Phobos/Fobos-Grunt: Good News, Bad News, and Really Bad News

Updated 4:35 p.m. (November 14, 2011)

Mars Mission Most Likely a No-Go

"Russian Mars probe is likely lost, officials say"
Deutsche Welle (November 14, 2011)

"Russian officials have declared their country's Mars Phobos-Grunt probe, launched last Wednesday, as 'lost.' The mission was meant to head to a Martian moon, retrieve soil samples and then return to Earth by 2015.

" 'All attempts to obtain telemetric information from the Phobos-Grunt probe and activate its command system have failed,' quoted an unnamed Russian space sector source, as reported by the Interfax news agency. 'The probe must be considered lost.'..."

"...Popovkin brushed aside suggestions that if the probe indeed crashed to Earth, it would cause damage over a populated area.

" 'There are 7.5 metric tons of fuel in the aluminum tanks on board. We have no doubts that they will explode [and destroy the probe] upon re-entry,' Popovkin said. 'It is highly unlikely that its parts would reach Earth.'..."

That last bit, about bits and pieces of the Fobos-Grunt probe not reaching Earth's surface, strikes the Lemming as being a tad optimistic. Granted, we're almost certainly looking at a translation - and subtleties can get 'lost in translation' quite easily.

Still Trying: On a Deadline

"Russia Still Trying to Contact Stranded Mars Moon Probe"
Mike Wall, Space.com (November 14, 2011)

"Russian engineers are still trying to communicate with a wayward Mars moon probe, and they have until early December to fix the spacecraft and send it on its way, according to news reports...."

"Aborted Mars probe jeopardizes Russia's long-range space program"
Military commentator Konstantin Bogdanov, RIA Novosti (November 12, 2011)

"...Analysts are in no mood to exaggerate the situation with the spacecraft but note that its problems are more serious than an ordinary technical mishap. Russia's long range space program will now depend on Federal Space Agency efforts to reach the proper conclusions regarding the Phobos-Grunt incident...."

As the Lemming pointed out earlier, what's happening to Phobos/Fobos-Grunt is not good news for folks in Russia's space program.

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First, the good news.

Russia's Phobos-Grunt mission, that should be spelled "Fobos-Grunt," to the Martian moon Phobos had a successful launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and is in Earth orbit.

The massive robot spaceship carries China's Yinghuo-1 Mars orbiter; a landing module that's designed to land of Phobos, scoop up a soil sample, and send the sample back to Earth; and The Planetary Society's LIFE experiment. More about that last, later.

Now, the bad news.

Something went wrong. Fobos-Grunt stopped communicating with Russia's ground control.

It's still holding its orientation, staying pointed in one direction, but Fobos-Grunt is in trouble. Its orbit only goes out about 345 kilometers (214 miles) from Earth's surface. The air up there is really thin, but it's not a perfect vacuum. Eventually it'll slow Fobos-Grunt down enough to drop more than a dozen tons of spaceship somewhere on Earth.

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Russia's Phobos/Fobos-Grunt: It Could be Worse

"Stricken Mars probe stays silent"
Jonathan Amos, BBC (November 12, 2011)

"Efforts are continuing to try to regain control of the Russian Mars mission that is stuck circling the Earth.

"The Phobos-Grunt spacecraft was put in orbit on Wednesday, but failed to fire the engine that was designed to take it on to the Red Planet.

"Engineers have been using tracking stations around the globe in an attempt to talk to the probe and diagnose its problems - but without success.

"Europe has offered Russia its assistance.

"The European Space Agency Spacecraft Operations Centre (Esoc) in Darmstadt, Germany, is now involved in trying to establish a link, using its antennas in French Guiana, the Canary Islands and on the Spanish mainland.

"The US space agency (Nasa) has also offered to do anything that might bring the wayward craft under full control...."

This is not good news for Fobos-Grunt, the Russian space program, or whoever gets fingered in the blame game that's almost sure to come. Still, as the Lemming said earlier, it could be worse. Back to the BBC:

"...Michael Murphy from Dayton, Ohio, posted on Friday: 'I just observed a pass of Phobos-Grunt and the Zenit second stage.

" 'The rocket body was tumbling slowly, and the probe itself appeared to be very steady as it passed.

" 'I did not get good timing information, but the probe was definitely steady. I saw no other objects along the track the probe followed,' he told the Phobos-Grunt thread on the SeeSat-L website...."
(BBC)

There is good news there. Michael Murphy spotted Fobos-Grunt, its rocket booster: but didn't see any debris nearby. Whatever went wrong, Russia's Mars ship is still pretty much in one piece.

Something with the tonnage of a largish truck waiting to fall back to Earth isn't good news. But, true to journalistic tradition, there's worse news:

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Unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine! Nitrogen Tetroxide!! Radioactive Cobalt-57!!!

To be fair, this Discovery op-ed didn't use exclamation marks, and did point out that:

• The chemicals with big names would "vaporize" long before impact
• There's only "a small quantity" of cobalt-57 involved

"Toxic Russian Mars Probe Heads Back to Earth"
Analysis by Ian O'Neill, Discovery News (November 11, 2011)

"It's hard to believe that only last week we were getting excited for Russia's first interplanetary mission in 15 years to launch. By now, we should be happy in the knowledge that the ambitious -- and awesome -- mission is powering through space, toward the Martian moon Phobos.

"The reality is that we are now discussing uncontrolled reentry scenarios.

"As if that wasn't enough bad news, we are looking at an uncontrolled toxic reentry scenario. Phobos-Grunt -- correctly written 'Fobos-Grunt,' meaning 'Phobos-Soil' or 'Phobos-Ground' -- is fully-laden with unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide; that's ten tons of fuel and oxidizer. The probe itself weighs-in at only three tons...."

"...The majority of the fuel will likely vaporize during reentry, but everyone will be hoping for a splash-down in an ocean (which covers two-thirds of Earth, fortunately), as the wreckage will still be hazardous. There's also a small quantity of radioactive cobalt-57 in one of the science missions housed in the probe -- a fact that will most likely cause a media frenzy.

"It is for these reasons that the Russian media is dubbing Phobos-Grunt 'Most toxic falling satellite ever.'..."

While astronomers around the world are collecting data on the Fobos-Grunt orbit, and working out where it's likely to hit, Russia's higher-ups are doing their job. Sort of:

"...As we await the inevitable reentry of Phobos-Grunt, it would appear the Russian authorities are looking for someone to blame after a string of mission failures. According to a (translated) Interfax bulletin, an anonymous (expert) source indicated this may force reform in the Russian space agency, Roscosmos. Also, 'a number of positions of responsible persons' could face jail time...."
(Discovery News)

Meanwhile, back on Fobos-Grunt, there's a whole lot of hardware that probably won't get used. And some little critters sent by The Planetary Society:

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Tardigrades to Mars

"...Not only was the mission designed to land and scoop-up some regolith (dust and rock) from Phobos' surface, returning it to Earth for analysis, it is also carrying a fascinating Planetary Society experiment called the Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment, or 'LIFE.'

