Category Archives: Propaganda

Note to Self : ) "The Rockwell International Integrated Space Plan"

Created in the 80s by analysts at Rockwell International called the “Integrated Space Plan.”
28 x 45″, but fortunately it’s monochrome, and reproduces well using 1-bit color at 600dpi,
so even uncompressed bitmaps come in at under 5MB, download here (or through
Mars to Stay’s Facebook page):

What Would Zheng He Do? Mars to Stay

 Replica of Zheng He’s treasure ship in Nanjing’s Baochuan Shipyard. Courtesy of kbismarck.org
In 1424, the Yongle Emperor died. His successor, the Hongxi Emperor (who reigned for only one year between 1424–1425), decided to stop Zheng He’s voyages. Zheng He traveled only once more during the reign of Hongxi’s son, the Xuande Emperor. After that final expedition the voyages of the Chinese treasure ship fleets were ended. Xuande believed his father’s decision to halt the voyages meritorious, and thus “there would be no need to make a detailed description of his grandfather’s sending Zheng He to the Western Oceans.” This, and the claim that the voyages “were contrary to the rules stipulated in the Huangming zuxun, Ancestral Injunctions of the August Ming, the royal founding documents laid down by the Hongwu Emperor…” led the conservative Mandarin Confucian bureaucracy to scuttle the entire 250 ship fleet – by far the largest of their time – and burn the shipyards. 
By the 1500s building a ship in China with more than two masts was punishable by death. Confucian bureaucrats feared an independent maritime merchant class empowered by exposure to new cultures and foreign technologies. In 1511 Portuguese ships sailed into Canton, China. 

The Speculative Film “1421: The Year China Discovered America” Part 1 of 2

The Speculative Film “1421: The Year China Discovered America” Part 2 of 2

"Science: It’s A Girl Thing!"…Well Intentioned, But…

Their goal was to reach out to a 13-to-17 demographic in time for female students to take foundational courses in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), in time to launch STEM careers. That’s a laudable goal. The video message came across as “Wear short skirts; girls are decorative, first” rather than “Take Algebra and prepare for the thrill of achievement in STEM. Female scientists can be hot too.”
The rest of the EU campaign “Science — It’s a Girl Thing!” is much more clear. A tab on their website called “Six Reasons Science Needs You” reminds girls we all need to address the challenges of our world: health, preserved ecosystems, secure and clean energy, smart transport, climate action, and innovative societies. Anyhow, at least the EU is on the right track. Intelligence, like virtue or a sense of humor, is attractive in itself. 

#Penny4NASA Petition and Facebook Page

#Penny4NASA’s purpose is to organize Americans to the increase NASA’s annual budget to a vast, yet comparably minuscule, penny on the taxpayer dollar. 1% of the total. In just one year, the U.S.’s military budget is equivalent to the entire 50-year running budget of NASA combined. (And we’d win more battles with assbackwards ideologies by sending Americans to Mars rather than Afghanistan.)

And the Winner of the 2012 Mars Society Poster Contest is…

The Mars Society is pleased to announce that the winner of the 2012 Mars Society Poster Contest is Caitlin Folchman-Wagner of Massachusetts.

After receiving more than one dozen submissions, a panel of Mars Society officials chose Ms. Folchman-Wagner’s design.  “We felt that Caitlin’s poster was very well done and successfully incorporated several of  the themes from this year’s Mars Society convention,” said Michael Stoltz, the organization’s Director of Media & Public Relations.

To download a print-quality version of the poster, please click here.

Apple’s All New iTunes U App and iBook Author eBook Publishing

Apple announced the availability of “iBooks Author” which allows users to create interactive digital books using powerful but intuitive templates.
Now anyone can create stunning iBook textbooks, history books, picture books, and more for iPad. Use Multi-Touch widgets to include interactive photo galleries, movies, Keynote presentations, 3D objects, and more. Then submit your finished work to the iBookstore with a few simple steps — before you know it, you (or your space advocacy organization) are published.
iBooks Author is available for free in the Mac App Store.  
Streaming video of Apple’s education event: