#they postponed it as long as they can

[sepdet]

Unfortunately NASA doesn't have the budget for an ISS… it was only possible during a brief window when multiple countries, including Russia and China, were willing to collaborate.

NASA has its chain continually yanked by Congress and presidents changing its goals and missions every 4-8 years. That'a why it's sunk so much into planetary probes with short-term missions it can stretch instead of ambitious, long-term missions subject to cancellation.  Once a probe's left Earth, it seems wasteful not to use it.

And it's not just Congress. News media, regular people, even Tumblr posts are always asking — why space? when there's so many problems that need addressing right here on Earth.

People don't know that space research has yielded

a heck of a lot of medical imaging and remote tech from programmable pacemakers to modern breast biopsy digital imaging to heart pumps to fetus monitors

materials and tech from modern firefighters' clothing to space blankets to water purification technology to rechargeable hearing aids to vacuum sealed food to autonomous drone navigation

TONS of educational opportunities and science inspo, both thanks to astronauts spending countless hours talking to classrooms or recording demos/experiments, sometimes suggested by students, and thanks to contests letting schools send mini-experiments into space

prep for humans working off Earth on the Moon, Mars, and asteroids, which should become important for mining (we'd much rather the materials in our phones and gadgets be mined from lifeless rocks than the Earth)

Monitoring and documenting major historical events from 9/11 to volcanic eruptions, typhoons and tsunamis from space

Gathering millions of hours of footage of auroras and clouds/thunderatorms which can be used to study space weather and unusual, hard-to-monitor phenomena like sprites

And much more. This is just stuff I know as a NON scientist, because my grandmother and dad were a planetarium director and rocket scientist.

TL;DR: Space matters. But it's not enough for us to say, "Isn't it a shame a thirty year old space station is due to deorbit, and right now there's no plan to replace it." We have to educate lots of people about WHY it matters. We have to convince people it's still worth the money.

It's not enough to lament an era's passing, as I did in 1975 when I upset my dad by complaining I'd been "born after the space age" (ie the Moon missions). How do we fight for its future?

We have to lobby not just the capricious US government, but the EU, Japan, and Canada (who were ISS partners last time), the UK once it pulls its thumb out of its ass, New Zealand and Australia, INDIA whose space program has really taken off, and... hey, let's not forget Africa and South America this time, OK? They've sent up some astronauts, but I doubt they had much input on the current ISS.

The ISS was never going to last forever, any more than my beloved space shuttles which constructed it. (It was originally planned to come down in 2025, I think?) The next one could be even better by being MORE international. Then it wouldn't be dependent on western companies like Elon Musk's. he whose damned Starlink satellites are wrecking astronomy by painting light streaks on long exposures from every kind of telescope from backyard Dobsonians to the Hubble.

There are powerful corporations who want the era of publicly-funded, independent science and journalism to die. We have to push back loud, hard, and en masse to overcome their lobbying, and make politicians hear us.

I feel like nobody on Tumblr knows that the international space station is being discontinued.

Did you know that? In less than a decade it will be gone

CNN Link from above screenshot

More detailed article by Space.com

[drawnfamiliarfaces]

INTERRUPTED (Parts I & II)

A short two-part comic (total of 20 pages + 8 extras) by me! (for me lol)

Fandoms: Ninja Showdown (Randy Cunningham 9th Grade Ninja x Xiaolin Showdown)

Ship: My Immortal Soul (First Ninja x Chase Young)

A comic where nothing really happens! But it contains a lot of half-naked men. So like, kids avert your eyes and adults don’t open it at work or whatever. ¯\_( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/¯

thanks for checking it out <3

[idk-bruh-20]

Irondad fic ideas #144

Peter Parker sounds just like Spider-Man. This is something that the students of Midtown find hilarious

Soon, Peter's getting comments in the halls like, "Hey are you that kid who sounds like Spider-Man?" "Uhhh I mean -" "Holy shit it's truuue" and, "Hey Parker, say, 'Hiya Mister Criminal'' "(sigh) Hiya Mister criminal-"

It becomes a daily bit on the school news: they put Peter in the cheapest, most ridiculous Spider-Man mask imaginable and get him to say wild stuff, whatever Midtown students can think of. Like that bit at the end of Honest Trailers.