"LIFE is composed of many different types of bacteria to small organisms that seem to tolerate the space environment pretty well. Tardigrades -- known as water bears -- were also a part of the payload.

"What was the point of sending microscopic organisms to a Martian moon?

"In an effort to understand how life appeared on Earth, the experiment would have put the hypothesis of 'panspermia' to the test. Panspermia is a proposed mechanism by with life may 'hop' from one planetary body to the next -- meteorites slamming into Mars, say, ejecting many tons of debris into space. Should any organisms be 'hitching a ride' on the debris, could they (or at least their genetic information) survive the interplanetary journey, and atmospheric entry, to spawn life on another world?..."
(Discovery News)

Depending on who's involved, what's happening to the Phobos/Fobos-Grunt mission is an embarrassment, a disappointment, or a life-changing disaster.

It's not easy, getting a ship to Mars. Besides the rigors of a long trip through interplanetary space, and working with new technologies, there's good old-fashioned human error:

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Mixing Yards and Meters: Oops

"Metric mishap caused loss of NASA orbiter"
CNN (September 30, 1999)

"NASA lost a 125 million Mars orbiter because a Lockheed Martin engineering team used English units of measurement while the agencys [sic!] team used the more conventional metric system for a key spacecraft operation, according to a review finding released Thursday.

"The units mismatch prevented navigation information from transferring between the Mars Climate Orbiter spacecraft team in at Lockheed Martin in Denver and the flight team at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

"Lockheed Martin helped build, develop and operate the spacecraft for NASA. Its engineers provided navigation commands for Climate Orbiters thrusters in English units although NASA has been using the metric system predominantly since at least 1990.

"No one is pointing fingers at Lockheed Martin, said Tom Gavin, the JPL administrator to whom all project managers report.

"This is an endtoend process problem, he said. A single error like this should not have caused the loss of Climate Orbiter. Something went wrong in our system processes in checks and balances that we have that should have caught this and fixed it.

"The finding came from an internal review panel at JPL that reported the cause to Gavin on Wednesday. The group included about 10 navigation specialists, many of whom recently retired from JPL...."

As HAL said, in the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey," "It can only be attributable to human error."

Or - MAYBE THE TARDIGRADES MUTINIED!!!

Not likely. Tardigrades are tiny critters, maybe a millimeter long, fascinating for researchers: but not smart.

The Lemming's posted about sounding crazy before. Recently:

• "Lemming Tracks: Oklahoma Earthquake, 'Unexplained Increase,' and Sounding Crazy"
  (November 7, 2011)
• "How to Not Sound Crazy - or - THE PARANOIDS ARE AFTER ME!!!"
  (June 12, 2011)

Now, posts about falling spaceships, Mars, and all that:

• "Roentgen / ROSAT Hit Earth: Somewhere Around Southeast Asia"
  (October 24, 2011)
• "Here Comes Another Martian Conspiracy Theory"
  (June 7, 2011)
• "NanoSail-D: Maybe It's Working, Maybe Not"
  (December 12, 2010)
• "Mars Rover Spirit: Not Bad for a Limited-Warranty Robot"
  (May 26, 2011)
• "Life on Ceres? Could Be"
  (March 5, 2009)
  Particularly
  • Exploding Martians and the Viking Life Experiment

More:

• "Phobos-Grunt Mission"
  russianspaceweb.com
• "Missions to Mars"
  The Planetary Society
• "Tardigrade Facts"
  Illinois Wesleyan University

EU E. Coli Mutant Killer Bacteria New!! Unknown!!! Or, Not

"E. coli outbreak is a new strain"
James Gallagher, BBC News (June 2, 2011)

"The World Health Organization says the E. coli outbreak in Germany is a completely new strain of the bacteria.

"The infection can cause the deadly complication - haemolytic-uraemic syndrome (HUS) - affecting the blood and kidneys.

"More than 1,500 people have been infected and 17 have died: 16 in Germany and one in Sweden.

"In the UK, three British nationals have been infected - all had visited Germany.

"Aphaluck Bhatiasevi, a WHO spokesperson, is reported as saying: 'This strain has never been seen in an outbreak situation before.'

"Scientists at the Beijing Genomics Institute, in China, are also reported as saying: 'This E.coli is a new strain of bacteria that is highly infectious and toxic.'

"Preliminary genetic analysis of the outbreak suggests the bacteria is unique.

"Early evidence suggests the bacteria has genes from two distinct groups of E. coli: enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC)...."

First, and very important: People died, 17 in all that we know of; around 1,500 others are or have been sick. This E. coli outbreak is a serious health hazard.

It's also doing no favors to farmers, folks who make their living in the EU food processing and distribution system, and consumers. That's arguably not as important as the loss of life - but a whole lot of folks who haven't been directly affected by this bug have either lost income, or have to destroy food they bought. My guess is that it'll drive food prices up, too.

Back to E. Coli, the WHO, and scientists who say it's new.

They could be right. Or, not.

Those last to paragraphs in the BBC News excerpt, again, with the Lemming's emphasis:

"...Preliminary genetic analysis of the outbreak suggests the bacteria is unique.

"Early evidence suggests the bacteria has genes from two distinct groups of E. coli: enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC)...."

"Preliminary" and "suggests" are not "definitive" and "demonstrates."

WHO, CDC, and Editorial Style

The WHO says new killer bacteria! China scientists declare mutant peril! CDC Indecisive! Will America's Arrogant Indifference Doom Us All?!

No, the Lemming has not run into any headlines quite like those.

However, the Lemming also wasn't too surprised - or shocked - that the CDC isn't as certain as news editors may be, about this being a new strain of E. Coli.

My guess is that folks at the World Health Organization aren't quite as sure as news reports imply they are:

"Cases of haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) continue to rise in Germany. Ten countries have now reported cases to WHO/Europe.

"As of 31 May 2011, nine patients in Germany have died of HUS, and six of EHEC. One person in Sweden has also died. There are many hospitalized patients, several of them requiring intensive care, including dialysis....

"...Numerous investigations are continuing into the cause of the outbreak, which is still unclear.

"In accordance with the International Health Regulations (IHR), WHO is keeping Member States informed about the latest developments and providing technical guidance on further investigation of the ongoing outbreak. WHO does not recommend any trade restrictions related to this outbreak."
(WHO news (June 2, 2011))

That "the cause of the outbreak ... still unclear" thing might refer to the E. coli strain, how the bacteria got into Europe's food supply, or both, as far as the Lemming knows.

If you're waiting for a rant about journalistic irresponsibility, that's not gonna happen in this post. News media, what the Lemming's read, has done a pretty good job of reporting this outbreak - all things considered.

About the CDC and WHO apparently not being on the same page? Presenting that as if it were a conflict is factually accurate, in the Lemming's opinion, but probably misleading. News media, in America at least, tends to show everything as conflict - as the Lemming learned during journalism courses, decades back.

Quite a few folks who wouldn't be interested in what two guys at the next table are saying might get interested if the strangers were arguing about something. Conflict often sparks interest.

