ESA plans manned mission

The latest issue of Spaceflight Magazine (the magazine of the British Interplantery Society) showcases Mars on the front cover (April 2006 issue) and devotes a number of pages to an indepth breakdown of European plans to put a man on Mars. It should be stated that these "plans" are highly spectulative and no budgets are assigned, but it is interesting to see how a mission to Mars might be launched by a conglomorate of European nations. Frankly, it's pretty depressing reading because it seems that the plans require an incredible outlay in time and resource. No less than 21 Energia launches are called for! Those with an interest in spaceflight history may recall that the Energia flew the then Soviet Buran spaceshuttle on its maiden (and only) flight. It's a monster rocket (though not as big as an Apollo) but 21 flights and a 5 year building program in orbit strikes me as insane. Worse still, for all this outlay, the study paper assumes a manned stay on the planet of just 30 days, yet the crew will be stranded in Martian orbit for a year and a half. I desperately want to see humans on Mars, but this plan is not the way to do it and simply serves to strengthen the argument of those who favour unmanned missions. With NASA looking at a rover with a nuclear power plant for massively extended missions, one can hardly see the point of a mission that deposits humans for 30 days and allows them just 7 EVAs of no greater than 5km from the landing point.

Mike Trim art book features War Of The Worlds

Mike Trim is the versatile artist responsible for some of the iconic designs in Gerry Anderson's best-known television shows, such as Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet. Of interest to War Of The Worlds fans is of course his fantastic work on the Jeff Waynes' musical version of the story, for which he contributed a portfolio of images that are rightly considered definitive. Now fans of Mike's work can treat themselves to a new book recounting his amazing career. "The Future Was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim" features hundreds of full-colour and black-and-white drawings, and can be preordered now from Fabgearusa.com.

Google maps Mars

First there was the earth, then the moon, now Google has mapped Mars. Point your browser at google mars and you can work your way round the planet, switching between black and white photographs, infrared and elevation maps. You can even pinpoint the location of the Spirit and Opportunity rovers on the surface.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter success

Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has successfully entered orbit around Mars.

At 2124 GMT (1334 PST), the spacecraft fired its engines as it approached the south side of the planet. 20 minutes later, the MRO switched from solar to battery power and entered into a period of radio silence behind the planet. The waiting team at the JPL lab in Pasadena were jubilant when the probe then broke radio silence. The probe is now in a 35-hour elliptical trajectory around the planet. At its furthest point it will swing out to about 44,000km (27,000 miles) above the planet's surface, but will spend the next six months adjusting the orbit by aerobreaking to enter a final circular 2 hour orbit. Only then will the science mission begin. The orbiter has 6 science instruments onboard, including the highest resolution camera ever sent to Mars.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter arrival

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is fast approaching orbital insertion, a point that has seen any number of previous missions come to grief. After a 27 minute burn today, the craft will enter into an extended aerobreaking sequence that will see the orbiter dip into the atmosphere some 500 times in order to further refine the orbit.

War of the woes at the Oscars

War Of The Worlds failed to take any Oscar awards last night, falling to the might of King Kong in the categories of Best Effects and Best Sound. Kong probably deserved to win for effects, at least from a technical standpoint (the film itself was overwhelmed by the use of endless effects) but sound should have gone to War Of The Worlds., if only for the haunting and terrifying voice given to the invaders.

Mars budget in peril

It is reported that the ambitious plans to put men back on the moon and to travel on to Mars are having a seriously bad knock-on effect on big unmanned missions. NASA is scrambling to find money to run the shuttle fleet and keep the International Space Station alive, but funds are seriously stretched, and despite promises from NASA that there would not be budget cuts, a number of highly important science missions are facing the chopping block. Included in the rosta of troubled missions, a Mars sample return mission. Time magazine has a full (and depressing) report.

Cameron on Mars

An amazing snippet of Mars new thanks to AintItCool news. In an interview with director James Cameron (Terminator, Titanic) it appears he is working on a new camera to fly to Mars on a future mission. To quote: "One of the side projects that he’s doing is working in conjunction with the MALIN SPACE SCIENCE SERVICES group… those are the guys that developed the M.O.C. Global Surveyor that’s been mapping Mars for the last couple of years. That’s completely changed everyone’s belief of what MARS is. Well, the next big NASA mission is going to have a Live Video Stereo Motion Image device that Cameron has been developing with M.S.S.S. to bring us back live 3D video images in full motion from the surface of Mars… all tied to the back of one of those nuclear powered Rovers that’ll be exploring, if all goes well, for years. See… Evangelical Techno-Fetishist." The full interview is here.

