Prophets of Science Fiction - Arthur C. Clarke

Today on Far Future Horizons we commemorate the memory and centennial birthday of Science Fiction writer and visionary Arthur C. Clarke with an episode from the acclaimed documentary series Prophets of Science Fiction. 

Executive Producer Ridley Scott presents Prophets of Science Fiction.

The "Science Fiction" of the past has now simply become "Science". And the science of the future was strangely prophesied by a group of visionaries whose dreams once may have deemed them renegades and "mad scientists," have become reality!

Carl Sagan - A Cosmic Celebrity

Today on Far Future Horizons we commemorate the eighty-third birthday of Carl Sagan and are proud to present a biographical documentary concerning his life.

Carl Sagan was the rarest of all creatures - the celebrity scientist. While some accused him of being a grandstander, none can deny that his approach to science helped introduce millions of people to the great wonders of the universe that fascinated him all his life.

He played many different roles - professor, working scientist, bestselling author and TV personality. In his classic television series Cosmos, he brought science to the masses in an accessible, entertaining format. 

Eyes in the Sky

Today on Far Future Horizons we celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the Space Age. 


On October 4^th, 1957 Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, was launched and humanity entered the Space Age. 

To mark the occasion we will focus our attention on those ever present orbital sentinels and eyes in the sky that have become the indispensable tools of our technological civilization – the artificial satellite. Earth observation satellites continually monitor our world’s weather, environment and human activity (both civilian and military). Telecommunication satellites are the nerve cells of the twenty-first century’s telecommunications network.

Since October 4^th, 1957, with the launching of Sputnik I, satellites have transformed our world into a global village. As we enter the second phase of the Space Age we can expect satellites to play an ever increasing role in serving and maintaining human civilization in the areas of long term weather forecasting, global surveillance and perhaps even in controlling the world’s weather and climate.

To explore the role of the artificial satellite in our modern world we look back in time to the dawn of the space age with two very informative documentaries: Disney's Eyes in Outer Space (1959) and NOVA's Sputnik Declassified.

The entire collection of Walt Disney Treasures - Tomorrow Land: Disney in Space and Beyond is available on DVD from Amazon.com.

NOVA's Sputnik Declassified can be purchased on DVD from PBS Home video.

Space 1999 ~ Breakaway

Today marks the Eighteenth anniversary of a special date in SciFi History. On Monday September 13^th , 1999 in the SciFi Universe of Gerry Anderson’s TV series Space: 1999 a massive thermonuclear explosion tears the Moon from Earth’s orbit.

The Age of Robots ~ Entertainment Robots

Today on Far Future Horizons we present the sixth and final episode of the acclaimed documentary series – The Age of Robots.

In this instalment we will look at the technology behind entertainment robots.

The Age of Robots ~ The Bionic Man

 

Today on Far Future Horizons we present the fifth and penultimate episode of the acclaimed documentary series – The Age of Robots.

The Bionic Heart

In this instalment we will look at the technology behind Bionics to create a real Six Million Dollar Man.

The Age of Robots ~ Robot Explorers

Today on Far Future Horizons we proud to present the fourth episode of the acclaimed documentary series “The Age of Robots”.

This instalment looks at the use of robots in exploring the extreme frontiers of the Earth, Sea and Space.

The Age of Robots ~ City of the Future

Today on Far Future Horizons we present the third episode of “The Age of Robots”.

By the year 2050, three quarters of the world’s population will live in urban areas. Robots will be a large component of the city of the future.

The Age of Robots ~ Bioinspired Robots

Today on Far Future Horizons we present the second episode of “The Age of Robots”.

In this instalment, we look at robots whose design was inspired by biology, evolution and the natural world.

The Age of Robots ~ Humanoid Robots

Today on Far Future Horizons we introduce an exciting new six part series titled “The Age of Robots”.

In the first episode of this series we will look at humanoid robots.