In the same way, perceived conflict in a headline tends to spark interest. The function of news is to sell newspapers, magazines, and advertising. Also inform and persuade. Which is, in the Lemming's opinion, okay.

Provided that folks who read and listen to the news know what's going on.

Back to E. Coli.

Rare, Yes: New? Maybe Not So Much

"...'We have very little experience with this particular strain, but it has been seen before,' said Robert Tauxe, deputy director of the CDC's division of foodborne diseases.

"The CDC said the strain is very rare and added that, while it is not aware of any cases ever having been reported in the United States, it is aware of a few previous reports of the strain in other countries. Britain's Health Protection Agency has said that the strain suspected in the outbreak is 'rare' and 'seldom seen in the UK.'..."
(CNN June 2, 2011)

Maybe Robert Tauxe, the CDC database, and the British HPA are all wrong. Or maybe the New! Unknown! strain just didn't ring any bells in the labs where the samples were studied.

'Wash Your Hands Before Eating' - Mom (or Dad) was Right

The Lemming's read the usual 'cook meat, wash hands, wash produce' advice on the WHO website and elsewhere. You've read it all before, anyway. The Lemming thinks it's a good idea, by the way.

Meanwhile, in Texas

The Amarillo Globe-News reports that folks got sick there. E. coli. Seriously enough, in the case of four children, for them to be hospitalized.

'And the moral of this is:' quite a few things, actually.

The usual thing about common-sense hygiene, of course.

Also, that children are quite often the folks who wind up with really serious E. coli infections. Which makes the European outbreak odd.

European E. Coli Outbreak: Kids, No; Women, Yes

"...Previous E. coli outbreaks have mainly hit children and the elderly, but the European outbreak is disproportionately affecting adults, especially women...."
(Associated Press, via FoxNews.com June 2, 2011)

That is odd - maybe this strain of E. coli is new, after all.

Or maybe there's something different about the way it's being spread.

If the outbreak was in America, with that particular demographic getting sick, the Lemming might suspect some sort of 'Fat-B-Gone All-Natural Organic Vegetarian Salad' product.

It's early days: and this outbreak will probably stay in the news for a while. It's massive. And that's another topic.

Remember Ebola?

A not-so-high-profile news item. Not internationally, anyway, as far as the Lemming knows:

"Ebola in Uganda"
WHO news (May 18, 2011)

"On 13 May 2011, the Ministry of Health (MoH) of Uganda notified WHO of a case of Ebola Haemorrhagic fever in a 12 year old girl from Luwero district, central Uganda. On 6 May she presented to a private clinic in Zirobwe town, Luwero district, with a 5-day history of an acute febrile illness with haemorrhagic manifestations. She was later referred to Bombo General Military Hospital where she died few hours after admission.

"Laboratory investigations at the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), Entebbe, Uganda confirmed Ebola virus (Sudan species). A sample is on route to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, USA for additional analysis and sequencing.

"A National Task Force has been convened by the MoH Uganda, which is working with several partners including WHO, CDC, the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) and USAID. A joint MoH, WHO and CDC team was deployed to the district on 13 May to carry out a detailed epidemiological investigation. WHO will be supporting the MoH in the areas of epidemiology and infection control...."

The ebola case is just that - one case. From the sounds of it, folks in Uganda want to keep it that way. Quite understandably.

And that is yet another topic.¹

Related posts:

• "Antibiotic-Resistant Superbug With NDM-1 Enzyme"
  (September 15, 2010)
• "Rat Poo Peanut President is Back: As a Consultant"
  (September 9, 2010)
• "Salmonella in Eggs: Let the Blames Begin"
  (September 2, 2010)
• "And the Moral of This Story is: Don't Eat Raw Meat"
  (March 25, 2010)
• "New Wonder Anti-Bacterial Element: Copper"
  (June 15, 2009)

In the news:

• "Russia bans EU vegetables over E.coli, EU protests"
  Edition: U.S., Reuters (June 2, 2011)
• "World health officials scramble to stem deadly E. coli outbreak"
  CNN (June 2, 2011)
• "WHO says Europe E. coli is new, but CDC not sure"
  newsday.com (June 2, 2011)
• "EHEC outbreak: Increase in cases in Germany"
  WHO news (June 2, 2011)
• "WHO: E. Coli Outbreak Caused by New Strain"
  Associated Press, via FoxNews.com (June 2, 2011)
• "E. coli cases reported in city"
  Amarillo Globe-News, via amarillo.com (Texas) (June 2, 2011)

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¹ The Lemming's posted about Africa, health care, and related issues, in another blog:

• "Sudan, Darfur: My Take"
  (January 8, 2011)
• "Partners in Education and Mr. Grimes: A Melodrama For Today"
  (November 26, 2010)
• " 'Conflict Minerals,' Politics, and Making Sense"
  (July 22, 2010)
• "Sustainable African Development: And Swift's Modest Proposal"
  (May 6, 2010)
• "Zambia: Corruption, Hospitals, and Bishops"
  (July 22, 2009)
• "Good News from Africa: But Some People Won't Like It"
  (March 17, 2009)

April 12, 1961, and Yuri Gagarin: the Lemming's Take

"108 mins that stunned the world: Russia honors Gagarin"
Alissa de Carbonnel, Edition: U.S. (April 12, 2011)

"His 108-minute flight into space 50 years ago set new a horizon for humanity and overnight turned a farmworker's son named Yuri Gagarin into one of the century's heroes.

"But half a century after his exploit captured the world's imagination and fueled a space race with the United States, Russia has found it necessary to release top secret archives to counter persistent rumors that Gagarin was later murdered on the orders of jealous or paranoid Soviet rulers.

" 'Gagarin once said: "To me my whole life seems to be one perfect moment," ' recalled veteran Soviet space journalist Vladimir Gubarev earlier this month.

"The 27-year-old's single Earth orbit on April 12, 1961 was one of the Soviet Union's most enduring Cold War victories and is proudly remembered today, especially in the cosmonaut town that is the heart of the nation's space program.

"Star City, the world's oldest space-flight training center, resembles in many ways a shrine to the first man in space, whose premature death in a mysterious plane crash seven years after his flight cemented a poster-boy status....

"...Conspiracy theories abound that he did not die in a plane crash, but was murdered on the orders of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev for an unspecified offence or disloyalty to the party.

"In an apparent bid to quash such whisperings about Gagarin's death ahead of the anniversary, the archives declassified by post-Soviet Russia last week shed new light on the crash.

"The documents show a Soviet probe concluded that Gagarin had most likely lost control of his jet after swerving sharply to avoid a weather-forecasting balloon, archives official Alexander Stepanov was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying...."

The Lemming hadn't run into the 'commies killed Gagarin' story: maybe it's a European/Russian cultural thing. The Soviet-era investigation results seem a bit more plausible than the notion that a Soviet leader killed one of the international celebrities the workers' paradise produced.

