October 7, 2003

Space is the place  

Scientists think there may be an ocean of liquid methane (or other hydrocarbons) on Titan. They'll know for sure next year when the Cassini spacecraft arrives there. There's very little on the implications of this, but in the past solid water has been thought to exist on Titan's surface, which in combination with the thick atmosphere and a transient heat source could provide conditions that would allow life. It's not clear to me whether this latest discocery makes that less likely.

Meanwhile, Scott Martens over at A Fistful of Euros discusses the latest moves by the French to build a space presence (en français), and points out the wanton proliferation of different names for spacegoers - astronauts, cosmonauts, taikonauts, and now spationaute. I don't have any better alternatives, but it's sure going to get complicated as more of these international coalitions pop up.

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