Space Snapshot

Good morning, Moon! This image captured by Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander on March 3 shows sunrise on the lunar surface. This marked the beginning of the lunar day and the start of Blue Ghost’s surface operations, which will last throughout one lunar day (about 14 Earth days). Image credit: Firefly Aerospace.

PlanetVac is sampling the Moon! Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost successfully landed on the Moon on March 2, carrying with it 10 NASA science and technology instruments, including Lunar PlanetVac. This sample collection technology was developed and tested by Honeybee Robotics, with key tests funded by Planetary Society members and donors. Firefly Aerospace confirmed this week that Lunar PlanetVac has been deployed to begin collecting samples of lunar regolith.

Moon illustrationWithout an atmosphere, the temperature on the surface of the Moon depends almost entirely on direct sunlight. Near the Moon’s equator, temperatures can reach around 120 degrees Celsius (250 degrees Fahrenheit) in the daytime and ten drop to -130 degrees Celsius (-208 degrees Fahrenheit) at night.

Lunar planetvac
The Lunar PlanetVac instrument on the end of Blue Ghost’s Surface Access Arm. Image credit: Firefly Aerospace.

PlanetVac is sampling the Moon! Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost successfully landed on the Moon on March 2, carrying with it 10 NASA science and technology instruments, including Lunar PlanetVac. This sample collection technology was developed and tested by Honeybee Robotics, with key tests funded by Planetary Society members and donors. Firefly Aerospace confirmed this week that Lunar PlanetVac has been deployed to begin collecting samples of lunar regolith.

MARCH 2025 CLUB MEETING; Post 2 of 2, 5:00PM – Thank You, Wrap-Up

5) THANK YOU

We thank club members Danny Sichel, Cathy Palmer-Lister, Keith Braithwaite and Joe Aspler for their contributions to this afternoon’s programming. And, we acknowledge, as well, all of our contributing participants, and everyone who helped to plan and run this meeting. Finally, of course, we thank all of you who joined us, both physically at the meeting and here on ZOOM; don’t forget to comment on today’s get-together (www.MonSFFA.ca).

6) NEXT MONTH’S MEETING:

The club meets next on Saturday, April 12, from 1:00PM-5:00PM! We hope to see you live and in person at that time, or if you’re from out of town, online via ZOOM. MonSFFA meets downtown regularly at Le Nouvel Hotel, 1740 Rene-Levesque Ouest (corner St-Mathieu), in the “Maisonneuve Room” unless otherwise indicated.

7) SIGN-OFF

Thank you, everyone, for taking part today. We appreciate the enthusiastic involvement of our members, and we hope you will all join us again next month! Bye for now…

MARCH 2025 CLUB MEETING; Post 1 of 2, 12:30PM – Introduction and Agenda

1) INTRODUCTION

Welcome to MonSFFA’s March 2025 meeting. Oh! So that’s why the REM hasn’t been running as scheduled!

We are returning to our downtown meeting locale on this occasion, but of course, out-of-town members can take part, as always, via ZOOM. So do join us for a few hours of sci-fi fun! Today’s proceedings will be getting underway shortly.

Folks attending the meeting live and in person please take note: we are meeting in the “Faubourg Room” of Le Nouvel Hotel, today, rather than our usual Maisonneuve Room, which we are told is unavailable this weekend. The Faubourg is just down the hall from the Maisonneuve.

For those opting to join our ZOOM-chat and take part from the warmth and comfort of home, see the instructions, immediately below (Item 2), to join in and participate online.

Our programming agenda begins at 1:00PM; the meeting will conclude at 5:00PM. This opening post has gone up 30 minutes before the meeting’s start time to allow folk to gather online at their leisure. A closing post will go up at 5:00PM to officially thank today’s presenters/discussion moderators, and to publish the date of the next MonSFFA event.

2) JOIN THIS AFTERNOON’S VIDEO-CHAT ON ZOOM!

