Drilling For Water On Mars
Before we can actually establish a colony on the red planet, we first need to locate adequate supplies of water. If scientists are able to locate where possible sources of water lie on Mars (via new technology, rovers or telescopes) then it will be much easier to set up a colony on that dusty world.
But before humans are sent towards Mars, robots will have to do the dirty work first. And it looks like scientists are building one smart enough to handle the job.
(Red Orbit) NASA scientists plan to drill someday into the surface of Mars to look for water and signs of possible life. So, scientists are developing an automated, unmanned drill rig that can operate totally on its own, unsupervised for hours at a time. [...]An eight-person team, made up of scientists and engineers from NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., will set up drilling equipment that is a little taller than a human being, and sits in a footprint of about one square yard (one square meter).
Earth-based experiments will help scientists learn if synthetic brainpower is able to control a rig on Mars for many hours of drilling without human intervention. Future Mars missions with drills will likely have the ability to communicate with Earth only once or twice a day.
Since people will be unable to directly observe what is happening on Mars, scientists were forced to create an AI (or artificial intelligence) for the bot. Using lasers, vibration sensors and logic, this machine will be able to tell when to stop drilling, adjust and (hopefully) locate any problems that come along the way.
Called the Drilling Automation for Mars Exploration project (or DAME for short), this piece of technology will become very useful once we begin the first stages of colonizing Mars.
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Exploring Mars Via Minibot Balls?
Mars is a harsh world and sending rovers to understand is not only expensive, but fairly limiting. But engineers and scientists may have found a new way to explore the red planet by using mini bot balls to scour the Martian surface.
(Universe Today) MIT engineers and scientist colleagues have a new vision for the future of Mars exploration: a swarm of probes, each the size of a baseball, spreading out across the planet in every direction.Thousands of probes, powered by fuel cells, could cover a vast area now beyond the reach of today’s rovers, including exploring remote and rocky terrain that large rovers cannot navigate. [...]
Scientists believe that lava tubes commonly seen on Mars are a promising location to search for signs of water. Lava tubes are tunnels left behind by underground lava flows. Signs of these tubes, which are also present in many locations on Earth, can be seen above ground.
Although observing the red planet through rovers is fine, what scientists need to do is locate water on the Martian surface. Despite being the focus of NASA and other space agencies for years, Mars desperately lacks resources for the human race.
These balls may be able to locate resources in hidden locations, since they are more expendable than a multi-million dollar rover.
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Martian Moons As Future Space Stations?
Update: Incorporated sources within post and edited text for clarity.
(Note: Published on Blog Critics)
Mars is a world that has captivated the minds of humanity for thousands of years. While it is not known whether or not this world harbors any resources, this rusty world, after the Moon, will probably become humanities first test on whether or not we can survive off world.
But before humanity can conquer the red planet, they need a cost effective way to transport food, passengers and supplies towards its surface. Hosting as well as launching large shuttles on the planets surface may become burdensome and expensive, especially when one considers the effect of red dust upon mechanical devices.
What Martian colonists need is an inexpensive way to transport goods from the surface to space, and what better way could they obtain this than by turning the Martian moons into space stations?
The Martian moons Phobos and Deimos orbit about 6,000 and 14,500 miles from the surface, respectively, and would lie within easy reach for smaller space craft (especially with Martian gravity being only 38 percent of Earth’s).
Although launch pads hosting large rockets may look appealing on Earth, they would probably be considered a waste on the red planet. Launch pads hosting large rockets would not only have to be constantly cleaned of the red dust, but be enclosed within a powerful warehouse capable of surviving Martian tornadoes. It would be much easier to host smaller shuttle craft that could “ron de vue” with a larger ship via a space station than launching these massive vessels from the surface.
Despite being composed of carbonaceous rock, the orbital periods of the moons make them prime real estate. Phobos orbits Mars about every 7 1/2 hours while Deimos is just over 30, making them accessible (at least with Phobos) several times a day. If constructed properly, larger ships could simply dock near or inside the asteroids and simply await smaller shuttles to transport the necessary goods or passengers to and from the planet.
