Interactive: Saturn's Titan Will Require Space Elevators
Over at Planet Quest, NASA has developed a short, interactive tour that lets audiences know about Saturn’s most mysterious moon, Titan.
What made this virtual tour interesting was the fact that according to NASA a single spark would be enough to engulf this moon in flames. This basically translates to the banning of rockets launching from the moon’s surface, which requires an alternative method for transporting the methane off of Titan’s surface.
It looks like LiftPort’s and Black Line Ascension’s great grand kids (assuming they will be running the space elevators future franchises) will be very busy in the distant future.
Note: To enjoy the virtual tour, simply click on the image below.
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Has The Military Space Race Begun? (India)
With China’s recent ASAT test hitting the bullseye, it looks like India is taking its first steps in defending itself from heavenly attacks.
(Space War) India will set up an aerospace defence command to shield itself against possible attacks from outer space, officials said Sunday. [...]
“As the reach of our airforce is expanding it has become extremely important that we exploit space and for it you need space assets,” Tyagi told reporters in the western city of Gandhinagar.
“We are an aerospace power having trans-oceanic reach and we have started training a core group of people for the aerospace command,” the air chief marshall said without specifying a time-frame for the ambitious project.
Although India seeks to have a weapon free zone for the cosmos, such a measure is very unlikely given the history of our human race. With India building up its aerospace program, it is only a matter of time until Pakistan, and other middle eastern countries (like Iran) begin establishing themselves in the cosmos.
And when that happens, either humanity will begin to colonize its lunar neighbor (and beyond) for nationalistic reasons, or make a bigger mess of our paradise world. Here’s praying to the former.
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Spaceport Sweden Launches
(Hat Tip: Space Ports)
With Space Port America being launched by Virgin Galactic, it was about time that the Swedish decided to enter into the space race with a port of their own.
(Space Port Sweden) The official inauguration of Spaceport Sweden was made today at Kiruna Airport by Mrs. Maud Olofsson, Minister for Enterprise and Energy as well as Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden. Spaceport Sweden is now open for business and starts off by signing an agreement with Virgin Galactic, the world’s first commercial space line that will give the general public the opportunity to become astronauts. [...]
Spaceport Sweden aims to be Europe’s first and most obvious place for personal suborbital spaceflight. The conditions are ideal as Spaceport Sweden is the combined expertise of several Kiruna-based Swedish companies whose successful development has earned them international respect: the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC), ICEHOTEL, LFV Group (Kiruna Airport) and Kiruna’s business-development company Progressum. Their reputation for service consistently attracts attention with regards to aerospace operations, testing and tourism.
Although in their infancy, commercial space ports should give humanity a taste of exploring the universe, thus encouraging us to (eventually) colonize the Moon and beyond. Spaceport Sweden is a collaboration of various companies, including the Ice Hotel, and the Swedish Space Corporation, (not to mention several other entities).
Hopefully their entry will encourage the commercial European space industry and provide some much needed competition against Space Adventures (as it brings about more innovation).
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Iran To Enter Space Race?
Ironically, the nation that many perceive to be responsible for a future nuclear war with Israel is aiming to establish itself as a major space power in the region.
(New Scientist Space) The report quotes Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the chairman of Iran’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, as saying that a space launcher has been assembled and “will lift off soon”, carrying an Iranian satellite. [...]
“This has been anticipated for some time – the Iranians have been saying they will launch satellites” says Doug Richardson, editor of Jane’s Missiles and Rockets.
Their first aim might be reconnaissance. “They are concerned about what capabilities Israel has, and the only way they can find out is by observing from space,” says Bhupendra Jasani of King’s College in London, UK, an expert in the military applications of space. “Clearly they can’t fly aircraft, that would be a violation of airspace, and they would be shot down very quickly.”
With Iran entering the field of space, Israel will no doubt up the antie by probably sending astronauts into the heavens via kosher power. This will probably encourage hawkish space race in the middle east, which could easily spill over in the west, especially after China’s ASAT test.
