I should note right away there's no sex in the video posted here, which is from a TED talk about colonizing Mars; no sense in getting you all frustrated. The video is just one thing, along with an article about sex on mars, offered by Journal of Cosmology's special issue, "Colonizing Mars." The Journal of Cosmology really wants us to go to Mars.

The Human Mission to Mars must commence now, and it must be an international effort. The online scientific Journal of Cosmology, four astronauts, and over 70 top scientists are now leading the way with the publication of over 50 online articles which explain how a mission to the red planet can be successfully accomplished.

That's from an email I got last week drawing my attention to this special issue. The email ended with a link to an article addressing a particularly touchy aspect of such a mission: What to do about sex. I can't help but like an email that ends, "We also recommend: Sex on Mars." But it was so unexpected I actually thought the whole thing was a hoax. Some digging around revealed it was not.

The Journal's email has seven points. Each gets a paragraph of elaboration. But you get the drift from the talking points:

1. America Has Lost the Race for Space 2. How did the U.S. Lose the Race for Space? Stupidity. 3. The Journal of Cosmology, Former Apollo Astronauts, and Over 70 Top Scientists Step into the Leadership Gap. 4. Onward to Mars: The Greatest Adventure in the History of Humanity. Paid for by Private Companies 5. The Conquest of Mars vs the Iraq War ("The contrasts are stark: $145 billion to conquer an entire planet, vs a trillion dollars to fight a war which has accomplished nothing except to sew destruction, kill and maim a lot of innocent people, and enrich the few.") 6. The U.S. Government Has No Serious Interest in Conquering Space 7. The Mission to Mars Must Commence Now. Our battle cry: Onward to Mars.

I read this and thought, cosmologists don't think small. And why should they? We didn't get to the moon thinking small. The editors of the Journal of Cosmology certainly don't. Here's their mission statement:

Most scientific journals are aimed at specific, narrowly defined areas of research; tailored to those specialists who devote their lives to learning more and more about less and less. The alternative, we are told, is to learn less and less about more and more, and thus "generalists" and interdisciplinary journals are rare indeed, for how many wish to discover how little they know? The interdisciplinary Journal of Cosmology is devoted to the study of "cosmology" and is dedicated to those men and women of rare genius and curiosity who wish to understand more and more about more and more: The study of existence in its totality.

Previous special issues address the Origins of Life (it came from other planets), the Infinite Universe, and the search for life elsewhere. I've not had time to do but skim some of the articles, but this looks worth a browse.

So does the website of the journal's editor, Harvard astrophysicist Rudolf Schild. His photo essays about the cars and motorcycles he has owned and loved over the years, and of his rather interesting family, makes an interesting tour through recent time.

And of course there's the article about sex on Mars. Sorry, no pics.