March 2017

The Trouble With Tycho by Clifford D. Simak (Italian edition)

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The novel “The Trouble With Tycho” by Clifford D. Simak was published for the first time in 1960 in the magazine “Amazing Science Fiction” and in 1961 as a book.

Chris Jackson is a lunar prospector who lives in hardship looking for the rare lichens present in an area of ​​the Moon. The meeting with Amelia Thompson could change his outlook because the girl wants to finish a deed started by her brother but that means venturing into the crater Tycho, where many people have already died, creating a really sinister reputation.

Chris Jackson would rather not risk his life staying away from the crater Tycho but the situation changes when he gets hired as a guide to a scientist who wants to solve the mystery. The risk is huge but the result could be the discovery of the secrets of the lichens, the lunar life form known as hounds and more.

Hematite tubes (Image courtesy Matthew Dodd, University College London)

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An article published in the journal “Nature” describes what might be the oldest life forms discovered so far. An international team led by Matthew Dodd studied tiny filaments and tubes they think were formed by bacteria living on iron and were found in the layers of quartz in the Nuvvuagittuq Belt in Quebec, Canada. However, this research has already raised a controversy.

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The short story “The Promise of Space” by James Patrick Kelly was published for the first time in 2013.

Astronaut Kirk Anderson was hospitalized in very serious conditions. After being exposed to radiation during a Mars mission he suffered brain damage that made him lose part of their mental faculties. There’s no cure for him but only an attempt to compensate for what he lost using the recordings he made and an artificial intelligence but what really remains of Kirk Anderson?