehensive quotation-based dictionary of the language of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-27 16:14:09 UTC ]
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The Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction turns a century of neologisms (and neosemes!) into a redefintion of the genre. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2021-01-27 12:00:00 UTC ]
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The new online Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction probes the speculative corners of the lexicographic universe. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-01-26 12:01:06 UTC ]
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At the London Review of Books, Colin Burrow reflects on how Ursula K. Le Guin‘s narrative prowess flourished within the constraints of science fiction and children’s literature. “Fiction needs the unruly energies of indeterminacy,” Burrow writes, “of being partly inside the mind of the reader,... Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2021-01-20 21:30:12 UTC ]
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“Vellum” by Hal Duncan, “Mockingbird,” by Walter Tevis, the works of Tanith Lee and more. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-01-13 14:00:00 UTC ]
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Police in Shanghai say a suspect has been detained in the death by possible poisoning of the billionaire founder of a Chinese video game company that is producing films based on popular science fiction novel “The Three-Body Problem.” Continue reading at ABC News
[ ABC News | 2020-12-28 14:47:02 UTC ]
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Del Rey, the SFF imprint of Cornerstone, has acquired A E Warren's four-book high-concept science fiction series, described as "Jurassic Park meets Sapiens, set within a bold new imaginative world". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-21 17:20:07 UTC ]
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From talking tigers to automaton dragons and UFOs, find some of the best 2020 under the radar SFF books you may have missed, including Ghost Wood Song by Erica Waters. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-12-21 11:37:00 UTC ]
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Need a new novel? Classic adventures, satire, and dystopian science fiction top this year's round-up of reader book recommendations for fiction. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-12-18 22:08:27 UTC ]
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Need a new novel? Classic adventures, satire, and dystopian science fiction top this year's round-up of reader book recommendations for fiction. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-12-18 22:08:27 UTC ]
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