Also the lunar asteroids close proximity towards their parent world would give them a bird’s eye view of any storms that may potentially delay a launch or prevent a landing on the crimson planet.
Last but not least, by altering the barren asteroids into technological habitats, it would provide a way for Mars to process any metals or minerals harvested from the asteroid belt before being transported to the surface below. This would probably not only reduce costs but also enable them to manufacture stronger materials as well (since it is being done in micro gravity).
After the moon, colonizing Mars will be humanities first taste of conquering another world. But unlike the Moon, future Martian colonists will be unable to depend upon resources in great demand in order to finance their stay on the red planet. Keeping costs down while thriving on Mars will be in the best interests of humanity, and transforming both Phobos as well as Deimos into space stations may aid in that regard.
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New Way To Locate Earth-like Worlds
One of the reasons it is hard for us to spot Earth-like worlds is because of the brightness of their parent star. A new technique with current technology may find a way of eliminating that brightness and allow us glimpse worlds beyond our solar system.
(MSNBC) A thin plastic “starshade” shaped like a giant daisy flower could one day help astronomers observe faraway planets by blocking out unwanted light from their parent stars, a new study reports.
When telescopes point to a distant planet, the small amount of light reflected by the planet is overshadowed by the light from its parent star, making it especially difficult to be seen. [...]
One way to tackle this problem is to place a shield, known to Sun-watchers as a coronagraph, inside the telescope. In this way, astronomers block out the main light from our own favorite star, providing a view of the environment around it.
If we are able to locate star systems harboring worlds that are favorable, not only would this encourage humanity to explore the stars, but we would have an idea of which direction to head towards in the first place.
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Magnetic Sled Hurling Objects Into Space?
With all of the talk of Space Elevators and rocket ships blasting humanity into space, it looks as if someone has found a new way to send objects into orbit–via a magnetic sled.
(New Scientist Space) IT SOUNDS more like a roller coaster than a spacecraft launcher: a levitating sled that whirls around a giant magnetic ring at ever increasing speeds before shooting up into the sky. [...]
LaunchPoint, which is being funded by the US air force, claims a circular accelerator could allow the magnetically levitating sled to progressively build up speed over a period of hours. It would then be launched up a ramp at 10 kilometres per second, firing it into orbit.
Before anyone writes this off as “another silly space idea,” they should remember the same thing was probably said of launching satellites into orbit before Sputnik, landing on the moon and (in the future) the Space Elevator. This new method has the potential to seriously reduce the cost of launching satellites (and hopefully space shuttles) into orbit.
(via LaunchPoint’s Site) How revolutionary would a Maglev space launch system be? Consider that the first magnetic launch systems are expected to propel payloads into orbit at a cost of roughly $750 / lb, already a significant improvement over the current rocket-launched cost of around $4,000 / lb. Now realize that the total cost to orbit might eventually drop below $100 / lb, and it soon becomes clear how vitally important this technology is to the future of space.
LaunchPoint has already been awarded a $100,000 from the US Department of Defense Small Business Technology Transfer Program, and so far this new piece of technology looks promising. Unfortunately the site does not have a weblog in order for space junkies to keep up with what is happening at the company, but for now email subscriptions will suffice.
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Rough Camping Out On Lunar World
Going back on the moon will be no easy task for future astronauts. Aside from dealing with a variety of tasks and experiments that NASA (or other nations) will give them, it appears that living quarters may be a little tight as well.
(Red Orbit) The space agency’s plans call for the initial shelters to be cramped quarters within lunar landers, similar to the bare-bones enclosures that housed Apollo astronauts during six visits to the moon between 1969 and 1972. [...]“The best analogy we have come up with is that you would be evolving from a camping trip, at least on the short initial missions, to basically a recreational vehicle,” NASA’s Larry Toups said of the envisioned shelters.
“The RV would be something that you could check into and possibly evolve into something larger,” said Toups, head of the lunar habitation planning team.
It seems that priority (area wise) will be given towards the equipment, such as air locks and their working stations, not to mention housing the dusty space suit every time they venture out. NASA will probably also examine how the dust affects their health, as the fine particles can be hazardous to the lungs over time.
