In Austria, an ice cave is an earthbound stand-in for Mars
An ice cave in Austria was recently used as a test landscape for experimental spacesuits and instrumentation systems-including 3D cameras-that might someday be used by humans on Mars. The Dachstein ice cave was chosen, Stuff explains, “because ice caves would be a natural refuge for any microbes on Mars seeking steady temperatures and protection from…
How close to reality are the androids in Alien and Prometheus?
When Alien came out in 1979, roboticists were making wheeled boxes that crashed into walls. Ash – the film’s traitorous android – was pure fantasy. But when Prometheus comes out this summer, Weyland Industries’ David 8 enters a world with plenty of real-life androids. Given what we’ve learned about androids in the past few decades,…
Pentagon Quit The Avengers Because of Its ‘Unreality’
The Pentagon halted its cooperation with Marvel Studios’ blockbuster movie The Avengers because the Defense Department didn’t think a movie about superheroes, Norse Gods and intergalactic invasions was sufficiently realistic in its treatment of military bureaucracy. Moviegoers and comic fans know that S.H.I.E.L.D., led by Samuel L. Jackson’s super-spy Nick Fury, is an international peacekeeping/global…