To take part in this afternoon’s meeting online, join our ZOOM video-chat, which will run throughout the next few hours. Simply click here and follow the prompts: This Afternoon’s MonSFFA Meeting on ZOOM

If you’re not fully equipped to ZOOM, you can also take part by phone (voice only); in the Montreal area, the toll-free number to call is: 1-438-809-7799. From out of town? No problem; find your ZOOM call-in number here: Call-In Numbers

Also, have this information on hand as you may be asked to enter it:

Meeting ID: 896 3074 3351
Passcode: 054089

3) MEETING THEME FOR MARCH 2025

St. Patrick’s Day rolls around again mid-March; in celebration, make like the Green Hornet, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, and the Green Lama—wear something green to the meeting!

4) THIS AFTERNOON’S AGENDA

Today’s programming agenda is as follows:

1:00PMThe Multiverse

An exploration of Marvel’s, DC’s, and other examples of “the multiverse” in SF/F!

2:00PMStories From the Sky

We recount some of the mythical stories behind the constellations of the night sky.

3:00PMBreak

Club business, announcements, and raffle

3:30PMTutorial: Crafting a Presentation!

We all have a favourite SF/F passion—a particular author, TV series, film, superhero, game, or sub-genre like steampunk or time travel! MonSFFA thrives on the varied interests and involvement of its members. You all have a panel discussion or presentation in you, and to that end, we offer a quick tutorial on preparing and giving a treatise on your favourite genre-related topic at a club meeting! 

4:30PMFinal Thoughts and Wrap-Up!

We close the afternoon with final thoughts, questions, and commentary on today’s topics, or other subjects members may have to briefly share with the group. Your feedback, dear members, is always welcome!

5:00PMEnd of Meeting

Please Note: While we strive to keep on schedule, we do, sometimes, fall behind a little, or find ourselves having to reshuffle the order of items on the agenda for one reason or another, or reschedule planned presentations/discussions. Therefore, please understand that all programming is subject to change!

The meeting officially begins at 1:00PM! Thanks for joining us today, and enjoy the afternoon!

NEXT CLUB MEETING IS TOMORROW, SATURDAY, MARCH 8! NOTE CHANGE OF ROOM; SAME BUILDING, DIFFERENT ROOM!

MonSFFA’s next meeting is scheduled to take place tomorrow, Saturday, March 8, from 1:00PM to 5:00PM!

As winter recedes, we are returning to our downtown meeting locale, Le Nouvel Hotel, 1740 Rene-Levesque Ouest (corner St-Mathieu).

However, we have received a message from Le Nouvel, informing us of a change of meeting room. So, Please note that because our usual meeting room will be unavailable on this occasion, we will be gathering instead in the “Faubourg” room, just down the hall. Once again, tomorrow, we will be meeting in the Faubourg, rather than our usual Maisonneuve room.

Out-of-towners, as always, may join our ZOOM-chat and take part in the meeting from the warmth and comfort of home!

Meeting Theme: St. Patrick’s Day rolls around again in about a week; to celebrate, make like the Green Hornet, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, and the Green Lama—wear something green to the meeting!

On the Agenda:

The Multiverse: An exploration of Marvel’s, DC’s, and other examples of “the multiverse” in SF/F!

Stories From the Sky: We recount some of the mythical stories behind the constellations of the night sky.

Tutorial – Crafting a Presentation: We all have a favourite SF/F passion—a particular author, TV series, film, superhero, game, or sub-genre like steampunk or time travel! MonSFFA thrives on the varied interests and involvement of its members. You all have a panel discussion or presentation in you, and to that end, we offer a quick tutorial on preparing and giving a treatise on your favourite genre-related topic at a club meeting!

and more…

Please Note: While we strive to keep on schedule, we do, sometimes, fall behind a little, or find ourselves having to reshuffle the order of items on the agenda for one reason or another, or reschedule planned presentations/discussions. Therefore, please understand that all programming is subject to change!

We hope to see all of you tomorrow, Saturday, March 8!

Fanzine roundup

Zines to share!

