Colony Worlds

Russia: Oxygen Plus Argon Equals Future Martian Air?

2008-05-10T23:07:00.002-04:00

While NASA plans on finding ways for us to "recycle our air," Russia is trying to find the perfect balance for a breathable atmosphere on board a future Martian spacecraft.

(Universe Today) Volunteers in Russia are testing the ability of humans to breathe argon-enriched air, as part of a research program that simulates a manned trip to Mars. Researchers want to know if humans can survive breathing air similar to that found on Mars. Of the experiment one Russian scientist said, "Our experiments show that argon combined with the right portion of oxygen is safe for humans. I tested it on myself and I'm OK, and volunteers are also doing fine."

Despite the fact that argon is apart of the Martian atmosphere, some may wonder why the scientists chose that over nitrogen, since their is more nitrogen than argon on the red planet.

The answer lies with the fact that argon is a lot safer than nitrogen, as the latter has the potential to bond with oxygen (via static heat), which can form Nitric Oxide--or even worse, Nitrogen Dioxide), which can be fetal towards humans.

Argon on the other hand is not only non-toxic, but it can resist bonding with other elements (as it is more stable) giving future astronauts fewer headaches to worry about.

This makes Argon the perfect "filler gas" (as pure oxygen is too dangerous), and this experiment may make it possible for humans to one day visit, and perhaps live on Mars.

Learning To Breathe (On Artificial Air)

2008-05-10T22:36:00.005-04:00

"When you can't breathe, nothing else matters."

~American Lung Association

Breathing is important. Ask any healthy, happy, human being and you will probably receive the same answer regarding inhaling oxygen: it's recommended.

Not too surprising, future lunar explorers are probably going to have to figure out a way to create a breathable system, as importing oxygen from Earth may not be a readily available option.

(Moon Daily) For three weeks, 23 volunteers dedicated time to do just that - sweat and breathe - inside a test chamber so NASA scientists at Johnson Space Center in Houston could measure the amount of moisture and carbon dioxide absorbed by a new system being developed for future space vehicles. [...]

Known as the Carbon-dioxide and Moisture Removal Amine Swing-bed, or CAMRAS, the Exploration Life Support project within NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program is developing the new system. The program is investigating technologies that will help sustain life on exploration vehicles and reduce the dependence on resupply from Earth.

"Our goal for CAMRAS is to develop a simple, regenerative, lightweight device that will work for both the Orion crew capsule and the Altair lunar lander," said lead researcher Jeff Sweterlitsch.

While scientists could always figure out ways to pull oxygen from lunar rock, finding a way to use as little air as possible could help reduce the overall costs of future space missions.

Even thought NASA is using these tests to aid in its plans to revisit the Moon, this technology will become critical for future missions--especially Mars.

Europe Looking For A Few Good Lunar Astronauts

2008-05-10T21:51:00.005-04:00

(Image: ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli inside the Station's Quest Airlock during the STS-120 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Credits: NASA)

After previously pondering the worth of sending humans into space, Europe has recently decided that not only do they want to send people to the Moon, they want to recruit "fresh blood."

(New Scientist Space) ESA hopes to inject some young blood into its astronaut corps. Currently Europe has only eight astronauts, with an average age of 50. The agency wants to recruit four more, ideally aged 27 to 37.

"If we have a Moon programme and if Europe commits to participating in that, I anticipate that one of those who we are selecting now will walk on the Moon," says Gerhard Thiele, head of ESA's astronaut corps. [...]

The agency will target two key types of candidate. One is scientists and engineers; the other is pilots who fly sophisticated jet aircraft. Successful applicants must also have various personality traits, including high motivation and gregariousness.

The European Space Agency (or ESA) is accepting applications no earlier than May 19^th. Qualified individuals can apply online, although their is no word on whether they will be accepting entries via snail mail (or even faxes).

Either way, this is a good sign for the ESA, although they need to find a way to launch their own astronauts into space, lest they become dependent upon NASA, Russia or China (which could affect their future in space).

Mercury Before Mars Equals Space Faring Civilization?

2008-05-07T15:03:00.006-04:00

Orbiting a little over one light second away from the surface of Earth, the Moon is an obvious choice in our quest to revisit the stars.

