In Maslow's hierarchy of human needs, food comes just below water, a little above shelter and sex. In the hierarchy of curiosity about what really goes on in space, food comes in right after how they use the toilet. In other words...really important.

When you think of manned space flight, what comes to mind? For some, it’s images of astronaut candidates being tested for the “right stuff:” getting poked and prodded in myriad medical exams, climbing in and out of mock space capsules, and undergoing training in jungles and deserts...as well as being strapped into large centrifuges and subjected to crushing g-forces.

In a recent interview with Cosmic Log famed theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking declared that humans must be off planet Earth in the next 100 years or face possible extinction.

In a previous article, we reported that Sean O'Keefe may have perished in an airplane crash that killed Alaskan senator Ted Stevens, among others.

Sean O'Keefe, former head of NASA, may have been a passenger on a DeHavilland DHC-30 aircraft that crashed in a mountainous area in the Alaska wilderness Monday night as reported by CNN.

Sadly, the NASA Authorization Act of 2010, which determines NASA’s policy, was passed by the senate today, heavily altered from Obama’s proposal in February in one key crucial area. Section 403 highlights the problem with the act--there will be no commercial crew development of space in 2011; commercial development of space is limited to cargo, but only in 2012:

In 1930 young American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh announced his finding of a tiny bright dot that moved, proving that it was a celestial body circling our sun and not just another star. Halfway around the world in England, 11-year-old Venetia Burney suggested that the new planet be named “Pluto,” for the Roman God of the Underworld who could make himself invisible. On 1 May 1930 the name “Pluto” was formally adopted for this new celestial body.

“If you had the chance to name a minor planet what would you name it?”

by Peter Wainwright and Carol Pinchefsky

On 3 June 2010, six volunteers, all men, walked confidently through the door into what will be their home for the next 520 days, the length of time it will take to reach Mars and back, plus spend 30 days in a “Mars orbiting” phase. This simulation, known as Mars500, is a joint project between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian and Chinese governments. This experiment will study the effect of long-term physical and mental stresses similar to those expected on the long round trip to the Red Planet.