Plus a helicopter on Mars, an ancient Egyptian city, and little particles causing big problems with our understanding of the universe.

#01 LEAPS AND BOUNDS

+ No longer just the plaything of an eccentric billion, SpaceX's Starship is poised to be a key piece of humanity's return to the moon after NASA selected Elon Musk's company to provide a lunar landing system for the Artemis program. SpaceX beat out Jeff Bezo's Blue Origins and defense contractor Dynetics for a $3 billion contract in what can only be described as a surprising upset. Blue Origins (partnered with heavyweights Lockheed Marting, Northrop Grunman, and Draper Labs) has spent years of internal development on a landing system reminiscent of Apollo and was seen as the heavy favorite. Instead, the future of lunar exploration will look much different. SpaceX's plans include a 150ft tall Starship derived lander that would require astronauts to take an elevator ride to the surface instead of the proverbial small step. The dust has yet to settle on NASA's rationale, but it appears that the decision was based at least partly on SpaceX's relatively low cost compared to the other competitors. 

+ SpaceX, clearly now one of NASA's trusted partners, is set to launch their 3rd crewed mission to the space station this Thursday, April 22nd.

#02 WHIRLYBIRD

+ Perseverance has successfully deposited the small helicopter Ingenuity onto the surface of Mars. The helicopter's first flight was supposed to be a week ago but has been delayed due to a software glitch that was discovered during a rotor spin test. The problem required engineers to upload new software to the helicopter, but things seem to be under control now. The first flight is now scheduled for Monday the 19th at 12:30 am PDT (that's tonight if you're reading on Sunday!). 

#03 BACK ON EARTH

+ It's a "desiccated landscape of lifeless orange-brown soil with rugged, rocky hills snaking across the horizon" and also happens to have a disproportionally large population of funny-looking robots. Before going to Mars, it's best to try your luck in the Atacama Desert, possibly the most Mars-like place on Earth.

+ Maybe your preferred destination is one of the worlds orbiting Jupiter or Saturn that have liquid water oceans hidden under global ice sheets. Scientists are drilling through ice sheets here on Earth to practice accessing these extreme environments with life-seeking instruments.

+ And if neither of those are your thing, how about Hawai'i? Astronauts on the Moon or Mars will lack the protection of Earth's magnetosphere and be exposed to the harsh radiation of the sun. Luckily, there are volcanic caves and lava tubes at both locations that could provide protection. To figure out how people would adapt to living continuously in such an odd place, "scientists are descending deep underground into lava tubes in Hawaii that simulate conditions on rocky alien worlds" and staying there for weeks or months on end.

#04 EGYPT

+ "A 'lost golden city' in Egypt dating back 3,400 years has been revealed in what is being called the most important discovery in the country since the tomb of Tutankhamen in 1922." The discovery of what was once a functioning city is important since "we have a lot of tombs and we know a lot about them, but we don't have a lot of evidence about how Egyptians lived and worked in their cities... You never know what the sand of Egypt might hide." 

#05 LITTLE BIG PROBLEMS

+ "Evidence is mounting that a tiny subatomic particle seems to be disobeying the known laws of physics, scientists announced on Wednesday, a finding that would open a vast and tantalizing hole in our understanding of the universe." For the last 100 years, physics has been dominated by the Standard Model, a set of equations that describes the fundamental particles of our universe. Although it has held up remarkably well over the years, this could be the first sign that it is starting to crack after with the weight of ever more energetic and precise experiments. 

#06 THE BRANDO

+ "In 1967, actor Marlon Brando bought a tiny atoll near Tahiti with the aim of preserving it as a tropical paradise." The island is now home to The Brando, one of the most exclusive eco-resorts in the world with guests ranging from Barrack Obama To Lady Gaga and any other business mogul, royal, or A-lister who has money to burn. One of Brando's other goals for the island was to use it as a gathering place for cutting-edge scientists and turn it into an oasis of conservation. In this, the project has been nothing less than successful. Scientists, funded by the resort, live at the tropical paradise and are charged with restoring the ecosystem to what it might have been like before Europeans arrived. World-class conservation and hedonistic luxury, don't normally go hand in hand, but on Tetiaroa it seems to be working surprisingly well. 

#07 A GOOD BOOK

+ Having grown up in Nebraska, I didn't have much exposure to fire lookout towers until a family vacation took us to the top of Harney Peak in the Black Hills of South Dakota. On the summit, there is a Civilian Conservation Corps era stone lookout tower reminiscent of a mountaintop fortress. Since then I've always associated fire lookouts with an inaccessible romantic past, but did you know you can still get a job as one? In Fire Season: Field Notes from a Wilderness Lookout Philip Connors recounts his varied experiences as a modern-day fire lookout in the Gila Wilderness of New Mexico. From unexpected run-ins with bears, occasional visits from through-hikers, and the ever-exciting lightning storm, it turns out the solitary life of a fire lookout isn't quite as boring as one might think! On a deeper level though, Connors reflects on how fire has shaped, scarred and renewed the landscape for generations and how a bit more time in nature may be better for all of us.

To be solitary in such a place and such a way is not to be alone. Instead one feels a certain kind of dignity. There are their lookouts on other peaks in the same forest with stunning stretches of country beneath them... but none of them quite like mine. Dignity and singularity: these are among the blessings of solitude in a high place.

That's all for this week! You can respond to this email to tell me about anything you liked or didn't like, tell me about a project you're working on, or suggest a story. You might also forward this email to a friend so they can subscribe too!

- Evan Hilgemann

This newsletter was produced as a private venture and not in the author's capacity as an employee of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology or of Griffith Observatory. Any views and opinions expressed herein or on exploreandobserve.com are his own and not those of his employers.

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