Still, the conspiracy buffs probably won't be dissuaded. The willing-suspension-of-disbelief threshold seems to be set fairly high for some folks:

• "Beware Warmonger Imperialist Space Aliens!?"
  (January 11, 2011)
• "Nuclear Weapons, Space Aliens, Conspiracy Theories, and Getting a Grip"
  (September 24, 2010)

Moving on.

The Lemming remembers Sputnik, Gagarin, Glenn, and Tranquility Base. It's been an interesting half-century. A decade or so of which has been, from the Lemming's point of view, 'The Future.'

Looking around at 'The Future,' the Lemming notes that we don't have atomic toothpaste, flying cars, or cities on the Moon. Actually, flying cars have been around, off and on, as a series of prototypes and short-run production vehicles. They never took off, though. And that's another topic. (July 1, 2010) Also a horrible pun.

On the whole, though, the Lemming's rather impressed with what did get done: the emerging Information Age, from the Internet to more computers in many households than were on this continent not too long ago; a work-in-progress International Space Station; more than a half-dozen spaceports in this country, and many more around the world.

And we survived disco.

All in all, quite satisfactory.

As for 'what's next?' Entrepreneurs are jockeying for position in Earth-orbit real estate, suborbital tourist space flight isn't all that far away, and the robot spaceships have been exploring the Solar system for decades keep being joined by newer, smarter, models.

Judging by the size of the Solar system, and the galaxy we're in: folks won't run out of places to explore for quite a while.

Related posts:

• "Four Ships Docked at the ISS"
  (February 28, 2011)
• "Humanity in Space: Looking at the Big Picture"
  (January 29, 2010)
• "Bigelow Aerospace: Space to Rent or Lease, in Orbit"
  (January 20, 2010)
• "ISS Space Station Walkthrough, Looking Ahead"
  (October 28, 2009)
• "Space Exploration and Colonization - Impossible?! Probably Not"
  (April 13, 2009)

The Lemming's take on:

• "Humanity in Space: The Next Few Decades "
• "Humanity in Space: The Next Few Centuries"

Russia Will Have First* Commercial Space Station?

"World's First Commercial Space Station Planned in Russia"
Managing Editor, Space.com (September 29, 2010)

"Two Russian aerospace companies are teaming up to build what they say will be the 'world's first commercial space station' - an orbiting outpost open to private citizens, professional astronauts and scientists. For a price.

"Called the Commercial Space Station, the orbiting space laboratory and hotel will be able to host up to seven people at a time. It is being planned under a partnership between the Russian companies Orbital Technologies and RSC Energia.

"The companies announced plans for the new space station today (Sept. 29) but did not reveal an estimated cost. The space station is expected to launch sometime between 2015 and 2016. The cost of individual trips may vary based on launch vehicle, duration and purpose of missions...."


(Orbital Technologies, via Space.com, used w/o permission)
"This artist's illustration shows a cross-section of the planned Commercial Space Station envisioned by Russian companies Orbital Technologies and RSC Energia. Credit: Orbital Technologies."

The Lemming thinks there will be quite a few "world's first commercial space stations."

Bigelow Aerospace already had two prototypes in orbit. (January 20, 2010") But those are prototypes, not rental property. Yet.

Then there's the 2003 proposal from Japan, for a hotel module on the ISS (International Space Station): a hotel; in orbit; but part of the ISS.

And the last I heard, a Spanish orbiting hotel was on schedule to go up in 2012. But those are hotels - maybe that doesn't count as "commercial?"

Maybe they'll all be "first" - with a footnote to explain distinctions like "first with sonic showers," "first with concierge parking," or "first with fur-trimmed exercise equipment." For all I know, the Russian module will be the very first.¹

The Space.com managing editor may be aware of the global scramble to get first position in the orbiting hotel/tourism business: as evidenced by the article's first sentence.

The situation today reminds the Lemming of the Oklahoma rush of 1889. And that's another topic.

Sort of.

Related posts:

• "Commercial Flight to Mars: Maybe, in 15 Years or So"
  (September 1, 2010)
• "Boeing CST-100 Spaceship: Passenger Service to ISS, Commercial Space Stations"
  (July 21, 2010)
• "Bigelow Aerospace: Space to Rent or Lease, in Orbit"
  (January 20, 2010)
• "Blue Origin: Another Company Building Spaceships"
  (February 27, 2010)
• "America's Seventh Spaceport"
  (January 19, 2010)
• "Bigelow Aerospace Space Habitat Prototype Passes Milestone"
  (May 12, 2008)

More:

• "Space hotel says it's on schedule to open in 2012"
  Reuters (November 2, 2009)
• "Space Tourism To Rocket In This Century, Researchers Predict"
  Science Daily (February 22, 2008)
• "Spanish venture aims to build space hotel
  MSNBC (August 10, 2007)
• "An orbital space hotel concept in the near future." (abstract)
  Science Links Japan (2003)
• "Orbital Considerations in Kankoh-Maru Return Flight Operations"
  Trevor Williams and Patrick Collins, Space Future (June, 1999)

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More, in this blog:

• "Humanity in Space: The Next Few Decades"

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¹ First with genuine Pyatizvyozdnaya Vodka and authentic samovar? Don't laugh: as long as the pilot's sober, booze in orbit shouldn't be all that big of a problem. Aside from cleanup.

Besides, there could be a secondary revenue stream from folks paying to delete videos taken of their sozzled efforts to move in microgravity.

Fists, Eggs, and a Smoke Bomb: Ukraine's - Colorful? - Parliament

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Note: The Lemming doesn't post about politics as a rule: but this was just too weird to ignore.

---

"Fists fly in Ukraine parliament punch up"
CNN (April 27, 2010)
(Includes video)

"Lawmakers in Ukraine scuffled with each other, throwing punches and eggs, as parliament met Tuesday to ratify a treaty with Russia that extends the latter's navy presence in the Ukraine's Crimean peninsula until 2042.

"The ruling Regions party eventually ratified the treaty but not before howls of protest from the opposition.

"Someone set off a smoke bomb inside the building, while Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn sought refuge behind an umbrella as he was pelted with eggs...."

I suppose the MPs who didn't like the deal have a point. Russia is (bribing?) Ukraine to keep that base.

"...The deal extends Russia's lease of a major naval base in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol for an additional 25 years, in exchange for a 30 percent cut in the price of natural gas that Russia sells to Ukraine...."

I won't pretend that this is a simple situation, or that the Russian Federation is a 100% wonderful country with absolutely no imperfections. But those dudes in the Ukrainian parliament: I suppose I should remember that not all cultures have the same standards of conduct.

Maybe Members of Parliament throwing eggs and setting off smoke bombs is a cherished cultural tradition for Ukrainians. Or, not.

"Smoke grenades, eggs & tomatoes turn Ukraine parliament into battlefield"

RussiaToday, YouTube (April 27, 2010)
video, 9:34

"Ukraine's parliament has turned into a battlefield with politicians setting off smoke grenades and throwing tomatoes over the ratifying of extending the lease to Russia's Black Sea Fleet of Sevastopol's naval base. The same ratification process is underway in Russia's State Duma - but it is passing through a lot more quietly."

