Mark Hammergren

The problem is, these aren't even real circus monkeys.

I was thinking of designing an interceptor spacecraft using Kerbal Space Program, and writing a paper about that equally "plausible" mission.

"Care and precision" in communication are only positive qualities when the author adheres to professional ethics.

Now that the truly hard work has been done, all we have left is to produce a working, sustained fusion reactor, and separate thousands of kilograms of mercury-198 from all the other mercury isotopes.

If members of a "Heaven's Gate 2" religious group commit suicide in order to rendezvous with Loeb's alien spacecraft, what degree of moral and ethical responsibility does Loeb bear for continuing to advertise his easily-rebutted claims regarding 3I/ATLAS, knowing their impact on some people?

What a coincidence! I was just going to post to arXiv my new article, "Is Avi Loeb Three Raccoons in a Trench Coat?"

Looking at the author list, it's clear this is a problem with their institutional culture. Such a lack of professional ethics and decency.

If it looks like a duck, moves like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck and not an alien disguised as a duck.

That seems entirely reasonable. I also hadn't paid attention to quite how far it still has to go to perihelion and potentially increase in activity.

Decently big sucker, too. An absolute magnitude of ~11.7 implies a diameter somewhere between 10 - 30 km, depending on its albedo.

No no no, you've got to rub your eyes with diced onions.

Introducing them to certain regulations is one thing; continuously reminding them, another. For me, it was ITAR. "I don't care if the object is small and built by college interns, ITAR still applies."

The authority for making such determinations rests with the head of the agency that granted the clearance, and that is derived in turn from the President. So we know how that goes.

Many meteorite collectors have eaten minute portions of meteorites, particularly those from the Moon and Mars! I tried tiny bits of both -- too small to taste, but enough to sense as grit between my teeth.

BORTLES!

Some flights prep for international travel in Fargo for the quick turnaround.

Congrats, Mark! Thank you for your inspired leadership in planetary science -- both the Institute and the field!

ohno

Brad Dourif as Piter de Vries from Dune.

Mix it up a bit with a Brad Dourif from Dune.

It's just a guy outside shaking sheet metal.

I once gave a talk at an International Space Development Conference that could be summarized as ACADEMICS REALLY SHOULD WORRY MORE ABOUT ITAR.

Right? And here I am, worried about ITAR for student-built CubeSats.

Very nice! Another dogbone like 216 Kleopatra. Maybe due to YORP spinup / fission / reaccretion? You can see some evidence for slope failure in the neck region. You can also get moons with this history. Have any been noted?

Along with the cancellations, I think we can expect orders for the management of the surviving missions to be moved from Goddard to red state NASA centers.

More moving pieces. The USS Carl Vinson and CSG-1 transited the Singapore Strait yesterday, so it will be another 5 days or so until they get to the Arabian Sea.

Changing minds requires finding and emphasizing a common moral foundation. This isn't it. This is Dukakis driving a tank.

And how many thoughtful parents worry about bringing children into a world of declining resources, ecological devastation, and rising totalitarianism?

This isn't grift. This is money laundering.

I see it also as a potential "consolation prize" to Senator Tuberville if SLS and possibly Orion are canceled. Trump's cabinet nominations are perhaps the most recent examples of how he values loyalty over any other quality.