NASA Mission Logs Get a Facelift!

Here's a neat find while patrolling the spaceways this past week. If you're a NASA fan, space-head, or hell--just love history, you definitely need to check out spacelog.org for their re-formatting of original NASA space mission logs.

The logs are presented in a highly readable format mocked up to look almost like Facebook or Twitter tweets! The mission logs also include maps with checkpoints so you can see where in their journey the astronauts and mission control made their transmissions. Here's a screen grab of the infamous moment on Apollo 13:

Click to embiggen

Funny how movies can give you a slightly "off" impression of an event. Check out Jim Lovell's famous line--a minor tweak by the filmmakers, but still kinda interesting.

BONUS!
If you're working on a space adventure and need a reference for official space lingo, this glossary should be a big help!

Happy Birthday Flash!

Flash Gordon, the original interstellar space stud!

Today marks Flash Gordon's 77th birthday, having first appeared in "the funny papers" (as they say), via King Features Syndicate, the world's longest-running comic strip publisher. Comic strip wizard Alex Raymond was challenged with coming up with a comparable space hero that could compete with the already popular Buck Rogers strip.

Flash leads an excursion through the wilds of Arboria

Raymond melded the growing fascination with science fiction with some old-fashioned swashbuckling, and in the process created a cultural phenomenon that quickly surpassed ol' Buck in popularity at the time. Other paramours followed, but it was Flash, who through nearly eight decades has endured as the template for space opera fantasy from the golden-age of comic storytelling. So began Flash's adventures on Planet Mongo in his tireless quest to free the enslaved populous from the tyrant Ming the Merciless, with companions Dale Arden, Dr. Hans Zarkov, Prince Barin and a host of other Mongo allies.Flash Gordon creator, Alex Raymond (self portrait)

Raymond drew Flash for less than a decade before he joined the Marines in 1944. He returned to the states, but not to Flash. Soon he began a new strip about a the adventures of a private detective, Rip Kirby. That series was also immensely popular in its heyday. Raymond wouldn't get the chance finish the series himself--or return to Flash--he was killed in an auto accident in 1956.

Flash had many artists in the years that followed, but most cleaved closely to Raymond's original formula of sword fights and rayguns, space damsels in distress, and spaceships that go wooosh!
Its a formula that works!

Exonauts Joins the X-plorers!

IT'S HAPPENING! If you haven't heard by now, X-plorers 2.0 is in the works and yours truly has signed on to help Star Admiral Adams at Brave Halfling Publishing get it to the launch pad. I'm currently cleaning up the players guide and readying it for layout.
I'm absolutely STOKED about working on the new edition, which will include a saddle-stitched manual, featuring some brand new, fantastic artwork from Peter Mullen. The book will provide Dave Bezio's original rules as a base "kit" for users to really make it their own.

Following that, Brave Halfling has several other goodies in the pipeline:

• "Wreack Tech", an original adventure module by Bill De Franza (who is also lending a hand with the editing for the manual)
• Upcoming supplements and settings material
• "Galactic Troubleshooters", a sci-fi RPG fanzine, that will accept submitted material (kinda' like Fight On!)

For my part, I'm also helping with the Referee Section of the book and I'm working on my own "flavors" of the game. I've already begun one, with much more material on the way. For those of you who already own the first edition, help yourselves to the downloads at right: the compiled Random Space Finds posts and the sci-fi skill conversion PDFs.

I have to say that in getting to know John--he's an all-around, stellar guy and it's great to work with someone with so much enthusiasm. The game itself has a ton of potential and we're just hoping to do it justice and give gamers the ability to dive in and warpspeed into adventure!

The countdown has begun!

Vintage Mars Attacks Card Scans!

If there's a patient zero in post-modern America that fed the "gamma strain" into the pop culture mileu, the Mars Attacks collectible cards are a prime suspect.

Here's a few juicy scans posted on Flickr (hat tip to Boing Boing, BTW) of the set, as released in the 60s. They were, of course, the guiding inspiration behind Tim Burton's 1996 film.

Enjoy!

January is Flash Gordon Month on Exonauts!

Image: Wikipedia

According to Wikipedia, January 8th is the 77th anniversary of the first appearance of Alex Raymond's much-beloved, space swashbuckler, Flash Gordon. Flash has long been a favorite of mine (as you might imagine) and with the loss of erstwhile Flash artist Al Williamson last year, I'd wanted to do a series of posts the character. Henceforth, I declare January 2011 to be Flash Gordon Month! At least once a week I will feature an FG post, some art, and maybe a surprise or two.

Stay tuned space cadets!