Offworld Report - Weird Science: November 2003
01/11/2003 . Source: Jessica Martin 
Martial arts robots hit Asia, the day a meteorite crashed through my roof, China sparks a new space race, and life across the stars: why they're now betting on the system 37 Gem. November's news and content roundup of all that is worthy and good in the world of weird science, found living offworld the 'Nest. Every-boty was Robo-Fighting
Japan sees a new wave of martial arts droids capable of Karate and Sumo moves. The Next Leap Forward
Look at the National Space Society's new position paper on what the heck we can do to get humans into space. The Future of Flight
Seven visionaries predict the future of aviation across the next 100 years. Life on 37 Gem?
Apparently the 37th brightest star in the Gemini constellation, aka 37 Gem, has the best chance of containing Earth-like planets with life. The Great Drake Debate
NASA's exobiology forum, 'The Drake Equation Revisited,' reevaluates the probabilities for finding intelligent life outside Sol. Smart Drive
The Smart 1 starship blasts up its groundbreaking ion drive as it begins its Lunar-bound voyage. Betting With Dyson
Why scientist Freeman Dyson - Mr Sphere, to you - is now betting that the first alien life we find will be found sailing around the void, rather than planet-bound. Die Technology Die
Author Bruce Sterling on the technologies that just plain deserve to die. Stairway to Heaven
Why the 100,000-kilometre high space elevator is only ten years away from construction being started. What's the Chances of that Happening?
The unluckiest man on the planet talks about the day a meteorite crashed through his roof. Lifff on Mars
Scientists' search for life-bearing planets picks up pace. Are you Anti-Antimatter?
Why antimatter could be getting a little more real every day. Small Satellites Get Big
Article on the explosion of cheap microsatellite use. Meteorite Maims Twenty
A shocking meteorite strike wounds twenty unlucky locals in East India. Your Octopus Eyes
A new device simulates octopus-vision to help give robots the gift of sight. Alien Invasion
The Milky Way is being buzz-bombed by thousands of stars yanked from the orbit of a nearby dwarf galaxy. The One that Got Away
Another near miss from a space rock - the closest near miss yet recorded. Going Up?
More guff on how new super-fibre research is moving the idea of the orbital beanstalk elevator from science fiction to science fact. Europe to the Moon
The ESA’s ultra-cheap ion-drive ships gets going to the moon. My One-Atom Laser
The California Institute of Technology builds a laser made with a single atom for the first time (by trapping a cold caesium atom in an optical cavity). Quantum computing here we come? Paying the Robo-Piper
Why the Pentagon are paying a Scottish firm millions for their planned robot soldiers. NASA Save Thyself
The changes NASA are trying to make in the wake of the Columbia disaster inquiry. China Loves EU
China pumps millions into the EU's Galileo satellite system as the European's new partner. The Pentagon craps itself thinking about a GPS rival in the hands of the Reds. Love the Earth: Live Shorter
Why the latest immortality research sucks. The Alien Hunters
Large planets outside Sol might harbour intelligent life, says new report. Our Tiny Universe
Is the universe a tiny soccer ball just 60 billion light years across? Student Builds Home Nuke
A student fresh out of Spanish Fork High School has the physics faculty of Utah State University crapping flipping bricks with a nuclear fusion reactor he cobbled together from parts salvaged from junk yards and charity drops. Giant Rodent Very Scary
The fossilized body of a mega-rodent that best resembles a mutant guinea pig is found in Venezuela. 
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