September 2014

The Russian spacecraft Foton-M 4 after its landing with Roscosmos technicians surrounding it (Photo courtesy Roscosmos. All rights reserved)

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The Russian space capsule Foton-M 4 has landed yesterday in the Orenburg region, at nearly 1,500 kilometers (almost 920 miles) south-east of Moscow, near the border with Kazakhstan. It spent about a month and a half in orbit. This small space biological laboratory contained various animals, who have gone through a quite difficult mission. Shortly after the recovery operations carried out by Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, it was announced that the geckos were dead.

The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia by Ursula Le Guin (Italian edition)

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The novel “The Dispossessed” – subtitle “An Ambiguous Utopia” – by Ursula Le Guin was published for the first time in 1974. It won the Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards as the best science fiction novel of the year.

Shevek is a physicist on the planet Anarres who is developing a new scientific theory. Frustrated by the difficulties he encounters on his planet, he leaves for Urras, the twin planet. His act is considered by someone a betrayal because Shevek leaves the anarchist society of Anarres to go to A-Io, a capitalist nation of Urras.

In A-Io, where for years he’s recognized as a great physicist, Shevek tries to continue his research but can’t help getting involved in social and political issues both local and international. Over time, he realizes he’s always controlled in order to limit to the minimum necessary his contacts with people of the lower classes. Shevek can’t help wondering if he made a grave mistake by leaving Anarres.