Harboring helium-3 withing its crust, the Moon could help "jump start" our journey into the cosmos financially, if not pay for itself by selling future space stations oxygen via its lunar rocks.

Even though the Moon may benefit our species tremendously, visiting Mars may be harder to justify economically.

For corporations, stock holders may not see the value in visiting the red planet for short term gains (or profits). Meanwhile tax payers may grumble at politicians spending money on another world without seeing any immediate benefits towards Earth.

Such a scenario could easily lead towards humanity delaying (or even skipping) Mars, opting instead to visit the asteroid belt in order to harvest its precious metals.

While mining the asteroid belt would benefit humanity financially, it may not motivate our species to choose a second home en mass outside of the gravitational influence of Earth.

In order to justify Mars, our species may have to look towards the first "rock" from the sun, Mercury.

Described by some as "A Mini-Earth in Moon's Clothing," the planet Mercury shares a few similarities with Earth's Moon.

Orbiting "recklessly close" towards the surface of the Sun, solar energy on Mercury is about 6 ¹/₂ times greater than that on the Moon (or Earth), making the world a prime location for solar powered satellites.

Its close proximity towards the Sun has a few scientists predicting that its crust may be loaded with helium-3, which would make it an ideal "next step" after humanity is done depleting reserves on the Moon.

Mercury may also have an abundance of metals within its crust as well, which could make it an attractive location for future mining corporations (who may consider asteroid mining too dangerous for their employees).

Despite the fact that this world has a global magnetic field, this sun baked world may not attract a large population due to the fact that it lacks an abundance of water.

While lunar colonists would probably be able to import water from Earth, Mercurian settlers may have to look elsewhere as Earthen gravity could make importing water (not to mention food) from the homeworld very expensive.

Since Mars has an abundance of water (in the form of ice), future Mercurian corporations could easily contract explorers to filter and export this precious liquid "sun-ward," launching a whole new industry on Mars.

This could make Mars economically attractive to future Earthlings, who may consider settling the planet en mass in order to reap the benefits of interplanetary trade.

This ultimately could help push our species towards other promising worlds (such as Callisto, Ganymede and Titan), enabling our species to become a space faring civilization.

~~Note: Due to lack of time, images will be added later on.~~

Update: Images inserted.

GPS For Lunar Astronauts

2008-05-05T11:45:00.000-04:00

(Image: Drawing of a communications/navigation satellite in lunar orbit. Credit: NASA / Pat Rawlings)

With NASA planning on sending astronauts to live lunar side for six month sessions, the agency is attempting to figure out the best way to establish a communication network upon that eggshell colored world.

While establishing radio towers may be effective if one is constantly facing Earth, creating a GPS network is probably more ideal.

(Space.com) Getting radio signals to these hard-to-reach places is going to require a go-between that can cope with the constant gravitational nudges from the Earth, moon and sun.

One potential path a lunar communication satellite (com-sat) could take is by following a "frozen orbit" around the moon. In such an orbit the satellite's orbital characteristics remain constant despite prods from the moon's lumpy gravity field.

This uneven gravity field is due to mascons, large concentrations of mass in the lunar crust.

"You can think of it [a frozen orbit] as a roller coaster ride over the lunar mascons. If you pick the path just right, the tugs and pulls of the mascons will end up cancelling each other out. At the end, the spacecraft will be right back where it started in the orbit," Hill told SPACE.com.

NASA is also considering placing satellites within the Moon's Lagrange point (Lagrange two and two to be exact) as a communications satellite would be able to remain in a safe "fixed" position.

This would give greater flexibility for astronauts as they could establish lunar bases on the "dark side" of the Moon. This would also benefit astronauts if they decided to roam the moonscape in search of resources or to satisfy scientific curiosities.

Video: Space Elevator Invades Conan O'Brien Show

2008-05-05T10:20:00.000-04:00

(Hat Tip: The Space Elevator Blog)

The Space Elevator, a future technology that has the potential to revolutionize how humanity ventures beyond the sky was able to gain more public exposure thanks in part to the Kansas City Space Pirates (a team competing in the Elevator 2010 competition).

Congrats to Brian Turner for presenting the concept in a humerous, yet understandable manner (although it appears as if O'Brien did his homework regarding the space elevator).

Note: The Kansas City Space Pirates are looking for a few good sponsors, so if you have deep pockets (or just feel like helping them out) feel free to invest in their project.