(Peter may or may not go slightly viral saying some Stuff about the Rogue Avengers in his "Spider-Man voice." Tony may or may not nearly piss himself laughing about it when he finds out.

Spider-Man himself has yet to comment.)

[uhbasicallyjustmilex]

(so many of my favourites actually don't fit in the poll options ffs 😭)

[evicrystal7]

Guess what's back for the continuation? Me drawing the remaining Reborn prompts :D

Day 24 - Conflict

More like Inner Conflict with many issues. Give her a break please please :(

Day 25 - Victory Road

That moment when you meet that bird 🐦tm

Day 26 - New World

Sealed within the abyss with only the stars being your companions while being a lone star herself

[sekaithemystic]

2072 - Arasaka Family Compound

The daughter of the Emperor and her Hellhound. What would it take to break them apart?

[holykhepri]

For HABI THE FUEL : - How good are you at driving ?

"Others call it reckless, but hey— driving is all about the fun!" (you will probably get car sick if she's behind the wheel.)

[cr1ms0n4nd-ac3]

Hii, if you are wondering how Objectivism Reality is going... Well! Official update for you folks, I updated the length of the contestants. It's supposed to be 28, now 16!

This will probably take a bit while to stack/draw them all up, so I would like to thank you for being patient! ^^

[coffeeworldsasaki]

Okay if my girlfriend is able to help me out I'll try getting over my ocd issue with the Bad Number

[idk-bruh-20]

Irondad fic ideas #146

Karen is missing someone.

She's an AI, so she's not exactly supposed to have "feelings" the way a human would, but... what other way is there to explain it? Someone is supposed to be in her life, and they are not. She wants them back.

The problem is, she can't find any record of why she feels this way. There are no important people in her database who are currently missing, no gaps in her code that she can find. The only curiosity is the fact that she seems to no longer be helping Spider-Man.

That used to be her prime objective. Her entire reason for being. Maybe he's the one she's missing? She can't find any data to indicate that they were close, but perhaps that is a curiosity too. Surely, if Spider-Man wore a mask with her programming for all that time, she would know who he was, would have some record of their conversations.

With FRIDAY's (and Tony's! let my guy live!) help, Karen is untethered from the Spider-Man suit. She goes searching through every piece of tech she has access to for her missing friend.

When she finds him, she'll figure out what's wrong. And she'll help him fix it. It's what she was designed to do.

[lesenbyan]

It is fun and interesting to read a book where the MC's (unknown until now) dissociation is the key suspense factor as someone who has known what dissociation was, if not the name, since elementary school. A lot of "huh. I suppose that would be concerning if you didn't like. Already know you do it and expect it."

[blizzardz]

Love seeing things that are very close to something I'm working on but not quite exactly the same so I'm always like I'M BRINGING SMTH NEW TO THE TABLE AHAHAHAHH

[everythingundertheskycomics]

(...Hm, who could that be?)

Hi all!

Due to a temporary life kerfuffle, comic postings are going to be a little more erratic for a few weeks!

I won't have enough time to keep up my regular pace (which was already a lot), and since I'd rather not switch to posting single pages at the moment, it's better to simply pause.

With any luck, I'll be able to polish up the next series of updates in-between tackling this particular Life Hurdle! I've got a solid draft of the next one, but am Compelled to make all the pages equally pretty.

I'll still post these little weekly Turtle Tuesday updates to keep y'all up-to-date!

