Scientists tested 10 meals to find the perfect food for space travel – Livescience.com

Maintaining a balanced diet can be hard enough on Earth, but it's even more difficult in space especially when you're talking about long-haul missions. Although space-based agriculture has made strides in recent years, growing fresh crops in space is no easy feat, and each bit of food or water stored in a spacecraft adds mass, thus weighing down the vessel during its journey out of orbit.

Scientists recently studied possible nutrient-dense meals fit for long-term space travel, such as potential Mars missions, that both satisfy astronauts' nutritional needs and taste better than existing alternatives. They tested 10 dishes to see which would be the optimal meal for male astronauts; they plan to specifically study meals for female astronauts in the future. The best meal would help space travelers get the calories and variety of nutrients they need during their odysseys and use crops that could be grown in space with minimal water.

Ultimately, the best space meal turned out to be a hearty kale salad, according to their study, published Dec. 13 in the journal ACS Food Science & Technology.

"These assessments are essential steps toward feasibility in long-term human space missions, for example, to Mars," the authors wrote.

Space travelers have different nutritional requirements than people on Earth do. That's because astronauts face unique stressors, including the vibration, noise, weightlessness, cosmic radiation and drastic temperature changes inherent to spaceflight. Research suggests that a male astronaut needs to consume around 2.6 pounds (1.2 kilograms) of food per day to maintain their body weight and energy levels. That diet should include more than double the carbohydrates and proteins than a typical person on Earth would require.

Related: NASA reveals first image of 'space tomatoes' that went missing on the ISS for 8 months, and they're gross

With this in mind, the team assessed a variety of nutrient-dense ingredients using a statistical model, which also measured the foods' capability of being grown in space or stored for a long time in a spacecraft. This model yielded 10 "space dishes"; four were vegetarian, and six were made with plants and meat.

Compared with plants, meat options typically provide a higher concentration of certain key nutrients, such as protein and vitamin B12. However, the storage of animal products "requires a large space for long-term space missions," making them tough ingredients to regularly include in an astronaut's diet, the study's authors wrote. (In addition, there aren't yet efficient methods for growing lab-grown meat, although the field is advancing.)

The team couldn't include baked goods like bread, because crumbs can float around in microgravity and damage equipment in the spacecraft.

Crops, on the other hand, could be grown during space travel. Considering all of these factors, the researchers' models determined that the optimal dish to meet astronauts' nutritional needs while being feasible for space travel is a vegetarian salad made with soybeans, poppy seeds, barley, kale, peanuts, sweet potato and sunflower seeds but notably, no salad dressing.

"I think their choice was very well done," Kathleen Carter, a nutritional researcher at Central State University in Ohio who was not involved in the study, told Live Science. "I think that as we start extending our time in space, we're going to have to go to more plant-based. We're going to have to be able to grow our own resources."

Beyond nutritional value, the researchers studied another factor in the ideal astronaut meal: taste. They fed four volunteers the optimized space salad and recorded their feedback on its palatability. Overall, the results were positive, with one volunteer saying they "enjoyed the sweet taste of the potatoes and freshness crunch."

However, the researchers flagged some key limitations with this meal option.

While some plants, including Chinese cabbage and tomatoes, have been cultivated in space in recent decades, there still isn't a reliable and efficient cultivation system to maximize output in this environment, they noted in the study. Additionally, the optimized salad is still missing some of the vitamins and minerals an astronaut would need each day, though these could be provided through supplements, the authors wrote.

Future studies should also consider the cultural and individual dietary requirements of each astronaut, Carter said. Their space menu would need to accomodate any allergies, personal preferences or dietary restrictions, she added.

"Different cultures are going to want different types of foods," Carter said. "Making sure that food looks good, that it tastes good [and] that it's something that they really want to eat, in addition to being very nutrient dense, is going to be very important."

The researchers plan to use their models to design meals for female astronauts and to incorporate more crops into its algorithm, according to a statement.

Ever wonder why some people build muscle more easily than others or why freckles come out in the sun? Send us your questions about how the human body works to community@livescience.com with the subject line "Health Desk Q," and you may see your question answered on the website!

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Scientists tested 10 meals to find the perfect food for space travel - Livescience.com

Starfield Fan Discovers Early Starmap, Hints At Harder Space Travel – TheGamer

Starfield's space travel is pretty simple. You open a map, select a dot, and zoom off. There's no fuel and you won't stumble into any obstacles, aside from the odd raider, but originally it was much more gruelling.

Todd Howard said in 2022 that, during development, "Your ship would run out of fuel and the game would just stop", pointing to more realistic intergalactic travel. The concept was scrapped, with the grav drive being used to limit how far you can go instead. But now we know a little bit more about that old system.

As reported by GamesRadar, a dataminer uncovered a pre-launch starmap with UI elements pointing to fuel consumption and potential hazards. You can see it in the Reddit post embedded below.

On the right-hand side of the starmap we can see the "Jump Data" tab which details how long it will take to travel the distance you've selected. Underneath, it lists how much fuel a jump will consume, with a handy little bar displaying how much you currently have and what will be left after.

Underneath all of these stats are the problems you can encounter on your journey. In this case, we see solar radiation which will result in "light hull damage" and micrometeoroids that "can cause catastrophic stop". It's unclear how you would counter these problems, but upgrading your ship would likely have increased your odds, making it more difficult to reach higher-level areas from the start as you'd be stuck with a scrappy little vessel.

We were playing that and it became very punitive to the player. Your ship would run out of fuel and the game would just stop. You just want to get back to what you're doing. So we recently changed it where the fuel in your ship and the grav drive limits how far you can go at once, but it doesn't run out of fuel.

Interestingly, Bethesda didn't just cut features that made travel tougher, but quality-of-life elements too. In the starmap, we can see a filter system that dataminer redsaltyborger says "appears to be an overlay for economy/trade". It would have also highlighted potential hazards, which is likely why it was cut, but fans are calling on Bethesda to return the feature so that they can see where star yards and trade authority vendors are.

As for whether Starfield will ever see such arduous space travel return as an optional difficulty mode, Howard did say that it could surface in a future update, perhaps akin to Fallout 4 and Skyrim's survival mode. He also said that a mod might bring it back, so it could be up to the community to restore these scrapped ideas.

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Starfield Fan Discovers Early Starmap, Hints At Harder Space Travel - TheGamer

Faster Space Travel with Advanced Technologies – BNN Breaking

Revolutionising Space Travel: Faster Times and Advanced Technology

In a significant stride towards expedited interplanetary travel, a new online calculator for Lamberts Targeting Problem (LTP) is allowing for the generation of launch and arrival v-infinity pork-chop plots for space missions between solar system targets. This development was discussed by Scott Manley, who highlighted the potential for faster travel times from Earth to Mars.

The SpaceX Starship, with its facility for orbital refueling, has the potential to carry additional fuel, thereby augmenting its speed and minimizing travel time to Mars. A spreadsheet elucidating the Delta-V calculations for the SpaceX Starship demonstrates the potential for increased velocity, primarily due to the performance of SpaceXs Raptor engines and the anticipated improvements with the new LEET 1337 engines.

These engines are postulated to be simpler, lighter, and more cost-effective, with a higher production volume. SpaceX is also contemplating the possibility of larger fuel tanks for the Starship. The travel time and fuel estimates are premised on a low earth orbit refueling scenario, but could see significant enhancement with the introduction of a reusable tug, which would propel the Mars-bound Starship to near Earth escape velocity, conserving onboard fuel for deceleration and landing phases.

Affordability in space travel is a critical factor, and SpaceX aims to reduce costs by manufacturing cheaper, fully reusable ships and engines, and by producing methane fuel from natural gas or by utilizing solar power on Earth and Mars. The key innovations include reducing the cost of ships and engines by factors of 100 to 1000 and achieving full reusability. Aerobraking in the Martian atmosphere is also being explored as a fuel-free method for landing on Mars, although it has a maximum effective speed.

The discussion also references academic papers providing an approximate analytical solution to the LTP, noting that the solar system bodies are assumed to move in Keplerian orbits and that the calculations can have errors of up to 15-20% when considering very inefficient transfer arcs.

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Professors collaborate with NASA to lower cost of space travel – The Baylor Lariat

By Kobe Baker | Reporter

In collaboration with teams at NASA, Purdue University, the University of New Hampshire and Astroport, three Baylor professors are working to make space travel more affordable.

