Belated: Solar Rods For Mars?
(Image Credit: Solyndra)
Whether or not you believe the future of humanity lies upon the red planet one thing is clear–traditional solar panels are not a practical option for energy.
Since Mars receives approximately half of the solar energy that Earth does, future outposts will probably require a lot more panels than a regular outpost on the Moon. Worse, Martian winds could easily rip solar panels off of future outposts, a common problem on Earth.
Instead of relying upon expensive, silicon solar panels that may become easily damaged, future colonists may opt for something a little bit rounder (and less expensive).
(Solyndra) Solyndra’s panels employ cylindrical modules which capture sunlight across a 360-degree photovoltaic surface capable of converting direct, diffuse and reflected sunlight into electricity. Solyndra’s panels perform optimally when mounted horizontally and packed closely together, thereby covering significantly more of the typically available roof area and producing more electricity per rooftop on an annual basis than a conventional panel installation. The result is significantly more solar electricity per rooftop per year.
The Solyndra system is lightweight and the panels allow wind to blow through them. These factors enable the installation of PV on a broader range of rooftops without anchoring or ballast, which are inherently problematic. The horizontal mounting and unique “air-flow” properties of Solyndra’s solar panel design substantially simplify the installation process for Solyndra’s PV systems. The ease of installation and simpler mounting hardware of the Solyndra system enables its customers to realize significant savings on installation costs.
While larger colonies will probably eventually rely upon solar thermal plants for energy (as the output is probably greater), smaller outposts may choose to rely upon these less expensive solar rods instead (as it will help drop the price tag of sending the first man and woman to the red planet).
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Electrical Shocks May Keep Muscles Strong In Micro Gravity
(Hat Tip: IsraGood, Image Credit: StimuHeal)
One of the major hurdles keeping humanity away from conquering the final frontier is gravity.
Without the constant pull from Earth (or another orbital body) our bones and muscles tend to deteriorate over time, which means that humanity will either have to construct large gravitational space stations (if in space), ingest special drugs (despite the side effects) or wear heavy gravity suits (if living on a less massive worlds like Callisto or Titan).
Now it looks like a much easier (and lighter) solution may be available as future colonists could simply wear a suit full of “electric shocks.”
(Israel 21st Century) An Israeli company believes it has the ultimate solution to keep your muscles strong, even when you are immobilized, and your bones broken. The six-year-old company StimuHeal has invented an electrical stimulation device – the MyoSpare – that sits under your cast, stimulating your muscles to stay strong, even when your biggest workout is switching the channels on the remote control. [...]
Using existing equipment on the market, StimuHeal identified the technical and clinical limitations of activating the muscles underneath casts using Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES), a well-recognized tool in the American healthcare system.
If electrodes were to be inserted under the cast, the company recognized, prolonged sweating would be a problem. They also had to develop the perfect stimulation regime so the lactic acid and CO2 wouldn’t build up in the muscles, causing pain and discomfort. StimuHeal solved this by developing a microprocessor that calculates a cycle for the muscles to rest.
If this technology could be perfected, then future colonists would be able to not only thrive upon smaller worlds (with weaker gravity), but also be able to survive long journeys aboard star ships without the need for orbital mechanics.
While a practical solution still needs to be developed for bones, its good to see a potential one exist for the many muscles that make up the human body.
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Awesome: Japan May Commit $10 Billion Towards Space Elevator
(Hat Tip: Space Travel)
With both the US and China relying upon rockets to secure their solar future beyond the heavens, it looks as if the nation of the rising sun is placing its bets on the space elevator.
(RIA Novosti) Japanese engineers intend to build an elevator to deliver cargo into space. Japanese authorities are prepared to allocate $10 billion for the project.
The space elevator is expected to cut the cost of delivering cargo into space and is considered one of the most ambitious projects of the 21st century. The Japanese plan to unveil a schedule for the elevator’s assembly and commissioning this November.
While the space elevator has its share of engineering problems, its successful construction would pretty much guarentee Japan’s space dominance over its rivals, as Japan would be able to launch cargo at much lower prices than either China or the US could via rockets.
A space elevator would enable Japan to establish large colonies fairly quickly on both the Moon and Mars–not to mention help the nation generate billions of Yen by renting it out to half the planet.
Note: The first Japanese Space Elevator conference is coming up, so be sure to check out the Space Elevator Blog for highlights from Tokyo!
