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.

Future Martian Colonies Powered By Algae?

(Hat Tip: IsraGood, Image Credit: Ken Rust via Got Algae?)

Mars is cold. It's unbelievably cold. In order for future colonists to avoid freezing to death (as well as their machines), they are going to need a source of energy to provide heat.

While innovative solar power may be able to help keep a small outpost alive, it will probably not be able to power large settlements.

Even though nuclear power plants have proven their worth as far as energy goes, Earthly politics may prevent them from being used on Mars, as launching anything nuclear has the side affect of making a million minds nervous.

In order to establish thriving cities upon the pink deserts of Mars, future colonists may have to turn towards algae in order to keep their cities (and rovers) alive.

(Haaretz.com) "I am constantly dumbfounded by this plant. This little thing is the baseline for the production of oxygen in the world; it knows how to use carbon dioxide and turn it into oxygen. It amazes me that despite this, algae are not given enough respect, and instead are treated like green slime." [...]

Berzin, the founder of GreenFuel Technologies - a U.S. company that produces green fuel from algae - discovered that "green slime" contains one of the keys to the alternative fuel the world is seeking. His company is the first ever to develop and produce biofuels from algae that are bred on gases emitted by power plants. It might sound like some sort of magic trick to put algae, CO2 and sunlight into a box and come out with fuel, but Berzin did it.

The fuel from these algae may not only help to keep the lights on within future Martian cities, but also enable them to develop faster (human driven) rovers, as the solar powered ones on Mars are definitely lacking in the speed department.

Since Mars has plenty of CO₂ within its atmosphere, future colonists could easily pull this gas from the Martian environment, as well as from "the nostrils" of humans and pigs (after they exhale that is).

Mars also has no shortage of water, and while it will have to be heavily filtered, it could be more than enough to satisfy the thirst of these terrestrial algae.

Recyling Trash Into Energy (Future Colonies Take Note)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Could Hydrogen Fuel Replace Solar Power?

(Hat tip: IsraGood, Image Credit: Jerusalem Post)

With the supply of nuclear fuel limited (especially for Americans), future space colonies will probably need to look towards the Sun as their source of energy.

While this may benefit colonies located within the inner solar system, beyond the asteroid belt solar power is practically useless.

In order to get around their energy dilemma's, future colonists may have to rely upon hydrogen fuel in order to keep the lights on.

(Israel 21^st Century) Most hydrogen vehicles on the road use a liquid form of the material, which requires a super strong and super heavy storage tank. Liquid hydrogen is unstable and needs to be insulated from the excess shocks of bumps and potholes that are a part of everyday driving, so the tanks themselves are large and heavy, and hold at most 20 liters of fuel - enough for barely 250 kilometers of driving. [...]

The difference? C.En's tank uses hydrogen gas, collected from the environment (i.e. not produced from fossil fuels) and enclosed in a thin but leak proof glass container. The best part: You'll be able to buy your "gas" at automotive or discount stores, fueling up every 600 kilometers or so.

"We can build a 60-liter tank that can travel up to 600 km. and weighs no more than 50 kg.," Stern said, unlike tanks currently used for liquid hydrogen that weigh hundreds of kilos.

"Our company's breakthrough is in accumulating hydrogen in a glass material that is very small, only a few microns," said Stern, who is also president of waste treatment company Environmental Energy Resources (EER).["]

If humanity ever decides to settle upon Ganymede and Callisto, future residents could simply extract the hydrogen from the ice water and power their homes without having to haul around a nuclear reactor.

Other icy moons around Saturn, Uranus and Neptune would also be able to benefit from this, as would help cut down the cost of maintaining these outposts (which may convince Earthen governments of their value in supporting them in the first place).

Japan: We Will Build A Solar Powered Satellite By 2030

(Hat Tip: Posthuman Blues)

Ironically while it seems half the planet is in a space race to either beat their neighbors to the stars, it looks as if Japan is busy figuring out a way to harness the power of one.

(Pink Tentacle) JAXA, which plans to have a Space Solar Power System (SSPS) up and running by 2030, envisions a system consisting of giant solar collectors in geostationary orbit 36,000 kilometers above the Earth’s surface. The satellites convert sunlight into powerful microwave (or laser) beams that are aimed at receiving stations on Earth, where they are converted into electricity.