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Mexico Headed Into Space
It looks as if our Hispanic brethren are going to consider heading towards the stars along with their American neighbors and the Canadians from the great white north.
(MSNBC) They may be light years away from fulfilling their dream, but Mexican lawmakers are preparing to launch a national space agency they hope could one day stand tall beside the United States’ NASA. [...]
With an initial budget proposal of less than $2 million, the backers of the Mexican Space Agency say it would struggle to challenge its northern neighbor’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, but hope it would draw Mexico into the international space community, bringing access to cutting-edge technology and research.
Mexican lawmakers still need to pass the bill in order to create this agency, but its addition would not only aid the nation technologically but also economically as well (after all, launching satellites should be cheaper down there).
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Mars Trip Safer With Antimatter Ships?
If humanity is to conquer the red planet, they need to be able to cross the gulf of space as quickly as possible. Otherwise future colonists may suffer from health problems such as bone loss and muscle fatigue when en route towards Mars.
However, if a future antimatter engine can be built, then those future threats could be eliminated, if not at least reduced.
(Red Orbit) Antimatter is sometimes called the mirror image of normal matter because while it looks just like ordinary matter, some properties are reversed. For example, normal electrons, the familiar particles that carry electric current in everything from cell phones to plasma TVs, have a negative electric charge. Anti-electrons have a positive charge, so scientists dubbed them “positrons”.
When antimatter meets matter, both annihilate in a flash of energy. This complete conversion to energy is what makes antimatter so powerful. Even the nuclear reactions that power atomic bombs come in a distant second, with only about three percent of their mass converted to energy.
Unlike the nuclear powered space craft, a “positron” powered ship would be safer and more efficient. Many scientists have opted towards a nuclear powered craft in order to reduce time while in flight. However, reactors can be complex and a slight error could spell doom for all on board–especially during a launch.
(Red Orbit) If a rocket carrying a nuclear reactor explodes, it could release radioactive particles into the atmosphere. “Our positron spacecraft would release a flash of gamma-rays if it exploded, but the gamma rays would be gone in an instant. There would be no radioactive particles to drift on the wind. The flash would also be confined to a relatively small area.
The danger zone would be about a kilometer (about a half-mile) around the spacecraft. An ordinary large chemically-powered rocket has a danger zone of about the same size, due to the big fireball that would result from its explosion,” said Smith.
Currently the price for assembling 10 milligrams of anti-matter is around $250 million. This price could be reduced through research as well as technology, and is probably less expensive than chemical rockets which cost around $10,000 per pound.
This would probably be easier to develop than a safe nuclear reactor and may be a preferable choice amongst astronauts–since no one probably enjoys riding with a nuclear device strapped to their back.
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Bush, Space, And Useless Whining
Apparently some space scientists upset about the President’s vision for launching humanity off this rock and onto it’s lunar neighbor. With NASA focusing on putting humanity back on the moon permanently, scientists are complaining that their toes have already been stepped on–in other words, their projects cut.
(MSNBC) The Bush administration’s focus on big, expensive space missions is starving budgets for some of NASA’s most productive small-scale science programs, astronomers told the U.S. Congress on Thursday.
“The 2007 budget is tilted to an unhealthy extent to large missions,” said Joseph Taylor, who helped craft a 10-year survey for astrophysics.
Taylor argues that by focusing on larger projects and cutting others, NASA is losing talent in an already shrinking pool of scientists employed by the agency.
Although a noble defense of the smaller projects, the truth is that unless we are able to establish colonies off world, observing the Universe from afar will not contribute much towards the advancement of our species.
Despite the increase of the budget that NASA received from the President (up to $16.8 billion) NASA is unable to perform all of the former duties before Bush gave them direction. One only has to look at the latest folly being suggested for the ISS to realize how aimless our agency has become when exploring the final frontier.
This new vision by Bush does not in any way diminish the importance of the other programs (such as the search for extra terrestrial life and Earth like worlds). But unless we are able to leave this earthen cradle behind, then those programs will be of no major benefit for the human race.
