Space, the new frontier?

It was in the news this week that scientists believe that there are over a billion other Earth like planets somewhere out in the voids of space. I have always been of the belief that there could be life on other planets. Why wouldn’t there be? I’m not necessarily talking about little green men or hideous monsters with acid for blood that rip through your stomach wall whilst you are enjoying your Sunday lunch, but life of some description, maybe not that dissimilar to us.

Space intrigues me, that amount of undiscovered territory just waiting to be found and explored. What could be, what is, waiting for us just beyond the local stars we have barely touched upon? Space, as far as I am aware has no limits, no boundaries, if it did what would be beyond space?

Days gone by have spawned some of the greatest explorers known to man. Columbus and Cook set sail from various shores to discover new worlds returning victorious before their people. The urge to explore space however does not seem to herald such urgency or desire as it once did. And yes I understand that there is a fair bit of expense in the exploration of space, however in comparative terms I’m sure there was a fair bit of expense for Columbus, Cook and other explorers of the day to get a ship, man it and stock it for the months or years spent at sea.

Just try to imagine what discoveries would be brought back with the modern day explorer. Instead of potatoes we could get Felimper Carmos, (no I have no idea either but that’s because it hasn’t been discovered yet). I hope I will get to see in my lifetime just some of the exploration of space that I am sure we will one day achieve. If volunteers were called upon to man an experimental exploration ship into the darkest realms of space I would be first in the line to sign up.

To witness things that nobody had ever seen before, to step where no human has stood.

TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE.


The possibilities are endless, it’s no wonder the concept has produced so many much loved television shows and movies. It truly is science fiction, but then so were many of today’s technologies that we now take for granted. One day science fiction must become science fact, either through need or desire we will explore that which has only been viewed through a lens.

It wouldn’t surprise me either if one day we, the human race, start to populate some of these Earth like planets. Over the many years on this planet we have grown in numbers with every passing year. I’m not a historian by any means but I think it would be fairly accurate to say that the world’s population increases every year. And with every passing year and every new person born to this world more and more space is needed. We have spread from humble beginnings to every far flung corner of Earth and populated it.
There is only so much room and very soon it will run out and we will have to look elsewhere to live. Even if we were to plunder and colonise the oceans depths, sooner or later this too would run out. Eventually our only option for our continued growth will be to break free from the bounds of this sphere and find new planets to call home.
In years to come when you are searching the local estate agents boards for a new larger home to accommodate your ever growing family’s needs you could find yourself choosing not only a new street in a new town but maybe on a new planet.
Interstellar house moving? I dread to think; moving now can be stressful enough.

I wonder if it is that far from us. Relatively speaking we are still a fairly young species. We have only just begun in the greater view of things. The excitement as we stumbled into the new millennium and the 21st century is still fresh in our minds and memories. But, as long as we don’t screw things up too much, imagine what it will be like for our very distant relatives to witness the world’s first steps into the 121st century.
Just think how far technology has already progressed and how fast it is progressing. Before you take your latest gadget to the till and pay for it chances are its successor is already being made.

The jobs section of the local rag could become very interesting in years to come. Just like any large cruise ship now needs almost every type of profession onboard it so would the intergalactic ships of the future. Imagine applying for an administrator’s job or an electrician, plumber, caretaker, security guard on board HMS Star Searcher. The opportunity to travel through space will at some point become a very real option for the common Joe Public as the ship is crewed in preparation for its journey. A living community with a need for everything we need now and for people to service and provide for those needs.

Of course I would be applying for a more senior position amongst the crew, nothing too glamorous or above my station but Captain has a nice ring to it. Whatever you do, don’t choose a role where you suddenly appear at the beginning of an episode and have never been seen before. You will almost certainly be killed within the next hour. Go for the more prestigious role that comes with more air time.