Casting a giant shadow

The high Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board ESA's Mars Express spacecraft has captured the shadow of Phobos as it races across the surface. The amazing picture can be seen on the Universe Today site.

Visual Effects Society honours War Of The Worlds

Spielberg's War Of The Worlds took a number of prizes at the annual Visual Effects Society Awards on the evening of the 16th Febuary. Best Single Visual Effect Of The Year went to the scene in which Cruise and his family flee their neighbourhood from the alien attack. It also took the award for Outstanding Models and Miniatures in a Motion Picture and Outstanding Compositing. Grab a list of the full list of awards at the VES Awards site.

Life between the cracks

A meteorite that fell to Earth in 1911 in Egypt may yet prove the existence of life on the red planet. A carbon-rich substance has been identified deep within the rock, which strongly disputes counter arguments that the material might represent contamination from Earth. The full story is here at the BBC.

Scary Movie 4 trailer is up

It looks like Scary Movie 4 is going to revolve heavily around spoofing Spielbergs War Of The Worlds. The trailer is on Yahoo, and truth be told, it looks quite funny. Love the dig at George Bush.

Grover's Mill pond in the news

There is an interesting article at nj.com about the pond at Grover's Mill. Dick Snedeker who has contributed to my website is quoted. Read all about it here.

Oscar nominations and a raspberry

The War Of The Worlds has grabbed three nominations for an Oscar. King Kong" and "Memoirs of a Geisha" share the nomination for Sound Editing, which surely has to go to Spielbergs movie for the chilling Martian calls. Its also up for "sound mixing", but I'm nore really sure what the difference is. "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," and "King Kong," duke it out for Visual Effects, which is a harder nut to crack. My money is on Kong taking this one.

Rather unfairly I think, Tom Cruise has been nominated for a razzie for worst actor. Can't say he was that bad, and in fact I think it was one of his best performances. I suspect the razzie is more for his antics after the film was made, when, and lets be honest here, he went a little strange.

Martian Holodeck planned

Its not quite straight out of Star Trek, but a Scottish engineer has plans to create a virtual reality simulator that will be able to recreate creations on Mars to an incredible degree of realism. The idea is to provide a test environment for scientists planning future Mars missions. The Scotsman has an idepth interview.

Tip of the iceberg

Universe Today is reporting on newly published research that is helping to shed fresh light on the origins of ice on Mars. It seems the planet may have tipped rapidly in the past toward the sun, allowing for the rapid buildup of ice and glaciers.

Fake radio broadcast sparks new panic.

Orson Welles did it in 1938, panicking millions in the United States with his War Of The Worlds radio broadcast, and now from Sweden comes news that Terrorism has repeated the feat, though on a much smaller scale. As reported on Radio Sweden, "Children in a school in Värmdö were left in shock yesterday after listening to a fake radio broadcast that Stockholm had been attacked by terrorists." It just goes to prove that history could repeat itself. It is highly unlikely anyone is going to believe that Martians are invading, but one can imagine a well made radio or television show triggering a panic by pushing the new fear button of terrorism.

Mars Science Laboratory

CNN has an excellent article on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission scheduled for launch in 2009.

Mars comes to IMAX

This looks great! An IMAX movie about the twin rovers Opportunity and Spirit is due for release this month. Its a combination of actual footage gathered on the red planet by the rovers and computer simulations (obvious given we can't send a cameraman) of their activities. The trailer (and official site) is here. Looks like the next best thing to going there!

War Of The Worlds Invasion for March

The UK release of the Asylum version of The War Of The Worlds will be released in the UK this March on the 20th. It will go by the alternative name of Invasion for the UK release due to issues with rights on the name.

Two years and still trucking

In what must rate as the single greatest achievement in the history of space exploration, the Opportunity rover celebrates 2 years of activity on the Martian surface today. The mission was expected to last no more than 90 days, but thanks to some fantastic engineering and a little luck (high winds are believed to have swept clear it's dust covered solar panels), the pluckly little rover just keeps on going. Over 7 miles have been traversed and 58,000 images returned so far, along with conclusive proof that Mars was once a very wet place. Opportunity's sister rover Spirit is due to pass it's own two year milestone in a few days. Undoubtedly both are on borrowed time, but the lure of the next rise always beckons, and those of us with Mars in our blood still cling to the hope that a lost Martian city may yet rise from the sands. Good luck Opportunity and Spirit, and congratulations to the teams responsible for this incredible mission. Long may they continue to rove the surface of Mars.

War Of The Worlds makes BBC top 10 films of 2005

Spielberg's War Of The Worlds took number 8 in the top 10 films according to the BBC Film 2005 survey. The full list of winners can be found at the BBC website.

A plague of robots

Forget lumbering rovers or exotic aircraft. Penelope Boston, the director of cave and karst studies at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology is proposing sending swarms of tiny robots to Mars that would literally hop about the surface using polymer-based artificial muscles that would propel then unward of a meter a jump. The idea has considerable merit, as the tiny robots would be able to reach places a rover could not. More at the MSNBC website.

Beagle found?

New pictures of Mars snapped from orbit may have found the resting place of the ill-fated British Beagle landing craft. Proffesor Colin Pillinger seems pretty convinced that he has found the crash/landing site and it seems likely that the craft came down to fast because the atmosphere was thinner than expected. There are a lot of detailed images and interpretations available here at the Beagle 2 website.

This is scary

Scary Movie 4, (did we ever need 1-3) has released a bunch of teaser posters, one of which indicates that the newest installment in the franchise is going to spoof (amongst other things) Spielberg's War Of The Worlds.

New War Of The Worlds comic

First there was Classics Illustrated, then Killraven, (and a few more inbetween) but now there is a new and pretty good looking contender on the block. Boom Studios have a new comic book in production. Not much to be seen yet on the website but there are some enticing looking images to be found here.

Energia President talks Mars

RSC Energia President Nikolai Sevostianov has been talking about the future of his company and a possible human presence on Mars. Nikolai Sevostianov has some far reaching ideas for the future of humans in the solar system. The full interview is here.

Exomars given UK backing

The British government has approved a higher than normal spend on a future space mission. 108m euros (£73.2m) has been allocated to the Exomars lander which will launch for 2011. Speaking at the ministerial meeting, science minister Lord Sainsbury said: "As a major contributor, the UK will have a leading role in this programme which is set to improve our understanding of Mars and the Solar System." The probe will use similar airbag landing systems to previous sucessful landers, but will bring some exciting new science to the Red planet, including a drill which will be able to dig deep into the Martian surface.

Orson Welles Lives

Interviewed by Sci-Fi Wire, Jack Black, the star of Peter Jacksons's King Kong remake, has revealed that he modeled his part of filmmaker Carl Denham on Orson Welles. Welles of course made the 1938 radio broadcast that panicked many in America with his version of The War Of The Worlds. More at scifi wire.

Europe meets to decide on Mars mission

The European Space Agency (ESA) is meeting this Monday to discuss funding on a number of new projects, one of which would be a robotic probe to Mars. The project is by no means certain to be greenlit as several programmes are chasing the money. More at the BBC.

Hard times on planet Mars

NASA's continuing exploration of the red planet has turned up fresh proof for a very watery past, but officials are still very cautious about suggesting any form of life may have swum these ancient seas. The latest results from the Opportunity rover at it's Meridiani Planum landing site suggests that at some point in the distant past, the land was acidic, oxidizing and sometimes wet. Unfortunately, not good conditions for life to arise. More can found at MSN.

History Channel does War Of The Worlds

The US History Channel has broadcast a documentary covering many aspects of The War Of The Worlds. It was done as part of their UFO Files stand of programming.

War Of The Worlds gets standing ovation

A live performance of Jeff Waynes' War Of The Worlds at Wirral's International Guitar Festival was a big hit with a sell out audience of 900. It was a dream of guitarist Gary Murphy to revisit the musical and it earned him a standing ovation.

New War Of The Worlds comic

Dark Horse comics have been releasing a new version of The War Of The Worlds as an online publication, one page at a time. Not surprisingly, you can now pre-order the old fashioned paper version from Amazon.

National Geographic documentary

The National Geographic Channel in the UK is showing a documentary on the Orson Welles radio broadcast this Sunday, 10pm UK time.