Recyling Trash Into Energy (Future Colonies Take Note)

2008-05-05T09:45:00.000-04:00

(Hat Tip: IsraGood, Image: TGE Tech's device converting garbage into energy. Credit: Israel 21^st Century)

One item that seems to follow humanity no matter where they go is trash. While we often have glorious visions of future settlements operating perfectly efficient space bases, the reality is that as colonies begin to grow, so will the need for a place to throw our garbage.

Instead of our species repeating "the sin" of polluting yet another world, why not instead turn our "useless leftovers" into useful energy?

(Israel 21^st Century) Some of the biggest mountains aren't made out of stone; they're built out of garbage. It's a sad fact of life that the human race generates a lot of byproducts. If they can't be recycled - and about 70 percent of our trash can't - then it gets dumped, in what is euphemistically called a "landfill."

But hold on a second: There may be gold, or at least electricity, in those dumps. So says Jean Claude Ohayon, CEO of Israeli startup TGE Tech, which has developed and patented a system whereby unrecycled refuse can be converted into fuel with a special patented device that turns garbage into gas - syngas, a well-known element that has some of the properties of gas, oil and coal. [...]

Syngas is not as effective as oil or coal, Ohayon realizes; it only has about 15% of the calorie (energy) power of its authentic siblings. However, Ohayon explains, that level of energy is more than enough to power the gasifier, the waste treatment plant, and probably all the streetlights and traffic lights in a city on any particular day.

Even though syngas will not be the end all solution for every type of waste, it could help humanity reduce the cost of powering off world colonies significantly, making them more attractive towards politicians--not to mention tax payers as well.

Saturn: Titan Colonists May Loathe The Moon's Sand

2008-05-05T08:35:00.001-04:00

(Hat Tip: The Space Fellowship, Image Credit: NASA)

Located approximately 1.5 billion kilometers away from the Sun, Saturn's Titan may prove to be one of the more interesting worlds to live upon in our solar system.

While it would not be surprising to see cites constructed upon the moon due to its methane lakes, future colonists may find its sand to be "slightly irritating."

(NASA) On Earth, sand grains form by breaking things down, but on Titan, the opposite may be true - with much of the sand a product of building things up.

That's one theory Cassini scientists are considering after studying Titan's massive sand dunes with the visible and infrared mapping spectrometer on the Cassini Saturn orbiter. The new observations raise the possibility that much of the sand grows from hydrocarbon particulates fallen from the sky that, once on the ground, join together and become sand grain-size particles. [...]

In the May 2008 issue of the journal Icarus Cassini scientists report that dunes contain less water ice than the rest of Titan. The dark brown sands appear to be made up of the same kind of complex organic chemicals that dominate Titan's smoggy atmosphere. If the dunes are made up of the same dark material on the inside as they have on the outside, then there's simply too much organic sand to have come from erosion alone.

The new findings may help explain how, once on the ground, hydrocarbon particulates the size of smoke particles might grow into sand grains through a process called "sintering" - a slight melting that welds particles together. It may be that sintering produces particles that are just the right size for sand grains - between 0.18-0.25 millimeters and no larger, perfect for blowing in the wind and drifting into dunes.

If humanity desires to ever live upon this world, they may have to find a way to counteract this sintering effect, as the last thing colonists need is to have these particles building up upon future spaceports, buildings and homes (not to mention rocket ships).

Carnival Of The Space Geeks! (Anniversary Edition)

2008-05-05T07:45:00.000-04:00

A long, long time ago in a place not so far away (at least online), Henry Cate founded the very first Carnival of Space.

While blog carnivals are nothing new, this was the first time a group of scientists, engineers and space enthusiasts working at aerospace companies, labs, or simply posting from their computer gathered together online in order share their thoughts regarding the future of humanity--blog style.

The diversity of people publishing articles for all to see is truly amazing, and hopefully one day we will all be able to meet--whether in this world or on the next (note: as in the Moon or Mars--now wouldn't that be glorious?).

Without further delay, here are just a small sample of the articles that caught my eye from the Carnival of Space hosted by Henry, which you can see over at Why Homeschool.

Jim Plaxco of Artsnova Digital Art and Space publishes his thoughts on how space art has played a role in helping humanity visualize themselves on other worlds, a scenario that may need to be repeated for today's world.