On February 20, JAXA will take a step closer to the goal when they begin testing a microwave power transmission system designed to beam the power from the satellites to Earth. In a series of experiments to be conducted at the Taiki Multi-Purpose Aerospace Park in Hokkaido, the researchers will use a 2.4-meter-diameter transmission antenna to send a microwave beam over 50 meters to a rectenna (rectifying antenna) that converts the microwave energy into electricity and powers a household heater. The researchers expect these initial tests to provide valuable engineering data that will pave the way for JAXA to build larger, more powerful systems.

If Japan is successful in their tests, they will not need to worry about mining the moon for Helium-3 later on down the road.

Although they have yet to put a human into space, Japan may gain a lead later on in the space race by focusing their attention upon harnessing the energy from above.

If successful, Japan could not only become energy independent, but sell their technology to not only present Earth governments, but future lunar and Martian colonies as well.

Turning Martian Air Into Fuel?

(Hat Tip: Mars News)



(Image Credit: NASA)

If humanity is every going to subdue the red planet, then they will need an inexpensive way to transport goods and personal across its crimson deserts.

Instead of looking towards the distant sun to energize our future Martian rovers, why not pull fuel from the "abundant" Martian air?

(Renewable Energy Access) Using concentrated solar energy to reverse combustion, a research team from Sandia National Laboratories is building a prototype device intended to chemically "reenergize" carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide using concentrated solar power. The carbon monoxide could then be used to make hydrogen or serve as a building block to synthesize a liquid combustible fuel, such as methanol or even gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

The prototype device, called the Counter Rotating Ring Receiver Reactor Recuperator (CR5, for short), will break a carbon-oxygen bond in the carbon dioxide to form carbon monoxide and oxygen in two distinct steps. It is a major piece of an approach to converting carbon dioxide into fuel from sunlight.

Even though the inventors probably designed this technology to help the world to become energy independent, it may have a more practical use on the crimson world millions of kilometers away.

While future colonists may be able to power their space ports using innovative solar technology, it may be in their best interest to make their vehicles "solar independent," thereby giving them more freedom to explore the red planet.

Toshiba: A Micro Nuclear Reactor?

(Hat Tip: Mars Rover Blog)

With energy becoming the "word of the day" (at least among politicians) many people are taking a fresh look at nuclear power.

Apparently it seems as if one company has found a way to shrink today's nuclear reactors into a more portable size--twenty by six feet to be exact.

(Next Energy News) The 200 kilowatt Toshiba designed reactor is engineered to be fail-safe and totally automatic and will not overheat. Unlike traditional nuclear reactors the new micro reactor uses no control rods to initiate the reaction. The new revolutionary technology uses reservoirs of liquid lithium-6, an isotope that is effective at absorbing neutrons. The Lithium-6 reservoirs are connected to a vertical tube that fits into the reactor core. The whole whole process is self sustaining and can last for up to 40 years, producing electricity for only 5 cents per kilowatt hour, about half the cost of grid energy.

While citizens on Earth may be nervous about having a nuclear reactor near them (despite the fact they are much safer than the non-green alternatives), this could benefit future colonies on both the Moon and Mars.

If NASA were able to transport such a dozen of these to the lunar surface, NASA could find a way to power their bases during the frigid lunar nights, instead of having to rely upon various solar alternatives.

Regenerative Fuel Cells: Power For Lunar Nights?

(Image: Regenerative fuel cell, Credit: NASA)

One of the biggest "show stoppers" against humanity colonizing the Moon is energy. While solar power can easily collect energy from the sun during a "lunar day," its the nights that might quite literally leave us in the dark.

While Germany has developed a unique way to power future off world outposts, it looks as if another scientist may have found a longer lasting method for keeping the lunar lights on.

(Moon Today) A typical hydrogen fuel cell combines hydrogen from a tank and oxygen from the air to produce electricity, leaving water and heat as its only byproducts. A regenerative fuel cell also works in reverse, using electricity to divide the water into hydrogen and oxygen, which are fed back into the fuel cell to produce more electricity.

"What makes our regenerative fuel cell unique is that it's closed loop and completely sealed," Bents said. "Nothing goes in and nothing comes out, other than electrical power and waste heat. The hydrogen, oxygen and product water inside are simply recycled over and over again." [...]

"On the moon, you would start with a tank of water. You'd use the solar arrays to make hydrogen and oxygen during the day, then use the hydrogen and oxygen to make electricity during the night when there's no sun," said Bents. "Ideally, if nothing broke and nothing wore out, it could run forever without being refueled."

