theLogBook.com is a chronicle of how we used to imagine the future – an ever-expanding
logbook of what our entertainment, our culture, and even our brightest minds thought would happen.
It’s nostalgia – and some real history – that gives factual context to the fiction, cultural
context to the factual, and always looks to the future.

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Published On: August 11, 2023

Luna 25Russia launches the Luna 25 uncrewed spacecraft on a mission to land near the south pole of the moon. This is the first mission in the Luna program, which has been dormant since the 1970s; if successful, the mission will be the first Russian soft-landing on the moon in almost 50 years. Much like India’s Chanrayaan-3 mission, launched a few weeks earlier, Luna 25 is intended to search for signs of water in the shaded areas of the lunar south pole, which could be a necessary resource for future crewed missions and possible long-term habitation of the moon.

Published On: August 11, 2021

What If...?The first episode of the Marvel animated series What If…? premieres on the Disney+ streaming service, featuring the voices of Jeffrey Wright (Westworld), Hayley Atwell (Captain Carter), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), and Samuel L. Jackson (Captain Marvel).

This series is not yet chronicled in the LogBook. You could join theLogBook team and write this guide or support the webmaster’s efforts to expand the site.
Hear about it on the Sci-Fi 5 podcast

Published On: August 11, 2020

Star Trek: Lower DecksStreaming service CBS All Access premieres the second episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks, created by Mike McMahan (Rick & Morty) and starring Tawny Newsome (Space Force), Jack Quaid (The Boys), Noel Wells (Craig Of The Creek), Eugene Cordero (Other Space), Dawnn Lewis (A Different World, Futurama), and Jerry O’Connell (Sliders). Jess Harnell (Animaniacs) guest stars. Read more

Published On: August 11, 2007

Masters Of Science FictionThe second episode of ABC’s science fiction anthology series Masters Of Science Fiction, drawing on the genre’s literary greats and hosted by Professor Stephen Hawking, is broadcast. Terry O’Quinn (Lost) stars in an adaptation of a Howard Fast short story. William B. Davis (The X-Files) guest stars.

This series is not yet chronicled in the LogBook. You could join theLogBook team and write this guide or support the webmaster’s efforts to expand the site.

Published On: August 11, 1989

Neptune ringsNASA announces the confirmation of what are believed to be partial rings around planet Neptune, as discovered in images taken by the unmanned Voyager 2 space probe. The ring arcs are found in close proximity to several new satellites, also spotted in Voyager 2 images, which are too small to have been seen form Earth-based telescopes. Ground-based telescopes had led scientists to believe that they would find partial rings, or complete dark rings, at Neptune; at this time, however, and at a distance of 13 million miles, what the project scientists don’t expect is that the rings will be revealed to completely encircle the planet within mere weeks.

Published On: August 11, 1981

Donkey KongWith one unprofitable flop behind it, the American branch of Nintendo has a lot riding on its second arcade game. Fortunately, it strikes gold with Donkey Kong, the coin-op which launches the careers of both Shigeru Miyamoto and a plumber named Mario (also referred to as “Jumpman”). Nintendo is now in America to stay. Read more

Published On: August 11, 1980

Han Solo and the Lost LegacyBallantine Books publishes the third in a trilogy of original novels based on the Star Wars characters Han Solo and Chewbacca, Han Solo and the Lost Legacy by Brian Daley. All three books chronicle the misadventures of everyone’s favorite Corellian smuggler and his Wookiee sidekick – and avoid clashing with the recently-released sequel The Empire Strikes Back by setting these events before Star Wars itself. Hear about it on the Sci-Fi 5 podcast

Published On: August 11, 1962

Andrian NikolayevAndrian Nikolayev becomes the third Soviet cosmonaut to reach orbit. Aboard Vostok 3, Nikolayev remains in orbit for almost four days, long enough to become the first space traveler from Earth to have company while in orbit.

Published On: August 11, 1960

WranglerThe second episode of the western series Wrangler is broadcast on NBC in the United States, starring Jason Evers as Pitcairn and guest starring Paul Carr. The episode is written by future Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, who also created the series, his first to get past the pilot stage. Hear more about it on the Gene-ology podcast

Absolutely no generative AI was used in the creation of the content on this website.
It’s mostly just some guy named Earl.

EG