“There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls.”–George Carlin

The moon, and space exploration in general, continued to make news this week.  It seems the moon is just howling for some company.  Here’s what’s been happening during the current lunar phase.

Space Exploration–

• The Russian space agency. Roscosmos,  announced it has begun recruiting cosmonauts for a projected lunar landing mission slated for 2031.  That would be 62 years after NASA landed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the lunar surface.  Better late than never.

• China has set 2022 as the year it expects to complete construction of an orbiting space station, two years before the scheduled 2024 decommission of the International Space Station.  The first launch to orbit of segments of the station is scheduled for next year.

Additive Manufacturing/3D printing–

• In an interview on the Seeking Delphi podcast, Dr. Paul Tinari made a variety of bold statements regarding the future of 3D printing for everything from food to cars, homes, battleships, and even human bodies.  (YouTube link available at the bottom of this post.)

• Gizmodo reported that the first attempts at 3D printed cheese by scientists at University College in Cork, Ireland, came out….well…odd.

Biotech–

• Gene editing startup eGenisis raised $38 million dollars in venture capital funding for its process to use CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing to grow pig organs for human implantation.  The company was co-founded by Harvard genetics guru, Dr. George Church and 30-year old Dr. Luhan Yang.

• Engadget reported that DARPA has laid the groundwork for thought-controlled prosthetic devices.  The key lies in shielding a controller from Earth’s magnetic field so that the weak electromagnetic signals from a human brain can be read.

YouTube slide show: Podcast #7, 3D printing with guest Dr. Paul Tinari.  Also available on iTunes.

A reminder that the Seeking Delphi™ podcast is available on iTunes, and has a channel on YouTube.  You can also follow us on Facebook.