In Other News: The Moon

Time magazine reporter Jeffrey Kluger notes that Hubble Space Telescope looks like it's showing huge, previously-unknown deposits of titanium oxide on da moon.

What's the big deal? Check it, homies:

It is the moon’s small mass and low gravity that prevents it from keeping hold of even a tenuously thin atmosphere. But oxygen needn’t exist only in gaseous form above the ground. It can also be entrained safely in certain kinds of rocks. Gather the rubble and either treat it with chemicals or blast it with heat, and you can free up unlimited quantities of oxygen both for breathing and for rocket fuel.

Very cool - the moon might finally be a viable (i.e. economical) "staging area" for space exploration... and may finally be able to support a permanent base! Totally cool. I wish Carl Sagan were still around to see this.

We need to get back into space exploration; this is good news. =)