New York Times (February 24)
The Obama administration is drawing up plans for research to create an “activity map that would show in unprecedented detail the workings of the human brain, the most complex organ in the body.” This would be “a breathtaking goal.” Few scientific programs, including the space race and the human genome projects, “were as daunting as the brain project…. The brain project will have to create new tools to explore an organ that is the seat of human cognition and behavior. A task of that magnitude can truly capture the imagination.”
Tags: Activity map, Brain, Human genome, Imagination, Obama, Space
Financial Times (December 28)
Manned space flight may be most appealing, but “since the Apollo programme ended 40 years ago unmanned exploration has provided almost all of our extraterrestrial excitement – at a far lower cost than crewed flights.” Beyond 2020, however, there are few plans for unpmanned exploration. “More ambitious proposals are needed….At the very least, Nasa should be planning to visit the giant planets – Jupiter, Saturn and their fascinating moons – to follow on from the successful Galileo and Cassini missions.”
The Economist (June 15)
Japan’s Space Agency JAXA deserves double credit. First there was the successful launch of Ikaros, an Earth-orbiting satellite powered by a 200 square meter solar sail. Then there was the successful return of the Hayabusa capsule. The Economist notes “Japan’s space programme has, so far, been a lot more successful than Britain’s was.” Oddly enough, the capsule landed in Australia near the place where Britain once launched three rockets. This strengthens the impression that Japan is “picking up” the space baton that Britain dropped long ago.
Japan’s Space Agency JAXA deserves double credit. First there was the successful launch of Ikaros, a satellite powered by a 200 square meter solar sail, which will orbit Earth. And then there was the successful return of the Hayabusa capsule. The Economist notes “Japan’s space programme has, so far, been a lot more successful than Britain’s was.” Notably, the capsule landed in Australia near the place where Britain launched its Black Knight, Black Arrow and Blue Streak rockets. This strengthens the impression that Japan is “picking up a baton” that Britain dropped long ago.