According to the article, not only would these fuel cells last much longer than the standard batter, but they could provide four to six times more energy pound for pound.

Coupled with standard solar panels, humanity may not only have enough power to stay warm on that frigid moon, but also be able to develop artificial magnetic fields to protect their homes from the wrath of the sun.

Making Space Relevant: It's The Energy Stupid!

Can two walk together, except they be agreed? ~Amos 3:3

During this holiday season, one may find it quite easy to strike up conversations with strangers regarding snow, caroling and which toys to buy for their kids (make sure that they are safe).

One could easily discuss the current war in Iraq, or even politics with their neighbor, as they (like Santa) are stuck on everyone's mind.

But when it comes to talking about the final frontier, you may find people's eyes either glaze over in confusion, or scoff at the idea of wasting billions more in sending people to the moon.

So how do you, the average space enthusiast, engage an audience more interested in Nintendo Wii's than exploring the cosmos?

Answer: You avoid all the excuses to justify human space exploration, and instead convert its reason for existence into "common cents."

If someone were to ask you why humanity should spend a $100 billion to put yet more men on the Moon, you should quickly reply "because its the energy stupid!" (note: you might want to tone this down, but you should get the point).

Instead of explaining the benefits of becoming a space faring species, instead enlighten individuals about the potential energy that lies beyond our atmosphere. One example that could be used is helium-3.

While the vast majority of the public may have never heard of helium-3 (or its potential for energy), many people are very familiar with the word oil, due in part to the rising gas prices.

By simply explaining that one tone of helium-3 is potentially worth 20 million tons of oil, you will not only perk people's interest in space, but you also justify the government spending money for exploring the Moon.

After all, if we do not harvest the Moon for ourselves, we may end up literally paying for it later from Russian hands.

While other examples such as solar power satellites could be cited, by making space relevant energy wise, you may end up converting a "few souls" towards your solar cause.

Note: Due to lack of time images will be inserted later.

Update: Images inserted!

Solar Energy Plus Heat Accumulator Equals 24 Hr Green Power?

(Image: Heat Accumulator, Credit: DLR/Markus Steur)

It looks as if the German Aerospace Center has made a breakthrough that may give solar energy an edge over its greener rivals.

(German Aerospace Center) So-called heat accumulators are needed so that power generation can be extended to the night hours or times when there is heavy cloud cover. Thanks to scientists at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), it has now been possible for the first time for just such an accumulator to go into operation successfully. [...]

The steam accumulator is the result of the EU DISTOR (Energy Storage for Direct Steam) project started in February 2004. Solar Power Stations under the overall control of the DLR Institute for Technical Thermodynamics, a total of 13 partners from industry and research from five countries are working on the development of innovative storage systems for solar-powered steam generators. These storage systems will be designed to take the 200-300 degree Celsius steam generated by solar power, store it and release it again as required with a minimum of loss. So-called latent storage materials are used for this application. They are characterised by the fact that energy can be transported at an almost constant temperature from a solid to a liquid state and vice versa - a principle that has long been used in the low-temperature area with pocket hand-warmers, for example.

While the benefits of this device are fairly obvious on Earth, heat accumulators could enable future lunar colonists to settle anywhere on the Moon without limiting themselves to craters basking in eternal sunlight.

It would also help future Martian settlements maintain power within their colony outposts, which may reduce the need of humans relying upon a mini nuclear reactor in order to survive the frigid Martian nights.

If Germany is able to perfect this technology, they may end up securing their place among the heavens by allowing colonists to live off world--at least within the inner solar system.

Should Solar Powered Satellites Be Built Over Land Or Over Water?

When one looks at the heavens above us, at its utter vastness, you can not help but be humbled by its glorious potential. Whether its exploiting asteroids or water ice, one can only imagine the untapped resources just waiting at humanities finger tips.

One resource that seems to be on every ones mind is energy. With the cost of fuel accelerating faster than the rate of inflation, individuals, companies and governments are turning to fresh alternatives to power our rowdy planet.

Recently the US government has taken a fresh look at the possibility of constructing solar powered satellites (or SPS), which would be able to collect energy from the sun and beam it down back to Earth. If doable, these power stations would be able to deliver unlimited energy in a clean, efficient manner (provided the sun does not explode of course).

While launching and building one of these satellites in space may have its own engineering and problems above, constructing the receiving rectenna on land may provide even more nightmares below. In order to avoid these concerns, scientists may want to consider building a solar satellite rectenna over the ocean instead of on top of land.