NASA’s pockets are not as deep as the Pentagon’s, and unless some sacrifices are made. Otherwise humanity will be forever gazing at the stars and visiting these planets via Star Trek instead of viewing them in person.
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Noah's Ark On The Moon?
With the discovery of certain resources on the moon, humanity is on the verge of escaping its earthen cradle and settling on its lunar neighbor. But should our species build a “genetic black box” in order to preserve life on Earth against uncertain catastophes?
(Astrobiology Magazine) if we have a laboratory where we can maintain a DNA bank and a pool of species, creating a modern Noah’s Ark, then we can potentially recover from such catastrophes.
I think the moon could be used as such a repository in case there is ever a global disaster on Earth. As a lifeboat, the moon is a lot closer than Mars. Plus, we don’t know yet if there is life on Mars, and we have to figure that out before we do any life experiments there.
Establishing a DNA Bank on the lunar surface is a noble idea, but unless one can turn those DNA extracts into organism’s, it is a useless one.
The essence of life is still beyond our scientific knowledge, and in order for a DNA Bank to be successful, live animals would have to be shipped to the lunar surface.
(Astrobiology Magazine) We would need to have more than just a DNA bank on the moon, because we have learned from biology that life is more than the expression of information coded in DNA. We need to have some living organisms to really express the full range of life. So our lunar lifeboat would need to have a facility to grow plants and microorganisms, and, for more advanced life forms, to incubate eggs and develop embryos.
Establishing a biosphere to house animals on the lunar surface is a noble idea, but one that may ultimately fail. Unlike its more lively neighbor, the moon lacks a magnetic field, a critical element needed to shield against the suns radiation.
If one could be built and maintained it may be a deciding factor between lunar survival and the extinction of a future colony.
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Volcano Telescope?
It looks as if the United States and its southern neighbor Mexico are about to partner in order to build a massive telescope ontop of a volcano. Although Mexico is grateful for the financial partnership, they do not appreciate the source of funding.
(Red Orbit) [T]he fact that most of the U.S. funding comes from the Defense Department has worried some Mexicans who are leery of any military connections with their powerful northern neighbor.
“We want Mexico to be in the vanguard of scientific advance, but it would be better if all the money came from non-military sources,” said Rosa Maria Aviles, a federal lawmaker on the lower house of Congress’ Science and Technology Committee. “We are a pacifist nation.”
The Pentagon often funds scientific projects in order to reap the benefits that these endeavors produce. The telescope will cost an estimated $120 million and be constructed 15,000 feet ontop of the Sierra Negra within the central state of Puebla.
(Red Orbit) “We will get incredible new insight into how galaxies were first formed,” said project scientist David Hughes of Mexico’s National Astrophysics Optics and Electronics Institute. “Once we start operating, we should be making breakthrough discoveries on an almost daily basis.”Scientists also will be able to collect new data on nearer galaxies such as Andromeda and examine all its stars and planets to see what may lurk there.
Hopefully this telescope can be used to not only view the stars that orbit other galaxies, but also be able to locate possible worlds for colonization for the human race.
Note: Ironically, building this telescope at such an height has caused some “issues,” as villagers employed by the government had trouble bringing up the needed materials in their vehicles to construct the project. They reportably had to switch to using mules, an animal bred for that altitude.
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Asteroid Mining Part Of Space Economy
Although seen by many as hazardous rocks orbiting our star system, asteroids may be more profitable than most people think.
(Space.com) Spectroscopic studies suggest, and ‘ground-truth’ chemical assays of meteorites confirm, that a wide range of resources are present in asteroids and comets, including nickel-iron metal, silicate minerals, semiconductor and platinum group metals, water, bituminous hydrocarbons, and trapped or frozen gases including carbon dioxide and ammonia.As one startling pointer to the unexpected riches in asteroids, many stony and stony-iron meteorites contain Platinum Group Metals at grades of up to 100 ppm (or 100 grams per ton).
Operating open pit platinum and gold mines in South Africa and elsewhere mine ores of grade 5 to 10 ppm, so grades of 10 to 20 times higher would be regarded as spectacular if available in quantity, on Earth.
