By Jessica Roy 1/10 1:55pm

The Final Frontier

(Screencap: Twitter)

Elon Musk Would Like You to Know ‘I Am Not the Kale Eating Overlord of Mars’

News has been swirling that PayPal vet and SpaceX founder Elon Musk is hellbent on creating a colony on Mars specifically targeting vegetarians. PETA, of course, immediately jumped on the idea, demanding that instead of making the colony vegetarian, it should obviously be vegan.

Now, Mr. Musk has spoken out on his Twitter account saying that, yes, he would like to get tech people to Mars, but no, he is not the red planet’s vegan-loving leader. Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 1/08 3:17pm

Space the Final Frontier

Can't wait for the remake of The Searchers.

So You Wanna Be a Martian Colonist

Let’s face it: Most of us aren’t going to make NASA’s rather stringent cut for the space program. So how’s a girl supposed to fulfill her destiny to rule Mars as Red Queen, given that that the  planet is, at best, 33.9 million miles away?

Well, here’s an idea! Mars One, an organization that hopes to create of a Martian settlement by turning the whole kit and kaboodle into a reality TV show, just posted its requirements for would-be settlers. And there is good news for those of us who flunked precalculus:  Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 11/30/12 3:27pm

Space the Final Frontier

Mr. Musk, please take my money. (Photo via flickr.com/jurvetson)

Perhaps We Could Just Kickstart the New Race to Space?

Yesterday, before venturing forth to the casting call for Bravo’s Start-ups: Silicon Valley spinoff, we made a rather wonkier stop, at this month’s meeting of the MIT Enterprise Forum. The topic of the panel? Space, the final frontier, and aerospace investing in particular.

As we arrived, a brief SpaceX video with a Top Gun-style soundtrack was wrapping up. Adam Harris, the company’s VP for Government Affairs, let slip a little, “Yay!” as it came to a close.  Read More

By Jessica Roy 10/12/12 9:30am

The Final Frontier

(Photo: YouTube)

Bill Nye Needs Your Help to Restore NASA’s Space Exploration Budget

Millennial icon Bill Nye the Science Guy, whom this reporter once had the immense pleasure of interviewing, currently serves as the CEO of the Planetary Society. There, he’s worked to raise awareness about the Curiosity Rover’s mission to Mars, as well as advised Elon Musk on what the space research community needs out of a commercial space program. (“We need cheap access to orbit,” Mr. Nye told us in an interview. “It’s the key first step. Getting to orbit right now is too expensive.”)

Mr. Nye is working to raise awareness about NASA’s gutted space exploration budget. Yesterday, his team published a YouTube video of Mr. Nye urging viewers to send a letter to the President, asking him to restore the budget. Read More

By Jessica Roy 10/11/12 1:21pm

The Final Frontier

(Photo: Wikipedia)

Nearby Planet Has Mantle Made of Motherf*cking Diamonds

When we learned that the Mars Curiosity Rover had discovered a “shiny object” while searching the red planet, we worried that Mars would be the first planet saddled with human colonization–and we haven’t even established a Prime Directive yet! But with news today that Yale University scientists have discovered a nearby planet with a mantle made of diamonds, we’re picturing a California gold rush-style mission to its surface. Ready your engines, Richard Branson. Read More

By Jessica Roy 10/03/12 2:07pm

Check-In Please!

(Photo: Foursquare)

Curiosity Rover Joins Foursquare, Checks in From Mars

In a delightfully geeky publicity stunt for New York-based location checkin service, NASA tweeted moments ago that the Curiosity Rover has joined Foursquare. “Guess who just joined @Foursquare? That’s right… @MarsCuriosity just checked in from the Red Planet,” tweeted NASA. It’s the first-ever checkin on a different planet, and we have to admit it’s pretty awesome.

“One check-in closer to being Mayor of Mars!” the Rover wrote for its inaugural checkin. Read More

By Jessica Roy 10/01/12 1:59pm

The Final Frontier

(Photo: Jeff Koterba, The Cagle Post)

Who Wants to Mine Asteroids? Interested Interns Can Apply Here

If you live in the Bellevue, Wash. area and consider yourself Elon Musk Jr., boy do we have the internship of a lifetime for you. Planetary Resources, a budding startup backed by the likes of Google CEO Larry Page and famous Hollywood director James Cameron, posted a job listing for interns hoping to help the company mine near-earth asteroids. Non-space nuts need not apply. Read More

By Jessica Roy 9/20/12 1:39pm

The Final Frontier

Let's all work from SPACE! (Photo: Chatter-fest)

Richard Branson Intends to Colonize Mars Whether You Like It or Not

Though commercial space initiatives have a whiff of sadness about them (RIP lots of NASA funding, RIP the space craze of the ’50s), space geeks like your Betabeat reporters are excited by the prospect of making our way into outerspace however we can. And by the looks of it, every day people like you and me could soon be headed off into the ether–provided we have the massive amounts of cash to front the trip. Read More

By Jessica Roy 8/30/12 8:31am

The Final Frontier

(Photo: NewNowNext)

NASA Scientist and Internet Crush Bobak Ferdowsi Hosting a Radio Show Called ‘Getting Curious with the Mohawk Guy’

It’s been a few weeks since we last checked in with super-studly NASA scientist Bobak Ferdowsi, who became an Internet sensation overnight for helping land the Mars Curiosity rover while lookin’ fly in a specially-styled mohawk. The Internet was agog when they discovered that genius young flight directors could also be attractive.

Now Mr. Ferdowsi is parlaying his devastating breed of smart and charming into a radio show he’s hosting today, entitled “Getting Curious With the Mohawk Guy,” natch. Read More