Either way, military space race may benefit humanity in the long run, as long as it remains “cold.”
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Mars May Be Holding Its Atmospheric Breath
After previously thinking that Martian oceans may be underground, now some scientists speculate that its atmosphere may lie underneath as well.
(Space.com) New findings suggests the missing atmosphere of Mars might be locked up in hidden reservoirs on the planet, rather than having been chafed away by billions of years’ worth of solar winds as previously thought.
Combining two years of observations by the European Space Agency’s Mars Express spacecraft, researchers determined that Mars is currently losing only about 20 grams of air per second into space.
Extrapolating this measurement back over 3.5 billion years, they estimate that only a small fraction, 0.2 to 4 millibars, of carbon dioxide and a few centimeters of water could have been lost to solar winds during that timeframe. (A bar is a unit for measuring pressure; Earth’s atmospheric pressure is about 1 bar.)
If most of the Martian atmosphere lies under the soil, then there is serious hope of not only colonizing the red planet, but cultivating it into a second Earth. The key to doing this would be to simply find a way to unleash (or free) the CO2 trapped underneath the surface, which would therefore allow streams and rivers (and maybe even oceans) to grace its desert surface.
Of course if humanity had the technology to do this, the process would probably take thousands of years (if not 100,000). Even though terraforming would be quite expensive, it may become a necessary evil if humanity is to become independent of Earth within this system, as well as beyond.
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Are Martian Oceans Underneath Its Soil?
With evidence of liquid water beneath Martian soil recently appearing, some scientists speculate that the red planet may have a wet, frozen secret buried beneath its crimson sands.
(New Scientist Space) Mars is losing little water to space, according to new research, so much of its ancient abundance may still be hidden beneath the surface.
Dried up riverbeds and other evidence imply that Mars once had enough water to fill a global ocean more than 600 metres deep, together with a thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide that kept the planet warm enough for the water to be liquid. But the planet is now very dry and has a thin atmosphere.
It had been previously assumed that Mars had lost its atmosphere and water due to solar activity from the Sun. However, new evidence suggests that this theory may be just that–a theory.
Observations by the European Space Agency’s Mars Express hint that Mars is not losing enough atmosphere and water to justify the previous theory, leaving not only more questions about how Mars lost its original atmosphere but hope that oceans may lie beneath a world some see as a second Earth.
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Space Tractors Could Defend Earth Against Asteroids
Despite the Hollywood glitz of Armageddon and Deep Impact, no human bomb would be strong enough to either alter the asteroid (and its fragments) course or destroy the incoming space rock.
However, where nuclear bombs fail, space tractors may prevail.
(Washington Post) NASA astronaut and former University of Hawaii solar physicist Edward Lu is calling for a new spacecraft that would divert asteroids on a path to slam into Earth.
The small space tractor, costing between $200 million and $300 million, would hover near an asteroid to exert enough gravitational pull that the space rock’s orbit would change and a collision with our planet would be averted, Lu said before a crowd packed into a 300-capacity auditorium at the University of Hawaii-Manoa Monday night.
“We’re only trying to get a really tiny change in the velocity of the asteroid to prevent an impact,” he said.
Although it is not as spectacular as a nuclear detonation, a space tractor seems to have a greater chance at averting a serious asteroid strike. Lu research may come in handy as one asteroid, Apophis, is scheduled to approach Earth around the year 2029, and some scientists are concerned that its second trip in 2036 may hit our planet.
Hopefully one can be built in order to test Lu’s theory out, as this technology would not only benefit Earthlings, but future Martians, Lunatics Lunar colonists and other potential home worlds orbiting our star.
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A New Way To Be Human Via Androids?
Although colonizing the final frontier will definitely require a human presence, we may need the assistance of androids while conquering space.
(Space Daily) U.S. scientists say they plan to create a new class of technology designed to produce completely soft-bodied robots. Tufts University researchers say such robots — based on biological materials and the adaptive mechanisms found in living cells and organisms — could repair space stations, conduct safer surgical procedures and work in hazardous environments such as landmine fields.