In order to receive energy from our celestial star, solar powered satellites have to be able to safely convert the energy they collect from the sun and transmit it into microwave radiation. But in order for the entire system to be profitable, the rectennas have to be huge, (about 14 kilometers) in order to be competitive against the fossil fuels that we heavily depend upon.

In order to avoid ugly fights over property rights, some have suggested that these rectennas be built over remote farmlands, with the intention of avoiding major population centers. While this idea may sound wise, farmers will probably not be thrilled with some government object hindering their view of the sky, and express their disappointment by filling the bottom of the structure with holes.

By constructing it over the ocean scientists would be able to avoid worrying about their pet project being attacked by rural neighbors, terrorists or kids pulling a cool Halloween prank. A remote location on the sea would make it harder for outsiders to tamper with the rectenna, which would lower the cost of insurance for the SPS.

Another reason why choosing water over dirt may be more logical can be summed up in one word--lawyers. In order for the government to actually build a rectenna over sovereign soil, they are going to need an army of lawyers, backed up by a literal army enforcing the law.

Despite the fact that the American government (like all governments) has the right to take away property from their own citizens, it does not mean that separating these citizens from their lands will be easy.



In order to avoid everlasting lawsuits, as well as rioting citizens, the government may want to choose building a rectenna on top of the ocean, as constructing in international waters may be easier than on national soil.

Last but not least, if the government (or any company with their blessing) is able to avoid the two former pitfalls, then they may find themselves suffering from the wrath of nature itself. Hail, tornado's and violent thunder storms can easily damage an enormous rectenna at "the best" and partially reduce it into expensive rubble at the worst.

By comparison constructing a rectenna over a calm ocean (i.e. the Pacific) may avoid most of the weather fallout that asualts us land dwellers.

Even though solar powered satellites may be unable to satisfy the growing hunger of developed nations, they may be able to inspire our world population to go solar themselves. Combined with our friends in space, SPS's and quality solar power on Earth could enable our species to live on this planet independent of the black gold that plagues our "tiny" world.

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

Update: Images (with credit) added to the post.

Carnival Of The Space Geeks (Sorting Out Science)

Sam Wise of Sorting Out Science hosted this week's Carnival of Space.

Despite being new to the event (at least to this author) Sam created a very professional layout for the Carnival, with a mash of links to not only some of the bloggers posts, but to related media sites as well.

We even had mention of space elevators, with the Marc of the Space Elevator Reference and Ted via the Space Elevator Blog.

Be sure to subscribe to either of those blogs as they are covering the Space Elevator Olympics (aka Space Elevator Games) in which their are currently six teams competing (you can find video's over here).

Other interesting posts included:

• Louise of A Babe in the Universe wonders why it took so long to have a women command the ISS.



• Astro Prof goes in depth about solar power satellites (note: you can view it via Google cache if the site is down) which every newbie should read.



• Jesse of the Space Law Probe brings good tidings that there are no legal show stoppers to building a solar powered satellite.



• Quasar9 enlightens everyone on how satellite mirrors could be used to deflect asteroids.

Next week's Carnival will be hosted by Pamela over at Star Stryder, and if anyone is interested in submitting a post to the Carnival of Space (as its always great to hear from fresh minds), please visit this link.

India's Former President: Space Can Solve Energy Crisis

Unfortunately for our planet, human civilization is generally powered by death. Most of our energy comes from fossil fuels, which despite their "immediate blessing" are limited in supply, despite the future increase in demand.

India's former President, Dr. Abdul Kalem laid out perhaps the greatest argument for humanity to explore our solar system, which should appeal to the true believers as well as to the skeptics.

(Technology Review) Kalam said that India understands that global civilization will deplete earthly fossil fuels in the 21st century. Hence, he said, a "space industrial revolution" will be necessary to exploit the high frontier's resources. Kalam predicted that India will construct giant solar collectors in orbit and on the moon, and will mine helium-3--an incredibly rare fuel on Earth, but one whose unique atomic structure makes power generation from nuclear fusion potentially feasible--from the lunar surface.

Unless humanity can come up with a new energy source that can replace our dependence upon fossil fuels, then our species may witness the climax of our civilization as it exits the "golden age."

Although space can not ultimately save us from ourselves, it can provide us with more options to enhance our planet, and ultimately every world that orbits our parent star.

Print Solar Panels From Your Personal Computer?