Although the general population of the human race will reside on terrestrial worlds (such as the Moon, Mars, Europe, etc.), many colonists may find themselves employed by mining operations harvesting these solar rocks.
Mining asteroids may not only be more practical, but it may also prove to be more economical as well.
(Space.com) Since the competing source of raw materials is “delivery by launch from Earth,” which imposes a launch cost per kilogram presently above $10,000 per kg, this same figure represents the upper bound of what recovered asteroidal material would be presently worth in low earth orbit.Future large scale economic activity in orbit is unlikely to develop however until launch cost drops to something in the range $500 to $1,000 per kilogram to LEO. [...]
Note that the asteroidal materials we are talking about are, simply, water, nickel-iron metal, hydrocarbons, and silicate rock. Purified, and made available in low earth orbit, they will be worth something like $500,000 per ton, by virtue of having avoided terrestrial gravity’s “launch cost levy.”
Initially launching operations to harvest the space boulders will be costly, and of course the rubble gathered from the mining operations will have to be filtered “for goodies.”
However, in the long term, seizing upon this initiative will enable humanity to obtain a wealth of mineral resources. This will aid in building future colony bases, star ships, as well as space stations inexpensively, allowing a future space economy to develop and flourish.
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Can Humanity Colonize Binary Systems?
Despite recent observations of the universe have revealed that most stars are single, humanity may have to prepare to colonize worlds with multiple star systems.
(Planet Quest) Principal investigator Deepak Raghavan, a doctoral student at Georgia State University, sifted data on 131 extrasolar planetary systems over a two-year period and confirmed that 26 of those systems were binary, or two-star systems. Three others were found to be trinary, or triple-star systems.
Although our species has not had the chance to colonize distant star systems, we may have to prepare for the possibility of colonizing worlds a bit more hostile than our own. But hopefully we can find worlds that are more suitable, even if they orbit a binary system.
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Alien TV, Anyone?
It appears that the Europeans are planning on funding the design for the worlds largest telescope. This telescope will not only be powerful, but it will be able to pick up any alien television stations on nearby stars.
(Spaceref.com) The “Square Kilometre Array” (SKA) will be an international radio telescope with a collecting area of one million square metres — equivalent to about 200 football pitches [...] Such a telescope would be so sensitive that it could detect TV Broadcasts coming from the nearest stars.
Although remarkably large this future telescope has the potential of revealing one of the Universes biggest secrets–and potentially disproving Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.
(Spaceref.com) The final design will enable the SKA to probe the cosmos in unprecedented detail, answering fundamental questions about the Universe, such as “what is dark energy?” and “how did the structure we see in galaxies today actually form?”.The new telescope will test Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity to the limit — and perhaps prove it wrong.
The telescope will not be built until 2020, although Italy may have built a telescope on the moon by that time period. Some may see this as a “waste of time” but the purpose of telescopes is not only to gaze at the stars but also find another world to colonize.
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A Living Ship?
(Hat Tip: Space News Blog)
Orbital Shuttles often face the extremes of outerspace. Floating in a region where temperatures can change from hundreds of degrees above zero to below in an instant can be devastating over time as cracks can form, causing future havoc.
One scientist has come up with a proposal to resolve this issue, by using a technique he found demonstrated in nature.
(Physorg.com) “When we cut ourselves we don’t have to glue ourselves back together, instead we have a self-healing mechanism. Our blood hardens to form a protective seal for new skin to form underneath,” says Dr Christopher Semprimoschnig, a materials scientist at ESA’s European Space Technology Research Centre (ESTEC) in the Netherlands, who oversaw the study. [...]He and the team at Bristol did it by replacing a few percent of the fibres running through a resinous composite material, similar to that used to make spacecraft components, with hollow fibres containing adhesive materials. Ironically, to make the material self-repairable, the hollow fibres had to be made of an easily breakable substance: glass.
Basically whenever the “skin” of the ship is damaged, the fibers are suppose to break open releasing the liquids sealing the crack within. This would allow astronaut’s to not only travel through the vast emptiness of space between planets, but also the asteroid belt as well.
