Armageddon and Asteroids

"The Bible calls this day "Armageddon" - the end of all things. And yet, for the first time in the history of the planet, a species has the technology to prevent its own extinction. All of you praying with us need to know that everything that can be done to prevent this disaster is being called into service. The human thirst for excellence, knowledge; every step up the ladder of science; every adventurous reach into space; all of our combined modern technologies and imaginations; even the wars that we've fought have provided us the tools to wage this terrible battle. Through all of the chaos that is our history; through all of the wrongs and the discord; through all of the pain and suffering; through all of our times, there is one thing that has nourished our souls, and elevated our species above its origins, and that is our courage."

--The President in ARMAGEDDON--

This fanciful rover vehicle was built for the movie. Euro-Disney's ARMAGEDDON attraction also takes us inside the movie's broken down Russian Space Station. Through special effects we experience collisions, fires and depressurisation! The artists were inspired by the Russian MIR station, which experienced all three.

Though the movie is fun, it contains more technical errors than STAR WARS. A wheeled vehicle could not get traction in the low gravity of an asteroid, so it has upward-pointing jets pinning it to the surface! Even small asteroids "whoosh" by in the movie's vacuum of Space. One forecast, however, may have been ahead of its time. The 2 movie spacecraft are launched around the Moon and to an asteroid atop standard Shuttle Enternal Tanks and 4-segment Solid Rocket Boosters. This is very much like the "Sidemount" concept being studied by NASA and the Augustine Commission.

The hardware being built for the Moon can also take humans to an asteroid. After movies like ARMAGEDDON and DEEP IMPACT, such a mission would fire the public imagination. Despite their danger, asteroids could also be the source of limitless resources. Even a small asteroid could potentially contain more iron than humans have used in all history! Some scientists believe that asteroid Ceres contains more water than Earth. Realistic versions of this vehicle could someday be drilling for minerals on the Moon and asteroids.

UPDATE: Congratulations to the crew of Endeavour and Godspeed for a successful mission!

Nautilus

Congratulations to SpaceX for a second successful flight of Falcon 1 into orbit! Note the "Columbiad" cannon on Space Mountain. Jules Verne foresaw it all!

The "Mysteries of the Nautilus" is unique to Euro-Disney. California Disneyland put the sets of 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA on display until the 1960's. Under the guidance of Hollywood propmaster (and LEAGUES fan) Tom Scherman, Disney's Nautilus has been rebuilt in the lagoon alongside Space Mountain. With a plot that is actually better than the novel, the 1956 movie is a true classic.

We descend "underwater" to explore the interior, including Nemo's cabin. Captain Nemo, being an independent explorer, relied on neither Paris nor Greenwich for longitude. As in the movie, distances on the chart are measured from his base at Vulcania.
Verne described the Nautilus as spindle-shaped. Originally Walt Disney wanted a streamlined hull, like modern subs. Production Designer Peter Ellenshaw added the barbed fins and Victorian detailing that filmgoers fell in love with. In Verne's novel the salon, dining room and library were separate compartments. The movie combined them into one big set. An animatronic giant squid lurks outside the viewports, occasionally approaching the ship.

Verne wrote that Nautilus used electric motors, but was unclear about the source of electricity. In 1956 the US Navy had built a real Nautilus, and Disney made the movie sub atomic-powered.

Verne dreamed about a limitless source of energy. As late as 1909 if someone had lectured about the future of energy they would have talked about coal and oil. Though the world had not yet taken notice, in 1905 a scientist had written E=mc^2. By 1945 humans had built both nuclear reactors and an atomic bomb. In 1954 the real Nautilus was launched.

If someone in 2009 lectures about the future they may talk about solar, power satellites, and the always-distant possibility of controlled fusion. Already we know of far greater sources. Nuclear fusion turns only 0.7% of its fuel into energy. Matter falling into a Black Hole can turn almost 50% into energy. Instead of scarce Helium-3 the fuel could be anything, even old issues of National Geographic. The food that a single Frenchwoman eats, about 1 ton per year, could provide all the electricity needs of Europe! All we need is to capture a single microscopic Black Hole. That could be nearer than we think.


The access point for the nuclear reactor is visible between the aft personnel hatch and the skiff. As we wait in line for Space Mountain, Verne's Nautilus provides wonder and much food for thought. NEXT: Death by asteroid?

Disney in Paris

Each Disney park is a bit different, which makes it fun to visit them all. Disneyland Resort Paris emphasises the European roots of fairy tales, starting with the castle.

Tomorrowland has become Discoveryland, inspired by France's native son Jules Verne. The decor is 19th century steampunk, full of brass and rivets. A redesigned Space Mountain blasts you off in a cannon like FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON. The Hyperion airship from Disney's ISLAND AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD was inspired by the French Lebaudy airships of 100 years ago.

Not everything in Discoveryland is steampunk-- this X-wing fighter decorates the Star Tours outpost. There is no monorail, but the park has a rail station served by TGV and RER from Paris. In Europe the dream of superfast trains has already come true. NEXT: Mysteries of the Nautilus.

ASIMO

Disney's Tomorrowland has been a showcase for new technology. Honda's ASIMO is the result of 20 years' research into robot mobility. The robot was demonstrated for us at Tomorrowland. ASIMO follows instructions, recognises faces, negotiates stairs and dances. With its backpack and helmet-like head, it looks (intentionally?) like a Space traveller. From the Enchanted Tiki Room to Star Tours, Disneyland has always featured robots.

Today's search for supernovae is mostly conducted by machines. The Hubble Space Telescope, and even many Earth-based telescopes, operate automatically. Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys produced images of milllions of galaxies. Only a computer could search through all these images to locate supernovae. Human contribution was limited to programming the computers and telescopes, not coming up with original theories.

Machines still break down and need fixing. Currently Hubble's ACS is down, possibly indefinitely. Other items on Hubble are already scheduled to be repaired on the next servicing mission. That mission is currently scheduled to launch September 11, 2008. It will be the last flight of shuttle Atlantis.

Researchers live in dread of losing grants, tenure or position. Someday robots will be able to replace most cosmologists. They will regurgitate anything programmed into them, even strings and "dark energy." They will write unoriginal papers which will be automatically cited many times, ensuring them safe positions.

The fastest and sleekest computers are simply number-crunchers. The human mind, due to some process that no one can understand, can think of original ideas. Computers may never be able to come up with new Theories on their own. Humans: if you want to ensure your own future, be original.
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