(Hat Tip: The Speculist)

A new breakthrough in solar technology may enable homeowners and astronauts alike to print (or paint) solar panels from their home or office, and apply them upon whatever surface they deem fit for use.

(Vnunet.com) Lead researcher Somenath Mitra, professor and acting chairman at NJIT's Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science, described the process as "simple". [...]

"Developing organic solar cells from polymers, however, is a cheap and potentially simpler alternative," said Mitra.

"We foresee a great deal of interest in our work because solar cells can be inexpensively printed or simply painted on exterior building walls and/or roof tops.

"Imagine driving in your hybrid car with a solar panel painted on the roof, which is producing electricity to drive the engine. The opportunities are endless."

Aside from helping people on Earth, this technology could drastically help reduce the cost of colonizing future worlds. Astronauts could simply construct solar panels out of light weight material instead of hauling tons of wire, steel, etc. in order to power a tiny base off world.

Panels like these would also be expendable, allowing colonists to simply discard (or preferably recycle) dying panels and create new ones in their place.

Note: What makes this technology really interesting is the fact that they are using carbon nanotubes as an electrical conductor, which may help out various companies in the space elevator industry.

Martian Colonies Powered By Solar Balloons?

(Image: Drawing of solar balloons collecting energy from the Sun. Credit: Geotechtra)


(Hat Tip: IsraGood)

When it comes to energy resources, the crimson world offers very few options towards future colonists. Although scientists are researching ways to create methane on Mars, solar balloons on the red planet may provide a better choice for future inhabitants.

(Israel 21^st Century) The Israeli scientist, who is shortly to complete his PhD at the Department of Aeronautical Engineering, Architecture and City Construction, at Haifa's Technion Israel Institute of Technology, has developed a new way to produce electricity using helium balloons made from fabric coated with photovoltaic (PV) solar cells. These balloons are much cheaper to build and install than existing solar panels, and also take up far less room, which is significant in an urban environment.

The balloons, which are a little like mini-Zeppelins, are connected to the ground via two cables: one to refill helium, and the other to pass the electricity to a control panel.

Although these balloons are adapted for life on Earth, future models could be shipped towards Mars as they would be much lighter (and cheaper) than regular solar panels on the ground.

Solar balloons may also be less likely to "collect" dust than their land locked cousins, mainly because stronger (and higher) Martian winds should be able to keep the objects clean.

Note: Since Martian gravity is weaker, these balloons would need a device that would be able to not only deploy the balloons, but take down defective ones. Perhaps LiftPort's Tethered Towers could easily provide this role.

Carnival Of The Space Geeks (To The Tenth Power)

Editor's note: The tenth Carnival of Space is up over at Why Homeschool and has thus far been the best roundup of what is happening in the space arena (at least as far as blogs are concerned).

Some interesting posts include:

• Paul Gilster of Centauri Dreams discusses a new theoretical propulsion system that may enable humanity to travel to the gas giants fairly quickly (and beyond).


• Brian Wang of Advanced Nanotechnology breaks down space solar power to the megawatt level, as well as discusses why finding ways to increase "light power" would benefit Bigelow and NASA space stations.


• James of Surfin' English elaborates on all the fun forms of radiation that can kill us, not to mention why computers enjoy it less than we do.


• Stuart Atkinson who posts at The Verse poetically portrays the thoughts of a Martian rover forced to commit suicide by exploring a deep crater.


• Bigelow Aerospace has some interesting images from their successfully launched Genesis II space station (which I have yet to write a future post on).

But the best post in this carnival goes to Louise Riofrio of A Babe In The Universe whose recent spacesuit design may enable humans to gracefully walk upon Martian and lunar soils.

(A Babe In The Universe) The skintight inner garment is a sandwich of stretchable materiels that zip on like a flightsuit. It is suitable for suborbital and Low Earth Orbit Access, like the "pumpkin suits" used today. Upon exposure to vacuum, the proprietary materiel automatically tightens to compensate. Unlike present-day soft suits, there is no loss of flexibility. The prototype is covered in silver rubber for visibility. [...]

For EVA and planetary exploration, the suit can be armoured. The outer pieces on the chest and arms are made of composite materiels that are stronger than steel. The manufacturer guarantees the materiel to 250 degrees fahrenheit, or the highest likely to be encountered in Space. As on present spacecraft, multiple aluminised layers insulate the wearer from extreme cold. The outer armour can be quickly changed to adapt for different environments. When lunar explorers are ready to return home, the outer layers and all that yucky lunar regolith can be left behind on the Moon.