The Baylor professors on the project are Dr. Trevor Fleck, assistant professor of mechanical engineering; Dr. Paul Allison, professor of mechanical engineering; and Dr. J. Brian Jordon, professor of mechanical engineering.

Jordon said the project uses technology with a combination of human-made materials and lunar resources to create devices needed to travel in space.

I think the long-term goal was then to shrink down the scale of the machine into a footlocker-type thing that can be sent into space, Jordon said.

Additionally, Fleck said the teams are trying to ensure that the process does not sacrifice the performance of what they are creating.

The fundamental science were trying to establish is understanding the entire relationship so that an engineer can go design something with this, process them with these materials and have some idea of how its going to perform when they use that part, Fleck said.

The scale of the project requires constant communication from all of the teams at NASA, Astroport and the three universities.

I think there are natural challenges in working with multiple institutions, but theres some really good people, Jordon said. Weve got some really good colleagues at the other institutions and in the private company that were collaborating with.

Fleck said the teams have found community through the project, bringing in many different backgrounds while working toward a common goal.

Its kind of meeting with the community through conferences and establishing those relationships and finding unique problems we can collaborate on, Fleck said.

Fleck said that with large national research teams like this one, more expert perspectives are available to give insight into a project.

Whenever researchers collaborate, you get to go after these bigger projects and solve these bigger problems that need to be overcome, Fleck said.

Fleck, Allison and Jordon dont have a set estimate of how much money the project will save, although sending a satellite into space can currently cost anywhere from $50 million to $400 million for an individual launch.

Part of this research will identify what is the return on investment the savings that can be obtained through doing these types of manufacturing approaches, Allison said.

In September, Fleck, Allison and Jordon also received a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation, and they said they hope to use the funds to bring in a variety of graduate and undergraduate students to aid them in their research.

Part of the reason were excited is we get to introduce new students to this technology field and expose them to things they may not have an opportunity to, Jordon said. And exposing undergrad students to research in our lab, we hope they get bit by the research bug.

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Professors collaborate with NASA to lower cost of space travel - The Baylor Lariat

After Starfield, I thought I was done with large-scale space travel, but … – PC Gamer

I never fully wrote off Star Citizen as a scam to sell expensive fake ships to credulous fans of Wing Commander, but neither have I ever been convinced that it will actually achieve a 1.0 release someday. I don't think this latest trailer has changed my mind on that point, but it has made me glad that Star Citizen exists as an idea, purely because it is so mesmerising to watch.

To be honest, "trailer" doesn't really do this video justice. It's a 25-minute showcase of the game's bespoke Star Engine tech, and by proxy a chance for Roberts Space Industries to exhibit the scale of the game. And it's the most I've been interested in Star Citizen for ages, despite recent events demonstrating that exploring simulated universes is never as exciting as it seems.

The trailer kicks off with a crucial note: "Everything you are about to see has been captured in engine as one continuous shot without loading screens. Distance between planets has been compressed for the sake of brevity." Then there's a performative orchestral tune-up, before the trailer's soaring soundtrack kicks in.

Instantly, we're off, barrelling through the cosmos. After a few seconds, we arrive at the first planet, microTech Stanton IV, where the Star Engine shows off those most coveted of features, fully explorable planets and seamless transition from space to ground without a loading screen in sight. Take that, Starfield! Right between the eyes.

The trailer spends a while floating around Stanton IV, showing off an incredibly detailed city complete with fully operating rail system, glistening icy mountains, and lush forests. Then we're off again, arriving at a silhouetted ring planet, where the trailer dives into those icy halos to showcase the engine's "real-time large scale asteroid belt generation and rendering". Then we pop over to a gas giant for a look at my favourite bit of ostentatious-sounding tech, "Volumetric clouds at a gas giant scale." We also see the impressive "Floating Cloud City" Orison, which in typical Star Citizen fashion looks absolutely massive.

There are plenty more technical whizzbangs shown off in the second half of the trailer. A spaceship engulfed in flames showcases the game's "Dynamic fire simulation based on voxel grids", while a bleak Hebridean planet forms the stage for the game's "Hierarchical object container technology for outposts and points of interest," which I'm guessing means procedurally generated small settlements. Weirdly, it ends with a closeup of a sweaty man's face, although I can't deny how realistic those salty beads look.

In short, the trailer achieves what it sets out to do, namely wowing with its scale, and making me want to play an open-universe space-game underpinned by this tech. That's despite the fact that I got excited about No Man's Sky and Starfield for the exact same reasons, and both of them ultimately left me cold. This I suppose is the ultimate question: Can Star Citizen turn all this flashy technology into a game that's fun to play? I tried the playable Alpha years ago, and it certainly seemed to have more mechanical grit than either Starfield or NMS. But it was also far too janky to be fun.

Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed kicking back and zooming through Star Citizen's universe for 25 minutes, and it reignited my desire for a space sim which merges that galactic scale and seamless spaceflight with a game that's actually fun to play. I remain doubtful about whether that's actually possible, but I'm also happy that, after all these years, Roberts Space Industries is still trying to make it happen.

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After Starfield, I thought I was done with large-scale space travel, but ... - PC Gamer

New golden era of space exploration matches upheavals of past – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

David M. Shribman| Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

SpaceX successfully launches another batch of Starlink satellites

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket tore through the early morning sky Thursday, taking more Starlink internet satellites to orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Rob Landers, Florida Today

VERO BEACH, Fla.I saw it lift into the dusky heavens, reaching upward in a stunning ballet of determination and grace, creeping across the sky in an orange streak, stretching toward earth orbit. And somehow the rise of the SpaceX Falcon-Heavy rocket defied the notion that there is no revelation in repetition.

Americans have been launching rockets from Florida for 73 years; the first one was on July 24, 1950, a date hardly anyone marks or even is aware of. Since Project Apollo, which catapulted men to the moon, ended 48 years ago, and the eclipse of the Space Shuttle, which mounted 135 missions, spaceflight prompted a certain ennui. The days when a black-and-white television atop a tall metal tower was wheeled into classrooms for schoolchildren to witness a Project Mercury launch became a fading memory, like the lyrics of a Shelley Fabares song.

But suddenly it is pass to say that spaceflight is pass.

The past few weeks have proved that. The astronauts who will return to lunar orbit on Artemis II were identified to much fanfare and much public interest. A Jupiter Icy Moons Explore satellite, known as Juice, took off from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, on a mission that will take it through 25 flybys of Jupiters Callisto, Europa and Ganymede moonsone of the most exciting missions we have ever flown in the solar system, in the characterization of Josef Aschbacher, the head of the European Space Agency, and by far the most complex.

And there is more. The Starship rocket lifted off the pad in Southern Texas, cleared the launchpad, and flew for four minutes before collapsing into a spectacular fireballand yet SpaceX declared the mission a great success. Mission personnel from a private Japanese company may have lost contact with the ispace lunar lander, but the Hakuto-R Mission 1 vehicle is presumed to have crashed in the Atlas Crater on the near side of the moonlike the Starship, an achievement amid disappointment.

The $97 million SpaceX rocket that slipped the surly bounds of earth recently was carrying satellites designed to improve internet service in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia Pacific region, with another satellite designed to provide high speed internet to remote areas in Alaska. Neither their form nor function was remotely conceivable when the Apollo 8 astronauts circled the moon at Christmastime in 1968, sending unforgettable pictures of their home planet and reading from the Book of Genesis.

That was 55 years ago, and yet the parallels between 1968 and 2023 are unmistakable: Social tensions. Cultural upheaval. Political divisions. A sense of despair. And yet when Bill Anders, Jim Lovell and Frank Borman began reading the verses of the Bible, there was a glimmer of hope on the old planet.

We could have a moment like that in a year or so from now when the Artemis astronauts return to moon orbit, said Jennifer Levasseur, curator at the National Air and Space Museum. There is something about the state of the world today that seems similar to 1968. It makes me think that this is just right time for something like this. We are building to a pretty big moment.

Jeremy Hansen, the Canadian astronaut who will travel aboard the first manned Artemis mission, believes so. How do we actually get eight billion people to row in the same direction and work on [our] problems? he asked when the Artemis astronauts submitted to a Canadian Press interview. Because these are global problems. We can do great things together. We can do better as a human race. And heres one small example.

The editorialists at Canadas Globe and Mail newspaper picked up the theme. Ours is a world and a moment that sorely needs a reason to look up in astonished unison, they wrote. We dont get many shared experiences any more. Our histories, our entertainment, our windows on the world even the facts of our basic reality are fragmented into choose-your-own-adventure shards.