Added today at https://efanzines.com:

Andy Hooper’s CAPTAIN FLASHBACK #75

Perry Middlemiss’s Perryscope #51

Nic Farey’s This Here…#84

Octothorpe #129, a regular fannish podcast by John Coxon, Alison Scott and Liz Batty, is now on line

Christopher J. Garcia’s The Drink Tank #460

Bill Plott’s Sporadic #87, 88, 89 and archive issues 66b, 67

From N3F:

With this mailing I am sending a copy of Tightbeam 366. There has been one change. We are moving the longer articles toward the rear of the magazine, so Jesse Silver’s wonderful anime reviews now appear late rather than early in the magazine.

https://www.monsffa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Tightbeam366.pdf

NEXT CLUB MEETING: THIS SATURDAY, MARCH 8! CHANGE OF ROOM NOTICE; SAME BUILDING, DIFFERENT ROOM!

MonSFFA’s next meeting is scheduled to take place this Saturday, March 8, from 1:00PM to 5:00PM!

As winter recedes, we are returning to our downtown meeting locale, Le Nouvel Hotel, 1740 Rene-Levesque Ouest (corner St-Mathieu).

However, we have just received a message from Le Nouvel, informing us of a change of meeting room. So, Please note that because our usual meeting room will be unavailable on this occasion, we will be gathering instead in the “Faubourg” room, just down the hall. Once again, this Saturday, we will be meeting in the Faubourg, rather than our usual Maisonneuve room.

Out-of-towners, as always, may join our ZOOM-chat and take part in the meeting from the warmth and comfort of home!

Meeting Theme: St. Patrick’s Day rolls around again in about a week; to celebrate, make like the Green Hornet, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, and the Green Lama—wear something green to the meeting!

On the Agenda:

The Multiverse: An exploration of Marvel’s, DC’s, and other examples of “the multiverse” in SF/F!

Stories From the Sky: We recount some of the mythical stories behind the constellations of the night sky.

Tutorial – Crafting a Presentation: We all have a favourite SF/F passion—a particular author, TV series, film, superhero, game, or sub-genre like steampunk or time travel! MonSFFA thrives on the varied interests and involvement of its members. You all have a panel discussion or presentation in you, and to that end, we offer a quick tutorial on preparing and giving a treatise on your favourite genre-related topic at a club meeting!

and more…

Please Note: While we strive to keep on schedule, we do, sometimes, fall behind a little, or find ourselves having to reshuffle the order of items on the agenda for one reason or another, or reschedule planned presentations/discussions. Therefore, please understand that all programming is subject to change!

We hope to see all of you this Saturday, March 8!

NEXT CLUB MEETING COMING SOON, SATURDAY, MARCH 8!

MonSFFA’s next meeting is scheduled to take place next Saturday, March 8, from 1:00PM to 5:00PM! We are returning to our downtown meeting locale as winter recedes, and will be gathering in the “Maisonneuve” room at Le Nouvel Hotel, 1740 Rene-Levesque Ouest (corner St-Mathieu). Or, for out-of-towners, join our ZOOM-chat and take part in the meeting from the warmth and comfort of home!

Meeting Theme: St. Patrick’s Day rolls around again mid-March; in celebration, make like the Green Hornet, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, and the Green Lama—wear something green to the meeting!

On the Agenda:

The Multiverse: An exploration of Marvel’s, DC’s, and other examples of “the multiverse” in SF/F!

Stories From the Sky: We recount some of the mythical stories behind the constellations of the night sky.

Tutorial – Crafting a Presentation: We all have a favourite SF/F passion—a particular author, TV series, film, superhero, game, or sub-genre like steampunk or time travel! MonSFFA thrives on the varied interests and involvement of its members. You all have a panel discussion or presentation in you, and to that end, we offer a quick tutorial on preparing and giving a treatise on your favourite genre-related topic at a club meeting!

and more…

Please Note: While we strive to keep on schedule, we do, sometimes, fall behind a little, or find ourselves having to reshuffle the order of items on the agenda for one reason or another, or reschedule planned presentations/discussions. Therefore, please understand that all programming is subject to change!

We hope to see all of you on Saturday, March 8!

