Vintage sci-fi publication We're disappointed that the latest auto show in Detroit failed to introduce a Jetsons mobile. But, happily, other innovations and technological breakthroughs found in science fiction are becoming a part of real life. Way back in 1864, Jules Verne's fictional characters made "A Journey to the Center of the Earth" -- now, modern explorers are finally looking for their own way down. In 2003, Dave Stevenson of Cornell University published his "Modest Proposal," and in 2005, the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program just missed hitting the Earth's mantle. Looking above our planet, the 1998 movie "Deep Impact" offered inspiration of cosmic proportions to the 2005 Deep Impact NASA mission to "land" a spacecraft on a comet. We're duly impressed by modern advances in cloning and humanoid robots, the search for Earth-like worlds, space elevator designs, and medical technologies out of Star Trek, but we're still holding out for that Jetsons car. Suggested Sites... Center for Deep Earth Exploration - drilling down through the Earth's crust and into the mantle in search of life and answers about undersea earthquakes and climate change. Med Gadget - can't wait for your doctor to get rid of the needles and knives? Learn about new medical technologies with this blog. SIM PlanetQuest - space telescope designed to search for new worlds, map the Milky Way, and detect dark matter. Elevator:2010 - Spaceward Foundation's 2006 space elevator challenge. 2005: Year in Review - National Science Foundation looks back at the major discoveries and advances in biology, astronomy, and earth science.

Directory categories: Asteroid and Comet Missions, Extrasolar Planets, Space Elevators, Cloning

Archived under: Exploration, Medicine, Robotics, Science, Space, Technology

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