Colonel Hansen is the lineal descendant of Marc Garneau, the first Canadian in space, the way the three American Artemis astronauts are the descendants of Alan Shepard, the first American in space. The Apollo lunar missions drove innovation in ways never imagined, but they brought us more, Mr. Garneau told me. They left us proud and even awed by what we accomplished. They gave us confidence. They made us realize we could achieve the extraordinarily difficult. They brought us together and inspired humanity. They moved us forward. We need to build on that.

Everyone who has been into space feels that way. Jay Apt, who flew on four Space Shuttle missions, one as commander, believes space travel is an antidote to earthbound lassitude and public pessimism.

Optimism is essential to provide the energy people need to do almost anything outside of their daily routine, whether it be founding a small business, discovering the secrets of electricity, or having children, he said. Exploration in pretty much any era is inherently optimistic and draws the best from optimistic people, which is why I personally get a thrill seeing the images from space telescopes, Earth views from the space station, and can't wait for the photos and videos from the crews that will circle and land on the moon in the decades to come.

He is not alone. Ms. Levasseur, the museum curator, sees a definite change in the way people mingle amid the space capsules on the display floor. I see a connection that young people have with space program I havent seen before, she said. Its palpable.

Americans havent always felt that way. Dwight Eisenhower, who was no romantic, was skeptical of mounting a space effort even after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first satellite, in 1957. Id like to know whats on the other side of the moon, he said, but I wont pay to find out this year. When his successor, John F. Kennedy, launched the American effort to reach the moon, Mr. Eisenhower said, Anybody who would spend $40 billion in a race to the moon for national prestige is nuts.

Nuts we were, and nuts we are.

We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, Mr. Kennedy said in his challenge to NASA, but because they are hard." It still is hard, but away we go.

David M. Shribman is the former executive editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Emaildshribman@post-gazette.com. Twitter:@ShribmanPG

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What I’ve Learned: Senator Mark Kelly on Space Travel, Wife Gabby Giffords, and Gun Reform – Esquire

CONOR E. RALPH/The New York Times/Redux

Mark Kelly, fifty-nine, is the junior U.S. senator from Arizona. Previously he was a NASA astronaut and U.S. Navy pilot. He was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame on May 6, 2023. He spoke to Esquire from his office in Washington, D.C.

What have I learned from being a twin? Take risksbecause you have a ready supply of spare parts.

Twins have weird habits with each other. My brother and I have shaken hands once in our lives. The only time we ever did was when he got back from space and there was a camera there, specifically to capture the moment.

The wildest job Ive had is the United States Senate.

Some of my other jobs, whether it was flying airplanes in the Navy or fifteen years at NASA, were about science, data, and facts. On Capitol Hill, those are somewhat fluid concepts. Sometimes you see people just make some shit up. Thats surprising. In the United States Senate, people take this job seriously. People from both sides of the aisle try to stick with reality and facts. But occasionally, that gets pushed aside for political purposes.

I grew up Catholic. Had to go to Sunday school, for some reason, on Wednesdays.

My mom was the first woman to be a police officer in West Orange, New Jersey. She worked in a jail before that, as a guard. She was a trailblazer. She taught my brother and me about hard work and doing something thats really outside your comfort zone.

Mark Kelly and his twin brother, Scott, with their mother in the 1960s.

When I was in the ninth grade, I bought myself a stereo system and collected a bunch of albums. I had a lot of Elton John. Yeah, I think I liked Rocket Man.

I always felt like there was mandatory public service for me. My grandfather served in World War II in the Pacific. My other grandfather served in the Merchant Marine in the Atlantic during World War II. My dad was in the 82nd Airborne. I felt like it was my obligation to serve our country. It worked well with my goals. I wanted to fly off an aircraft carrier, and I also wanted to be an astronaut.

I flew thirty-nine combat missions over Iraq and Kuwait. After the first couple dozen of them, even though youre being shot at, you get used to it. But youre still wringing your hands over landing on the aircraft carrier at 3:00 in the morning. If you bolterif the hook on your airplane doesnt grab the wireyouve got to go around. Now a lot of people are watching. If you dont get aboard after two or three tries, youve got to go to the tanker to refuel. Now youre really starting to get stressed.

Ive got fifty-four days in space. I did make four trips to the space station. I was the last commander of the space shuttle Endeavour. I brought up whats arguably the most valuable payload ever floated in the space shuttle: It was the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on my last flight.

My third flight, we brought up toilet parts. You dont want the toilet to break in space. Not a good situation.

People dont realize that physiologically being in space is hard on you as a person. You lose blood volume. The fluid shifts in your body because of the lack of gravity. You just start to urinate out plasma volume. You come back very dehydrated. It messes up your neuro-vestibular system. Things that are pretty simple on earth become hard. Theres also a reasonable chance the whole things just going to blow up on you at liftoff.

The most rewarding thing about being in space is that youre doing something thats very technically challenging. A large team of people is trying to work together to accomplish some challenging goals for our country. Youve prepared for something for years. When it goes well and you come back safely and youve got everything done, its very rewarding.

We live on an island in our solar system. We dont have any other place to go. We need to take care of this planet because its the only one weve got.

Mark Kelly, right, and his brother, Scott, left, in Phoenix in November 2022.

At a very basic level, humans are explorers. We want to see whats over the next hill. We want to see whats across the ocean. We want to see whats on the surface of the moon. When we do that, we learn more about ourselves, but we also wind up developing significant technology that drives our economy for decades. From an economic standpoint, even though its an up-front investment and these things cost money, NASA is one of the great values for the U.S. taxpayer, because the country gets a very good return on that investment.

The Martian is the best movie about being in space.

Its likely that theres other life out there. Whether its intelligent life that travels around its own solar system or around the galaxy, at this point theres no evidence of that. Not that I can tell you, anyway.

Mark Kelly aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour prior to a simulated launch countdown in November 2001.

We have gun laws like no other country on the planet. Its crazy that we dont do background checks for all gun sales. Thats just something that most Americans think is the right thing to do. We give access to the most powerful weaponsweapons that are designed for the military, designed to kill a lot of people in a short period of timeto just about anybody. That doesnt make a lot of sense to me. We should have higher standards to own these kinds of firearms.

Im a believer in the Second Amendment. Im a gun owner myself. But we, as a country, have let this thing get out of control. Thats why we have mass shooting after mass shooting.

I wouldnt say Ive forgiven the guy who shot my wife Gabby [Giffords] or would ever forgive him for what he did. He murdered six people, including a nine-year-old girl. Shot Gabby in the head. Shot twelve other individuals, some multiple times. Horrific. But unless somebody asks me about it, I dont spend any time thinking about him or thinking about this. Im a lot like my wifemove ahead, move ahead. Thats not something that I spend any time on.

After what happened to Gabby and that she survived and thought about coming back, I often think theres a greater purpose in the world for certain people. That things dont just always happen by accident.

Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly on the campaign trail in Arizona in November 2022. Kelly was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2020 in a special election following the death of Senator John McCain. He was reelected to a full term in 2022.

When we finally send somebody to Mars, its probably a pretty good chance itll be somebody with a lot of experience but whos a little bit older. The reason is that the radiation dose is really high. The one way you can mitigate that is you send somebody whos older, because they have less time left to get cancer from the radiation and die from it. Theyre going to die from something else first. When we send somebody, its not going to be like Neil Armstrong at thirty-nine years old or Buzz Aldrin at thirty-nine. Itll probably be some guy around my age, sixty.

I could do that mission right now, and I would love toif it wasnt one-way. Id like to come back.

What Ive learned being on the Aging Committee are these programs, whether its Meals on Wheels or Medicare prescription-drug programs, are for people who really need them. The bill that the House passed would take away Meals on Wheels from a million seniors. Its a horrible thing to do to people.

Senator Mark Kelly at the Arizona Science Center in April 2023.

I only think about running for president when somebody like you asks that question, then Ill go on to the next thing I have to do, which is another fifty things today.

More than anything else from being a parent, I learned patience.

Window seat or aisle? I got to see this earth from space for fifty-four days. Aisle seat.

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What I've Learned: Senator Mark Kelly on Space Travel, Wife Gabby Giffords, and Gun Reform - Esquire

Space Grant Consortium makes space for everyone – UND Today – University of North Dakota

North Dakota NASA Space Grant Consortium invites students with visual impairments to explore space in new way

The NASA Space Grant Consortium, a nationwide effort started by NASA to increase interest and engagement in STEM and space studies in K-12 and university students, invited students with visual impairment from the North Dakota Vision Services/School for the Blind (NDVS/SB) for a tour of the Universitys comprehensive space studies facilities on May 1.

