Mars Launches to the Suez Canal
Issue 11
Do you wonder why there were so many Mars missions launched last summer? The chance to enter the right orbit to land on Mars only comes around every 26 months, when Mars and Earth end up in a nice alignment on the same side of the sun and are closer together than usual. Launches to Mars are targeted at this time because any spacecraft leaving Earth will experience a shorter trip to Mars -- which means less resources such as fuel are needed as well. The next launch window is between August and October 2022.
The Indian biotech company – Serum Institute of India – is the largest producer of the vaccines in the world with the capacity to produce more than 70 million doses a month, ramping up to 100 million doses a month if needed. It is a privately company owned by the Poonawalla family.
The term filibuster common in US Senate as a parliamentary procedure to prevent a measure from being brought to a vote is an anglicization of the Dutch vrijbuiter, meaning mercenary or privateer, denotes the way in which the tactic overthrows the normal order.
The Suez Canal (Qanāt al-Suways in Arabic) is a 120 mile waterway running north-south across the Isthmus of Suez in Egypt connecting the Mediterranean and the Red seas. It separates the African continent from Asia, providing the shortest maritime route between Europe and the lands lying around the Indian and western Pacific oceans. About 12% of the global trade ($9B value) passes through it daily. The Statue of Liberty in New York was originally conceived for the Suez Canal but that project did not pan out. It later made its way to New York.
Fascinating, Mona. I learn something every single time.
In your commentary on the U.S. Senatorial term "Filibuster" deriving from the Dutch vrijbuiter, you neglected to include the English term with the same meaning, Freebooter. that is a free agent to collect booty.