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Victory!!! SpaceX Falcon 1 Launch A Success! (Video)
(Hat Tip: Space Transport News )
After three previous launches that ended prematurely, it looks as if SpaceX has finally launched their Falcon 1 rocket, setting a stage for NewSpace (aka the private space sector) and more importantly humanity.
Here is a link (windows media player) to the video for those of you who might have missed the launch. an image of the Falcon rocket at liftoff.
Here is a video of the launch (hat tip: Space Transport News).
Note: Space Transport News has more!
Update: Some are saying that the video is linking to the second launch. I will see if I can hunt down a video towards the fourth launch (as SpaceX has yet to post an official video of the launch an official video of the launch in their gallery section).
Update 2: Clark via Space Transport News has found a video of the launch via YouTube! 
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Belated: China Gets A New Spacesuit
(Hat Tip: Space Fellowship)
After previously cozying up to their new Russian allies, it looks as if the Asian super power is now designing their own spacesuits–in house.
(RIA Novosti) Chinese spaceflight research specialists have presented a new domestically created spacesuit to be used in spacewalks by the country’s astronauts, the China Daily said Thursday. [...]
“The extravehicular spacesuit is now on board the Shenzhou VII at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center,” the article said.
This is good to see, as it will make China more independent instead of having to rely upon Russia for assistance.
Unfortunately this news will probably not make Japan happy, who seems to be currently focused on satellites–both around the moon and beaming solar power upon Earth.
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Instant Roads (On Luna And Mars)
(Hat Tip: IsraGood)
As any government official can tell you, creating and maintaining roads in a community can be quite expensive.
The problem only becomes much worse when one considers creating them off world, especially if humanity decides to build thriving colonies. These future space settlements will need a dependable transportation system in order to move goods around their respective globes.
While some have suggested that the easiest way to get around this is by constructing an off world railroad system, it may be easier to simply create instant roads instead (thanks in part to Professional Reinforcement Solutions).
(Israel 21st Century) Invented by the US military in the 70s, the continued innovation behind PRS’s soil stabilization honeycombs is very much Israeli. Now used as a soil stabilizer in Siberia to help truckers get to isolated tracts of land, or in landscaping to prevent soil erosion, the high-tech honeycombed sheets, called the Neoweb Cellular Confinement System is “beyond clean technology,” says Yitzchak Schary, documentation manager for Tel Aviv-based PRS.
Schary, who’s consulted for Israel’s Environmental Protection Ministry on Sustainable Development, speaks with ISRAEL21c about the innovation. Represented in 40 countries, the company’s product is “actually low-tech, high tech and cleantech all in one,” he says. “Although the product is fairly dry, it’s a soil stabilization solution for civil engineering projects, and inherently sustainable.”
Developed as an advanced polymer, Neoweb can be laid out on land, and then filled with local soil, or recycled materials to form a road, or as infrastructure for landscape architects.
Although adaptations will obviously have to be made to adapt this technology towards the vacuum of space and Martian weather, the technique behind it could be duplicated on both Luna (aka the Moon) and the red planet.
Colonists can use these “honey combs” to create and maintain roads inexpensively, which will help reduce the overall cost of building large settlements off world.
As far as the Moon goes, they could then melt down the top layer via microwaves in order to insure that rovers do not kick up too much lunar dust into the vacuum of space (which could become a hassle for travelers behind them).
While acquiring soil on Mars should be relatively easy (thanks in part to its thin atmosphere), Moon settlers will probably have to use lunar vacuum cleaners or soil acquired from innovative “air” drilling in order to help create various highways for rovers to travel upon.
This will enable outposts located at various locations around both the Moon and Mars to remain interconnected with each other, allowing them to thrive thousands (or millions) of kilometers away from Earth (without the sense of feeling isolated from the rest of the global community).
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Drilling Lunar Holes With Gas?
(Image: Illustration showing lunar rover carrying lunar dirt “sucked up” by pneumatic digger towards storage tower (for later use). Credit: DigitalSpace / Jeroen Lapre)
Its not until one leaves our blessed home world that one realizes how hard it is to live lunar side.
Without an atmosphere settlers will be unable to drill beneath the surface (due to friction between lunar rocks and drill bits), and unless one has an endless supply of labor using shovels and pick axes may take too long.
Despite the difficulty, one company has approached the problem from a different angle, choosing to use gas to drill lunar holes instead of striking the surface with metal.
(Space.com) In detail, this so-called pneumatic excavation mechanism involves gas pumped into the ground through a thin tube encased by a wider hose. When the gas escapes, carrying along material from the ground, it travels up through the hose to a storage container.