Robert Simpson from Orbiting Frog highlights the hazardous debris from China's Anti-Satellite Test (aka ASAT) using Google Earth, a "minor thorn" for future space stations orbiting Earth.

Ian O'Neil via AstroEngine brings some startling news about solar flares erupting from the Sun without any sunspot activity. Sunspots can help act as an "early warning system," as solar flares can give future Martians (and Lunites) an unhealthy dose of radiation.

Brian Wang on Next Big Future brings good tidings regarding the VASIMR System, which has the potential of reducing a Martian trip (one way) to as little as 39 days. Did I mention we could be a few years away from an actual flight test?

P. J. Blount (from Res Communis) conducts an interesting interview with Mike Gold of Bigelow Aerospace regarding ITAR, and how it may be hindering the American space race.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to tune into the next Carnival of Space coming up this Thursday.

For those of you desiring to share your opinion regarding space, humanity and what lies "beyond the black," feel free to contact Fraser over at Universe Today and he will give you the necessary details on how your article can be posted upon the next Carnival of Space.

Conquering The Frozen Frontier (Kuiper Belt Objects)

2008-04-30T16:07:00.000-04:00

(Image: Size comparison between largest Kuiper Belt Objects, sometimes called Trans-Neptunians, against Earth. Credit: NASA)

Whether it takes 50 years--or five thousand--humanity seems destined to expand beyond their earthen cradle and conquer the solar neighborhood around them.

Our species may in the distant future find ourselves settling on worlds ranging from the burning crust of Mercury, to the desert world of Mars. From conquering our own lunar body towards colonizing other moon worlds such as Ganymede, Callisto and Titan.

We may even venture as far as settling upon Neptune's Triton, but beyond that humanity may see little incentive on settling beyond the classical eight planets (sorry Pluto).

While some may see little value of going beyond the gas giants, they may not realize that the Kuiper Belt, located on the "outer frozen edges" of our solar system may play a vital role for humanity--especially if we become an interstellar species.

Imagine if you will you are traveling on a star ship heading towards Alpha Centauri from the Epsilon Eridani star system. You need to make a pit stop in order to not only pick up a few supplies, but to also power down your craft in order to fix a few engines that keep creating a weird pining sound.

If you were the captain of that interstellar vessel, would you rather take your ship deep inside the Sol star's gravity field, or would it make more sense to dock near a Kuiper Belt object located between 30 and 50 astronomical units away?

Unless a star ship desired to take a tour of the solar system it would probably be wiser if humanity established trade settlements upon these frozen worlds in order to help space craft traveling between the stars refuel (or repair) before heading towards another star system.

Since trade upon a Kuiper Belt Object would probably be sparse at best (considering the enormous distances between nearby stars), their main inhabitants will most likely be astronomers and astrophysicists (with space entrepreneurs probably in the minority).

Located far way from the major worlds that dance around our sun, the Kuiper Belt objects would find little appeal among the vast majority of people, who would probably prefer living upon a world with "some scenery" (i.e. an atmosphere or gas planet in the sky).

This would provide many scientists (such as radio astronomers) with the necessary isolation needed to conduct observations of the universe without great interference from radio noise and light pollution beaming from solar colonies.

Scientists could also conduct experiments that might be considered "too dangerous," to be carried out upon other worlds, with little fear of contaminating everybody else living nearby.

Last but not least Kuiper Belt objects may be of use to military bases in order to ward off future threats. Creating military outposts upon these distant worlds may help establish a perimeter around our star system, which could act as a first line of defense against invasive fleets from another star system (whether they be human, robotic or God-forbid "something else").

While the bulk of humanity will probably reside within the classical eight planets, it may not be surprising to see our species placing our fingerprints upon these frosty worlds in order to spread our presence from the inner system towards its frozen edges.

(Image Credit (second photo): Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute)

Carnival Of The Space Geeks! (51st Edition)

2008-04-27T21:25:00.005-04:00

(Image: Neelix the chef of Star Trek Voyager, via Ex Astris Scientia)

The latest, (and perhaps largest) Carnival of Space was hosted by Ian O'Neill over at AstroEngine, who also writes for Universe Today (a site I highly recommend).

