This Week in the Future, December 12-16, 2011

Lots of doings in space this week: a giant plane, a giant harpoon, and the latest after-life destination spot.

Want to win this radical Baarbarian illustration on a T-shirt? It’s easy! The rules: Follow us on Twitter (we’re @PopSci) and retweet our This Week in the Future tweet. One of those lucky retweeters will be chosen to receive a custom T-shirt with this week’s Baarbarian illustration on it, thus making the winner the envy of their friends, coworkers and everyone else with eyes. (Those who would rather not leave things to chance and just pony up some cash for the t-shirt can do that here.) The stories pictured herein:

• A Significant Portion of Mars Could Be Friendly to Life, New Models Suggest
• Virginia May Give Tax Breaks to Those Who Opt for Burial In Space
• Brand-New Stratolaunch, the Biggest Plane in the World, Could Replace the Space Shuttle
• Video: To Hunt Comets, NASA is Building a Giant Harpoon

And don’t forget to check out our other favorite stories of the week:

• Download Knowledge Directly to Your Brain, Matrix-Style
• Video: A Trillion-Frame-Per-Second Camera Captures Individual Photons Moving Through Space
• For the First Time, Predator Drones Participate in Civilian Arrests on U.S. Soil
• Ulcer Treatment Could Lead to New Anti-Obesity Device
• Chinese Government Plans to Cause Ten Percent More Rain By 2015
• Building a Massive Neutrino Hunter Beneath the Mediterranean