Last week our semi-regular science contributor Keith Cowing attended a ceremony where NASA introduced its new class of astronauts to lead the way in the new Moon/Mars space initiative. That ceremony, at the new National Air and Space Museum annex outside Washington D.C., was rife with Star Trek allusions, from a speech by John Glenn to the closing theme music to a photo backdrop.

Eleven new astronauts were introduced as those "who will lead us through the next steps in the new exploration vision" by NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe. One of the keynote speakers was former astronaut Senator John Glenn, who said to the schoolchildren present, "I know you all get inspired by Star Trek and 'Star Wars' — but that ain't quite the way it is." He was speaking about physics and how current spaceships work, not to discourage the kids, but to emphasize the need for sticking to their studies so they can address the future reality of space travel.

When the ceremony concluded, the familiar lyrics from Star Trek: Enterprise blared throughout the hangar: "It's been a long road ..." A few minutes later the new astronauts met up with the media for photo ops in front of the Space Shuttle Enterprise, permanently housed in a hangar at the facility. That first shuttle, as you may know, was named Enterprise because of a letter-writing campaign, and is depicted in Captain Archer's ready room as well as the NCC-1701 rec deck in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" (that image is available as a desktop here). The event reminded Cowing of an earlier time when the Enterprise shuttle was first rolled out in 1976 to the theme of the original Star Trek, with Gene Roddenberry and the show's cast in attendance.

The full story is available at this link at SpaceRef.com.

Mars Petitions

Speaking of the Moon/Mars initiative, President Bush's January 14 speech announcing a new direction for NASA set the agency into motion to significantly reorganize its efforts, but the future of that initiative is anything but certain. Thus, a number of private organizations have begun petitions to gather public support for the vision of putting a human on Mars in the next few decades, to ensure that all the decision-making authorities do not let the dream die.

The Planetary Society, which Robert Picardo and other Star Trek personalities are active with, has begun a campaign called "Aim for Mars!" that includes a petition addressed to Senator John McCain, members of the House Committee on Science and other congressman, calling for "the setting of a human exploration goal for all countries around the world." Their site states, "Robotic trailblazers, such as Spirit and Opportunity now on Mars, can prepare the way, but they cannot replace the human explorers that will one day walk the canyons and plains of the Red Planet. For over 30 years — since the last Apollo astronaut left the Moon — human explorers have been restricted to circling their home world. Now is the time to direct our vision to other worlds." Citizens of all countries are encouraged to sign the petition on AimForMars.org. For non-U.S. citizens, the Planetary Society will deliver the messages to the appropriate space authorities around the world.

The Mars Society is another non-profit organization which, not surprisingly, hopes to ensure that the dream of reaching the Red Planet doesn't succumb to budget battles and myopic national policy. "It is our wish that, in the spirit of history's greatest explorers, the first humans will set foot on Mars by 2015, with the ultimate goal of developing a sustained presence. We urge our leaders to have the vision to provide for the citizens they represent a future without limits, one that matches our potential and our country's greatness, and is worthy of the dreams of our children." Their petition is located at this page.

Science news site Space.com has its own petition campaign called "Go for Mars!"  In a letter to readers, the site states, "Our generation has a chance to do something bold in space and it can only be done if our nation's leaders see that the people support it." That petition is available at this link.

That letter from Space.com reiterates the steps NASA plans to take in its new Vision for Space Exploration. After returning the Space Shuttle to service to complete the International Space Station, a replacement for the shuttle will be designed under Project Constellation. "With a new Constellation-class spaceship, humans will return to the Moon and eventually reach out for Mars and beyond," it states. (In Star Trek, the Constellation-class starship is a four-nacelle design such as Picard's former ship the Stargazer.)

Tricorders ... or PADDs?

Also from Space.com, an article ran last week headlined, "Finally! Astronauts Get Tricorders! (Kinda)." Hewlett-Packard announced on May 6 that their iPAQ Pocket PC was being used by the Expedition 9 crew aboard the ISS. The handheld computers run a truncated version of Microsoft Windows, and will be used by both American astronauts and Russian cosmonauts as mobile productivity tools to record daily crew procedures, write personal memos and check e-mail and calendars. The crew will also be able to listen to music, view photos from home and read e-books. The Space.com article likens the device to a Tricorder, but it's far more analogous to a PADD (Personal Access Display Device) — and the picture accompanying the story confirms it. View the full article here (scroll down to May 7).

New Lapel Communicator Emulates Combadge

In the 22nd and 23rd centuries in Star Trek, starship crews use cellphone-like communicators, and it isn't until the 24th century that the more convenient combadge is introduced. Well, the 21st century is already catching up to the 24th. A new wireless voice communication system developed by Vocera Communications in California bears a striking resemblance to the Next Generation style of talking to each other. The small, lightweight "Communications Badge" can be clipped to a lapel or worn on a lanyard around the neck. All you do to contact someone is press the talk button, say the person's name, and the wireless system will put you through. The gadget is already proving popular in hospitals, making it easier for nurses to find and talk with doctors, and will be ideal for other large workplaces. Read more at this BBC News page.