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Soundbites

“The satellite landed in our home. Maybe this means we’ll have good luck this year.â€

Huo Jiyu, a resident of Penglai, China, whose apartment was demolished by a space capsule crashing back to Earth (Xinhuanet, 17 October)

“You think this is cool? Wait till you see SpaceShipTwo… it is erotic.â€

SpaceShipOne may have flown to the edge of space, but its successor will have sexier styling, says designer Burt Rutan (Space.com, 14 October)

“Being cleaner may not necessarily mean being healthier.â€

Alexandra Farrow of Brunel University, UK, explaining that chemicals in air fresheners and aerosols can damage the health of babies and their mothers (BBC Online, 19 October)

“They had all the time from when they said the voting machines will be used to perfect them. And here we are, up the creek. I’m so fed up.â€

Susan Emert, a resident of Broward County, Florida, describes her exasperation as problems with electronic voting machines in the state prevent some voters from casting an early ballot in the presidential election (Sun-Sentinel.com, 18 October)

“We’re all keeping our fingers crossed that no matter who gets elected, NASA is going back out there and exploring the universe.â€

Space is bigger than the presidential election, according to George Whitesides, executive director of the US National Space Society, commenting after representatives from the Bush and Kerry camps debated space policy (The Houston Chronicle, 18 October)