The Battle for Malta

Today on Far Future Horizons to commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of Operation Pedestal we present the BBC Two documentary The Battle for Malta.

Historian James Holland presents a fresh analysis of the World War Two battle for the tiny Mediterranean island of Malta.

Operation Pedestal ~ Malta’s Miracle of August 15, 1942

Operation Pedestal: Depicted, Tanker Ohio being attacked by Savoia Marchetti SM79's and Ju 88's The Cruiser is HMS Charybdis.

Today marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of Operation Pedestal, a British operation to get desperately needed supplies to the island of Malta in August 1942, during the Second World War. Malta was the base from which surface ships, submarines and aircraft attacked Axis convoys carrying essential supplies to the Italian and German armies in North Africa. In 1941–42, Malta was effectively under siege, blockaded by Axis air and naval forces. To sustain Malta, the United Kingdom had to get convoys through at all costs. Despite serious losses, just enough supplies were delivered for Malta to survive, although it ceased to be an effective offensive base for much of 1942. The most crucial supply was fuel delivered by the SS Ohio, an American-built tanker with a British crew. The operation started on August 9^th, 1942, when the convoy sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar.

Can We Hack the Planet?

Today on Far Future Horizons we present another episode of the acclaimed documentary series “Through the Wormhole” hosted by veteran actor Morgan Freeman.

Humanity is under threat from storms that seem to get ever fiercer, earthquakes that seem ever more deadly, and killer viruses that are engulfing the globe.

James Burke on the Moon

Today on Far Future Horizons we continue to commemorate the forty-eighth anniversary of the Apollo Moon landing with two retrospective documentaries presented by BBC veteran science journalist and science historian James Burke ten years after the event.

“Apollo 11: Remastered” - An Orbiter Film

The versatility of the Orbiter Space Simulator is truly amazing. I first wrote about this free space simulator program in my recent article "For All You Armchair Astronauts". Here is awe inspiring film made by TexFilms using Orbiter.

In “Apollo 11: Remastered” we can all vicariously embark on the epic voyage of Apollo 11 from launch to splashdown and relive this grand adventure. This film is a remake of TexFilms original Apollo 11 release featuring Orbiter Space Flight Simulator and AMSO Apollo addon.

Modern Marvels - Apollo 11

Today on Far Future Horizons we highlight the greatest scientific and technological achievement in living memory – Apollo 11 and the first manned Moon landing.

Modern Marvels - Apollo 11 chronicles the trials and tribulations of the Apollo program and its ascent to glory as the Apollo 11 crew touched down on the Moon's surface.

With insightful narration, interviews with Astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Flight Director Gene Kranz, NASA experts, scientists and engineers, the program winds through the evolution of the space program from President Kennedy’s famous congressional address to the stories of personal sacrifice necessary for Apollo’s success.

From Olduvai Gorge to the Sea of Tranquility

 

This is an essay I wrote eight years ago to mark the fortieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing and was originally posted on the National Space Society's blog site on  August 10, 2009.

By far the two most remarkable photographs of the twentieth century are the ones shown above. For they encapsulate the whole evolutionary and cultural history of humanity and its possible destiny.

In 1978, paleoanthropologist Mary Leaky and her team discovered the earliest hominid footprints (dated to be three and a half million years old) preserved in the volcanic ash at Laetoli, forty-five kilometres south of Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. They belong to one of our proto-human ancestors - Australopithecus afarensis. The picture above shows one of these fossil footprints next to the boot print left by Neil Armstrong in the volcanic soil of Mare Tranquilitatis (the Sea of Tranquillity).

It is very symbolic of the giant evolutionary leap forward we have taken as a species. From Olduvai Gorge to the Sea of Tranquillity, we humans have travelled very far.

In the Shadow of the Moon

Today on Far Future Horizons we commemorate the forty-eighth anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing by presenting a retrospective of the entire Apollo program as seen through the memories of the Astronauts, scientists and engineers who made it happen.

