SCIENCE-FACT OUTPERFORMS SCIENCE-FICTION, AS FALCON HEAVY BLASTS INTO DEEP SPACE

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL AT SPACEX for successfully launching the Falcon Heavy rocket on its first test flight. And seeing those two Falcon boosters make a near-simultaneous landing after their mission was amazing.

MPC MOONSCOPE LUNAR ROVER POSTSCRIPT - WHY DID THE ORIGINAL BARRIS DESIGN FEATURE SIX WHEELS INSTEAD OF FOUR?

A QUESTION WAS ASKED THIS WEEK: Why did the first Space: 1999 George Barris Moonscope have six wheels? The real-life machine (above) was built by Barris Kustom, and made an excellent basis for MPC kits that have featured both six and four wheels.

MARS ON YOUR TABLETOP: LEGO CURIOSITY ROVER ON SALE AT ONLINE STORE

The LEGO NASA Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover has landed, and is now online to order direct.

SPACE-X IS TEN YEARS OLD - AND NOW TAKING US BEYOND THE SHUTTLE ERA

SMN report from David Jefferis:

SpaceX is the sort of company that brings a smile to the face of many a space buff. Under the leadership of Elon Musk, who set the company up a decade ago in 2002, SpaceX has gone from strength to strength. Right now, SpaceX is aiming to make the first commercial flight to the International Space Station, using its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule combo. And guess what? There’s a model rocket available from SpaceX that you can build and fly.

JOHN CARTER - TERRIFIC MOVIE, BUT WHERE ARE THE MODELS AND THE KITS?!

SMN review:

For anyone raised on early science-fiction, the name Edgar Rice Burroughs needs no introduction. For the rest of us, he was the US writer famously responsible for the original Tarzan books, and now his sci-fi ‘Barsoom’ (Mars) titles have hit the big screen in the form of the latest Disney movie John Carter.

SPACEX BOSS SAYS - MARS HERE WE COME! MEANTIME, HERE’S A FREE MODEL MARS ROCKET

SMN report:

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk confirmed the planet Mars as his long-term goal during a speech on 29 September at the US National Press Club. Already known for its Falcon rockets and Dragon space capsule, SpaceX is to make them reusable. The Falcon 9 will incorporate a descent module at the base, so that it can make a vertical soft landing, while the Dragon (above) will use its emergency-escape rockets as brakes on the journey back from space.