As far as the Carnival goes, there were many, many articles which explored topics ranging from our attempts at finding Martian life, whether or not light is slowing down to even why humanity needs to explore space before we exhaust our own resources.

A few articles of interest include:

Brian Wang (of Next Big Future) updates everyone regarding the solar sail, which might be almost ripe for testing (which makes visiting the outer planets a whole lot easier).

John Benac from Political Action for Space reports that NASA may be slowly warming up towards NewSpace (aka private sector).

This is good news, as a partnership between the to may be America's best bet for returning lunar side.

Ralph Buttigieg of The Discovery Enterprise has an interesting article regarding space cooks, and why their recipes could lead towards a successful mission.

There are numerous other articles not mentioned here, so be sure to read them all before the next carnival rolls around.

Speaking about the next Carnival of Space, this weeks will celebrate our one year anniversary! Yes, one year of scientists, engineers and space enthusiasts getting together (online that is) to entertain the world on the latest happenings from across the space blogosphere.

So instead of simply reading many of these fine articles online, you may want to consider submitting your post to be included within the next carnival. Details on how to enlist can be found over here.

Will Ants Replace Bees As The Solar Insect?

2008-04-23T18:27:00.000-04:00

"Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest."

King Solomon, Proverbs 6:6-8

Bees--whether you love them or hate them are an important insect, contributing an enormous amount to our food supply.

Without them, many of the foods that we eat (and take for granted) would be in scarce supply, which would be devastating for millions of tummies (not to mention agricultural stock holders) around the world.

Like many creatures, bees are dependent upon Earth's magnetic field, which helps them navigate to and from their hive.

Unfortunately for humanity, global magnetic fields are a rarity throughout our solar system, as the only known "rocky" worlds hosting them belong to both Mercury and Jupiter's moon, Ganymede.

Unless humanity is able to create an artificial magnetic field that can cover the entire planet, future off world settlers will become heavily dependent on both Mercury and Ganymede to grow their "daily bread" (not to mention Earth as well).

In order to avoid this scenario, our species will probably have to look towards another creature to help us grow our fruits and flowers--which may mean that humanity may have to rely upon ants to help raise our food supply off world.

While colonists would probably object towards importing fire ants (or even those flesh eating kind), they may want to consider adopting ants as a means of pollinating their flower crops and trees.

Even though they lack "the buzz" of their black and yellow friends, ants nonetheless are known to pollinate flowers.

Since many fruit trees require pollination in order produce a crop, ants may be able to compliment off world outposts since these insects rely upon smell, and not magnetic fields to guide themselves across long distances.

Like their flying "cousins," some ant species are known to breed large colonies, which may make it easier for settlers to export numerous these creatures to other locations without the fear of depleting the original ant colony.

Despite the fact that when comparing apples to apples (note: no pun intended), bees far outstrip their dirt walkers when it comes to pollination (due to their flying ability), scientists may be able to train ants to aggressively pollinate plants grown off world, enabling future colonies to grow their own food supply instead of importing most of it from Earth.

Radiation Belt Study Could Unlock Outer Lunar Worlds

2008-04-23T11:20:00.000-04:00

(Image: Illustration of two NASA probes set to explore Earth's radiation belts. Credit: NASA)

Even though there are approximately 83 colony worlds within our solar system, many of these worlds orbit gas giants who unfortunately bathe their lunar children in deadly radiation.

In an attempt to understand these radiation belts, NASA is launching probes in order to gain more information regarding Earth's radiation belt.

(Astrobiology Magazine) NASA will launch two identical probes into the radiation belts to provide unprecedented insight into the physical dynamics of near-Earth space, where violent space weather can affect astronauts, satellites and even ground-based technologies. Data collected by the probes will aid in the development of future space missions beyond Earth orbit. [...]

"The radiation belts were a scientific curiosity when they were discovered 50 years ago by James Van Allen, who was one of the founding members of APL," said Barry Mauk, project scientist for RBSP. "But the belts are becoming very important because we have people and machines operating in them. That region of space is now part of our technology infrastructure. If we can understand the radiation belt environment and its variability, we can apply this knowledge to improve our spacecraft operation and system design, mission planning and astronaut safety."

Understanding these radiation belts could aid in humanity establishing colonies upon Ganymede, Saturn's icy ring moons, and Neptune's Triton, who orbit within their respective planets radiation belts.