The North Dakota Space Grant Consortium, a part of NASAs consortia is housed in UNDs Clifford Hall and seeks to connect space studies students and faculty with NASA expertise and research.

Amanda Higginbotham, a commercial aviation student and NASA STEM ambassador with the consortium, said their primary interest is to get students involved with space studies.

Our main goal here is to excite people about space, Higginbotham said, Were trying to reach people from a variety of backgrounds, interests and education levels through afterschool programs, campus visits and activities. The tours like were doing here today are definitely one of my favorite parts of what we do.

Grace Heron, also an aviation student and NASA Stem ambassador, said that the consortium places a lot of emphasis on expanding accessibility in space studies.

The important thing for us with NASA is to promote diversity and accessibility for everyone in the field. There isnt just one type of person that can get into space studies, were really trying to promote the idea that its for everyone.

The visiting students were participating in a NDVS/SBs Short-Term Programs five day training session for elementary school. The focus of the program is the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC), a comprehensive plan to educate students in nine vision-related areas, including accessibility, technology, social interaction, and career education.

UND alumna and NDVS/SBs Student Program Coordinator, Cindy Williams, said that the organizations programs offer students access to experiences tailored to them in a way their schools may not be able to provide.

A lot of times in their home school or their local education agency, theyre the only ones with a visual impairment or blindness, the social aspect of it is really great for them, along with learning how to do things with vision loss that they may not have access to in their local school, Williams said. So, its important for them to get out in the community, and UND provided a really excellent opportunity for them to do that here.

The consortiums tour complimented the mission of the NDVS/SBs mission offering a wide range of interactive and exploratory activities and walking them through the intricate details of space studies.

For their part, the students seemed to enjoy the tour, as they were presented with various experiences ranging from an exploration of UNDs space shuttle simulators to time with braille workbooks that taught them about our solar system.

The space suit lab was a big hit with students; UND personnel in the space lab walked the students through the different components of space suits, showing them the different materials used and explaining how theyre designed specifically to keep astronauts safe.

The students were able to touch and hold the helmets and protective gloves of the suits for an up-close look at the materials and construction. Several students also got to try on the helmet, giving them a feel for what suiting up for space travel is really like.

Higginbotham, Heron and Cassandra Taggart, took great care in setting up a tour that catered to the students needs to provide them with a fulfilling experience and foster their interest in space.

The consortium and students developed a tour that was equally enjoyable and educational, coordinating with aerospace labs and creating 3D constellation models so that students could get a truly holistic view of space studies.

Pipe cleaner constellations and solar eclipse models made out of construction paper and art supplies were passed around for students to study with their hands, all made by the Space Grants STEM ambassadors.

We make lesson plans for things like today in house, Higginbotham said, most of the learning materials were using today were made by STEM ambassadors. Ive done one other tour with NDVS/SB where I observed and made a cheat sheet of different things that would work. The rest was just making sure that we prepared everything so that the tour could be safe and successful.

The tours sensory experiences offered something for every student. Some eagerly hopped into the shuttle simulation to get a taste of cramped space travel and investigate the feel of the simulator control panels switches and buttons, while others preferred the quiet inspection of textured pictures of planets in our solar system, complete with braille labeling.

No matter what the students gravitated toward, the experience surely left a lasting impression and planted the seeds of the world of space exploration in their young minds. Williams concurred that experiences like these are an important avenue to get these students interested in STEM.

We have collaborated with the North Dakota Space Grant Consortium in the past as well and they always do an excellent job of explaining things and giving the students hands-on and tactile experiences. Its important for the students to have that firsthand experience and UND always offers it in an accessible way, Williams said.

The efforts made by the consortium and UNDs faculty and students to improve accessibility are an excellent stride toward capturing the imagination of students with diverse needs. By introducing them to the realm of space exploration students, the consortium not only engages students in STEM-related activities but also fosters future leaders in the field. After all, space is for everyone.

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Space Grant Consortium makes space for everyone - UND Today - University of North Dakota

Down to Earth with Del 2 > United States Space Force > News – Space Force

By Ms. Emily Peacock / Published May 09, 2023

On this edition of Down to Earth, were checking in with Space Delta 2 Space Domain Awareness to meet Space Force Master Sgt. Ana Afonso.

While she spent most of her youth in Galveston, Texas, Afonso and her family hail from the Philippines, but moved to Texas following the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo.

My parents knew that I would have better opportunities here in the U.S. rather than in the Philippines, Afonso said. They sacrificed so much for us to start over here.

Afonsos military journey started in 2011 when she enlisted in the Air Force as a Space Operator. She would later go on to be one of the first Airmen to transfer to the Space Force in 2020.

I actually transferred on September 11, Afonso added. That was extremely special.

Currently, Afonso serves as the superintendent for an operating location within Del 2, ensuring her tiny, yet mighty team of Guardians successfully activates a new squadron within the Space Force.

I coordinate operator integration into new space capabilities and ensure future systems are built with a warfighting perspective, Afonso explained.

When asked what her favorite hobby is outside of work, Afonso reflected on her new-found love of travel and photography.

Through the military, Ive been able to travel all over, and Ive loved being able to capture those memories with my camera, Afonso shared. New places and new cultures definitely kick-started my love for photography.

With May as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Afonso says she feels most connected to her Filipino roots by celebrating with food and family.

Filipinos show love with food and cook with their hearts, Afonso said. Food is a great reason for everyone to gather and its how I remember celebrating every day with my family.

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Down to Earth with Del 2 > United States Space Force > News - Space Force

Moving to Mars? – The Week

Is it time for humans to inhabit space? SpaceX and NASA certainly think so. Elon Musk's space company had its first rocket test flight and Musk has been vocal about his goal to reach Mars. NASA has also made strides towards space habitation byannouncing the crew manning the next mission to the moon and unveiling 3D-printed habitats for four people to live like they would on Mars.

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The moon is also viewed as the next colonizable territory for the world, which has launched the U.S. into a fierce space race with China. NASA's Artemis mission aims to get people to the moon once again and use that knowledge to "take the next giant leap: sending the first astronauts to Mars." While the effort has set into high gear, there are plenty of critics of space colonization.

Some argue that there are far too many hurdles to jump before we can actually inhabit space, while others see it as the way of the future.

So far, much of our exploration of space has been through robots and technology, however, humans "canmovefasterthanrobotsandmakequickerdecisions," NASA chief scientist James Green told Upfront. This could allow for Mars and the moon to be studied and analyzed far faster and more efficiently. Sending humans to Mars could be a huge step in discovering whether it once contained life.

NASA revealed a potential habitat for four astronauts to live in Mars-like conditions in preparation for a Mars expedition in the future. "What can take a rover days and weeks to analyze, a person can study in just hours," Green added. NASA also emphasized the goal of its Artemis mission to the moon is to "allow our robots and astronauts to explore more and conduct more science than ever before."

While some view extraplanetary habitation as a way for the human race to survive, others see space travel and colonization as merely a distraction from addressing the problems on Earth. "We should deal with our own environmental issues here first," wroteBruce Dorminey inForbes."Then worry about terraforming Mars." The lessons learned "from cleaning up our own planet and preserving its flora and fauna will only help us when terraforming the world next door."

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Climate change is currently one of the largest problems human civilization is facing. It is threatening our resources and livelihood. Advancing technology like carbon capture methods and geoengineeringas well as switching to renewable energy can help combat climate change but require more investment to come to fruition. "The billions if not trillions of dollars needed to colonize Mars could, for example, be better spent investing in renewable forms of energy to address climate change," argued Zahaan Bharmal of TheGuardian. "There is no guarantee that the same fate would not befall Mars colonists."

Humans are meant to explore and space is simply the next treasure trove of discovery. "The greatest accomplishments come from taking risks, exploring the unknown, and reaching for the stars," remarked Lauren Brace forThe Central Trend. "For a planet that is constantly evolving, it seems only fitting that we expand our horizons to another destination out of this world."

Exploration and discovery are tenets of the human experience and "we pick up the mantle of ourexplorer ancestors, and we explore again," Jack Brady opined inTheMichigan Daily. Having an otherworldly goal gives society a goal to work toward and "expanding, outwardly-focused civilizations are farless likely to turn onthemselves," per Fred Kennedy inForbes. Brady adds that space exploration "gives us an opportunity to dream again to change our course as a species forever."