“It’s kind of like a vacuum cleaner, but the reverse,” Zacny said. Instead of using suction, the machine injects gas down to draw material up.
The contraption weighs a lot less than conventional digging tools, though it begs the question: Where will future moon-dwellers get the gas needed to operate the machine?
In the article Zacny suggests using either CO2 from astronauts nostrils or exhaust from the left over fuel (of the lander) in order to acquire the gas they need.
After “sucking up” enough dust, future colonists could simply convert the lunar regolith into oxygen, as well as sift the soil for metals, minerals and helium-3.
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A New Hope: Nanosail-D May Launch Again
(Hat Tip: Space Transport News, Image Credit: John Ballentine)
While many will acknowledge SpaceX’s third launch failure as a setback for the private space sector (aka NewSpace), many may not realize that it was also a setback for the “deep space” community as one of the passengers on board was the Nanosail-D satellite (a solar sail prototype).
Despite the tragic loss, it looks as though another solar sail is available for launch–provided that they can secure a rocket to send them beyond the sky.
(Centauri Dreams) Greg’s recent phone call may not have been as dramatic as that scene in Contact, but he was able to tell me that although NanoSail-D did perish in the SpaceX Falcon explosion, there is a second sail. Marshall Space Flight Center built two. So now we’re in the energizing position of having a second chance at a sail deployment in space, and it could be done soon via the next Falcon launch, if SpaceX will cooperate in the enterprise.
Hopefully SpaceX will be kind enough to consider adding NanoSail’s “surviving twin” on the next rocket, as it will help scientists and engineers study how a solar sail reacts “in the wild” (not to mention give SpaceX something to boast about to the ever skeptical media).
Even though the solar sail have the potential of helping humanity visit other star systems, they could also shorten the amount of time it would take to reach lunar moons around the gas giants (not to mention the Kuiper Belt as well).
This would enable future colonies on Callisto, Ganymede, Titan and Neptune’s Triton to flourish, as solar sails could be used to speedily transport goods between these distant worlds.
Update: Added “hat tip.”
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Barbecue Toilets (For Future Lunar Bases?)
(Hat Tip: Gizmodo, Image Credit: )
Contrary to popular opinion, the first lunar bases on the Moon may not have that much space. Even though we often imagine large inflatable outposts, the first lunar settlements may be nothing more than “hi-tech mobile homes,” giving astronauts the bare essentials to survive on that barren world.
Whether one intends to stay for one month or six, the Moon’s future inhabitants are going to produce a lot of “number two’s” (note: and by that this author does not mean second in command).
Instead of attempting to recycle them for fertilizer, humanity may be better off by “baking” their waste into dust and ashes.
(OC Register) The EcoJohn Sr. is a waterless, incinerating toilet certified for safety by Underwriters Laboratories, which initially compared it to a barbecue during the certification process. It’s officially classified as a gas-fired toilet. [...]
After a user does his business, he closes the lid and a large, screw-like auger turns and carries the waste to the burn chamber where the propane burner then bakes urine, feces and paper into ashes.
“With this, if you have a family of four for a year and half, you get about a cup of white ash,” company president Frank Jacobsonsaid. “And because it’s burnt so intensely, you can take it and put it in a flower bed or outside or just dump it in the trash can. It’s completely biodegradable, so there’s not a problem for disposal.”
With water already being scarce on the Moon, the last thing astronauts want to use this liquid gold for is flushing their byproducts elsewhere. Instead, future lunar settlers (and perhaps even deep space craft) could consider using these units, as it would help NASA (and others) save on installing some serious plumbing.
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Martian Desalination Factories: Providing Clean Water And Iron?
Whether or not Mars held oceans on its surface in the past, one thing is clear–there is a lot of water on the red planet. Despite most of it being frozen, future astronauts will probably have to filter the Martian water in order to be able to drink it safely.
Even though Mars has an abundance of water (not to mention soil that may be able to grow Asparagus), the planet lacks major known resources of any kind–especially in the “metal department.”
While some may suggest future colonists scour the crimson world in search of resources (or import them from the asteroid belt), it may be better for future settlers to simply collect from the water they filtrate via desalination factories.
(Globes Online) A study by “Globes” found that that the Ashkelon desalination plant, produces 6,500 cubic meters of fresh water a day, and discharges iron into the Mediterranean as a byproduct. The 100-million cubit meter a year plant is owned by the VID consortium, VID is consortium of IDE Technologies Ltd. and Veolia Water SA. [...]