Between 1968 and 1972, nine American spacecraft voyaged to the Moon, and 12 men walked upon its surface. They remain the only human beings to have stood on another world. IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON brings together for the first, and possibly the last time, surviving crew members from every single Apollo mission that flew to the Moon, and allows them to tell their story in their own words.

Alien Safari - The Search for Life within Our Solar System

Join us today on Far Future Horizons for an Alien Safari as we go in search of extraterrestrials in our own cosmic backyard.

Does alien life lurk somewhere in our solar system?

Million Dollar Moon Rock Heist

Nearly 270 moon rocks scooped up by U.S. astronauts were given to foreign countries by the Nixon administration, but over the decades the whereabouts of many of them has become a mystery.

 

Today on Far Future Horizons  we present the inside story of the most audacious heist in NASA's history -- how an intern stole moon rocks from the Johnson Space Centre.

The Future by Design

Today on Far Future Horizons we commemorate the memory of futurist and visionary Jacque Fresco who passed away on May 18^th, 2017 at the age of 101.

Terraforming Mars

From Martyn J. Fogg's Terraforming Website

Mars is currently a world gripped in a perpetual ice age. On the surface, Mars is a freeze-dried world of rocks, ice, and dust. At first glance it looks like the least likely place to plant a garden. But rocks and minerals found by the Mars rovers show it may have had a warmer and more clement environment conducive to life. 

Animation showing Mars' transformation while being Terraformed

Today on Far Future Horizons we take another exciting look at the possibility of transforming the planet Mars into a second planetary abode for humanity and the other life forms of our planet. What would it take to Terraform the red planet and bring life to Mars and Mars to life?

The Pleasure of Finding Things Out

Today on Far Future Horizons we present the documentary “The Pleasure of Finding Things Out" to commemorate the ninety ninth birthday of one of the greatest physicists of the twentieth century -  Richard P. Feynman . 

This delightful documentary will inspire anyone who would like to share something of the joys of scientific discovery. Feynman is a master storyteller, and his tales  about childhood, Los Alamos, or how he won a Nobel Prize are a vivid and entertaining insight into the mind of a great scientist at work and play.

George Pals’ The Time Machine (1960)

Today on Far Future Horizons we mourn the passing of veteran actor Alan Young, who starred alongside Rod Taylor in George Pal's motion picture adaptation of H.G. Wells’ classic science fiction novel “The Time Machine”.

City at Night - On the Set of Destination Moon

Today on Far Future Horizons we are going to be treated to a flashback of some classic 1950's Hollywood hoopla as City At Night, a talk/variety show that was produced live on location by pioneering, Los Angeles television station KTLA visits the set of producer George Pal's classic Sci-Fi movie-in-the-making, Destination Moon.

George Pál’s Destination Moon

Today on Far Future Horizons we will be featuring one of the greatest science fiction film classics of all time - Destination Moon.

Destination Moon was released in 1950 and directed by the legendary film director George Pál, who later produced other great science fiction film classics as “When Worlds Collide”, “The War of the Worlds”, and “The Time Machine”.

Pál commissioned the script by James O'Hanlon and Rip Van Ronkel. The film was directed by Irving Pichel, was shot in Technicolor and was distributed in the USA by Eagle-Lion Classics.

Destination Moon was the first major science-fiction film produced in the United States dealing seriously with the prospect, problems and technology of space travel. This movie was not the first such to hit the screens, however; Rocketship X-M stole its thunder.

The eminent science-fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein contributed significantly to the script and served as a technical adviser. Heinlein also published a novella of the same name based on the screenplay about the same time as the release of the film.

The film also foreshadowed many of the space milestones Apollo era and other space projects.

Much of the technology depicted in Destination Moon (such as nuclear propulsion and single-stage rockets) and other aspects like industry-driven project development vs. government driven, contrast with the eventual Apollo and Soviet Luna programs. However, in many aspects, the movie predicted elements of the Apollo Lunar missions and other first space flights. But, under President Barack Obama's new space policy goals industry- driven space projects have indeed become a reality. 