While future settlers would probably have to live within Aquarium homes (guarded by magnetic shields), this research could teach us how to survive upon these rugged spheres instead of limiting ourselves to living upon radiation safe worlds.

SpaceX Adds NASA As A Future Client

2008-04-23T10:30:00.000-04:00

SpaceX, an emerging space corporation that is slowly (but surely) winning over NASA's affection has been awarded a contract by the space agency in order to transport cargo into orbit.

(NASA Press Release) NASA has awarded Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, a NASA Launch Services contract for the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 launch vehicles. [...]

The contract is an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract where NASA may order launch services through June 30, 2010, for launches to occur through December 2012. Under the NASA Launch Services IDIQ contracts, the potential total contract value is between $20,000 and $1 billion, depending on the number of missions awarded.

The contract seeks a launch capability for payloads weighing 551 pounds or heavier into a circular orbit of 124 miles at an orbital inclination of 28.5 degrees. Payloads would be launched to support three NASA mission directorates: Science, Space Operations and Exploration Systems.

Despite the fact that this deals mainly with cargo, SpaceX is one of the few companies attempting at lowering the cost of launching humans and objects into space, thereby making it easier for corporations to enter into space.

If successful, Elon Musk (the CEO of SpaceX) may be able to help humanity not only reach the Moon, but Mars as well.

(Image Credit: SpaceX)

Video: Earthrise In HD

2008-04-23T08:45:00.001-04:00

(Hat Tip: Moon Today)

To some people, space is a boring location, lacking beaches, liquid water and forests that often make Earth an ideal place to live.

But as Japan's SELENE satellite goes to show, its the view that attracts people to the cosmos (something FedEx admitted last year).

Note: Click on the image above to watch.

NASA To Enter The World Of Gaming?

2008-04-23T08:00:00.000-04:00

(Hat Tip: SpaceRef.com, Image Credit: Avatar Reality)

Often known for being "disconnected" and irrelevant towards today's generation, NASA is adjusting its strategy by asking developers to create an education space themed video game.

(NASA) NASA Learning Technologies sponsored a workshop today to present its concept of delivering NASA content through a Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) educational game to interested development partners. Designed to enhance learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), such an online educational game would draw players into a synthetic environment that can serve as a powerful "hands-on" tool for teaching a range of complex subjects.

"NASA will continue to pursue innovative strategies to encourage students to improve their interest and performance in STEM and related careers," said Dr. Joyce Winterton, NASA assistant administrator for education. "The use of online educational games can capture student interest in NASA's missions and science."

The daylong workshop provided more than 200 potential development partners the opportunity to learn directly from NASA officials about the vision, goals, and expectations for the development of an MMO educational game. Participants heard top NASA scientists and education officials talk about NASA's future plans for space exploration and how the agency is planning to leverage the game to enhance education efforts across the country.

While better late than never, this move could help spark some interest into the space program, although there is no word whether or not these educational video games will be allowed to include violence (not to mention aliens, warp travel, etc.).

Previously NASA has launched efforts to show the public how space has impacted society, although they may want to contact Avatar Reality who is creating a video game based on a terraformed Mars.

NASA Considering Six Month Lunar Missions

2008-04-21T12:15:00.000-04:00

(Hat Tip: Universe Today)

Despite the fact that Moon is only three days away by rockets, NASA may be pondering about whether or not to establish a "long term" presence on the Moon via 6 month lunar missions.

(Physorg.com) The US space agency hopes to build moon bases that can house astronauts for stays of up to six months, with an intricate transportation and power system, Carl Walz, director of NASA's Advanced Capabilities Division, said Friday.

NASA is examining different designs for lunar outposts but that they could be inspired by the orbiting International Space Station (ISS), he said.

"We need to establish a long, extended presence on the moon, up to six months -- same as the time we spend at ISS," Walz, a veteran astronaut, told AFP during a forum on the future of NASA at the University of Miami.

"I would anticipate that we would build something similar as what we are building for the ISS, but maybe something different," he said.

Whether NASA pursues using inflatable space bases or nomadic ones, a six month stay on the Moon could ultimately open up the door for Mars 30 years from now.