During the reverse osmosis desalination process, the facility removes iron from the seawater before it its pushed through the desalination membranes that produce fresh water. Ministry of Environmental Protection officials from the Coastal and Marine Division told “Globes” that they were unaware that the Ashkelon facility discharges this iron into the sea, in the form of “red water”, and that they were taken by surprise when they learned about it.
Although Israel’s desalination plants (or factories) will have to be improved in order to reduce (or hopefully eliminate) the iron being fed back into the oceans, these factories may have stumbled upon a unique way for future colonists to extract metals from Martian water.
Since Mars has plenty of rust within its soil, there is a good chance that a large percentage of that has mixed in with its water. While this is no guarantee that humanity would be able to turn “rust into iron,” these desalination factories might be able to extract some iron from the crimson planet’s “water supply.”
(Image Credit: House Renovation Tips)
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Will ARCA Become The Lunar FedEx Of The Future? (GLXP)
Last year, FedEx launched a humerous Superbowl commercial, joking about how the company was willing to service businesses located anywhere–even on the Moon.
Even though FedEx currently has no plans to service companies located off world, about 14 teams are determined to send their little robots across the lunar surface in order to claim the multimillion dollar prize offered by Google.
While many of the teams hope to secure the “purse prize,” in the hopes of attracting future investments (not to mention media attention), one contestant from Romania may find itself in a lucrative position of helping to send small packages inexpensively towards the lunar surface.
Although the Aeronautics and Cosmonautics Romanian Association’s (or ARCA) unique balloon-rocket-lander system will give them an advantage over the other teams competing in the Google Lunar X-Prize, it may also provide them with an opportunity to license their technology to packaging transportation services such as UPS, DHL and even FedEx.
After all, if NASA is going to establish lunar bases (not to mention China and Japan), then these companies may be interested in positioning themselves as the primary carrier for delivering Lunar packages.
(Image Credit: ARCA)
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Space Water: Using Algae, Bacteria To Warn If Drinking Is Dangerous
(Hat Tip: IsraGood, Twice, Image Credit: Nicky At Bar Ilan University)
Even though humanity is blessed with an abundance of water stretching from our Earthen homeworld to the frigid edges of our solar system, most of it is probably not safe enough to drink without some heavy filtering.
Since most of the water mined will probably be used to quench thirsty plants and trees, it may be wise to simply test the water samples for safety using bacteria and algae (in order to reduce cost).
(Israel 21st Century) Luminescent bacteria glow at night on the beaches in Costa Rica and the Mediterranean Sea. Now an Israeli start-up has developed a novel and economical solution that uses these unusual micro organisms to help keep drinking water clean and safe. [...]
When the bacteria are placed in drinking water that contains harmful chemicals, they glow a warning signal, which can be read by a machine measuring light intensity. [...]
“We can go out to the water source and test on the spot. You will know in 15 minutes – the time it takes for the bacteria and sensors to respond to any number of contaminants in the water. Our system detects them at low concentrations, and very quickly,” she explains.
This nifty technique from CheckLight could help future colonists tell whether water is healthy enough for their space crops, as well as for their families to drink.
While these microscopic “friends” would be useful in helping us identify whether space water is safe to consume, scientists may be able to use algae to help them determine what exactly is contaminating their H2O.
(Israel 21st Century) The groundbreaking development by scientists at Bar Ilan University’s Faculty of Life Sciences is based on measurements of the level of photosynthesis in aquatic plants and uses a special aquatic microphone to pick up sound waves. [...]
The researchers radiate a green laser beam on the aquatic plant. A plant that hasn’t realized its full photosynthesis potential will use part of the laser light, converting it into energy, with the rest being converted into heat. This heat causes the water to expand and therefore produce a change in pressure, which is actually a sound wave that can be picked up by a hydrophone – a special microphone designed for the water. [...]
A plant suffering from lead poisoning, discharged as waste into water sources from battery and paint manufacturing plants, will produce a different resonance to that of a plant suffering from lack of iron, or to that of a healthy plant.
Even though a few species of algae can already be used to help create bio-fuel (which will be useful for human powered rovers), future colonists may want to consider giving these slimy creatures a “second job,” as they could help us find ways to purify any toxins in the contaminated water (instead of just simply disposing the water).
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Solar Steam To Power Martian Cities? (Video)
(Hat tip: IsraGood)
With average tempreatures hovering around -63 degrees Celcius, future Martian colonists are going to have to find innovative ways of staying warm–not to mention power their (hopefully) growing communities.
