A Smaller, Better Future

Phil Bowermaster has a very interesting interview with Chris Peterson, President of the Foresight Institute, about nanotechnology and molecular manufacturing.

For those who aren’t aware (because neither Phil nor Chris mention it, as is appropriate since it’s not her claim to fame), she’s also married to Eric Drexler, making them the most brilliant couple that I know or, for that matter, know of.

[Update at noon]

I was just informed of an even better reason not to mention it–it’s apparently no longer true. I hadn’t heard that they separated and divorced recently.

Aiming For Mars

Thomas James has an excellent summary of Elon Musk’s talk on SpaceX at the Mars Society meeting.

The plan seems to be focused on eventual ability to do private Mars exploration, which is a noble goal, but I wonder if that goal isn’t driving his current concepts to the detriment of nearer-term utility. We’ll see how well he can hit his cost-per-flight target at such a low flight rate.

What I found even more interesting, however, was the second-hand report that Blue Origin is going for a vertical-takeoff vertical-landing vehicle.

Biting Commentary about Infinity…and Beyond!