That video gives quite a bit of background. For example, Russia has had a naval base in Ukraine for about three centuries.

(Historical note: The Soviet Union is a strictly 20th-century phenomenon. (see "Timeline: Soviet Union," BBC) Russia, as a nation, is a whole lot older. And Russia is, except for a few less-than-ideal ports, a landlocked country.)

There's more. And, yes: It's RussiaToday. And despite the British accents - here's how RT describes itself: "...The channel is government-funded but shapes its editorial policy free from political and commercial influence. Our dedicated team of news professionals unites young talent and household names in the world of broadcast journalism...."

I'm hardly one of those folks who saw Commies behind every door, and I realize that "Russia" isn't the "Soviet Union." Also, I remember 1991.

On the other hand, I apply that proverbial pinch of salt when there's a financial connection between a news service and whatever's being covered by them.

Smoke Bombs in Congress?

What really got my attention was the smoke bomb(s).

Of course, I'm applying American standards to Ukraine's legislative body. Over here, if members of one party set off smoke bombs in Congress - after the Department of Homeland Security, FBI and possibly CIA got through with them, there'd be consequences.

Never mind the rather dim view American courts sometimes take of setting off pyrotechnic devices in (or near) federal buildings. Come the next election - we'd likely see a major shakeup in the political landscape.

Maybe Ukrainians are more laid-back about the sort of nonsense they'll put up with, when it comes to their national leaders. Me? I expect some bombast. Smoke bombs: not so much.

Humanity in Space: Looking at the Big Picture

"So thats it...no more humans in space"
Forum, Space.com (discussion thread started January 27, 2010)

"bobble_bob"

"NASA's plans to return astronauts to the moon are dead. So are the rockets being designed to take them there — that is, if President Barack Obama gets his way.

"When the White House releases his budget proposal Monday, there will be no money for the Constellation program that was supposed to return humans to the moon by 2020. The troubled and expensive Ares I rocket that was to replace the space shuttle to ferry humans to space will be gone, along with money for its bigger brother, the Ares V cargo rocket that was to launch the fuel and supplies needed to take humans back to the moon.

"There will be no lunar landers, no moon bases, no Constellation program at all."

"Zipi"

"There will be Russian and Chinese manned ships flying no matter what... And now Indians are joining the game as well:

"http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index. ... ic=19740.0

"So if NASA is left out of money and USA is no longer able to launch astronauts, others will. And eventually commercial launch providers will gain ability for manned launches, like SpaceX with its Falcon 9 / Dragon."

There's quite a bit more in the thread: but the thread's first post and reply give two major points of view which were discussed as the thread grew.

It didn't take long, by the way, for someone to directly address an implication in the first post:

"Gravity_Ray"

"Yes the title does show a bit of bias towards our way of thinking. For sure there will be humans in space. The Russians are very able to get to space without any help from anybody else, and China will keep working on their slow but steady military program of human space flight...."

My own take on this isn't all that far from Gravity_Ray's.

I'm a bit disappointed at the prospect of the new NASA approach. A portion of my taxes were paying for NASA's projects, and I enjoyed having a small stake in the American space program. My hope is that the American government, if its leaders decide to drop human spaceflight efforts, will stay out of the way and continue to let American entrepreneurs design and built spaceships.

With due respect to massive government agencies, though, I think that outfits like Bigelow Aerospace and Virgin Galactic are quite capable of competing against the national space programs of other countries. While making a profit, instead of running a deficit.

Interestingly, the Indian space program wasn't mentioned in later comments. And Japan's wasn't mentioned at all. Well, the topic was America's government space program: so maybe it's not that big an omission.

When it's Time to Build Spaceships, People Will Build Spaceships

I've written about this before. It doesn't take a massive federal bureaucracy to build spaceships. Smallish companies around the world are getting the job done right now. (check out "Background" links, below)

And there's more on the way. A lot more, as I see it.

These are exciting times.

That can be good or bad news, depending on your point of view. I think it's great: but then, I'm not all that nostalgic about the "good old days," and like the idea of people developing new technologies and exploring new frontiers.

In the Future - People will be People

I won't be around to see it, but I think something like this will be happening in, say, 2190. Give or take a few centuries:

A fact-finding task force from the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, or whatever we've got by then, will be recuperating from a strenuous tour of a local shopping district.

Being serious-minded people, they'll discuss how dreadful all this runaway commercialism is. While sipping apéritifs in the Earthlight Room of a Bigelow-Hilton: high atop the Rook Mountains, overlooking beautiful, exotic Mare Orientale. Or maybe it'll be the Hotel Nikko Orientale.

Related posts:

• "Spaceport America: More Progress"
  (January 29, 2010)
• "Bullet Trains in America: United States Transportation Enters the 20th Century (It's About Time)"
  (January 28, 2010)
• "Bigelow Aerospace: Space to Rent or Lease, in Orbit"
  (January 20, 2010)
• "America's Seventh Spaceport"
  (January 19, 2010)
• "Crew-Optional Dragon Cargo Ship Ready for Testing Soon"
  (December 16, 2009)
• "When it's Time to Build Spaceships, People Will Build Spaceships"
  (October 4, 2009)
• "A Freighter Unloads its Cargo: What's the Big Deal?"
  (September 20, 2009)
• "Alan Stern and Space Tourism"
  (July 18, 2009)
• "Spaceship to the Moon: This One's from India"
  (October 22, 2008)
• "Spaceport America: It's Real, and Open for Business"
  (October 26, 2008)
• "Coming Soon to a Spaceport Near You"
  (March 26, 2008)

Background:

• "Indian Human Spaceflight Program"
  इस पृष्ठ का हिन्दी अनुवाद
  morgan, Career Help & Jobs in India (October 23, 2009)
  • The job market being what it is, here in the States: This is worth reading, if you've got the skills
• "Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre"
  Indian Space Research Organisation
• "Indian Space Research Organization
• 宇宙航空研究開発機構
  (JAXA)
  • Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
    English
• Rocketplane Global, Inc.
• Space Services, Inc.
• Spaceport America
• Spaceport Systems International
• Starchaser Industries, Ltd.
• Virgin Galactic
• XCOR Aerospace

"International Space Station Tour (Part I)"

NASAtelevision, YouTube (January 21, 2009)
video, 9:44

"Astronaut Mike Fincke takes you on a tour of the International Space Station."

More, on YouTube:

• "International Space Station Tour (Part II)"
  NASAtelevision, YouTube (January 21, 2009)
• "International Space Station Tour (Part III)
  video, 6:57"
  NASAtelevision, YouTube (January 21, 2009)
  video, 9:52
• "International Space Station Tour (Part IV)"
  NASAtelevision, YouTube (January 21, 2009)
  video, 6:45

Spectacular UFO and the Norwegian Space Centre

"Bizarre Sky Spiral Caused by Failed Missile"
Space.com (December 10, 2009)

"A spectacular spiral light show in the sky above Norway Wednesday was caused by a Russian missile that failed just after launch, according to Russia's defense ministry.