While NASA's means of accomplishing this lunar goal may be subject to debate (hat tip: Space Transport News), at least the agency is at least heading in the right direction (as exploring these worlds in person is better than glimpsing at them from afar).

Not Good: Living On The Moon, It's Electric

2008-04-21T10:30:00.000-04:00

With threats from radiation, lunar dust and politics, one wonders whether or not Earth's little sister is daring us to even attempt to visit her off white world, let alone conquer it.

While scientists are working on ways to thwart radiation and counter lunar dust (not to mention voting for pro-space politicians), they may have to find another solution regarding the Moon's love for "static electricity."

(Space.com) This new finding, announced this week by NASA, is important to future lunar explorers: Astronauts may find themselves "crackling with electricity like a sock pulled out of a hot dryer," according to an agency statement. [...]

Our entire planet is enveloped in a bubble of magnetism generated by the rotating core. The solar wind, a stream of charged particles, pushes the bubble away from the sun and creates a long tail of magnetized material downstream.

"Earth's magnetotail extends well beyond the orbit of the moon and, once a month [at full moon] the moon orbits through it," said Tim Stubbs, a University of Maryland scientist working at the Goddard Space Flight Center. "This can have consequences ranging from lunar 'dust storms' to electrostatic discharges."

Probably the easiest way to deal with this challenge is to somehow find a way to turn the lunar static into energy, which may be much more useful than either solar or nuclear power.

Hopefully a future scientists/engineer will find some way of accomplishing this, as the last thing we need is "fried astronaut" served up lunar side via an electrical charge.

Can Plants Survive In Lunar Soil?

2008-04-21T09:20:00.001-04:00

(Image: The marigold plants in the first two pots on the left were grown with bacteria, while the third was not. The soil was made to mimic that on the lunar surface. Credit: N Kozyrovska / I Zaetz, via BBC)

While for most plants, the answer to this is probably a "resounding no," it looks as if one species may be able to brave the harsh lunar environment.

(BBC News) An Esa-linked team has shown that marigolds can grow in crushed rock very like the lunar surface, with no need for plant food. [...]

A team led by Natasha Kozyrovska and Iryna Zaetz from the National Academy of Sciences in Kiev planted marigolds in crushed anorthosite, a type of rock found on Earth which is very similar to much of the lunar surface.

In neat anorthosite, the plants fared very badly. But adding different types of bacteria made them thrive; the bacteria appeared to draw elements from the rock that the plants needed, such as potassium.

While marigolds may help make future space environments prettier, it will not "fill the tummies" of future colonists.

However if scientists can find a way to duplicate "this success" with other plants (perhaps in combination with certain bacteria), we may be able to establish permanent outposts on not only the Moon, but Mars as well.

Note: Also check out Ken Murphy's article about lunar gardens, who briefly explores perfecting lunar soil and exporting it to Martian colonies.

Carnival Of The Space Geeks (Over The Hill At 50)

2008-04-21T07:45:00.000-04:00

Last weeks Carnival of Space was hosted by Wayne Hall over at the KentuckySat Blog (note: yes, Kentucky has officially caught space fever).

Numerous articles featured topics ranging from dark matter, to why Pluto is not a planet, to even how common intelligent life may be throughout our galaxy (if not the universe itself).

Some very interesting articles that may be of interest to readers here include:

Brian Wang of Next Big Future discusses dome enclosed cities, which may useful for off world colonies.

Ken Murphy from Out of the Cradle features an interesting post regarding lunar gardens (part two). Be sure to visit his third article in the series over here.

Stuart Atkinson on Cumbrian Sky takes issue with Russia sending monkeys to Mars, highlighting why doing so would be of little value of scientists (note: this author recommends pigs instead).

Mang at Mang's Bat Page enlightens everyone on how to navigate without using GPS or a compass--training which will probably benefit colonists living on worlds lacking magnetic fields (unless of course they live on Saturn's Titan)

John Benac from Political Action for Space (a must read) highlights a new pro-space PAC (or political action committee) called The Committee for the Advocacy of Space Exploration, which hopefully the space community will consider supporting financially.

While reading these articles like these can help "wet the tongue" when it comes to space exploration, submitting an article to the Carnival of Space is even better as it helps to not only keep everyone informed, but also expand our view of conquering our "little" Universe.