Now, without further ado dear readers we present – Destination Moon.

George Pal’s Conquest of Space

Today on Far Future Calling we are proud to present George Pal's Conquest of Space.

Conquest of Space is a 1955 science fiction movie produced by George Pal, which depicts a voyage to Mars. The science and technology were intended to be as realistic as possible. The poster tagline was "See how it will happen in your lifetime!" Which is rather ironic since many of the people association with the production of this motion picture have already gone to their eternal rest.  Yet, if Elon Musk succeeds many of us will be around to see the it. 

The Secret Life of Chaos

Today on Far Future Horizons we take a voyage through the universe of complexity as revealed by Chaos theory. 


Chaos theory has a bad name, conjuring up images of unpredictable weather, economic crashes and science gone wrong. But there is a fascinating and hidden side to Chaos, one that scientists are only now beginning to understand. It turns out that chaos theory answers a question that mankind has asked for millennia – how did we get here? 

Earth Day April 22, 1970

Today marks the forty-seventh anniversary of the first Earth Day events of April 22, 1970. According to the entry of that ever indispensable, yet at times not always dependable, web resource Wikipedia:

Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. Earth Day was founded by United States Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in first held on April 22, 1970. While this first Earth Day was focused on the United States, an organization launched by Denis Hayes, who was the original national coordinator in 1970, took it international in 1990 and organized events in 141 nations. Earth Day is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network, and is celebrated in more than 175 countries every year. Numerous communities celebrate Earth Week, an entire week of activities focused on environmental issues. In 2009, the United Nations designated April 22 International Mother Earth Day.

My father took me to the first Earth Day celebrations that were held in New York City. I was nine years old at the time. I remember 14th Street near Union Square being closed off to traffic and that there was a street fair displaying the eco-friendly technology of the time. It was the first time  ever I actually saw an electric car. To commemorate that event and in a sense to share an early childhood memory I decided to post the original broadcast of the CBS News Special Report with Walter Cronkite covering the events of the first Earth Day of April 22, 1970.

Humanity from Space

Today on Far Future Horizons we present the documentary “Humanity from Space”.

From the global perspective of space, this 2-hour special reveals the breath taking extent of our influence, revealing how we’ve transformed our planet and produced an interconnected world of extraordinary complexity.

The Plot Against Gravity

Today on Far Future Horizons we present the final episode of the documentary series “Space’s Deepest Secrets” which will take us in search of the holy grail of astronautical engineering – Antigravity.

The Secret History of the Voyager Missions

Today on Far Future Horizons we will join the Voyager Space Probes on an Odyssey that will take us out to the realm of the Giant planets and their moons in the Outer Solar System. And, beyond. 

Alien Oceans

Mars' Ancient Oceans

Today on Far Future Horizons we will be exploring the Alien Oceans of Our Solar System in another exciting episode of Space's Deepest Secrets.

Death of the Solar System

Today on Far Future Horizons explore the ultimate fate of our Solar System and the dramatic fate of our future descendants.

Space’s Deepest Secrets ~ Hunt for Dark Energy

Today on Far Future Horizons we join the Hunt for Dark Energy in this second instalment of “Space’s Deepest Secrets”.

Space’s Deepest Secrets ~ The Universe’s Greatest Hits

Today on Far Future Horizons we will be premiering a new series titled “Space’s Deepest Secrets”.

The first instalment of the series will examine the latest generation of planetary explorers.

Mars: The Secret Science ~ Secret History of a Rover

Today on Far Future Horizons we present the sixth and final instalment of “Mars: The Secret Science”.

Mars: The Secret Science ~ NASA's Most Dangerous Mission

Image From Universe Today - HumanVoyages To Mars Pose Higher Cancer Risks

Today on Far Future Horizons we present the fifth instalment of “Mars: The Secret Science”.

Landing humans on Mars will be hard, but keeping them alive will be even harder.