Locus list of Forthcoming Books

MAR 2025

  • KATHERINE ADDISON • The Tomb of Dragons • Rebel­lion/Solaris UK, Mar 2025 (tp, eb)
  • KATHERINE ADDISON • The Tomb of Dragons • Tor, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • KEVIN J. ANDERSON • Stiffs & Stones • WordFire Press, Mar 2025 (c, tp, hc, eb)
  • CLIVE BARKER • Jump Tribe • Subterranean Press, Mar 2025 (c, hc, eb)
  • AGUSTINA BAZTERRICA • The Unworthy • Simon & Schus­ter/Scribner, Mar 2025 (tp, eb)
  • JEDEDIAH BERRY • The Naming Song • Titan Books UK, Mar 2025 (1st UK, tp,eb)
  • TERRY BROOKS • Galaphile • Penguin Random House/Del Rey, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • JAMES J. BUTCHER • Cold Iron Task • Ace, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • M.R. CAREY • Once Was Willem • Orbit UK, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • M.R. CAREY • Once Was Willem • Orbit US, Mar 2025 (tp, eb)
  • V. CASTRO • The Pink Agave Motel and Other Stories • Clash Books, Mar 2025 (c, tp, eb)
  • CASSANDRA CLARE • The Ragpicker King • Penguin Random House/Del Rey, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • CASSANDRA CLARE • The Ragpicker King • Macmillan/Tor UK, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • TRACY DEONN • Oathbound • Simon & Schuster, Mar 2025 (ya, hc, eb)
  • AMAL EL-MOHTAR • The River Has Roots • Tordotcom, Mar 2025 (na, hc, eb)
  • ERIC FLINT & IVER P. COOPER • 1637: The Pacific Initiative • Baen, Mar 2025 (tp, eb)
  • ERIC FLINT & WALTER H. HUNT • 1637: The French Connection • Baen, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • CHARLIE N. HOLMBERG • Wizard of Most Wicked Ways • Amazon/47North, Mar 2025 (tp, eb)
  • STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES • The Buffalo Hunter Hunter • Simon & Schuster/Saga Press, Mar 2025 (h, hc, eb)
  • STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES • The Buffalo Hunter Hunter • Titan Books UK, Mar 2025 (h, hc, eb)
  • ALLAN KASTER, ED. • 3 Hard Shots at the Moon • Au­dioText/Infinivox, Mar 2025 (an, tp, eb)
  • MARY ROBINETTE KOWAL • The Martian Contingency • Tor, Mar 2025 (tp, hc, eb)
  • JONATHAN MABERRY • Burn to Shine • St. Martin’s Grif­fin, Mar 2025 (h, tp, eb)
  • GREGORY MAGUIRE • Elphie • HarperCollins/Morrow, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • SEANAN MCGUIRE • Installment Immortality • Tor, Mar 2025 (tp, eb)
  • NATASHA PULLEY • The Hymn to Dionysus • Blooms­bury USA, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • EMERY ROBIN • The Sea Eternal • Orbit UK, Mar 2025 (tp, eb)
  • EMERY ROBIN • The Sea Eternal • Orbit US, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • JOHN SCALZI • When the Moon Hits Your Eye • Tor, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • JOHN SCALZI • When the Moon Hits Your Eye • Macmillan/Tor UK, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • S.M. STIRLING • Lords of Creation • Arc Manor/Caezik SF & Fantasy, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • HARRY TURTLEDOVE • Twice as Dead • Arc Manor/Caezik SF & Fantasy, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • MOSES OSE UTOMI • Children of Useyi • Simon & Schuster/Atheneum, Mar 2025 (ya, hc, eb)
  • DAVID WEBER & JANE LINDS­KOLD • Friends Indeed • Baen, Mar 2025 (ya, hc, eb)
  • EDWARD WILLETT • Shapers of Worlds Volume V • Shadowpaw Press, Mar 2025 (an, tp, eb)
  • AMÉLIE WEN ZHAO • The Scorpion and the Night Blos­som • Penguin Random House/Delacorte, Mar 2025 (1st US, ya, v, hc, eb)