Soft bodied robots could be quite helpful, especially on the Moon where a daily dose of x-rays could be harmful towards ones health. They could also may make our robotic friends more “user friendly” and they could be used to help mine dangerous areas of the lunar surface, as well as Mars.
But as long as they do not revolt against their human masters, then having a cybernetic companion in space may not be that bad. Unless it has six legs of course.
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Japan Getting Back Into The Space Game?
(Hat Tip: Space Law Probe)
After previously floundering around regarding its lunar approach, it looks like the land of the rising sun is doing some serious soul searching regarding its place in the universe space race.
(Daily Yomiuri Online) On the surface, Japan’s space development program appears to be going smoothly. In reality, however, it is barely holding together and lacks any real substance.
The Liberal Democratic Party hopes to significantly improve the situation by establishing what it calls the “Basic Space Law.” The legislation would call for a Space Strategy Headquarters to be set up and presided over by the government to promote comprehensive space-related policies.
Japan’s proposed basic law consists of three pillars which are:
- Reinforcing the nation’s security through the development and utilization of space.
- Promoting space-related research and development.
- Promoting the development of the space industry.
Although it is great that Japan is finally creating a vision for its space program, what the nation really needs to do is back up that vision with Yen (Japanese dollars), and lots of it.
Hopefully we will see a real initiative from Japan to colonize space, because if not then they will have to hitch hike a ride from India or (even worse) their Chinese rivals.
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Solar X-Rays Could Give Astronauts A Bad Tan
Future colonists may have more than space rocks to deal with while settling upon our lunar neighbor. As it turns out, the star that allows life on Earth to exist could also bring about an end of it on the Moon.
(New Scientist Space) Future lunar astronauts could be harmed by X-ray outbursts from the Sun that occur without warning and can deliver dangerous doses of radiation in just a few minutes, a new study says. The researchers suggest that lunar rovers be equipped with metal shields that astronauts could duck behind during such events. [...]The level of radiation they consider harmful is 0.1 Gray or more, which can cause bleeding ulcers and other internal damage, and would certainly increase an astronaut’s risk of cancer. The Sun has even produced flares that could kill an unprotected spacesuited human on the Moon, they say, although these are extremely rare.
Scientists should also recommend a way to insert shielding within the lunar suits as an extra measure of protection against a surprise x-ray burst. Future colonists should also consider building underground tunnels, allowing them to transport safely between colony outposts without fear of receiving an unfriendly sun burn.
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Melting Lunar Dust Could Save Your Lunar Life
As NASA plans to head for the Moon again, they are gathering scientists and engineers together in order to find solutions to dealing with the hazard of lunar dust.
(NPR.org) Larry Taylor has a lab devoted to moon dust at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. He’s discovered that it has some unusual properties. “For example, most of the lunar dust can be picked up with an ordinary magnet.”The fine grains contain tiny amounts of iron, so magnetic filters might be used to pull the dust out of the air.
That iron makes the dust behave in another strange way.
“If you put this lunar soil into a microwave oven, it will melt before your tea water boils,” Taylor says.
The melted dust hardens into a glassy blob. Taylor says that future astronauts could use microwaves to pave the lunar soil or make bricks for building.
The dust can be unhealthy as well as irritating as one astronaut, Harrison Schmitt (of Apollo 17) developed what he called “lunar-dust hay fever” after the nasty particles got inside their lunar module via tools and suits. The particles are so fine that breathing it in can be hazardous towards ones lungs.
By melting lunar dust down, NASA could be saving future colonists and space tourists serious health problems down the road, not to mention the annoyance of solar dust bunnies dancing everywhere.
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India's Baby Steps Towards Space Power Club
Despite its tiny budget for space programs, India seems to be a space power “in the making,” as the worlds largest democracy successfully launched a rocket on its own power (not to mention retrieving it as well).
(Reuters) The capsule was blasted into space as one of four payloads on January 10 from a launch pad 100 km (60 miles) north of the southern city of Chennai. It splashed down in the Bay of Bengal 11 days later, boosting plans for a lunar mission in 2008.
