The multi-faceted benefits of astrobiology

                                                       
                                                             In a recent article entitled
                        "Why looking for aliens is good for society (even if there aren’t any)"
                                             Professor Ian Crawford captivatingly highlights
                                              the richly variegated potential of Astrobiology
                                                  as a most valuable 21st-century means
             "to broaden minds in such a way as to make the world less fragmented and dangerous".

                                        Link to: Ian Crawford's article in "THE CONVERSATION"

Anybody prepared to meet Asteroid 2012 TC4 ?

                                                      Could this not be the time
                                               for a bit of space harvesting practice
                                                  as on October 12th of this year
                                         Asteroid 2012 TC4  is expected to pass Earth
                                         at a distance of perhaps only 7000 kilometers?

                                   Link to: Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS)

Luxembourg's new law on the exploration and use of space resources

                                     This law will come into force on August 1, 2017.
                                                              It explicitly states
                            "Les ressources de l’espace sont susceptibles d’appropriation
                                             en conformité avec le droit international"
         and it "establishes the procedures for authorizing and supervising space exploration missions".

                                                     Link to: "SpaceResources.lu"

                             The English translation of the draft law is now available online.

            Link to: DRAFT LAW ON THE EXPLORATION AND USE OF SPACE RESOURCES


                       As Planetary Resources have formulated it in their latest press release
                        "Luxembourg is the first European country to have a legal framework
                                         recognising the right to space-based resources
                         that they have extracted in compliance with existing international law,
                                             most notably the 1967 Outer Space Treaty."
                                      Link to: "Space Mining Law Passes In Luxembourg"

"Giuseppe should soon be whirling towards Mercury"

                                         Watching Bepicolombo's gravity-assist itinerary
                                                     to the planet closest to the Sun
                                                       might well make some of us
                                                              feel a little bit dizzy.

                           Link to: "ESA Science; BEPICOLOMBO'S JOURNEY TO MERCURY"
                                  Link to: "Giuseppe 'Bepi' Colombo: Grandfather of the fly-by"