War Of The Worlds most pirated

Not the most enviable of records, but Spielberg's War Of The Worlds had the unhappy distinction of been the most downloaded movie online for the second month running in September. Internet security company BayTSP recorded 51,292 downloads for the month, with Kong Fu Hustle coming a poor second at 33,511. On a personal note, on a train journey last month, I watched someone calmly open a very nice looking notebook with widescreen monitor and watch a pristine copy of War Of The Worlds without a care in the world.

Jeff Waynes' War Of The Worlds like never before

If you happen to live in, or are visiting Vancouver over the next few weeks, check out a fantastic sounding live version of Jeff Waynes' War Of The Worlds. Its a presentation of the H.R. MacMillan Planetarium and runs October 27 though to Nov. 20th. Full details at the dedicated website.

Doctor Who goes to Mars (with Orson Welles)

I've missed the broadcast of this on BBC Radio 7 tonight, but it will be available on their website tomorrow (Sunday). In this new radio series, the BBC's venerable timelord goes back to 1938 New York for an encounter with Orson Welles. Sounds fantastic and I'll be reviewing it for the website as soon as I've heard it.

And another War Of The Worlds

Maysville, KY: The Maysville Players are another group re-enacting Howard Kochs 1938 War Of The Worlds radio script. Read about it here.

Countdown to broadcast anniversary prompts re-enactments

Here's another War Of The Worlds radio broadcast re-enactment, this time by the La Junta's Picketwire Players based in Pueblo, Colorado.

Mars attacks, maybe.

Bay Area residents got themselves into a flap Wednesday night, a UFO flap. Numerous people saw mysterious lights in the sky and many called authorities, including Vandenberg Air Force Base on the Central Coast and the Federal Aviation Administration. The explanation seems to be that they were seeing Mars and Venus, but make your mind up here with some photos.

Mars at closest approach

Mars is at the closest approach to earth this weekend, at just 43.1 million miles. For British skywatchers, it should dominate the night sky over the next few weeks, rising in the late afternoon and becoming visible above the eastern horizon soon after sunset. You can use this page to determine where Mars is in your night sky. Happy planet hunting.

Ann Robinson talks Mars

Ann Robinson, star of the George Pal 1953 version of The War Of The Worlds, has been talking to the Concord Monitor about her career.

Lost, found, then lost again

The wreckage of Nasa's Mars Polar Lander spacecraft, which was lost in 1999, presumed crashed onto the surface, was tentatively identified on the surface last year by the orbiting European Mars Global Surveyor, but now it appears it was a case of mistaken identity. According to scientists, the features identified as the lander and it's parachute, were in fact nothing but natural features. BBC news has more.

Hines continues to defend his War Of The Worlds film

Timothy Hines, the director of a less than well received version of The War Of The Worlds has been talking to syfyportal about his experiences in making the film. This is a fasinating interview and a great piece of work by Michael Simpson, who writes a very balanced account of events and gives Hines a pretty reasonable hearing.

Magnetic Mars

NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft has made another exciting discovery. The probe has spotted the telltale magnetic signatures of transform faults, the points at which tectonic plates have been crushed together. This is yet more evidence of a significantly active past for the red planet. ABC news has the story.

War Of The Worlds with bunnies

Check out one of the weirdest War Of The Worlds sites ever, a 30 second version of The War Of The Worlds cast entirely with rabbits.

John Carter Of Mars gathers speed

A fantastic interview with newly appointed director Jon Favreau is available on the Aint It Cool news site. Sounds like he intends to play it very close to the spirit of the original books and most positively, is not too bothered to set his movie on a completely scientifically implausible Mars. Full interview here.

War Of The Worlds on stage

American Stage, a theatre company in Tampa are producing a stage version of the Orson Welles radio broadcast of 1938. Performances are scheduled October 19 through October 30 and tickets can be bought online at the American Stage website.

John Carter Of Mars has new director

After a period in development hell, the much anticipated movie version of Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter Of Mars, has another new director on board, after both Robert Rodriguez and Kerry Conran bailed. Now Jon Favreau is set to direct what may become a long running series of movies - Burroughs wrote 9 books.

Broadcast revisited

There are sure to be many more of these, giving that we are coming up on the broadcast date of Orson Welles' War Of The Worlds (Oct 30th 1938), but here is news of one of the first, from Odessa, Texas.