Other uses could be applied towards the future Martian colonies (as the wind storms can be hazardous for any future residents). This technology is at least a decade away, but hopefully humanity will see experimentation not only on shuttle craft, but also upon the moon.
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Italy Building Lunar Telescope?
(Hat Tip: Out of the Cradle)
Perhaps Italy will cement themselves in solar history after all.
(ANSA) Italy plans to build a large telescope on the moon that will expand knowledge of the moon, Earth and the universe.
The telescope will be built by robots and positioned in a lunar crater to give a new perspective on the Earth, said the head of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), Sergio Vetrella.
Unlike Earth telescopes which have to cope with atmospheric influences and city lights, this telescope will be able to get a clear view of the universal sky. The project will cost about 150 million Euros and 15 years to construct.
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Mission To Mars By 2030
(Hat Tip: Mars News)
Hopefully these astronauts will be able to determine not only is Martian habitation possible, but also that going there would be the best use of human resources.
(The Daily Yomiuri) The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration plans to send six astronauts on a 500-day mission to Mars, according to its final draft report on the Mars exploration program. [...]
The human mission to Mars is planned to take 2-1/2 years for the round-trip and will comprise three sets of vehicles.
Following President Bush’s space mandate, NASA is planning on sending two unmanned rockets two years before it launches the astronauts towards the red planet. The rockets will carry habitation modules, as well as other equipment, within an eight month time frame.
A transport ship carrying the six member crew will follow, and their journey is expected to be at least six months.
(The Daily Yomiuri) On the surface, the crew will first conduct a short test to determine whether it is possible to stay for an extended period.
When this test is completed, and the astronauts are acclimatized to the environment, they will transfer to a long-stay habitat module where they will live for about 500 days. [...]
The project has also been designed to minimize the exposure of the crew to deep-space radiation and the zero-gravity environment.
While on the surface, the crew will probably be able to answer a number of questions, whether Martian dust fatal towards human flesh, or is the dust hazardous towards mechanical life.
If Mars is found to be fairly habitable, then the next quest will be to search for resources in order to stimulate its sister world (i.e. Earth) to migrate millions of miles away across space.
After all, if humanity is going to colonize the Solar System, they are going to need a pay check in order to motivate the masses.
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Could Hyperspace Become A Reality?
(Hat Tip: Mars News)
A hypothetical engine based upon a controversial theory could enable humanity to travel to the stars–and beyond.
(Scotsman.com News) The theoretical engine works by creating an intense magnetic field that, according to ideas first developed by the late scientist Burkhard Heim in the 1950s, would produce a gravitational field and result in thrust for a spacecraft.
Also, if a large enough magnetic field was created, the craft would slip into a different dimension, where the speed of light is faster, allowing incredible speeds to be reached. Switching off the magnetic field would result in the engine reappearing in our current dimension.
If this theory is proven to be sound, a trip to Mars could be reduced to about three hours as well as a journey to a star 11 light years way could take place within 80 days. The US Air force along with the Department of Energy have expressed interest in this new theory, with the latter having the tools able to create the magnetic field for this new “warp engine.”
(Scotsman.com News) “It would be amazing. I have been working on propulsion systems for quite a while and it would be the most amazing thing. The benefits would be almost unlimited,” [Professor Jochem Hauser a physicist at the Applied Sciences University in Salzgitter, Germany, and a former chief of aerodynamics at the European Space Agency] said.
“But this thing is not around the corner; we first have to prove the basic science is correct and there are quite a few physicists who have a different opinion.
“It’s our job to prove we are right and we are working on that.”
Dramatically shortening the time period of space travel is critical if humanity is ever going to populate the neighboring star system. Such a feat would ensure the survival of the species, as a super nova could wipe out our entire race, regardless of how many worlds we colonized.
If engines like these can be completed in the next several decades, colonizing worlds as far way as Pluto (and even farther) will not be a question of “how,” but of “when.” If proven to be cost effective and feasible within two decades, we may find our children viewing worlds we only dreamed of viewing through a telescope.
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Establish First Contact (& Subscribe)
Love of Lunar
Martian Delights
Interplanetary Essays