The most interesting thing about this prototype is the fact that the suit can be customized to fit different needs. For example, a colonist on Mars may require a suit that deals with the potentially toxic soil via winds while on the Moon one may need to design a static free dust to keep lunar soil at bay.

Brian Dunbar over at Space For Commerce is hosting next week's Space Carnival, and for those of you desiring to enter the carnival see this post for details.

Is Our Future In Bio Solar Power?

(Image: Mars colony using bio-power. Credit: IntAct Labs, drawn by Chris Lund, via Astrobiology Magazine)

In order to survive off world, humanity will need to discover innovative ways of powering their space habitats. Although using energy from the sun is the most obvious choice when it comes to energy, constructing efficent solar panels on other planets (or even in orbit) may be difficult, if not expensive.

This has led one scientist to suggest that instead of constructing mechanical solar cells in space, why not just simply grow them instead?

(Astrobiology Magazine) Matthew Silver, a space systems engineer who heads IntAct Labs in Cambridge, Mass., presented radical ideas for using biology in a new generation of power supplies. These proposed devices would generate electrons using microbes that live in mud, or proteins native to the human ear or in photosynthetic bacteria.

In theory, biological power systems offer a number of advantages. Existing systems based on physical and chemical processes are difficult and costly to manufacture, and difficult to modify once fabricated. Biological systems may offer a high power-to-weight ratio, convenient fuel storage and many of them make useful byproducts like molecular oxygen. But the ultimate promise is this: they might be grown as needed in space.

These "solar microbes" have the potential of not only reducing the cost of living on both the Moon and Mars, but also enable future colonies to become less dependent upon Earth for energy supplies. These organisms also have the potential of allowing Martians to "farm their own air" instead of relying on oxygen imports from Earth or lunar rocks.

If humanity can harness the power of these tiny organisms, we may not only end up reducing the energy cost of setting up shop on the Moon and Mars, but perhaps on Earth as well.

Update: Centered image.

Video: Does The Future Belong To Methane Rockets?

Although they may not reduce the cost of space, they may reduce the amount of space usually reserved for fuel tanks, allowing space craft to dedicate more weight towards either transporting more humans and equipment.

(Space.com) Built by XCOR Aerospace, the test rocket packs 7,500 pounds of thrust--just a fraction of the space shuttle's solid rocket boosters at 3,300,000 pounds of thrust each--but its designers are just getting started. The Mojave Desert test will provide testing grounds for the design of a much-larger, space-faring rocket.

Today's space rockets use liquid oxygen and hydrogen or solid fuels, which are hard to collect, tricky to store and very expensive. Methane, however, need not be stored at -253 degree Celsius temperatures as hydrogen must be. It's also denser than hydrogen, making more out of limited space in fuel containers.

Despite the fact that hydrogen rockets dominate the space fuel industry on Earth, methane rockets may in the distant future overshadow their molecular brethren.

With the greenish-bluish-orange worlds of Uranus, Neptune and Saturn's Titan containing an abundance of methane within their respective atmospheres, methane may end up becoming the fuel that drives our species to conquer the solar system.

Students Seeking Lunar Solar Power

If our current generation does not have enough desire to colonize the moon, the upcoming one seems to have the ambition to conquer it.

In the Milwaukee School of Engineering, several students decided to brake from the norm of Earthly projects (such as Baja racers), and instead pursue constructing items beyond the heavens themselves.

(Red Orbit) The students have designed a device that would sit atop a tower some 300 feet above the moon's south pole, collecting energy from the sun to drive a turbine, while sending the excess energy out into cold space. [...]

"When you tell people about it, their eyes light up. We're not designing a bridge or a doorknob," said Kyle Momenee, who traveled with the other engineering students on this year's team to Huntsville, Ala., to discuss the project with engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. "Anyplace we go in space, we're going to need some source of power."

With temperatures plummeting hundreds of degrees below zero, heat and power become critical factors for any future space colony intent on surviving off world. Although the sun provides solar energy without fail upon the moons surface, it is only available to half the world in two (earth) week rotations--unless you live in the polar regions.

This "solar antenna" could enable colonies near the polar regions to maintain levels of power, even under lunar shadow. Hopefully NASA considers adding this feature to any future space colony, as people may become very upset if their solar home turns off because of lack of energy.

(Image Credit: Red Orbit)