Brian Aldiss on Science Fiction radio

The author Brian Aldiss presented a great hour long discussion on the history of science fiction radio this Saturday (Oct 1st). The program naturally touched on the War Of The Worlds radio broadcast, but also looked at much more, with a huge number of fasinating clips. BBC Radio 4 generally maintains a streaming copy of past broadcasts for about 7 days, so if you want to hear this program, don't delay, click here and select "listen to the latest edition".

A balloon with a view

Plenty of people are working on possible solutions to further explore Mars. The abiding problem is how to get some range out of the next generation of probes. It looks like the smart money is on some sort of aircraft, and the most plausible idea is to my mind a balloon. It sounds a great idea to send a fixed winged aircraft of some kind, but that's a lot of technology and a lot to go wrong. Physorg has an interesting article on one possible contender for a balloon mission.

Moving Mars

The Mars Global Explorer orbiter has been taking shots of the surface for several years now, and when compared, they have revealed some intriguing indications that the planet is a lot more active than previously expected. Voice Of America has a detailed article.

Spielberg falls out with Cruise

Though it has been strongly denied by Spielbergs representatives, rumour is rife that Tom Cruises' increasingly bizarre behaviour including a rant against the use of Ritalin and the appearance on the War Of The Worlds set of a tent full of Scientology members, has put some strain on their relationship.

Mars Express mission extended

The hugely sucessful European Space Agency mission Mars Express is to have it's mission extended by a further Martian year, or about 23 months. Flight International has some more info.

War Of The Worlds mobile game

There is a nice detailed review of The War Of The Worlds mobile phone game here at blogcritics.

To the Moon and Mars

NASA has officially laid down plans to return to the Moon by 2018, where astronauts will set up settlements capable of supporting 4 astronauts for stays of up to six months at a time. The new missions will need new hardware, including a liquid methane powered lander, which is a forward looking concept as future explorers may one day brew their own methane fuel on the Martian surface. The Moon misions are very much seen as a staging post for the exploration of Mars, with the long duration stays on the Lunar surface providing the extensive experience that will be needed for these missions.

Mars means business

The recently founded 4frontiers company of Florida has some ambitious plans, to see a human settlement on Mars within the next 20 years. Founded by a former Intel manager, the plan is to first develop a terrestrial testing ground which would generate revenue from tourists. They are seeking an initial investment of $25 million dollars. More info here from Businessweek.

Under the moons of Mars

The Spirit rover on Mars continues to send back the most amazing images. The latest is a simply stunning animation showing both moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos rising into the night sky. Check it out here.

Fire and Ice on Mars

These are exciting times for the exploration of Mars. Several reports have arrived in recent days detailing discoveries of great importance to our understanding of the red planet and the prospects for live there, and visits by human beings. First, from Mars Express scientist Gerhard Neukum (Berlin University), comes news that volcanos spotted by the probe have been geologically active in "recent times". Of course, recent times for a geologist can mean a very long time ago, and here we are talking millions of years, but that is so close in geological terms that it does raise the very real possibility that these volcanos could come back to life. More here.

Then from the Mars Odyessy spacecraft, comes positive news that Mars is jampacked with Water. Heat and water, a pretty good combination to make life on Mars just that little bit more plausible.

Armstrong talks up Mars

Neil Armstrong (first man on the moon) doesn't think anyone is going to set foot on Mars for at least twenty years, but he is optimistic that it will prove a smoother and easier trip than his to the moon. CNN are carrying more detail of his comments.

Mars Global Surveyor switches to safe more

NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft has run into trouble around the red planet, switching to an emergency "safe mode". In safe mode, most of the spacecrafts science instruments have switched off. BBC news has more on the situation.

Fantastic new image from Mars

The Spirit rover on Mars has climbed to the top of a hill and returned the first of what are sure to be many amazing panaramic views.

Phoenix for Mars

Rising from the ashes of two previous failed Mars Missions, Phoenix is an ambitious mission to scout for life on Mars, including drilling into the surface. Unlike the probes presently on the surface, Phoenix will be a fixed position mission. An excellent article can be found at space.com.

Amazing dustdevils on Mars

NASA has released a stunning animation of a dustdevil caught on camera by the Spirit rover.

