Decolonizing space, and other stories
Welcome to Ramin’s Space, the newsletter from WIRED space writer Ramin Skibba. You can read more about the newsletter here. If you like it, please consider subscribing and sharing this post. Just wanted to say thank you to my new subscribers, too.
Decolonizing the cosmos
In space, are we reproducing the same kinds of inequalities and injustices we’ve seen on Earth? What can we do to make space exploration more sustainable and egalitarian? With my latest essay in Aeon magazine (and one of my last pieces as a freelance writer), I lay out my current thoughts on these themes, while including perspectives from a range of experts.
NASA really, really wants to slam a spacecraft into an asteroid
Humans are about to try something that’s never been done before: Smash a spacecraft into a hurtling near-Earth asteroid at 15,000 mph to see if its trajectory can be nudged. It’s a test of something that could be done if an asteroid really were on a collision course with us and if we had a long advance warning.
Russian anti-satellite test adds urgency to space debris cleanup efforts
Russia blew up one of its own satellites with a missile — as China, India, and the US have done in the past — adding 1,500 bits of space trash to the already congested junkyard that is low-Earth orbit. To prevent these orbits from becoming unusable, the US Space Force is investing in methods for removing space debris, and other countries’ space agencies are doing the same.
The United Nations could finally make new rules for space
With low-Earth orbit a free-for-all, and with no regulations to address the myriad space activities and space weapons being developed, people at the UN, let by UK negotiators, are working on making new space rules for the first time in decades. It’s a long overdue effort, but better late than never.
NASA tries to save Hubble, again
Someday I’ll have to write Hubble’s obituary, but I’m glad that’s not today. The iconic 31-year-old space telescope experienced yet another hardware problem, so NASA engineers had to shut its systems down to try to resolve it. They’re hoping to revive the telescope’s instruments one at a time and continue doing science with it a bit longer.
In other writing…
The migrant workers who follow climate disasters
It’s dirty work recovering from climate-fueled extreme weather like fires, floods and hurricanes, and it’s often mistreated and underpaid migrant workers doing it. As we adapt to climate change, we have to pay attention to this part of its impacts, too. Interesting New Yorker piece by Sarah Stillman.
The winnowing of winter
As climate change continues, I worry about the loss of snow and the shortening of winters. I grew up near the Rocky Mountains and it’s disturbing considering that they’ll never be the same again. I recommend this High Country News piece by Heather Hansman, an excerpt from her book Powder Days.
Scientists discover an ancient mammoth tusk at he bottom of the ocean
Did you know that marine archaeology is a real thing? Well scientists have now discovered a mammoth’s tusk 10,000 feet under the sea, on the side of a seamount, and it probably dates back at least 100,000 years ago, when the world was a very different place. Fascinating New York Times story by Annie Roth.
Astronaut gear of the future may fight bone and muscle loss
New space suits are coming! As Sarah Scoles writes in WIRED, some of the new suits in development could help long-time spacefarers keep their muscles fit as they’re experiencing the health impacts of low gravity. Asteroid belt residents in The Expanse TV show could surely benefit from this tech!
Sci-fi icon Neal Stephenson finally takes on global warming
The prolific writer Neal Stephenson explores a plausible climate scenario in his new book Termination Shock, where an oil billionaire attempts geoengineering on his own, launching sulfur in the atmosphere to try to cool the planet. That leads to lots of moral and scientific questions, including when and how to stop a huge climate intervention like that. I recommend this piece by my WIRED colleague Adam Rogers.
What I’m reading: The Goshawk by T. H. White and Space Forces by Fred Scharmen.
Looking back: One year ago this month, I wrote an opinion piece about how we need a change in nuclear weapons policy, and the piece just won an award from the San Diego Press Club (and it’s still true).
More about me: I’m the space writer at WIRED magazine, and I’m based in San Diego. I used to be a freelance writer and journalist, and before that, an astrophysicist. You can find me at my website, raminskibba.net, and on Twitter @raminskibba. I’m also former president of the San Diego Science Writers Association (SANDSWA) and on the board of the National Association of Science Writers (NASW), though the opinions I express are mine alone. If someone has forwarded this email to you, you’re welcome to subscribe too.