While the idea of being a species of more than one planet is exciting, the "idea of living on another world where we can't be outside just doesn't sound that appealing," according to Bill Nye. In reality, neither the moon nor Mars has an atmosphere or environment that humans can freely live on as they do on Earth. Mars in particular would require terraforming or "transforming Mars into a more Earth-like habitat," according to USA Today.

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"Everything on Earth, from its atmosphere to its climate to its gravity, is a factor that we have evolved around," and in turn, humans have the "extreme disability to survive anywhere other than Earth,"Skyler Verrone wrote in an opinion forThe Triangle. Essentially, "it'sanenormouschallengetogethumanssafelytothesedestinations," senior scientist for the Planetary Science Institute AmandaHendrix told Upfront.

With threats like climate change and nuclear war, moving to the moon or Mars might just be our only hope. Elon Musk has long supported this idea, saying that becoming interplanetary will "safeguard the existence of humanity in the event that something catastrophic were to happen." Perhaps a "Planet B" is not a terrible idea.

Life on Earth is fragile as it is and any number of world-ending events could occur. "In the last 500 million years of the Earth's history there have been five mass extinctions of species," NASA's director of planetary scienceJim Greene, told NBC News."If we're going to live as a species, we're going to have to 'back up' in other places ... and that place is Mars."

Even if we do decide to move to the moon or Mars, the cost is a substantial barrier. Humans "require a vast support infrastructure to provide things like water, food, and breathable air," Bharmal continued. All of these require significant technological advancement in addition to the cost of actually moving people on Earth to the moon or Mars.

"The question isn't whether or not we're technologically capable of doing it, because we are. The question is whether or not we have the political will to do it,"NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine. Governments have long expressed interest in putting man back on the moon and traveling to Mars but fell short when it came to budget. However now, there are private investors like Elon Musk as well as better technology. "The question is: Will we receive the budgetto do it right now?"

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Moving to Mars? - The Week

Will we ever…hibernate in space? – BBC

The year is 2039, and you're an astronaut on your way to Mars. You're only three months into the eight-month-long journey, and already your body is facing an onslaught of radiation from outer space. In zero gravity, your bones and muscles are at risk of wasting away.

You're not worried though, as you are about to enter your own private stasis booth. Cocooned inside, you'll blissfully sleep away the hours and days until you emerge fresh and rejuvenated at your destination.

For a long time a trope of science fiction stories, some scientists believe that human hibernation across the vastness of space could one day be possible.

If it were, it would be a boon for space exploration. A single astronaut consumes about 30kg (66lbs) of food and water a week. Multiply that by the approximate 16 months it would take to travel to Mars and back, and that adds up to a pretty hefty spaceship for all that life support.

Hibernating astronauts, on the other hand, wouldn't eat or drink much, and would consume minimal oxygen. Hibernation could therefore save mission controllers a huge amount of money, reducing the amount of food cargo needed by 75% and the size of spacecraft needed by up to one-third.

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There's also the psychological factors to consider. Hibernating astronauts wouldn't get bored, stressed, or lonely, and less time and space would be needed to help keep them fit or entertained.

"There is uncertainty in how humans will react to the effect of no longer seeing Earth as a close-by planet out of the window, and seeing only dark outside," says Leopold Summerer, head of the European Space Agency's (Esa) Advanced Concepts Team, which keeps an eye on new space technologies. "The psychological stress this may induce is a bit of an unknown."

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Will we ever...hibernate in space? - BBC

Space Logistics Market Size to Hit USD 20.38 Billion by 2032; Rise … – GlobeNewswire

Newark, May 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Brainy Insights estimates that the space logistics market will grow to USD 4.17 billion in 2022 and reach USD 20.38 billion by 2032. In just ten years, the increase in space investments by different countries globally for space exploration & commercial & military applications is helping to boost the market growth. Moreover, the growing technological advancements in launch technologies and a trend toward offering integrative solutions to help space missions with logistics and launch support are expected to drive market growth.

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Report Coverage Details

Key Insight of the Space Logistics Market

North America to account for the largest market size during the forecast period.

North America is expected to have the largest market share in the space logistics market. Key factors favouring the growth of the space logistics market in North America include increasing government support for the industry, growing private company investment, high investment in space travel missions, and increasing technological advancements in launch technologies. These are also helping to boost market growth.

The spacecraft and satellites systems segment is expected to augment the space logistics market during the forecast period.

The payloads segment is divided into cargo and material, spacecraft and satellites systems, and others. The spacecraft and satellites systems segment held the largest market share in 2022 and is expected to continue during the forecast period owing to the increasing demand for space-based applications and rising investments in space exploration programs.

The space situational awareness segment market size was USD 0.96 billion in 2022

The operation segment is divided into on-orbit servicing assembly and manufacturing, active debris removal, last mile logistics, space exploration, and space situational awareness. The space situational awareness segment market size was USD 0.96 billion in 2022 due to the increasing demand for earth observation imaginary and analytics.

Advancement in market

For example, in December 2020, to cooperatively address terrestrial complications & take benefit of extraterrestrial options, Deutsche Post DHL Group & D-Orbit formed cooperation. The logistics for ION Satellite Carrier were put up in collaboration between D-Orbit and DHL.

Blue Origin is one of the prominent participants in the space logistics industry, focusing on developing reusable rockets & spacecraft for space tourism and other applications. The Blue Origin company has invested in the New Glenn rocket for orbital launches and the New Shepard rocket and capsule for suborbital space tourism.

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Market Dynamics

Driver: The increasing space exploration missions and rise in space stations:

A space station is a space housing because it can support a crew aboard in orbit for a long duration of time. An artificial spacecraft is named an orbital space station or orbital station. Without the capability to help life, space cannot increase steadily. It also indicates the need for building space stations. The rising development of space stations like Lunar Gateway, Orbital Reef, and Starlab, among others, is expected to create demand for space logistics to provide accessories, cargo, or fuel to space stations.

Restraint: The interoperability issues:

The high initial prices affected by launch services & emerging issues relating to the heat, weight, and vertical landing of space vehicles are the restraining factor of the market growth. Moreover, the high involvement, the heightened emissions due to the increasing number of space launches, and interoperability issues are expected to hamper the market growth.

Opportunity: The growing space debris removal services:

Rapid advancements in space technologies, planetary satellite carriers, and novel interplanetary development drive market growth. Moreover, new plans for space tourism & concerns over space debris are also helping to boost the market growth. Additionally, the rising development of initiatives by space agencies to remove space debris is expected to drive market growth over the forecast period.

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Some of the major players operating in the space logistics market are:

Airbus Defense and Space Boeing Northrop Grumman Lockheed Martin Orbital ATK Blue Origin Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) Sierra Nevada Corporation Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Thales Alenia Space Honeywell International Dynetics Virgin Galactic Rocket Lab Arianespace RUAG Space NanoRacks Bigelow Aerospace Astrobotic Technology

Key Segments cover in the market:

By Payloads:

Cargo and Material Spacecraft and Satellites Systems Others

By Operation:

On-Orbit Servicing Assembly and Manufacturing Active Debris Removal Last Mile Logistics Space Exploration Space Situational Awareness

By Region

North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico) Europe (Germany, France, the U.K., Italy, Spain, Rest of Europe) Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, Rest of APAC) South America (Brazil and the Rest of South America) The Middle East and Africa (UAE, South Africa, Rest of MEA)

About the report:

The market is analyzed based on value (USD Billion). All the segments have been analyzed worldwide, regional, and country basis. The study includes the analysis of more than 30 countries for each part. The report analyzes driving factors, opportunities, restraints, and challenges for gaining critical insight into the market. The study includes porter's five forces model, attractiveness analysis, product analysis, supply, and demand analysis, competitor position grid analysis, distribution, and marketing channels analysis.

About The Brainy Insights:

The Brainy Insights is a market research company, aimed at providing actionable insights through data analytics to companies to improve their business acumen. We have a robust forecasting and estimation model to meet the clients' objectives of high-quality output within a short span of time. We provide both customized (clients' specific) and syndicate reports. Our repository of syndicate reports is diverse across all the categories and sub-categories across domains. Our customized solutions are tailored to meet the clients' requirements whether they are looking to expand or planning to launch a new product in the global market.