“(It) landed in the Bay of Bengal … as per schedule. The mission is a great success,” said A. Subramoniam, head of the team that designed and built the capsule at the Indian Space Research Organization.
“This mission is a stepping stone to design and build our very own reusable spacecraft, and eventually (carry out) manned missions into space, too,” he said.
Despite being tardy to the space race, India seems to be gaining momentum as it fine tunes its space program. Although their budget is somewhat limited, scientists and engineers are pushing to send one of their own to visit the stars, and perhaps walk on our lunar neighbor as well.
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A New Hope For Carbon Nanotubes?
Despite the promise of companies like LiftPort and Black Line Ascension producing a working space elevator, one major hurdle remains–building a ribbon out of perfect carbon nanotubes (CNT).
While engineering and nature have taught us that making a perfect CNT is impossible, we may be able to fashion a super strong CNT based on the design of natures sweetest treats.
(Space Elevator Journal) [...] Tsinghua University scientists Min Wang, Xinming Qiu, and Xiong Zhang released a paper (abstracted here on the Institute of Physics site) on their study modeling the Mechanical Properties of Super Honeycomb Structures Based on Carbon Nanotubes. Their report shows a super honeycomb network configuration of hexagonal patterns made from periodically repeating carbon nanotube Y junctions “increases the ductility of the nanomaterials” so that they not only keep the “renowned strength and elasticity” of straight nanotubes but have “great flexibility and outstanding capability” to transfer force to other parts of the structure when broken.
If this process could be “perfected,” honeycombed CNT’s could not only allow for a working space elevator to be built. This could potentially enable the ribbon to withstand uncertain decay from microscopic space rocks, aggressive oxygen in the atmosphere, and scraps of space junk from China’s ASAT test.
Note: Previously LiftPort announced a potential breakthrough regarding CNT technology. I wonder if the honeycomb design had anything to do with it?
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Colonize Mars Within 1,000 Years?
(Hat Tip: Space Scan)
Robert Zubrin, president of The Mars Society has developed a five step plan towards conquering the red planet and enabling humanity to establish a second home within the solar system.
(Popular Science) Why talk about building homes on Mars when we have problems on Earth like war, bird flu, AIDS and global warming? To the Mars enthusiast, these scourges simply count among the reasons to ditch this rock and head for the Red Planet.
Robert Zubrin, the founder of the Mars Society, likes to point out that Columbus encountered similar resistance from noobs when he pointed across the Atlantic. But Zubrin isn’t a seafarer—he’s a scientist, with calculations that say people could create an oxygen atmosphere on Mars in just over 1,000 years. Compare that with other scientists’ predictions of 20,000 or 100,000 years, and he might seem like he’s peddling interplanetary snake oil, but there’s no denying that his scheme for “terraforming” is thoroughly conceived.
Throughout his plan, Zubrin has proposed constructing mirrors around Mars as well as slamming asteroid upon its surface in order to warm the planet. Although these two methods are probably not financially sound ways of terraforming Mars (let alone reasonable) his third method may hold some hope for the red planet.
With evidence gleaned from our own global warming, scientists have a good idea of which emissions are best suited for climate change. Zubrin, among others, believes tetrafluoromethane (CF4) is the best gas for the global-warming job. [...]
Emitting 1,000 tons of gas an hour would raise the temperature by 50°F over 30 years. This could be done using 5,000 megawatts of energy—the output of five nuclear power plants (which would themselves run on solar power).
Zubrin outlines that if we could raise the Martian temperature by ten degree’s, Martian soil full of CO2 would then be released, giving future inhabitants ten percent of Earth’s current atmosphere pressure.
After about a century of pumping CO2 into the Martian skies, humanity will finally be able to emerge upon Martian soils without a space suit, with the current atmosphere pressure around 21 percent (with 20 percent being out of carbon dioxide).