And also because they're fun. =)

[cheriafreya]

Hoyo pulling plans bc I'm annoying part 2 🌸

Honkai Star Rail: on 50/50 and waiting for Aventurine's banner to go all in. The plan is to get him and his Light Cone, but if I'm lucky enough to win the 50/50 I might try to get his E1 as well. He won't be coming back in a looong time after all, so spending all I can on him should be my priority. There's one problem, though... we're getting Sunday, Fugue and Herta probably back to back, so this could get very tricky. If I can only get one of them it'll definitely be Sunday that much I'm sure of, but I would love to get all of them. What I might do is get Sunday E0S1, wait for a Fugue rerun (ugh this hurts) and get one Herta (or wait for an Herta rerun, but I'd like to get her in her first banner if possible).

Genshin Impact: this is the easier one for me. I'm on guaranteed and I wanna spend it on Furina. Unfortunately there will be a Neuvillette rerun as well and I could get very tempted to pull, BUT I'll try to be strong... for her...

Zenless Zone Zero: this one I'm struggling a lot. My plan was to prioritize Harumasa at first, since he's my most anticipated character in the game, but the truth is... I've got way too many electric characters and he's also electric, so I might have to wait for his rerun instead. As much as it PAINS me, I need more team comps, I can't get through content like this. So in the end, I'll try to get Lighter and Miyabi instead. If I can even secure both, that is. My luck on Jane's banner was really bad and made me almost spend everything I had, but idk, maybe by the time their banners come I have enough for both of them...

[oksfranta]

thanks @aestheticlarrie for tagging me in this <3

Rules: bold the ones that are true and tag 15 people to do it

Appearance

i’m over 5’5 // i wear glasses/contacts // i have blonde hair // i prefer loose clothing to tight clothing // i have one or more piercings // i have at least one tattoo // i have blue eyes // i have dyed or highlighted my hair // i have gotten plastic surgery // i have or had braces // i sunburn easily // i have freckles // i paint my nails // i typically wear make-up // i don’t often smile // i am pleased with how i look // i prefer nike to adidas // i wear baseball hats backwards

Hobbies and Talents

i play a sport // i can play an instrument // i am artistic // i know more than one language // i have won a trophy in some sort of competition // i can cook or bake without a recipe // i know how to swim // i enjoy writing // i can do origami // i prefer movies to tv shows // i can execute a perfect somersault // i enjoy singing // i could survive in the wild on my own // i have read a new book series this year // i enjoy spending time with friends // i travel during school or work breaks // i can do a handstand

Relationships

i am in a relationship // i have been single for over a year // i have a crush // i have a best friend i have known for ten years // my parents are together // i have dated my best friend // i am adopted // my crush has confessed to me // i have a long distance relationship // i am an only child // i give advice to my friends // i have made an online friend // i met up with someone i have met online

Aesthetics

i have heard the ocean in a conch shell // i have watched the sun rise // i enjoy rainy days// i have slept under the stars // i meditate outside // the sound of chirping calms me // i enjoy the smell of the beach // i know what snow tastes like // i listen to music to fall asleep // i enjoy thunderstorms // i enjoy cloud watching // i have attended a bonfire // i pay close attention to colours // i find mystery in the ocean // i enjoy hiking on nature paths // autumn is my favourite season

Miscellaneous

i can fall asleep in a moving vehicle // i am the mom friend // i live by a certain quote // i like the smell of sharpies // i am involved in extracurricular activities // i enjoy mexican food // i can drive a stick-shift // i believe in true love // i make up scenarios to fall asleep // i sing in the shower // i wish i lived in a video game // i have a canopy above my bed // i am multiracial // i am a redhead // i own at least three dogs

I'm tagging @sunflowersofme, @harrehleh, @holyshit, @stylesrainbows, @arctichalo, @letsmakesomeonehappytoday, @thechavier, @theirloveisgross. it’s a bit of a personal one, so feel free to ignore obviously!

[newtness532]

you can't imagine the panic i felt when out of the blue i received a message saying that a referral was issued for a Pap test for me, i thought mom arranged it without talking with me or anything (which tbh doesn't sound like her at all, she hardly ever even makes doctors appointments for herself) but my sister says it's a new gov program or sth