This is all very Hollywood at the moment, the kind of stuff only really dreamt of in movie studios and played out in front of us by A list celebrities. But then is it? Who knows what is currently in production behind the doors at NASA. Would it be that unbelievable to think that more space travel has already taken place than we are led to believe? Space travel and exploration has lost the glamour and intrigue it once held, primarily because of the various Hollywood blockbusters and so it is now easier to hide should the appropriate authorities deem it necessary. Hollywood has already shown us the corners of the galaxy according to each producer and directors CGI induced creativity. So when new pictures come back from the Hubble telescope it doesn’t grab your imagination like it once did. Your imagination has already been stretched and will now take a lot more than pictures of a newly discovered star to excite it once more.
I would have loved to have experienced that feeling of the first moon landing beamed into everybody’s living room. It dominated the News and was the talk of every town worldwide, people were excited, the human race was taking its first baby steps into a new world, a new way of living. A space shuttle launches now and you’ll be lucky to find it in the “and finally” story at the end of the News.


There are two types of people in this world, Astronomers and Astronauts.
Those that are happy to just look at the stars and those that need to play amongst them.

I know which one I am.


Beam me up Scotty, bring on the playing field.

Let it snow... Just no where near our transport system

This great country has survived many trials over its years, from invading Romans, Spanish armadas to Nazi Germany. We have repelled them all. The great British spirit rose up as one and defeated all opposing forces. We stood proud and strong. We were GREAT BRITAIN, ruler of the waves. We were respected and feared, a great nation.

Now it seems the once ferocious lion has been neutered, mane shaved, claws trimmed and teeth removed. Of all the invasions, battles, conquests and victories we have now been defeated. Mother Nature has shown its strength and brought us to our knees.

Again…

It seems she is the only opponent we cannot defeat. Our nemesis. For once again this formerly great country came to a grinding halt as a blanket of snow was laid across its glorious green lands. It all came crashing down. Unable to cope, our cities and capital froze in the artic waste that devoured our fair land. The London transport system just stopped. Final. Trains stopped running, busses taken off the road. The emergency services declared they would only respond to life threatening situations. The M25 changed from a car park to a skating rink. More people took the day off work than at any other time in the history of mankind. All because it snowed and although it had been predicted for seven days running up to the cataclysmic event it took us all by surprise. “We just weren’t prepared” a transport minister was heard to say.

Again…

Schools were closed, shops shut there doors, businesses stopped trading. Internet shopping saw its biggest profits in a single day as people locked themselves away from the big freeze and went online. How is it possible for a layer of snow and alright I’ll give it credit, a fairly good layer of snow to disrupt us this much? What has changed within us that has crippled our ability to cope? It hasn’t always been like this. In fact this is a recent event. Like many of you I can remember traipsing through snow up to my knees to get to school, loving every second of it, stopping to have snowball fights or to sledge down a hill on anything with a smooth surface that we could lay our hands on. Building snowmen and igloos, (although I never managed to get the roof done). Mass snowball fights in the school playground, sitting in class with my coat and gloves on to keep warm. We weren’t sent home or told the school was closed for the day, teachers didn't stop us from playing in the snow incase somebody got hurt. It wasn’t even contemplated, everyone went to school and everyone went to work. Life carried on just like any other day.

So what has changed? The problem seems to be that this countries elected officials are now spoken down to and told what to do by everyone except the British public to whom it matters. Once in a position to act on our behalf they are now instructed on what we can and can’t do by people that don’t even live here. The British stiff upper lip is now quivering under the threat of the European Union telling us off. Health and Safety regulations have brought this country to its knees.
We can no longer do anything even mildly risky for fear of retribution and reprisals. Before we sneeze we must make sure that we sneeze into an approved tissue. I fear we have become a wet flannel on the floor of the EU’s bathroom. It is time that this lion found its balls again, disembowelled the European Union and declared itself, with a mighty roar as king once more. No longer should we have to ask permission from those outside this country before we wipe our nose. Then and only then might this Britain become great once more and cope with a little bit of snow. Maybe then the next time Mother Nature sees fit to send a bit of snow our way that rather than taking the day off we will just put on our wellies, wrap up warm and set about our days as per normal.

Britain was named Great Britain for a reason. Lets try to see if we can remember why and just maybe we can make this country great once more...