The Peregrine spacecraft has experienced an ‘anomaly’ that could endanger its planned moon landing, as reported by the BBC. Astrobotic, the private company behind the project, says this anomaly prevents the spacecraft from pointing its solar panels at the sun. In other words, the vehicle can’t charge its battery. Without power, the planned lunar landing for February might have to be canceled. Astrobotic engineers are working the problem and will provide updates as they become available. The launch itself went off without a hitch early this morning, as the issue popped up during post-launch checks after communications had been established. The team behind the launch suggest the most likely cause of the anomaly is a problem with propulsion. Unfortunately, the engineers have a limited window of time to troubleshoot and fix the issue, as the spacecraft’s battery is currently “reaching operationally low levels.” There was a short comms breakdown, but it looks like that issue has been resolved. The company has also stated that the propulsion issue led to a "critical loss of propellant." Astrobotic has planned for a wide variety of fault scenarios and could get everything squared away before too long, but it's looking less likely by the minute. The company says it's still trying to stabilize the propellant loss, but is investigating "alternative mission profiles" and trying to save as much science and data as it can. Peregrine is supposed to be the first American lunar lander... Continue reading at 'Engadget'
[ Engadget | 2024-01-08 19:12:21 UTC ]
The Massachusetts-based translator has done more than anyone to bridge the gap between Chinese science fiction and American readers. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-12-03 10:00:21 UTC ]
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Chinese science fiction is a rich world of diverse, engaging stories that expand one's mind. But with all that is out there, where should you start? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-11-27 11:39:41 UTC ]
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There were too many to choose from. Our reviewers explain their picks, from “The Hanging Artist” to “The Night Tiger” Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2019-11-21 14:12:00 UTC ]
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In this week’s Dispatches from The Secret Library, Dr Oliver Tearle reads the first novel in Isaac Asimov’s juvenile science fiction series Science fiction set in our own solar system arguably began with Lucian, the classical author whose short satirical piece True History paved the way for... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2019-11-15 15:00:55 UTC ]
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The dense, interconnected network charts decades of collaboration and research. Nature, the multidisciplinary scientific journal founded in London in 1869, celebrates its 150th anniversary this week. Known for its innovative approach to publishing original research across all sorts of scientific... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2019-11-11 08:00:45 UTC ]
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This past summer, I stumbled across a link on social media to Chris Marker’s 1962 science fiction film La Jetée. For those who don’t know it, Marker’s miniature masterpiece—its running time is 28 minutes—mixes black-and-white stills with narration to tell the story of a man who circles back in... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-11-07 09:49:34 UTC ]
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CIXIN LIU IS having a moment. The recent publication in English of his Three-Body Problem trilogy has been rightly hailed as a sea change for Chinese science fiction in translation, garnering myriad awards and receiving wide acclaim — including an endorsement from Barack Obama. The Wandering... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books
[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2019-10-29 17:00:45 UTC ]
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With enough time, the technological challenges of sending humans to Mars and beyond are solvable. But psychologically, we’re not ready to leave our home. In 1945 British science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke—now best known for 2001: A Space Odyssey—correctly predicted the invention of... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2019-10-22 00:00:30 UTC ]
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In his latest book, Michael S. Heiser illustrates how the popular science fiction series can teach us about the Bible and God’s love for humanity. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-10-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Read these spine-tingling works of science fiction and fantasy at your own risk. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-10-18 19:00:09 UTC ]
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Battelle technology that can drop drones from the sky has been acquired by a San Francisco startup specializing in defense against unmanned aerial devices. Dedrone has acquired the assets to DroneDefender for undisclosed terms. Looking like a science fiction blaster, the device disrupts... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal
[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2019-10-08 16:38:06 UTC ]
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Our new columnists highlight the works of NYi-Sheng, Fernando A. Flores and more. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2019-10-08 14:00:00 UTC ]
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Translating one medium into another is tricky. Music is music and art is art and dance is dance; to try to convey the power of another art in fiction is its own sleight-of-hand. My own first novel takes on that challenge. In A Song For A New Day, musician Luce Cannon was on the cusp […] The post... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2019-10-07 11:00:15 UTC ]
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These new science fiction and fantasy titles will be your perfect fall companions. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-10-04 10:36:35 UTC ]
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The future’s uncertain, and the end is always near. Here’s what new SFF has to say about it. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-09-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors look to Africa and its diaspora and find the fantastical and futuristic. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-09-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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E.V. Odle’s 1923 science fiction novel stars a most unusual — and fascinating — character Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2019-09-25 20:52:59 UTC ]
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Earth can be an exhausting place, so let's look beyond our planet and explore these science fiction books about space and other worlds. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-09-24 10:35:51 UTC ]
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If the idea of saying goodbye to epic sci-fi worlds fills you with sorrow, check out this list of great YA science fiction series and read on! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-09-17 10:31:05 UTC ]
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Science fiction writing often serves as a thought experiment that explores shared and hidden beliefs whose material and political reverberations lie further in the future. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2019-09-16 11:39:25 UTC ]
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