Since it may be awhile before Earth may allow future Martians to have a nuclear power plant (due to political reasons), residents may have to rely on using “solar steam power” technology to keep the lights on–not to mention biospheres toasty.
Since Mars has plenty of ice water upon (or underneath) its surface, colonists should have no problem building massive solar power steam plants, which could enable cities to be powered inexpensively (decreasing dependence from Earth for fuel).
Even though this technology is promising, future settlers of Mars may want to consider a variety of alternative energy sources, ranging from hydrogen energy to “green” algae, to even turning future trash into power.
If successful, future Martian metropolises may end up being powered by green technology, providing an example to not only Earth, but future colony worlds as well.
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Now Or Never: Its Solar Sail Time!
(Image Credit: John Ballentine)
Whether by nuclear, chemical or magic (note: joking on the last item) humanity has used rockets to transport ourselves and our robotic friends across the solar system.
Even though rockets can get us off world in a hurry, they may not be too efficent when traveling around our own star system (not to mention reaching another one).
In order to help humanity receive the “extra thrust” necessary to conquer the final frontier, the Ames Research Center (of NASA) will be deploying the first solar sail to soar throughout the solar system.
(Physorg.com) Montgomery’s team and a team from Ames Research Center (led by Elwood Agasid) hope to make history this summer by deploying a solar sail called NanoSail-D. It will travel to space onboard a SpaceX Falcon 1 rocket, scheduled for launch from Omelek Island in the Pacific Ocean during a window extending from July 29th to August 6th (a back-up extends from August 29th to September 5th). [...]
“It’s not so much about how far a sail will go compared to a rocket; the key is how fast,” says Montgomery. “The Voyagers have escaped the solar system, and they were sent by rockets, but it’s taken more than three decades to do it. A sail launched today would probably catch up with them in a single decade. Sails are slower to get started though. So, for example, between the Earth and the moon, rockets might be preferred for missions with a short timeline. It’s a trip of days for rockets, but months for a solar sail. The rule of thumb, therefore, would be to use rockets for short hops and solar sails for the long hauls.”
Even though alternative forms of “space thrust” have been developed (such as the ion propulsion system), the solar sail is one of the few technologies that would enable humanity to become an interstellar species, and not merely an interplanetary one.
Although this technology would be perfect for visiting (and perhaps colonizing) the Kuiper Belt Objects, it may help our young race to establish a quick transport to the outer gas giants (not to mention Pluto as well).
Update (7/5): It looks like SpaceX will be launching the Solar Sail for NASA!
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NASA: Our Study Shows Ares Can Deliver Us Lunar Side
With Congressional backing behind them, it looks as if NASA is pressing forward with the Constellation program after a nine month study confirmed what NASA already suspected–that the Ares V rocket can return the space agency towards former glory.
(NASA) “We confirmed that Constellation’s conceptual designs for both Ares V and Altair will enable us to land astronauts and cargo anywhere on the moon and to build an outpost supporting widespread exploration of the lunar surface,” said Jeff Hanley, Constellation Program manager at Johnson. “This extensive review proves we are ready for the next phase: taking these concepts and moving forward to establish mature requirements.” [...]
The review refined early configurations of the Ares V rocket to ensure its capability to deliver the Altair lunar lander, four astronauts and cargo anywhere on the moon and return the crew to Earth at any time. To accomplish those objectives, the current configuration of the Ares V will use six RS-68B liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen engines on a core stage along with two five-and-one-half segment solid propellant rocket boosters, which are a direct evolution from the first stage of the Ares I rocket. The Ares V upper stage will propel the Orion crew capsule and Altair to the moon using the same J-2X engine as the Ares I crew launch vehicle. The Ares V will stand about 381 feet tall and be able to send more than 156,600 pounds of cargo and components into orbit to the moon, and later to Mars or other destinations.
Altair will be capable of landing four astronauts anywhere on the moon, providing life support and a base for the first week-long surface exploration missions, and returning the crew to the Orion spacecraft for the ride home to Earth.
Even though a few space advocates are proposing an alternate “safer” path to reach Earth’s nearest neighbor (hat tip: Space Pragmatism), NASA is probably determined to finish the path that it has started.
While there is no mention of dropping a few roaming space bases upon the lunar surface, it is good to see NASA focused upon returning humans to the lunar surface.
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Can Massive Radio Waves Make Radiation Worlds Safe?