"When the rocket motor spun out of control, it likely created the heavenly spiral of white light near where the missile was launched from a submarine in the White Sea. The Russian defense ministry confirmed to the Itar-Tass news agency that a Bulava ballistic missile test had failed.

" 'This cloud was very spectacular, and when we looked at the videos people submitted to the media, we quickly concluded that it looked like a rocket or missile out of control, thus the spiraling effect,' Paal Brekke, a senior advisor at the Norwegian Space Centre in Oslo, told SPACE.com. 'I think this is the first time we have seen such a display from a launch failure.'..."


(Dagfinn Rapp, via Space.com, used w/o permission)

There was speculation that the spiral in the sky was "a UFO."

"...Before the missile test was confirmed, many people suggested the bright light pattern might have been a UFO. Russia finally admitted to the accident, which is an embarrassing mishap for a rocket that had already failed six of 13 previous tests, according to the BBC...."

Well, literally, that out-of-control rocket was a UFO for a while: an Unidentified Flying Object. Now, after the Russians fessed up to its being one of their not-entirely-successful bits of aerospace tech, it's a IFO - an Identified Flying Object.

Judging from that photo, it must have been quite a sight.

Do I "Believe In" UFOs? Yes. And, No

I an about as certain as I can be of anything, that people routinely see objects that are moving through the sky, and which they cannot identify. By definition, each of these is a UFO. If they're later identified, they become IFOs.

But that's not what most people mean, when they say "UFO." In everyday speech, a "UFO" is a spaceship, built by space aliens, who have come to Earth. Although their motives aren't entirely clear, they're apparently obsessed with mutilating cattle, buzzing motorists, abducting people and performing pregnancy tests.

Or guiding us to a groovier tomorrow.

The first sort of "UFO" - the object that's traveling in the sky and hasn't been identified? Yes I "believe in" that. I also "believe in" clouds and snow, in that sense of the term.

The second sort of "UFO" - the "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" sort? Not so much. I don't think Elvis was a space alien, either: although I made up a crazy story about that, as an "explanation" of the Montauk monster. ("July 30, 2008)

Although I don't take the ideas of flying saucer enthusiasts all that seriously, I don't discount the possibility that humanity isn't the only kind of people inhabiting this universe.

But that's a different topic.

Related posts, at

• "A Serious Search for Other Worlds, Life, and - Maybe - Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence"

Christmas Lights: Not Your Grandfather's Christmas Music

"Christmas Lights Synchronized to TSO Nutcracker"

darrenv1969, YouTube (December 06, 2006)
video, 4:43

"www.vaderville.com Christmas Lights Synchronized to Transiberian Orchestra Nutcracker Suite The Mad Russian."

This is not your Grandfather's Christmas music.

The video got me to wondering: what would somebody like Pytor Illych Tchaikovsky or Ludwig van Beethoven done with a high-performance sound and light system?

More:

• "- - - Videos of Christmas Lights, Holiday Lights, and Music"

Georgia, Cymxymu, Russian Hackers, and the Twitter Troubles

" 'Russians took down Twitter' "
The Sun (U. K.) (August 7, 2009)

"Anti-Georgia Russian hackers may have been behind yesterday's global cyber attacks on Google, Facebook and Twitter.

"The organised web assaults completely shut down social networking site Twitter and disrupted access to Facebook — nearly a year to the day since the outbreak of the Georgia-Russia war.

"Search engine Google was also targeted but managed to fend off the 'denial-of-service' attacks...."

The Sun article is a pretty good overview of what happened last Thursday: and gives a more-than-usually-detailed look at details of the attack. That, and the probable motive are why I'm quoting more of the article than I generally do.

Targeting Some Guy With an Unpronounceable Handle

Okay: 'Cymxymu' may be quite easy to say, for someone who speaks Georgian. I haven't heard the language myself, and don't know how to match sounds - much less emphasis and tonal qualities - to the letters.

What I think is interesting is that this attack seems to have been directed against a particular individual.

"...And a Facebook executive revealed that a Georgian blogger called Cymxymu — who has accounts on all the websites — was the target of the attack.

"Facebook boss Max Kelly said: 'It was a simultaneous attack across a number of properties targeting him to keep his voice from being heard.

" 'We're actively investigating the source of the attacks and we hope to be able to find out the individuals involved in the back end and to take action against them if we can.'

"Computer experts said that when people clicked on spam emails sent to them via Facebook or Twitter they were taken to Cymxymu's website...."

It's likely enough that the hackers can be identified: the Internet isn't anywhere near as anonymous as trolls and socially-challenged twits seem to think. But I'm not at all sure that there will be serious penalties for the people responsible for Thursday's attack.

Writing about the Twitter troubles on Thursday, I compared the Internet to the American west, back in what Americans call the 'wild west' days. It's exciting, and full of promise - but there's a frustrating lack of law, too. (August 6, 2009)

Actually, it looks like Thursday's directed denial of service attack may have roots in the Cold War. Georgia is one of the countries absorbed by the Soviet Union, back in what some Russians may see as 'the good old days' when Russia controlled eastern Europe. The Georgia-Russia situation isn't all that simple. As a post I wrote in another blog one began, "If you're not a bit confused by the conflict between Georgia and Russia, you're not paying attention...." (August 13, 2009)

That Doesn't Sound "Apathetic," Does It?

A couple years ago, I explained why I chose the name of this blog. (September 9, 2007)

As a short recap of part of that post: The Lemming has quite definite views. But I'm "apathetic" - because my views aren't the approved ones in some circles. There are stronger terms to describe my lack of conformity to the dominant culture's standards - but that's another topic.

Related posts:

• "Twitter Troubles: Denial-of-Service Attack"
  (August 6, 2009)
• "Russia Is Peace-Loving, Has No Territorial Ambitions: and Georgia is America's Fault"
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (October 19, 2008)
• "Russia and Georgia: It Depends on How You Look at It"
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (September 8, 2008)
• "Georgian Invasion an American Plot: Who Knew?"
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (August 28, 2008)
  • No, I don't think so: but Vladimir Putin said so.
• "Russia, Georgia, Two Oil Pipelines, and the European Union"
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (August 13, 2008)
• "Russia, Georgia, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and - Iraq?!"
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (August 11, 2008)
• "Nigerian Scams, Internet Safety, Fraud, and Human Nature: The Lemming Gets Wordy"
  (November 17, 2008)

All Tetris, All the Time

The Lemming went a little overboard on Tetris today: maybe. It's the 25th anniversary of this remarkable video game, and Alexey Pajitnov's wonderfully simple falling-blocks puzzle game is an entrenched feature in American - and apparently, global - culture: so maybe devoting all three posts to Tetris isn't too much.

The Lemming will be back, with distinctly Tetris-free posts, tomorrow. Life, the universe, and everything permitting, of course.

