Carnival of Space #55

We’re happy to host the 55th Carnival of Space, continuing in a great tradition of astronomy-minded bloggers around the world. My name is Todd, and I’m the astronomy-minded partner here at Catholic Sensibility.

Friends know my family and I are tackling various real estate challenges these days: selling or renting our current home, plus acquiring a home in our new locale of Ames, Iowa. So these days it’s hard for me not to think of things in terms of real estate. There’s a big, wide universe out there, so let’s see where we can settle in and call a patch of ground our own, even if it is in a far-out locale.

NASA’s Phoenix lander is staking out some northern climes on the Red Planet. Stuart Atkinson is prepared with a survival kit for those who will field the usual questions, “Are we there yet?!?” Reading materials, snacks, and a slew of web pages that will inform you when that little patch of northern soil will become home sweet home for Earth’s latest intrepid explorer.

When we were young, we didn’t consider real estate too much. As college students, exams (and perhaps the next campus party) were more on our minds. Chris worries a bit about that northern real estate and is happy to be “ground based,” but would we really want to be cramming nervously for exams with those undergrads? Let’s follow the Beagle, and pile some success on old sorrows.

The Mars Polar Lander also had a rough closing several years back. Let’s not repeat the same mistakes again, shall we? Emily suggests we take a careful look at some HiRISE showings to check our recent successes, but more importantly, to seek out where the ill-fated MPL now calls home.

David has a nice two-level ski lodge to show. It houses six people for the 350-day Martian summer complete with garage, laboratory, skidoos, and everything you could want in an extraterrestrial retreat. If that’s too much, consider some possible lunar digs instead. The Apollo missions are a part of history now, but the story of Al Stevens and his hand in crafting the mission patches are well worth a visit thanks to Robert Pearlman and collectSPACE.

Too cold for you? Doug Ellison has some nice equatorial real estate in the Columbia Hills to show. Prepare to be wowed by “Spirit”ual vistas and wide open spaces.

Darnell wants to sell you a piece of urban sprawl on the Red Planet. How does he manage this when others are thinking more along the lines of small potatoes? (And we’re talking more than Phobos or Deimos, mind you.) That environmental workhorse from the Third Rock: algae.

Ian O’Neill ponders the architecture of geodesic domes. If they’re so impressive in Cornwall, maybe they have a future on Mars. Perhaps a touch of bamboo will close the sale.

Would something smaller and cozy appeal to you? What about C/2007 W1 Boattini? Ian from Down Under thinks this little beaut will really take a shine to the inner solar system later this year.

The galactic suburbs are a good place to call home. Especially if your stellar community has a black hole that retains some precious holdings despite a prior real estate grab. Omega Centauri is not just your garden variety Centauri Dream.

Some spectacular Golden State real estate is the starting point for a wondrous mythological tour of the Milky Way Galaxy. Thanks, Tyler, for the tip.

Pamela reminds us that our solar system used to call a piece of an open cluster home. That humble birthplace has been long left behind, but we can still reminisce, can’t we?

Maybe some lily pad closer to home (planet) is more to your liking. Rob at Orbiting Frog has some special ISS showings lined up for Thursday and Friday this week. The going lease for a seat, a suit, and a view is twenty mil a week, US, I hear. But you can have a peek for free if you know where to catch the showing.

Steinn Sigurdsson passes on a list of NASA evaluations of important science missions. Too bad we can’t float some of these fascinating projects with some $20M-a-pop tourists, eh?

Discovery and the other space shuttles have a few years before retirement. After their final working years, they’ll be wanting nice retirement pastures. Hold on! Babe in the Universe reminds us there are still some tasks waiting to be accomplished before we can let them go gently into honorable discharge.

The modern realtor relies on the most up-to-date technology. Check out the World Wide Telescope. Bruce swears by it: “rich” and “clean,” plus some “guided tours.” Who wouldn’t check out no-bid software like this? Today’s market not only provides online slide shows for viewing, but the most intrepid, like Philip, delve into the realm of video to provide showings when we’re just unable to make that trek to visit in person.

Some of us, like Malcolm Reynolds, are less interested in actual landholdings. We just want to scrape together a basic interplanetary living, dodge the dodgy characters in the Alliance, and well … just see the movie Serenity, courtesy of Ed at Space Feeds.

After thirty years, a conventional mortgage is paid off, and it’s usually time to leverage one’s equity into something more. At age fifty, if we’ve invested those decades wisely, we should be ready to tackle something big, something bold. Then again, we’re talking NASA. Irene gives us a view into some introspection from our favorite, frustrating, infuriating space agency.

Before we get into some down-in-the-mouth debate about NASA, Briony Horgan wants you to know that all those neat-o extras in your nice luxury 21st century pad come to you courtesy of the spinoff phenomenon.

Ethan illustrates the principle of “Nice Place To Visit, But We Wouldn’t Want To Live There.” Check out the supernova blast … and hope your homeowner’s insurance has you covered.

Brian wants to talk cheap titanium, the WWT, and most importantly, space property rights.

$190K might get you a good deal on a home these days. It will also net a nifty flight of fancy, and coming from a Space Cynic, that’s saying something.

It’s an honor to host an internet carnival. Especially one connected to my favorite hobby. Whether you’re buying, renting, or just coming by for a friendly look, be sure to check out all the great agents listed here. They have more to offer than today’s goodies, and are most deserving of future visits.