(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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(Hat Tip: Gizmodo, Image Credit: Mark Martinez of the Orange County Register)

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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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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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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(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 21^st 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 21^st 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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(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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