Taking a walk back in time and space

For those readers in the UK who can reach Woking tomorrow evening, the first of 3 walks is to take place tracing the steps of the Martian Invaders from War Of The Worlds. Sounds like a fun idea. More details here.

Europe decides on Mars mission

The European Space Agency has decided on sending a single rover with the ability to drill down into the Martian surface and a second stationary probe. The team responsible for the failed UK Beagle mission had proposed a number of small rovers, but this has not been selected, though some of their science packages may make it onto one or more of the selected missions. More here on the BBC website.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in cruise mode

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has entered cruise mode sucessfully and is performing well as mission controllers undertake a series of calibration exercises. More detail can be found at the Planetary Society.

Stepping out on Mars in painful fashion

In focusing as intensely as people generally do on the mechanics of getting to Mars, you tend to forget that once there, someone has to have a way to go walkabout on the surface. The International Mars Society have just held their 8th convention (11-14 August) in Boulder, Colorado, and concluded that old style suits such as those worn on the Moon by the Apollo astronauts would not be suitable (no pun intended). The Mechanical Counter Pressure (MCP) suit aims to use elasticity to provide pressure instead, and was first proposed in Apollo days but rejected at the time. The suits are much thinner than normal, and also very very tight fitting. Says inventor Paul Webb, "its reasonably comfortable so long as the air the astronaut breathes is pressurized to match the suit's constrictiveness. Otherwise, it hurts like hell."

More on the idea at Nature.com and a neat picture of the suit in action here.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter launched

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was launched by an Atlas V rocket at approximately 12.50GMT today. Flight as of this time appears to be going well.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter flight scrubbed

With just 4 minutes to launch, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter mission flight today has been scrubbed. Another attempt will be made in 24 hours.

War Of The Worlds gets age restriction in China

The release of Spielbergs War Of The Worlds in China has highlighted concerns in the country at the lack of a film certification system. Liu Jianzhong, the chairman of the board of Huaxia Film Company, the movie's Chinese distributor, said "We advise that children should watch the movie only accompanied by parents."

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter delayed

Problems with a pair of Redundant Rate Gyro Units (RRGUs)on the Atlas V rocket that is to loft the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter toward Mars have forced a one day delay to the launch. Launch is now scheduled for Thursday between 1135 and 1350 GMT.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter launch time

Nasa has announced that it's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will attempt to launch on Wednesday, August 10 at 7:54 a.m. EDT. Launch will take place from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard a Lockheed Martin Atlas V-401 rocket. The launch window extends until 9:39 a.m. In the event that the launch is delayed, they will try again at 7:50 a.m. on August 11.

You can now pre-order the first season of the War Of The Worlds TV Series.

Veteran politician Michael Foot, friend and biographer of the late writer, believes that Spielberg has missed the point with his big budget War Of The Worlds and is convinced Wells would have been devastated by Spielberg's treatment of the 1938 book.

Says Foot, "(Wells) was bitterly opposed to the British Empire. He thought it was a real disgrace. And that was really what War Of The Worlds was about: it wasn't just a great adventure story, it was about invasion. He would have seen terrible irony in the fact that Hollywood, this year, decided to make a film of his book while America and Britain are fighting in Iraq. He would have been horrified by the film, even though he loved seeing his books reach the screen."

Hmm, well I'm not sure Spielberg was that blind to the original novel. I certainly wonder if Foot has actually seen the film or simply read a few reviews. I would hardly describe the Spielberg movie as an "adventure" film. Its a scary, remorselessly vision of all out war, and I for one found real parallels with Iraq. I'm pretty certain that the average citizen of Iraq faced with "shock and awe" would find a lot to recognise with in the Spielberg film.

TV series release confirmed

My contact at Paramount has confirmed a release date of November first for the rather good but largely forgotten War Of The Worlds TV Series.

NASA extends Mars Missions

The Spirit and Opportunity rovers have been granted a further six month extension of their mission on Mars. It's a fantastic achievement given that these two rovers should have stop working months ago. NASA have no idea how long they can keep going but so far they show no real sign of wearing out.

War Of The Worlds TV series

It appears that finally the 1988 War Of The Worlds TV series is to get a DVD release from Paramount. Early news here. I'll post more as soon as I know it, so far nothing showing up on Amazon.

