Impossible Drives, Missing Nukes and Balloons in Space

The 'impossible'  em - drive

Perhaps the biggest news is the publication of a paper by NASA following their exhaustive testing of the enigmatic EM drive.
I mentioned this in a post some time ago, as it holds incredible potential for space travel at near light speed - it also makes flying cars a possibility.
The fact that it negates part of Einsteins Theory of Relativity is a minor hurdle , but one which it seems to have overcome.
After all , rules were made to be broken.
The ramifications of this news are truly amazing - Earth to Mars in 70 days - making a swift visit to those distant relatives a very real possibility...

MEANWHILE, UP IN SPACE...

bloostar

With the recent comet-landing , and Bennu sample mission underway, much of the current space activity seems to be aimed at future near - world asteroid mining which has potential already identified by at least two companies ; Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries.
With Blue Origin and SpaceX both offering commercial rocket flights and bloostar offering a balloon - assisted launch for smaller payloads , including spacecraft, it will soon be quite a busy place up there - so if you want to take advantage of the serene view of Earth from the edge of space, you'd better quickly book a balloon flight with zero2infinity.com  ( I love the slogan 'purveyors of elevation')

There seems to be an upsurge of interest in off-world stuff, so have a tour of the ISS in 4K .
The leisurely pace of the film also provides a relaxing 'chill-out' factor, just the thing to take your mind off all that Earthbound stress...
Today the crew known as expedition 50 sucessfully boarded the ISS to begin their six - month stint of experiments and living in the confined space.
Plans are being made for a joint space station orbiting the moon , when the ISS has been decommisioned. The projected date for the new facility is 2028 or thereabouts, just to be unscientific...

We learn that there is a huge chasm on Mercury big enough to rival the Deep Rift valley in Africa, and the Grand Canyon, at 600 miles long and 250 miles wide.
Whilst its dimensions are impressive, the main thing is that it indicates active geology on Mercury - and the little planet is shrinking - hardly surprising being so close to the sun ,...but this also tells us that both Mercury and Pluto appear to have an unknown internal heat source.
In other news, Mars has a funnel which could potentially support  microbial life , being a depression from an old volcano atop a glacier.

MEANWHILE BACK ON EARTH...

A long lost 'nuke' may have been found off the Canadian coast , where it has lain since 1950 when it was abandoned following a plane crash .
Phew, one less cause for sleepless nights among Canadians...

Only dedicated applicants need apply to see Marie Curies notes ; they have a radioactive half-life of 1500 years.
In fairness you should probably wear a hazmat suit, which makes page-turning difficult, too.