All Tetris, all the time:

• "Tetris Necklaces, Keychains, Wall Hangings - - - Will it Never End?"
  (June 6, 2009)
• "Human Tetris - The Video"
  (June 6, 2009)
• "Tetris: Invented in Russia (This Time, Chekov's Right)"
  (June 6, 2009)

Tetris: Invented in Russia (This Time, Chekov's Right)

Tetris is 25 years old today. Because the game is so much a part of American (and global) culture, this post will have more quotes/excerpts and links than most.

One more thing: That cryptic "Chekov" reference gets explained, near the end of this post.

Tetris: Lots of Blocks, Lots of History

Tetris
The company's own website

"Celebrating 25 Years of the Tetris Effect"

"Play Tetris Now!"

(The "Play Tetris Now!" link leads you to an opportunity to "Play a two minute free-for-all against five opponents!" Considering my game-playing skills (June 1, 2009), I passed. Looks like fun, though.)

Tetris: A Quarter-Century of Falling Blocks

"25 Years Later: Tetris still permeating game society"
WMBF (June 5, 2009)

"The game of falling puzzle pieces is celebrating a pretty impressive milestone. Fans may remember it as one of the first games on home entertainment systems, Gameboys, and now cell phones. But it has even older and harder to find roots.

"It's a cult classic that was part of an era. It's Tetris and it's turning 25. "It's falling blocks. You have to line them up. That's how you complete each row," said David Ford, owner and operator of Charleston Game Room. "It just didn't stick very long...."

"...According to Ford, so many games were released in such a short time span that eventually the quality was lacking. By the time Japan introduced a merciless showering of odd-shaped box thingies to be puzzled together, gamers were in a state of overload...."

"Harder to Find Roots?" Doesn't Everybody Know it Was Invented in Russia?

"Happy Birthday to the Greatest Game Ever - Tetris Turns 25"
Wired GeekDad (June 4, 2009)

"This month, Tetris turns 25. Let's ponder that thought for a moment. That means back in 1984 the game was created by Alexey Pajitnov while he was working at the Moscow Academy of Sciences. The cold war ended right after that. Could Tetris have meant that much to the world? Well, I'm not sure about that coincidence, but it sure meant a ton to the lot of us. I think I speak for every geek, mild gamer and well, pretty much everyone else when I say that Tetris is the greatest game ever created. So after 25 years of playing Tetris we have to take a moment to reflect on one of man's greatest gaming accomplishments.

"First, let's talk history. As we all know, a young Alexey Pajitnov created the game while working for the Moscow Academy of Sciences. If you didn't know that, I mentioned it in the previous paragraph. The rights to the game were owned at that time by the Motherland Russia herself, as it was created under a communist state...." [emphasis mine]

"Tetris Maker Looks Back at 25 Years of Falling Blocks"
PC World (June 4, 2009)

"Tetris -- possibly the most popular casual computer game of all time -- celebrates its 25th anniversary on June 6th. Its creator, Alexey Pajitnov, looked back at the phenomenon he created at this week's E3 Expo in Los Angeles...."

"...In the 1980s, Pajitnov was a mathematician specializing in AI research at a Russian university. As a hobby, he relaxed by creating games. He said that couldn't have imagined [!] the international phenomenon it would become when he designed Tetris in 1984.

"Most gamers were introduced to Tetris when it was bundled with the first Nintendo Game Boy or in the Microsoft Entertainment Pack for Windows. Pajintov's business partner, Henk Rogers, laughingly quotes a friend who commented on Pajitnov's eventual move to the U.S.: 'He went from one evil empire to another (Microsoft).'..."

"...Imitation is the sincerest (and most lucrative) form of flattery

"Tetris has also been the victim of both piracy and imitation that too often has crossed the line to outright plagiarism. From the get-go, there were significant licensing issues related to Tetris, as Intellectual Property (IP) was very hard to defend in the Soviet Union.

"By 1996, Pajitnov and Rogers entered into a partnership to manage and license the game -- The Tetris Company. They now own the full rights to the game, and will vigorously defend it against interlopers who are engaged in outright Tetris-related fraud or plagiarism...." [emphasis mine]

Invented in Russia? I remember Chekov

"Interview with Henk Rogers, video game visionary, on saving the planet"
VentureBeat (April 22, 2008)

"Henk Rogers is an entrepreneur who knows how to hustle. You can thank him as the man who introduced Tetris to the Western hemisphere...."

"...In 1988, he saw a video game called 'Tetris' at a Las Vegas trade show. He discovered it was being distributed under a master license which wasn't being honored....His success in securing the rights to Tetris helped Nintendo beat Atari in the console wars. At the same time, Rogers helped the game's Russian inventor, Alexey Pajitnov, move to the United States. In 1996, the rights for Tetris reverted to Pajitnov. Rogers moved from Japan to Hawaii, where he founded Blue Planet Software to manage the intellectual property rights for Tetris. He also founded Blue Lava Wireless in 2002 to develop mobile gaming software. In 2005, he scored big as he sold Blue Lava and the Tetris rights to Jamdat for $137 million. (Jamdat has since been acquired by Electronic Arts.)..."

The VentureBeat article helped me understand why WMBF's reporter was cautious about giving Alexey Pajitnov credit for inventing Tetris. I remember the mid-eighties, when Tetris and tetroid games started making the rounds, and some of the discussions over who developed in and who ripped off what from whom.

After a while, word got around that Tetris had been invented in Russia. And, it looks like it was.

Still, a history of the rights - real and pirated - to Tetris are such a tangled mess, that I can't blame a reporter for not trying to sort it all out - and still make deadline.

Tetris, Chekov, and Quadrotriticale

I told you I'd get back to Chekov.

I was born in the Truman administration, so I've seen a change here and there in American - and global - cultures. There was a period when it seemed that everything was invented in Russia: according to one circle of acquaintances. Other people were equally convinced that everything was invented in America, so is sort of evened out.

The original "Star Trek" series picked up on that cultural oddity form time to time, giving Ensign Chekov some memorable lines. One of my favorites is from "The Trouble With Tribbles." The scene is Station K7's bar:

KIRK: (shows Chekov the packet of wheat) Mister Chekov, what do you make of this?
CHEKOV: Oh, quadrotriticale. I've read about this, but I've never seen any before.
KIRK: Does everybody know about this wheat but me?
CHEKOV: Not everyone, Captain. It's a Russian invention.
"The Trouble With Tribbles" (original air date December 29, 1967) The Star Trek Transcripts

In the case of Tetris, it looks like the inventor really is from Russia, and developed this enduringly popular game while living in his homeland. It's nice to see a case where an inventor, author, or artist, gets rewarded - or at least recognized - for his or her work.

Five Floors, Three Bottles of Vodka, One Incredible Story

"Russian man survives five storey fall - twice"
Ananova (undated, at least as early as April 16, 2009)

"A Russian man survived after downing three bottles of vodka and leaping from a fifth floor balcony - twice.

"Alexei Roskov says he jumped the second time because he couldn't take his wife's nagging about the first time.

"Wife Yekaterina had watched in horror as her drunken hubsand opened the kitchen window of their Moscow apartment, and hurled himself out...."

Alexei has decided to stop drinking: which seems like a good idea. At two incredible survivals in close succession, I'd say he's over quota.