(Hat Tip: Universe Today)
Despite its lack of attention from space science fiction movies, radiation is probably humanities deadliest foe–at least when it comes to colonizing a few promising worlds.
While anti-radiation drugs, specialized habitats and portable magnetic shields could enable us to live on hostile worlds, using massive radio waves could help “damper” the affects of encounter this invisible killer.
(ABC News Australia) Gamble and colleagues were using the research satellite DEMETER to investigate the behaviour of the magnetosphere when they picked up some interesting observations directly over the North West Cape military transmitter in Western Australia.
“We were able to determine that this transmitter has a direct effect on the electrons in the radiation belts [in the magnetosphere],” says Gamble.
“[It caused] those electrons to crash into the top of the atmosphere and be removed from the radiation belts.”
He says this is the first study to show humans could control electrons in the magnetosphere from earth.
Gamble says specially-designed radio transmitters could be aimed towards to sky to dissipate the electrons, once a solar flare was detected.
If massive radio waves could be used to reduce the strength of radiation belts from Earth, future colonists may be able to replicate this on other worlds such as Ganymede, not to mention the icy moon worlds of Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
This would enable humanity to settle upon lunar worlds heavily bathed within their parent planet’s radiation belts, opening up worlds that may have been previously written off to the public because of intense radiation.
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NASA: The Phoenix Has Landed!
(Image Credit: NASA)
The Phoenix Mars Lander has touched down upon the surface of the red planet, according to NASA.
Unlike its rover siblings, the Phoenix’s priority is to discover whether or not life exists on Mars.
NASA has been promoting the mission aggressively, as it has the potential to reshape our viewpoint of the Universe (not to mention life itself).
While the prospects of finding current life are probably dim, the Martian lander can help us discover whether or not Martian soil “is safe” for not only humans, but future creatures (like pigs) as well.
Note: NASA is going to be posting images from Phoenix within about 90 minuets, although you can watch the live broadcast from NASA HQ over here.
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In Space, Lunar Colonists May Have To Drink "Recycled Urine"
In space, water is more precious than gold. Unfortunately for our species, our nearest neighbor has very little (if any) upon its surface.
While importing water from Earth would be desirable, future settlers may have to settle for drinking water redeemed from their own urine.
(Universe Today) But NASA has been working on a recycling system to transform urine and other liquid wastes into water that can be used in space for drinking, food preparation and washing. Agency officials say the water from the system will be cleaner than U.S. tap water. [...]
The Water Recovery System recycles liquid wastes — which can consist of urine, sweat, or leftover water used for bathing or food preparation — by filtering it through a series of chemical processes and filters, making it safe to drink. Urine, for example, first passes through a distillation process to separate the liquid phase from the gaseous phase, after which it is mixed with other water waste and is treated with the help of a water processor.
Since exporting water to the Moon will probably be very expensive, recycling ones own urine may help not only keep costs down, but enable the future colony to become more self sufficient.
This technology would also be useful for future settlers (or prisoners) upon Mercury, whose close proximity towards the Sun makes water a bit scarce.
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Learning To Breathe (On Artificial Air)
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.
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Video: Nomadic Space Bases Via Giant Robots?
If humanities overall goal is to eventually settle upon other worlds, we first have to locate ideal spots to establish a home.
This is probably easier said than done, as many engineers would prefer future space bases to be located near potential energy sources (i.e. in continuous sunlight), while many scientists would prefer them next to interesting features (such as craters, mountains, etc.).
But instead of arguing out where our species should establish its first permanent base, why not opt for nomadic ones via our mechanical friends?
(New Scientist Space) NASA engineers are testing out a giant, six-legged robot that could pick up and move a future Moon base thousands of kilometres across the lunar surface, allowing astronauts to explore much more than just the area around their landing site. [...]
But a gargantuan robotic vehicle called ATHLETE (All-Terrain Hex-Legged Extra-Terrestrial Explorer) could change that. Measuring about 7.5 metres wide, with legs more than 6 metres long, the robot could act essentially like a turtle, carrying the astronauts’ living quarters around on its back.
Using giant robots to transport space bases may prove to be a better alternative than their stationary friends as the robots could move the base out of harms way from an upcoming solar storm as well as help shelter the base during a Martian globacane.
These mechanical insect giants could also solve the “energy dilemma,” by constantly moving within the Sun’s rays on the Moon (assuming that they would be solar powered of course).
(Videos: ATHLETE robot demonstrating its ability at carrying potential space bases, drilling holes, and traveling over terrain, Credit: NASA / JPL, via New Scientist Space).
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