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Avinash DHead of Business DevelopmentPhone: +1-315-215-1633Email: sales@thebrainyinsights.comWeb: http://www.thebrainyinsights.com

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Space Logistics Market Size to Hit USD 20.38 Billion by 2032; Rise ... - GlobeNewswire

Virgin Orbit Failure Casts Cloud Over Space Voyages – Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

Space is not just the preserve of scientists and astronauts. Its also big business and has an impact on our economy and may even one day become a tourist destination.

Our experienced Kiplinger Letter team will update you on all the important developments (Get a free issue of The Kiplinger Letter or subscribe). You will get updates first by subscribing, but we will publish many (but not all) of the forecasts a few days afterward online. Heres the latest

The rising challenges in space are highlighted by Virgin Orbits recent bankruptcy. The launch company struggled to rise amid a crowded field of space firms and underscores the froth in the market that we noted in January.

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Virgin Orbit (VORBQ) was vying to offer flexibility and lower costs to take small satellites into orbit. The company, founded in 2017, has launched 33 satellites but burned through $1 billion in cash and couldnt find more funding to keep operating, resulting in nearly 700 layoffs.

For now, the number of rocket launch providers well exceeds demand, especially with the economy slowing in the near term. Consider that even SpaceX, the leading launch provider, needs to secure funding to continue operations.

Meanwhile, note an upcoming milestone for the commercial space industry: SpaceXs first launch of its Starship, a first-of-its-kind reusable rocket thats nearly 400 feet tall, with a payload capacity of up to 150 tons. The initial focus is bringing satellites into orbit, but the rocket is capable of taking a crew to the moon or possibly Mars.

SpaceX says it will be able to carry 100 people on long flights. The huge, reusable rocket will usher in a new era of commercial space travel.

This forecast first appeared in the The Kiplinger Letter. Since 1925, the Letter has helped millions of business executives and investors profit by providing reliable forecasts on business and the economy, as well as what to expect from Washington. Get a free issue of The Kiplinger Letter or subscribe.

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Virgin Orbit Failure Casts Cloud Over Space Voyages - Kiplinger's Personal Finance

Ashlee Vance’s ‘When The Heavens Went On Sale’ unveils the … – Space.com

Best-selling author Ashlee Vance turns from SpaceX to four other fast-growing commercial space companies in his new book.

Vance, well-known for his best-selling biography of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, turns his focus to commercial space more generally in his new book "When the Heavens Went on Sale: The Misfits and Geniuses Racing to Put Space Within Reach" (opens in new tab) (Ecco, 2023).

The book traces the back story of Rocket Lab, Planet Labs, Firefly and Astra as these four commercial space companies evolve from startups to significant players in the industry. Whether pursuing reusable rockets or targeting lunar missions, these companies are just a few examples of how quickly startups and other private companies are changing spaceflight, Vance argues.

Space.com caught up with Vance this week to talk about the new things he learned about these companies, which are launching payloads to Earth orbit and even the moon, to gaze at our planet or to provide satellite services.

Related: The private spaceflight decade: How commercial space truly soared in the 2010s

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Ashlee Vance is theNew York Timesbestselling author ofElon Muskand a feature writer atBloomberg Businessweek. He is also the host ofHello World, a travel show that centers on inventors and scientists all over the planet. Previously, he worked as a reporter for theNew York Times,theEconomist, andtheRegister.

Space.com: Many readers will remember you from your best-selling biography "Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future (opens in new tab)" (Ecco, 2017), about Elon Musk. If you were to do an update to the book today, what sort of information would you emphasize or want to include?

Vance: That book captured this moment in time where, after these ups and downs in his career, Musk was really just starting to hit his stride. And even though we had these quite spectacular glimpses of his eccentric personality in there, the full bloom was yet to show itself. When that book ends, he's been adopted by the left and he's this symbol of green technology, and is pushing against the right. Clearly, since the book went out, his politics has shifted and gotten muddy. Then the full Elon has let himself loose on Twitter. So you've got this this figure he's much more complicated and polarizing, I would say, than the one that I left off.

Related: SpaceX: Facts about Elon Musk's private spaceflight company

Space.com: SpaceX gets a lot of attention within the commercial space industry, but your book is focusing on four other companies: Astra, Firefly, Planet Labs, and Rocket Lab. Can you briefly talk about what makes each of these companies unique in the industry?

Vance: I purposely wanted to move away from from the billionaires in space tourism, and missions to Mars, and focus on what I see as the more immediate and real goings-on in space and in low Earth orbit. Planet I see as a great example of the reason why we're going to low Earth orbits and what we can do. Their satellites represent both a lot of the idealism of commercial space and also the action of how going to space can actually do something for life on Earth.

Rocket Lab was for me this this almost hero's journey of a platonic engineer in founder Peter Beck. I wanted to capture this very unlikely story of a guy who doesn't even go to university and is living in a country [New Zealand] with no aerospace history or industry to lead basically the second coming of SpaceX. I thought that showed how far the commercial space industry has come; something like that would have been impossible not too long ago.

Related: Photos of Earth by Planet Labs' satellites (gallery)

With Astra, on one level, the story was about the most extreme end of the rocket business, the cheapest rocket that's being mass produced with a goal of making one every day and sending one up every day. But it was also, for me, a story of the struggle and what goes into this. I had the opportunity to be at the company since Day 1, and to be a fly on the wall, and to really show people what it takes to make rockets and the clear ups and downs that come with that and the trauma. It still remains a very hard thing to do.

The Firefly story? People should know it is less of a Firefly story and really a story of Max Polyakov, the Ukrainian business person who ends up taking over this bankrupt rocket maker in Texas. To me, it's something like a tragedy of commercial space. This person who puts $250 million into a rocket company ends up being, spoiler alert, forced out of the company (opens in new tab) by the U.S. government. It really gets into the changing nature of geopolitics around all this, and the chaos that's about to ensue.

Space.com: One source in your book traces back some of the commercial activity to the 1980s Department of Defense's Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), which was nicknamed "Star Wars" and had a headline focus of missile defense. Can you talk a bit about why and what influences SDI provided today on the U.S. space program?

Vance: That SDI history really centers on Pete Worden, who was this astrophysicist-general in the U.S. Air Force who was not only a major figure in SDI, but also this iconic classic visionary. For many decades he had a vision, a clear picture in his head of where he thought all this was going in terms of cheap rockets that could be sent off readily, and cheap satellites. Just generally doing things in space differently. I think SDI was something of a forbearer in the sense of radical ideas and investing in space in a different way. It's really for me around the person of Pete, who is this figure lurking in the background of the military and the government and NASA. He was really filtering these ideas through the United States when something like SpaceX arrived to make it feel feasible and exciting.

Related: Presidential Visions for space exploration: From Ike to Biden

Space.com: How much of an influence did NASA have on early commercial space activity, especially with the space shuttle and programs like commercial cargo on the International Space Station?

Vance: NASA had a huge influence on commercial space, although it always struck me as conflicted. It always felt like there were a couple of different camps within NASA: the one that doubted commercial space and was more tied to military contractors, the status quo that didn't really want to see change; and then a smaller group within NASA that saw the promise of where commercial space could go. Without question, SpaceX greatly benefited from NASA support and would not be where it is today without NASA. Even a lot of these rocket startups and satellite startups get contracts that help them get going and survive lean times.

I argue in the book that I'm not really here to bash NASA over the head relentlessly, but it's to me a very flawed organization still. It seems to have an allergic reaction to doing things in a new way. It's because of the way it's governed in the United States. It's is just too beholden to these lumbering laggards of military contractors, and Congress. Having its budget and agenda set by Congress is a disaster.

Space.com: Do you have a favorite story in the book highlighting international space outside of the United States?

Vance: Rocket Lab is my favorite example, because, even though it's technically based in the United States, it's a New Zealand company that nobody ever thought would be would be possible to be in New Zealand. You can argue quite convincingly that after the United States, New Zealand has the most exciting vibrant commercial space economy because of Rocket Lab. There's a dozen or so aerospace startups in this very small country. It's become something of an epicenter for all this talent.

If you look around the world, there's rocket startups in Japan and Europe, too. It's just an exciting time globally to see all these different places having a go at this [after] a handful of governments were the dominant spacefaring nations for so long. It is giving way to something new.

Space.com: While your book focuses on a few individuals, I also get the sense that they are meant to represent the vast teams of people who have made commercial space such a success today. How well are we doing in media and related industries in recognizing the thousands of folks who are forming the backbone of the industry?