Martian residents will be able to walk outside without spacesuits (though they’ll still need oxygen). Not only will this introduce the first interplanetary fashion trends, but the climate will be suitable for planting, flying planes, and building domed (these would be more efficient for oxygen management) cities.
Once the equator’s surface reached a constant temperature of 32° and up, Mars would have liquid water, and it would be time to start gardening.
Zubrin proposes that once Martian temperatures are above freezing, humans could begin planting simple organisms (like lichen) and bacteria in order to help seed the planet’s atmosphere with oxygen.
After a century of fun, Zubrin’s terraforming plans end with a millennium promise.
It’s all seemed so simple to this point-50 years to experience weather and then another 50 to walk outside in your new Martian threads. But it would take our little space gardens 1,000 years to produce enough oxygen for Martian colonists to breathe unassisted. During those 1,000 years, residents would have to continually plant and harvest, playing the role of Mother Nature to speed the conversion of the atmosphere from carbon dioxide to oxygen.
Although Zubrin has not factored in war, disease and Martian global storms delaying the terraforming project by another millennium, he must be given credit where credit is due as there are not many other scientists sketching out a hard core plan for settling on Mars.
Unfortunately the only thing Mars lacks that would make it worthwhile in colonizing could easily be summed up in one word–resources.
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Ion Space Ships To Power Lunar-Earth Flights?
In an age where chemical rockets rule on Earth and space, new technology could enable humanity to travel from the Moon to our home world, saving us money on the trip back to our our planet.
(New Scientist Space) Spacecraft could one day be propelled by ion beams shooting up from the Moon, according to a recent concept study.
Other spacecraft, such as Deep Space 1 and SMART-1, have flown with ion engines, which work by stripping electrons off gas atoms and accelerating the ions with an electric field. The ions create thrust as they are shot out of the engine. [...]
To catch the ion wind, each spacecraft would be equipped with one or more sails. In a passive version of the concept, the stream of ions – possibly xenon or argon – physically pushes against the sails. In an active version, the sail could be positively charged and repel the positively charged ions, giving extra thrust; or perhaps the charge on different sails could be altered to steer the spacecraft.
While the idea is a new approach towards human travel, scientists still have to figure out a way to keep the ion beams from repelling each other while being shot out. If successful however, ion transport could prove to be quite useful, as it would end up saving NASA and the alt-space community billions in hauling fuel to the lunar surface.
Note: This ion canon could (ironically) be used to power lifters on a lunar space elevator, if it could provide enough energy for thrust that is.
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Video: Mars Exploration Rover Mission
Editors Note: They say Mars is a planet full of possibility. They say Mars is humanities second home. While some are actively pursuing ways to colonize the red planet within our lifetime, Mars lacks the financial resources to inspire not only the business world, but the bureaucratic one as well.
After stumbling upon a scientists research several months ago, I am going to see if his discovery could be used to make Mars a planet worthy of our investment. Until then, (or rather next week) here is a video to keep the vision going.
Update (1/22): I think I’ve stumbled upon a snafu, but I’ll publish the article in the future and let the crowd decide whether it’s feasible or not.
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Europe To Partner With China
Despite the red dragon’s recent flexing of the muscles, Europe seems eager to partner with China for human space flight.
(Space Daily) “I would like very much to discuss this with our Chinese partners, if they make the proposal,” affirmed ESA chief Jean- Jacques Dordain in the annual press briefing when referring to the potential cooperation in space exploration between the two parties.
“At the moment, we have a lot of cooperation with China in other space exploration domains, but not yet in the field of manned flights,” indicated Dordain.
Europe has recently been seeking partners for human space flight, although they probably are desiring someone “less American” (note: no bitterness over here).
Europe has the funds for sending humans off world, while China has demonstrated that it has the technology. Hopefully Europe will begin to develop technology of its own fairly soon, as it would be rather boring for America, China and (possibly) Russia to colonize the Sol System.
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Could A Military Space Race Ruin It For Everyone?