The Mars that might one day be

Some beautiful illustrations are to be found on this site showcasing the work of artist Thierry Lombry. Lombry has used his art to speculate on the possible course of future terraforming efforts on the red planet.

One ugly Martian

Check out the great concept art on Jeff Wayne's War Of The Worlds site for a Martian from his proposed CGI movie.

Dark Horse comics War Of The Worlds continues

Well worth a visit to the Dark Horse comics site to see their War Of The Worlds material including an on-going free re-telling of the original novel.

Amazing concept art

The CG Channel website has an interview with War Of The Worlds (Spielberg/Cruise version) graphic designer Ryan Church. The story has some simply fantastic pre-production art from the movie.

Ice lake snapped on Mars

An amazing photograph of a lake of ice has been snapped by the European Mars Express spacecraft. Make sure to click on the "image" link for a fantastic larger image here at space.com

Jeff Wayne article in Soundonsound magazine

I've not seen this yet, but the August issue of SoundOnSound magazine (UK magazine) has a 9 page article on Jeff Waynes War Of The Worlds. This looks to be a "proffesional" magazine on the music sound industry, so expect a pretty heavy article.

War Of The Worlds model kits

Comet Miniatures have released three very nice looking War Of The Worlds model kits, one from the Jeff Wayne version, one from the George Pal version and one that has a "victorian" look. Very neat.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter launch date set

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter which will study the planet in unheard of detail has been set a launch window beginning August 10th.

House approves Mars Plans

The House Of Representatives has passed approval on plans to return American astronauts to the Moon and Mars. The bill passed 383-15 but NASA still has to compete with other agencies for a slice of the budget pie.

Mars not warm enough for life

A report published in the science journal Nature suggests that the planet never warmed up enough for life to have a chance. Scientists studied meteors ejected from the surface of Mars which then crashed to earth. Details here.

Pengragon War Of The Worlds reviewed

My thoughts on the Pendragon War Of The Worlds movie are now available.

First WOTW dvd news

Aint It Cool News is reporting some news from a panel at the huge comic-con convention that featured behind the scenes material on the making of Speilbergs War Of The Worlds and word that the DVD will include a 3 minute sequence of Tripods in action that was dropped from the cinema release.

Big Mars Decisions

Nasa Administrator Michael Griffin is due to report his proposals to get man to Mars but is facing considerable opposition from those who believe NASA and space exploration would be best served with unmanned missions. More here at the ft.

What are the Radio Mechanics?

Good question. The answer is a rather great looking short movie (just 19 minutes) that tells of a late night talk radio host confronted by the possibility that his broadcast is going to trigger the end of the world. You can download a trailer from the official site and buy the DVD which I hope to be reviewing in full at a later date.

War Of The Worlds TV Series

Not a spielberg series I have to say, but something is in development (which means the chances are really slim it will ever happen) based on the Best Sellers illustrated comic. The series will take the series idea of a group of new yorkers fighting back against the Martians.

Russia shooting for Mars

The Times is carrying a report that Russia is looking for volunteers to spend many long months locked in an isolation chamber in preperation for their planned mission to Mars. Reading this article, you have to wonder if its really a plot for an especially nasty reality TV show.

War Of The Worlds get political

British film censors are coming under fire from a conservative member of Parliment for giving War Of The Worlds a 12a certification. This means that any age can see the movie, just that 12 years and under need to be accompanied by an adult. As I have already commented in my review, I certainly would not consider bringing my 7 year old daughter anywhere near this very disturbing (but quite brilliant) film. Conservative MP Mike Penning is asking the culture secretary to reveal the names of the censors involved in the decision. Loathe though I am to lend my support to a conservative politician, I have to admit I think this was a bad decision.

Fantastic new War Of The Worlds book

I love this concept. Set in the same period of the book, it follows the adventures of a soldier trying to get home to his wife. The artist has used computer graphics to create some stunning authentic looking photographs of the attack. Get a look at the fantastic images here.

New Mars SF series

Interesting news of a science fiction series in the works from the pen of Stephen Gallagher. Set on a Mars where a colonisation program has come to an abrupt end and is left unfinished, with a few scattered people left on the red planet. More here.

War of the Worlds tops $21m on opening day

Not the greatest opening in history for sure, but certainly impressive. This makes it Cruise's personal best opening. The film made about 35 million globally.