Vance: There's this obvious tendency to focus on the people that are up top, but in the Astra part of my book, I went out of my way to try and show that these things take a wealth of talent to make. The characters and their backgrounds are fascinating, and probably quite different than what people expect when the average person thinks of space. This is not the era of companies full of MIT [Massachusetts Institute of Technology] PhDs, or our "best and bravest" pilots doing test missions. There's high school dropouts and young people coming out of the military who make up the new era of commercial space.

In this part of the book, I really wanted to show especially for young readers the incredible and diverse backgrounds of all these people that really have a passion for this, and are willing to work hard. This is not some elitist industry now. You can get into it. But I think probably the press writ large, we just focus so much on the leaders when clearly, these things take a team of people to be a success.

Related: VP Kamala Harris calls to diversify US space workforce

Space.com: Many companies are now targeting the moon for commercial activity. Can you talk about which of the four companies you featured in your book are going there, and how?

Vance: Well, it's an area that I focus on less clearly in the book, and less in general. I just get so much more excited about low Earth orbit, because I think that's where the action is really taking place. I find a lot of this other stuff interesting and worthwhile but just so long term.

But I do think it's exciting that we've already seen Rocket Lab, with this small rocket from New Zealand, doing a mission to the moon. That's amazing. I also write in the book about the group of people who are noodling the idea of what a lunar constitution might look like, and could we do governance differently there. What excites me is the idea of not repeating all our same mistakes and trends here on Earth, and maybe trying something new up above us.

Space.com: What's next for the four companies you featured?

Vance: Planet Labs is in some ways the furthest along, in that it's already put up so many satellites and has delivered this service. But I think it's early days for people understanding how to use these images it provides.

Rocket Lab has a clear competitor to SpaceX Falcon 9 coming. Its Neutron rocket will be very exciting to see; so far it's been the only company, really, that's able to even vaguely keep up with SpaceX and has this track record to build on.

Astra has a bit of "make it or break it" moment with a new rocket, and really needs it to succeed if it's able to launch later this year or so. Then Firefly, poor Max, one of my favorite characters in the book. He's been pushed out, but Firefly's still going and they have a mission coming up that's very much in the spirit of my book. The U.S. government, on very short notice, is going to have them try to do a rapid rocket launch without the usual preparation time, in the spirit of this idea of responsive [access to] space.

Space.com: Anything else you want to include to tell us more about the book?

Vance: I want people to know that, yes, this is a space book and a business book, but it's really meant to be a story of larger-than-life characters in stranger-than-fiction situations. I worked very hard and spent five years getting myself in all these rooms to give people what I think is the first time ever sitting inside these companies and seeing what commercial space looks like at this level. I wanted to open this world up to the readers.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

Elizabeth Howell is the co-author of "Why Am I Taller (opens in new tab)?" (ECW Press, 2022; with Canadian astronaut Dave Williams), a book about space medicine. Follow her on Twitter@howellspace (opens in new tab). Follow us on Twitter@Spacedotcom (opens in new tab)orFacebook (opens in new tab).

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Ashlee Vance's 'When The Heavens Went On Sale' unveils the ... - Space.com

Crater Stumbles Trying to Be The Breakfast Club in Space – Paste Magazine

On behalf of the children, heres a request for adult screenwriters writing kid-oriented fare: Please, lighten up. This generations had a bum three years, and are staring down a tumultuous future. Dont they deserve some throwback-style, fun stories featuring some danger and adventure, yet packed with a lot less trauma? I lament because Crater, the latest Disney+ original movie, actually made me sad for those tweens and teens excited about getting a space romp adventure, only for them to discoverit is not.

Which is even more disappointing because Crater features an original story, set in 2257, with a lot of potential. Sporting solid visual effects despite a modest budget, it opens on a lunar mining colony where five teen friends are panicking as they try to hotwire an industrial rover. Its mere minutes before a meteor shower lockdownfor some reason they have to get out of the compound. As is the way these days with most storytelling, the narrative suddenly flashes back in medias res to earlier in the day to set some context. The ringleader of the group is newly-orphaned Caleb Channing (Isaiah Russell-Bailey). An executive at the lunar colony tells him in light of his fathers recent death in a mining incident, Caleb is now ensured a coveted one-way trip to the world of Omega. Essentially a colonized new Earth 75 light years away, hell get a new foster family and a fresh start on an idyllic planet. However, Caleb isnt interested because hell lose the only people hes got left, his best friends Dylan (Billy Barratt), Borney (Orson Hong) and Marcus (Thomas Boyce). Caleb also wants to fulfill his dads last request, which is to travel out into the lunar landscape to visit a secret crater that meant a lot to his mom and dad before she passed away seven years ago. And here the trauma startsfun!

His pals are all in, but they dont have the codes needed to leave the perimeter, so they seek the aid of new lunar misfit, Addison (Mckenna Grace). Recently relocated to the colony with her administrator dad, the guys know she hasnt exactly fit into her new home well, so Dylan pitches her Calebs sob story and she agrees to help them. They acquire the codes and drive out onto the moonscape. From there, Crater should have easily zoomed along as one last space adventure with the five friends doing anti-grav doughnuts, eating freeze-dried ice cream and maybe even exploring a visually impressive abandoned lunar city that gets left in their lunar dust. A few of those things get touched upon, but unfortunately John Griffins script is more interested in achieving The Breakfast Club in space status which means we get a lot of angst and depressing character backstories filling up the way-too-long two-hour runtime.

As the five roll towards their goal, Crater gets very talky. The kids share details about their rather sad lives as the progeny of mining parents who have essentially been turned into indentured servants. Promised tickets to Omega after 20 years of work, the common theme is that most workers have been bait-and-switched into laboring away the arbitrarily assigned debt that has locked them to the mines. And so the boys have only existed inside the lunar dome, poorly educated and never seeing blue skies or nature. Some of them have dire medical conditions or suffer from major anxiety, and all five have terrible homelife stories which they share in bleak little pockets of exposition that the kid actors sell a little too well. Because the script never lightens up on these non-stop angst moments, Crater suffers from a case of tonal whiplash. One entertaining set piece of jet-pack play or a scene with the kids binge-eating a stash of never-before-eaten foods cant possibly overcome the tsunami of melancholic moments the adult filmmakers cant seem to stop indulging in.

And thats a double bummer because the cast establishes an entertaining rapport. Russell-Bailey gives us an empathetic lead in Caleb, while Grace is, as always, great and anchors a lot of those emotional moments forced upon us. Crater also makes the interesting choice to sideline almost all adults in the story unless they are needed to drop a bit of expositionor in Calebs case, provide us (too many) random flashbacks with his father (Scott Mescudi). Its an original choice to make for a movie tailored to a teen audience, and one that works because the cast is up to the challenge.

However, from a story perspective, Crater is scripted like a fragile house of cards, relying on far too many coincidences in service of moving the plot along. From selective meteors, to unmonitored gates and abandoned outposts with no door locks yet fully stocked closets, theres no logic to much of what the kids encounter. You can practically hear the filmmakers whispering throughout: Just go with it And that is especially true with regards to what they find at the secret crater. The whole set piece is an enormous head scratcher thats essentially left in the exposition moon dust so they can instead focus on making the characters (and I guess, the audience) cry.

That maudlin approach carries through to the very end, with director Kyle Patrick Alvarez sacrificing narrative sense and three-quarters of his own cast for an out-of-nowhere conclusion that is so emotionally over-orchestrated, it might as well come with an onion peeler to forcibly squeeze the tears out of its viewers. Awkwardly constructed and inanely executed via audio messages (in a world with interstellar space travel!), Craters last 15 minutes are a disservice to the cast who shouldered the majority of the film, and the sappy cheat of an ending will not inspire many to give it any repeated viewings.

Director: Kyle Patrick AlvarezWriter: John GriffinStarring: Mckenna Grace, Isaiah Russell-Bailey, Billy Barratt, Orson Hong, Thomas BoyceRelease Date: May 12, 2023 (Disney+)

Tara Bennett is a Los Angeles-based writer covering film, television and pop culture for publications such as SFX Magazine, Total Film, SYFY Wire and more. Shes also written books on Sons of Anarchy, Outlander, Fringe, The Story of Marvel Studios and The Art of Avatar: The Way of Water. You can follow her on Twitter @TaraDBennett or Instagram @TaraDBen

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Crater Stumbles Trying to Be The Breakfast Club in Space - Paste Magazine

ESA Webinar on Accessibility in Human Spaceflight – Space Ref

What are the next steps for making human spaceflight more inclusive, accessible, and safer? How can designing for space accessibility improve accessibility on Earth? Where does ESAs parastronaut feasibility project stand?