(Hat Tip: LiftPort Staff Blog)
They say space is the final frontier. But with the current direction of our species, space might also become the violent frontier. With the latest testing of China’s satellite destroyer, the militarization of cosmos may be the fuel that drives the new space race.
(Aviation Now) U. S. intelligence agencies believe China performed a successful anti-satellite (asat) weapons test at more than 500 mi. altitude Jan. 11 destroying an aging Chinese weather satellite target with a kinetic kill vehicle launched on board a ballistic missile. [...]
Details emerging from space sources indicate that the Chinese Feng Yun 1C (FY-1C) polar orbit weather satellite launched in 1999 was attacked by an asat system launched from or near the Xichang Space Center.
The attack is believe to have occurred as the weather satellite flew at 530 mi. altitude 4 deg. west of Xichang located in Sichuan province. Xichang is a major Chinese space launch center.
Although the US and Canada are frowning on China’s latest test, this maneuver by China may be what our planet needs to re-inspire humanity to revisit the heavens above.
Despite the fact that many people will see this as another sign that the end of the world is near, there is nothing like death to motivate an individual to action, as well as a nation (something the previous cold war demonstrated).
Although peace is a powerful motivator for space, it sadly may not be able to sustain global interest for the long term. If China’s latest maneuver is a signal to the world they are an upcoming space power to be reckoned with, then the US will have to find innovative ways to transport her citizens to the moon–and beyond.
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Plasmoid Thrusters May Enable Interplanetary Travel
(Hat Tip: Space Scan)
With all of the difficulties of launching humanity into space, nothing compares to actually traveling through it. With cosmic radiation being a major threat towards us becoming a space faring species, the less time one spends traveling between worlds, the better off they may be.
Since chemical rockets are probably too slow (and too expensive) to ensure that we survive at the end of the journey, plasmoid thrusters may be able to provide the power (and hopefully the speed) for us to travel to Jupiter, Saturn and beyond.
(Phyorg.com) The Plasmoid Thruster Experiment (PTX) is a stepping stone to a highly efficient propulsion concept which could ultimately change how we travel in space, according to Dr. Jason Cassibry, a researcher in UAH’s Propulsion Research Center.
“Larger, more powerful versions can produce fusion for both power and space propulsion, allowing human travel to the outer planets,” he said. [...]
PTX works by ringing a single turn conical theta pinch coil at about 500 kHz, ionizing and accelerating a small quantity of gas. The magnetic field inside the coil creates a plasmoid, a plasma that has a closed magnetic field structure.
One of the biggest challenges in any electric propulsion concept is increasing the lifetime of the thruster, which must run continuously for several years for deep space missions. Most electric propulsion concepts use plasma, which is in contact with electrodes or acceleration grids, causing erosion of the components and limiting the lifetime of the thruster. The plasmoid thruster potentially has a much longer lifetime, because the plasma is formed inductively, which means that the plasma is not in contact with the thruster components.
If perfected, this technology could enable us to settle worlds as far as Neptune’s Triton and Pluto. Although these researchers still have a long way to go, this idea seems to be a lot brighter than hitch hiking on asteroids.
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Upcoming Carbon Nanotube Breakthrough Via LiftPort?
LiftPort, a company pioneering a new way for humanity to enter space (via space elevator) may be on the verge of a breakthrough within the carbon nanotube department.
(LiftPort Newsletter) As we’ve said before, we’re on the brink of breakthrough. Our nanotube furnace, the only one of it’s kind, is still being worked on by one of our research partners. It has, however, produced nanotubes, and we’re very excited.
Carbon nanotubes are perhaps the most vital element in constructing a space elevator, something many critics have countered to be impossible. Thus far, the longest carbon nanotube ever produced has been four centimeters, which is a far cry away from the 100,000 km needed for the space elevator to be realized.
Michael Laine from LiftPort has often proposed that carbon nanotube threads could be meshed together to form this ribbon (much like rope is is made up of many fibers). This would probably be a more realistic way of producing the lengthly ribbon (if not cheaper) and this may be the “breakthrough” that LiftPort is talking about.
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