Beer in a Fire Extinguisher, Sort of

"Beer Fire Extinguisher"
English Russia (undated: probably on or shortly before January 16, 2009)

"There are many strange drinks can be bought in Russia, like a vodka in a plastic bag or vodka in AK-47 shaped glass bottle or even as weird as triple core CPU vodka, if you haven’t seen them yet...."

In this case, it's beer sold in fire-extinguisher-shaped bottles. With instructions for use that spoof what you'd expect to see on a fire extinguisher.

Kudos to someone in Russia, for clever - and possibly effective - marketing.

A tip of the hat to irish_brigid, on Twitter, for pointing this bit of strangeness out to me.

Fir Tree Removed from Man's Lung: Expert Says "Is Not!"

"Surgeons find fir tree 'growing inside patient's lung' "
telegraph.co (April 15, 2009)

"Russian surgeons have claimed to have found a two-inch fir tree growing inside a man's lung.

"The amazing 'discovery' was apparently made when they opened up Artyom Sidorkin, 28, to remove what they thought was a serious tumour.

"Mr Sidorkin had complained of extreme pain in his chest and had been coughing up blood. Doctors were convinced he had cancer...."

There's a 1:57 video that goes with the article.

This could be a hoax - although I can't see what the motive would be, unless the surgeon wants to discredit himself. A botany expert explained that a green plant can't possibly grow inside a human body because there's not enough sunlight and carbon dioxide.

True enough: but this was a two inch sapling.

Oh, well: people who reported what's now called "sprites" over thunderstorms were assumed to be insane - until a video camera recorded the phenomenon. Then, experts had a choice between asserting that the video camera was insane and hallucinating, or investigating something they hadn't written about before.

Helicopter Test Video Freezes Blades

"No, this is not antigravitation"
UFO-SCIENCE (undated - probably 2007)

"In fact the propeller is really rotating. Russians fix a magnet on their helicopter blades. The device sends a signal to synchronize a movie camera, allowing to visualize efforts and deformations on the blades."

The rest of the post is a short, but cool, video.

Emoticon Trademarked?! Russian Wants Bucks for :-)

"OMG: Russia entrepreneur looks for $$$ from ;-)"
Associated Press (December 11, 2008)

"MOSCOW (AP) — How much would you pay for a ;-)? A Russian businessman has trademarked the emoticon — or combination of punctuation marks — used to convey a wink in text messages and e-mail.

"Oleg Teterin, president of the mobile ad company Superfone, said Thursday he doesn't plan on tracking down individual users following the decision by the federal patent agency.

" 'I want to highlight that this is only directed at corporations, companies that are trying to make a profit without the permission of the trademark holder," he said in comments to NTV...."

I am Not Making This Up

The idea of trademarking a series of punctuation marks that's been in common global use for years is - in my opinion - crazy. But, not without precedent.

• Four years ago, the W Hotel chain went after companies that made T-shirts, baseball caps, whatever, with a big "W" on them. There was a presidential election on, and George W. Bush's nickname, sort of, was "W." W Hotels almost had a point: Their attorneys said that using a W like that was " 'eroding the unique brand identity developed in the W logo.' "
• And, there's the case of the original Smiley Face. It looks like Harvey Ball made the first one, back in 1963. The Worcester Mutual Insurance Company paid him $45 for it. Neither of them applied for copyright, and WMIC wouldn't have tried to trademark it: they wanted Smiley for internal morale-boosting. (Wikipedia has a pretty good, and apparently accurate, page about Smiley and smileys.)

So, if a letter of an alphabet can be trademarked, why not a punctuation mark? Or, even more reasonably, a series of punctuation marks?

I said "more reasonably," not "reasonably." I still think the idea of making :-) or :) a trademark is nuts. If Teterin makes his claim stick, it'll be wonderfully profitable, or stifle corporate imaginations, or both. But I still think it's nuts.

Maybe I'm Missing Something Here

If the president of Russia's mobile ad company Superfone can cash in on emoticons that have been in common use around the world for years: maybe I can, too.

I looked it up: the three most commonly used letters in the English language are E, A, and R. (Not the whole English language, actually. Just the words in the "Concise Oxford Dictionary.")

Maybe I should follow Mr. Teterin's example, and trademark those letters. Then, I could demand, say, $10,000 from every business that uses those letters. I'd make a fortune from eye, ear, nose, and throat specialists alone.

Will Mr. Teterin's Gambit Work?

I have no idea whether this bit of loco entrepreneurialism will make it through the courts. Russian courts, I take it.

This could be interesting. Turns out, there's a bit of a line forming, of people who really invented :-) . According to the AP article, one of them's an unnamed Russian man, who also said he had the trademark to :-), and an American - Scott Fahlman - says he created :-) .

Ivanukite: Promising New Mineral

"Safe nuclear dump discovered"
Russia Today (April 12, 2008)

Ivanukite sounds almost too good to be true.

"Russian geologists have discovered a new mineral which absorbs radiation from liquid nuclear waste. They are now striving to chemically clone it, in the hope it may help solve the problem of radioactive waste disposal."

"...'The discovery of this mineral is a great thing, but how it will be used? How exactly will it absorb all nuclear waste - and where will it be stored after that? asks Sergey Zhavoronkin, nuclear expert."

All good questions.

This substance sounds very promising, but I hope that 'due diligence' is exercised. I'm old enough to remember when asbestos was a wonder-substance that provided affordable, effective insulation.

Better Ideas from Russia: A 405 KPH Land, Sea, and Air Aerocar

"Aerocar arrives...at 450km an hour!"
Russia Today (April 8, 2008)

"Imagine a world where roads don’t exist, old-style cars are a distant memory and you can zip over 450 kilometres in one hour. A Russian designer believes aerocars are not far away. Aleksandr Begak has successfully tested a prototype more than 100 times."

Looks very cool - but I hate to think of a thousand of these things buzzing around at rush hour in a metro area without some sort of automated coordination.

Still: very cool.

With photo.

More ideas - good, dubious, and strange - at "Better Ideas From ... "

Russia Tower: Big, Futuristic, and "Sustainable"

"Russia Tower" Russia 2006
Foxter + Partners

"Moscow City Tower - taller than any other building in Europe - is a striking new addition to the dynamic high-rise skyline of Moscow City. The mixed-use project - incorporating apartments, hotel, office and leisure space - will have an ‘energy cycle’ that will pioneer sustainable architecture and reinforce the economic and social vitality of Moscow City."

"Sustainable" must be a very important thing to be, these days.

Cycle of photos. Links to more.

Instant Ruins: Abandoned Wonders of the Former Soviet Union

"7 Abandoned Wonders of the Former Soviet Union:
From Submarine Stations to Unfinished Structures"

"There are abandonments all over the world, but the former Soviet Union has some of the most interesting, unique and strange abandoned buildings. The complex political, military and social history of the country has led to everything from almost-finished buildings abandoned before actual use and entire abandoned cities to chilling gulags in which tens of millions of prisoners met their end."

photos, descriptions.