If you are interested in submitting your article for the upcoming Carnival of Space, then head over towards Universe Today for more details.

Neptune's Triton: Is It Worth Billions, Or Trillions?

2008-04-16T15:58:00.006-04:00

Of the many worlds that dance around Sun or their paternal planet, Neptune's Triton is probably not a world that tickles one's imagination when envisioning space colonization.

The planetary system is barely shown in films, and even less is probably written about the moon in science fiction stories.

But while moon may be ignored as scientists chase after Mars and Titan, Neptune's Triton may in the distant future become a prime location at the edge of our solar system.

Although often known for its retrograde orbit (an unusual trait for a world this size), Triton boasts a tiny atmosphere and is located approximately 350,000 km from its blue parent.

While the small world does have some water upon its surface, it lacks any known resources that would make it an attractive target (although its nitrogen geysers would probably spark some tourism).

Despite the fact that the moon lacks a "monetary interest," it may attract settlers seeking to harvest helium-3 from Neptune's atmosphere.

Even though orbital stations will probably be constructed above Neptune's atmosphere in order to harvest its helium (similar to the ones seen in Star Wars), colonists may prefer to have their families raised upon Triton's surface, lest they see their loved ones accidentally descend into "the blue abyss" of Neptune's clouds.

While Neptune's helium-3 may make the system attractive, the Lagrange asteroids sharing the planet's orbit could "seal the deal" for establishing cities on that cold, frozen world.

Despite the dangers of mining asteroids, Neptunian colonists could use resources mined from these numerous floating space rocks to not only build up their tiny frozen world, but their economy as well.

Despite the fact that future colonists will probably have to live within aquarium homes (due to radiation) and wear gravity suits, settlers living upon Triton will probably find life to be fairly comfortable (at least financially), despite the fact that they are over 4.5 billion km from humanities Earthen homeworld.

(Image Credits: NASA)

Lunar Revelation Via Japanese Maps

2008-04-14T09:25:00.001-04:00

(Image: Detailed map of the moon, Credit: JAXA)

While NASA and other space agencies are busy planning on how to land people on the moon, Japan is busy mapping the lunar in extreme detail using its SELENE satellite (which is currently orbiting the Moon).

(Universe Today) The Japanese SELENE lunar orbiter has returned some of the most detailed maps of the Moon to date. The new collection of high-definition maps includes topological data and mineral location. Critically, the locations of uranium, thorium and potassium have been mapped, essential for mission planners when considering the future of manned settlements on the Moon. Seeing the lunar relief mapped to such fine detail makes for an impressive sight. So far six million data points have been collected and there's more to come. [...]

According to the JAXA press release, these new maps are ten-times more accurate than previous maps. Using the laser altimeter (LALT) instrument, 3D data of the shapes and altitudes of surface features are promising to give the most advanced relief mapping capabilities ever performed on a planetary body other than the Earth.

Hopefully more uranium will be discovered, as it would allow colonists to construct settlements virtually anywhere upon the moon's surface without the need for heavy dependence upon regenerative fuel cells or solar power.

Energy aside, these maps would also help future colonists determine which would be the best locations for settlement, not to mention whether or not building a railroad would be practical upon that dusty world.

While Japan has yet to launch any humans into space, they may be able to barter with NASA for a future trip, especially if they locate any more valuable resources (such as helium-3).

Carnival Of The Space Geeks (49)

2008-04-14T08:30:00.001-04:00

(Image Credit: JPL / NASA)

Last week Will Gater hosted the Carnival of Space, which features articles ranging from black holes to answering kids questions on what is the biggest star in the universe.

Some interesting posts that caught my eye included:

Brian Wang of Next Big Future highlights how carbon nanotubes could be used to turn radiation into electricity (which would benefit off world colonies living in radioactive environments).

Ken Murphy of Out of the Cradle gives an in depth look at growing lunar gardens. Be sure to also visit his followup article as well, which digs a little deeper into the subject (note: no pun intended).

Ian O'Neill from AstroEngine discusses whether or not the first Mars settlement will have internet access. My guess is yes, especially if Google gets involved. ;-)

The upcoming Carnival of Space is approaching the big "5-0," so if there are any lurkers out there desiring to express their point of view regarding the cosmos, you might want to consider joining the next Carnival of Space.

Details on how to enter can be seen over here.