About
Boldly independent.
The space industry is global, but the noise converges around the same topics and stakeholders. This repeat news and media coverage create an echo chamber that leaves out many exciting advancements and essential issues. As a result, there’s a critical need for diversity of opinion and new perspectives about what’s flying under the radar.
MONI-07B is a hybrid between an indie space blog and a multimedia portal. It is built fundamentally differently due to core values that resonate with the Web 3.0 efforts and new visions of the Internet championing decentralization, independence, and privacy.
MONI-07B is powered by an open sourced infrastructure explicitly built for indie creators. Furthermore, unlike the Web 2.0 ad-tech model that often abuses your online behavioral data and predetermines content based on clicks, there’s a guiding ethos at MONI-07B.
Moni
The subscription-based business model is simple, transparent, and straightforward. There’s absolutely no mining of users’ data through social engineering, advertisements, analytics, and tracking. There are NO company advertisements, NO sponsored content, NO affiliate links, and NO tracking of your IP address at MONI-07B.
MONI-07B is solely written and maintained by Monica Hernandez.
The why.
When I started publishing articles online (as @monimissioncontrol) about different space advancements and startups, I didn’t find a fully dedicated blog and portal that was completely ad-free, privacy-friendly, and community-funded. So, when I wasn't seeing the portal I envisioned, I decided to go ahead and build it.
When you subscribe to MONI-07B, you play a leading role in providing the space community with nuanced research. In addition, the artistic visions advance the conversation beyond the mainstream.
About me.
I was born and raised in Costa Rica, so I grew up watching the first Costarican-born NASA astronaut, Franklin Chang-Díaz, make history in the Space Shuttle program. His achievements were always present in our daily conversations and embedded in our sense of national cultural identity. Throughout my professional experiences, including working in 2017 with Chang-Díaz (now CEO of Ad Astra Rocket Company) and Microsoft, I noticed that I enjoyed writing and producing content the most.
In my current role at the 92-year-old Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) – a national science lab in the United States – I serve as Communications Lead for two major funded quantum information science and technology programs funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. I write and produce dozens of news releases, feature articles, and multimedia productions to showcase the latest breakthroughs in quantum computing research and development, including in a bilingual format (English and Spanish), a rarity in a new field. Major trade, industry, and scientific publications have picked up my work, reaching the top of the front page, including at HPCwire and Phys.org. In addition, I frequently liaise with the White House Office of Science and Technology and major federal science agencies, including NASA, and NIST, among many others. As a result of my career, I have been recognized twice for Excellence, earning Berkeley Lab’s coveted SPOT Awards.
I am also a published writer in niche media outlets for technologists, futurists, and business audiences, including Hacker Noon (4+ million global readers) and Delfino.cr (1+ million readers in Latin America).
Creating content about the space industry keeps me connected to my childhood dreams and spaceflight. One of my favorite interpretations of dreams appears in the science fiction television series Star Trek Voyager (1995-2001). Neelix, an alien, and The Doctor, an Emergency Medical Hologram Mark I (AI program), have several profound conversations about dreams—one such conversation developed in season six, episode four.
NEELIX: On Talaxia, we have a saying. The dream dreams the dreamer.
EMH: Care to translate?
NEELIX: We like to think that fantasies and daydreams come from someplace else. Another land. They slip into our minds and whisper about things we never imagined.
EMH: A strange notion.
NEELIX: Do you daydream, Doctor?
EMH: Of course not. I’m a computer program. I prefer wide shots, Mr. Neelix. If you’re feeling creative, throw in a little ultraviolet.
Maybe these spacefaring fantasies come from a yearning for our point of origin? Perhaps this constant state of becoming multiplanetary defines us. What is remarkably accurate for me is that dreams of space generate a powerful connection to the cosmos.
Interestingly enough, as I planned my content platform and shared the vision of what I hoped to achieve, I encountered support from young daydreamers. So in their own words and artwork, let me showcase what children across the world have shared to support me in this journey, and more importantly, let me spotlight their dreams.
Leah. United States. Age 10.
There are so many things out there I want to learn about space. The galaxy is really pretty. What I like about space are the beautiful random things that happen that science cannot explain. One thing I would like to see in the future is if there is really another planet like Earth that has living animals. I love to dream about space because there is always something you don’t know that you might think it’s different and want to learn about.
Kedi. Kenya. Age 11.
I’m interested in space because I want to know more about the planets, the sun, and the moon. I like to learn how the universe affects our planet Earth and how it changes our weather patterns. I also love Martian explorations. I would love to see space become a place where people can visit easily. I would like to see schools, hospitals, and houses where people can stay and enjoy themselves. If you can dream it, it’s possible. Most wonderful inventions came to be from dreams.
Dunja. Bosnia and Herzegovina. Age 10.
From all ages and backgrounds, children and young adults are looking up to us right now to imagine what’s possible. It’s essential for the future of our species to nurture and protect early spacefaring dreams.
From a nickname to an alien planet
Moni-07b is inspired by the nomenclature of exoplanets. These are the strange and alien planets located beyond our solar system. The International Astronomical Union categorizes many of these exoplanets with the letter b and often uses the telescope's name to distinguish them.
Moni-07b is also inspired by the curious frequency of the number seven in U.S. space history. Some noteworthy missions:
Freedom 7 (Mercury-Redstone 3) - first U.S. crewed spaceflight mission
Friendship 7 (Mercury-Atlas 6) - first U.S orbital spaceflight
STS-7 - first U.S. woman in space
Costa-rican born Chang-Díaz flew seven Space Shuttle missions (1986 - 2002).
The NASA Voyager 1& 2 robotic spacecraft were launched in 1977. These are the world’s longest-operating spacecraft. They have reached our solar system’s ends and now navigate in interstellar space.
The recently discovered Trappist-1 system has seven Earth-sized exoplanets. Three of those are located in the habitable “Goldilocks” zone.
The first known interstellar object, 1I/2017 U1 (Oumuamua), was detected cruising through our solar system in 2017.