On Thursday, 11 May 2023 at 15:00-17:00 CEST, [9:00 am EDT 11:00 am EDT] join the webinar organised by ESAs Advanced Concepts Team and ESAs Chief Diversity Officer, with the support of the non-profit BIRNE7 e.V.

Click here: https://esacontact.esa.int/event/sessions?id=Accessibility_in_Human_Spaceflight2224318998 to register to the seminar on Thursday, 11 May 2023, 15:00 to 17:00 CEST.

For the past six decades, humanity has witnessed approximately 630 astronauts leave Earth for orbital missions of short or long duration. In recent years, diversity in human spaceflight has increased, in terms of gender, culture, age, nationality and disability.

The launch of ESAs parastronaut feasibility project, along with the selection of the first astronaut with a physical disability, has brought greater attention to the conversation about accessibility. As we prepare to return to the Moon, making space travel accessible to all is a game-changer.

The purpose of this webinar is to shed light on the importance of designing space architecture and technologies that are safe, accessible, and sustainable. We will explore how designing for space accessibility can improve accessibility on Earth and learn more about ESAs parastronaut feasibility project.

Programme

Welcome remarks: Ersilia Vaudo, ESA Chief Diversity Officer Space for Persons with Disabilities. Pushing frontiers while leaving no one behind: Xing Yi Ang, UNOOSA Associate Scientific Affairs Officer Fly! Feasibility Study: Jerome Reineix, ESA Project Controller for Human and Robotic Exploration The Human Factor in the Formulation of Space Architecture: Daniel Inocente, BlueOrigin Senior Space Architect The Feasibility of an Accessible Lunar Base: Antonia Sattler, former ESA Advanced Concepts Team AstroAccess Design Case Study. Making Space Accessible for Everyone: Anastasia Prosina, Stellar Amenities CEO and Founder Q&A session (15-20 mins)

The webinar is open to all. However, participation will be limited to 250 people during the live session.

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ESA Webinar on Accessibility in Human Spaceflight - Space Ref

So, we already have a colour of the year for 2025 – Yahoo Life

Colour of the year 2025

Technological developments, from air travel to the internet, have broken down barriers in time and space. Time travel still isn't possible, however; but that's not stopping one trend predictor from calling the colour of year for 2025 already.

It says that based on emerging trends in society, the colour of 2025 will be the aptly named 'Future Dusk', an alluring hue sitting between dark violet and midnight blue (see our jargon-free guide to colour theory if you need to brush up).

The trend forecasting companyWGSNand its sister company, the color systemColoro say that colours in spring/summer 2025 will "reflect a significant shift towards strategic imagination, where innovative ideas will be crucial in solving the challenges arising from a continued period of disruption, volatility and uncertainty."

And that translates as 'Future Dusk' (Coloro 129-35-18), which WGSN thinks can serve for clothing or interiors as a statement or as "fresh take on dependable dark blue" as a playful neutral. It reckons its also the perfect colour for metallic finishes to create a "celestial allure"

WGSN says the colour "feeds into themes of transition whether it be moving from dark to light, or dusk to dawn making it perfect for a period of immense change." It certainly has a futuristic feel, tapping into the newfound interest in space travel by recalling the colours of dust and gases in nebulae while also fitting the sci-fi-like feeling of new technology like AI and the metaverse.

"In the near future, the lines between reality and fantasy will become more blurred than ever," WGSN's head of colour Urangoo Samba says. "Future Dusk is an immersive and transformative color, aligned with this direction."

WGSN claims that it has a 90% accuracy rate in predicting trends based on emerging patterns in society, though I also wonder to what extent its colour predictions may become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Only time will tell whether Future Dusk still feels futuristic in two years' time. The company's call for next year couldn't be any more different its colour of the year 2024 is a warm and sunny pastel Apricot Crush.

For more colour inspiration in the meantime, see Adobe's handy colour palette cheat sheet.

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So, we already have a colour of the year for 2025 - Yahoo Life

Populous Engaged by RS&H to Collaborate on New Mexico’s … – Populous

The New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) has awarded the Spaceport America Master Plan Project to the RS&H team, with Populous and Zia Engineering & Environmental Consultants respectively leading key aspects of the future visioning and environmental stewardship critical to the project. Spaceport America and NMSA will partner with the team to identify the current and future market opportunities that will drive the success of Spaceport America.

The spaceport master plan study will include various considerations for future operations (space and aviation), macro and micro-industry trends, national security space requirements and operations, public and private investments, potential launch vehicles operating from the site, frequency of flights, potential payloads, propellant storage, regulatory trends, and development options for future spaceport operations.

Populous will provide master-planning support to the team, in addition to leading the branding and event programming analysis efforts during the 12-month master plan effort.

Commercial space operations are growing at a tremendous rate, and due to the foresight of New Mexico leaders going back more than two decades, Spaceport America is primed for this evolution, said Scott McLaughlin, Executive Director of NMSA. The master plan will help sharpen the focus for this journey, concentrating on markets that best fit our substantial and unique competitive advantages which someday will very likely include orbital launch and reentry.

Spaceport America is our gateway to a new frontier and plays an essential role in the advancement of space travel, scientific research, technological innovation, and national security, said Brian Mirakian, Populous senior principal. This is an exciting moment for Populous and we couldnt be more thrilled for the opportunity to work alongside our partners on this ambitious project as we chart the future for the first purpose-built spaceport in the world.

The team will engage with local, state, and national aerospace leaders to help guide the sustainable development of Spaceport America. This feedback will help determine ways to meet the needs of high technology companies and entities that form the cornerstone of the burgeoning space industry operating at Spaceport America, while also ensuring the NMSA mission is fulfilled to promote economic development, safety, education, work force, and strong environmental stewardship. These efforts will further position New Mexico and Spaceport America on a critical path forward to support growth in the community and future operations at Spaceport America.

Andrew Nelson, RS&H Vice President of Aerospace noted, I am looking forward to working with Spaceport America and the State of New Mexico on this important project; but more importantly, I am excited about the opportunity to engage with many local and statewide citizens on the future of Spaceport America.

Stakeholders will play a critical role in this 12-month effort to develop the master plan as the team works to identify opportunities for growth in New Mexicos aerospace industry. Public involvement will help define the best path ahead for Spaceport America through a needs and wants assessment. In this effort, RS&H will launch a comprehensive outreach campaign to facilitate engagement with key stakeholders.

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Populous Engaged by RS&H to Collaborate on New Mexico's ... - Populous

NASA selects Brown-led team to study the Moon in effort to establish … – Brown University

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] NASA has selected a team led by Brown University scientists to participate in a scientific research effort that will enable the space agency to not only return to the Moon for the first time in 50 years, but also help to establish a permanent lunar presence.

The Brown-led team will include 24 faculty members from the Universitys Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Science and 26 researchers from 21 other institutions around the world. The group was one among five new research teams chosen to collaborate on lunar science and analysis for the next five years as part of NASAs Artemis program, the agency announced on Thursday, May 11.

A five-year grant from NASA, expected to total approximately $7.5 million, will support the team, which will be known as LunaSCOPE Lunar Structure, Composition, and Processes for Exploration. The researchers will examine the Moons origin, evolution and structure. The idea is that by understanding both the Moons present state and how it got there, they will be able to inform NASAs upcoming Moon missions and future exploration efforts.

Our work will be doing a large-scale, very fine characterization of the Moon and its history, trying to understand surface properties and characterizing potential hazards, like the possibility of Moonquakes, said Alexander Evans, an assistant professor of Earth, environmental and planetary sciences at Brown and LunaSCOPEs principal investigator. This includes everything from the size of the particles on the surface to what materials there are on the Moon, like the amount of water or other precious metals that might be used to sustain a habitat.

LunaSCOPEs work will be part of NASAs Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute, which was created to address fundamental research questions for human and robotic exploration of the Moon, near-Earth asteroids, two Martian moons and their near-space environments. The new SSERVI teams join eight continuing SSERVI teams selected in 2019, but with a narrower focus on supporting NASAs flagship Artemis program for lunar exploration and its program funding commercial companies to build spacecraft that can travel to the Moon and bring supplies.

"I'm incredibly excited to welcome our new SSERVI teams," said Greg Schmidt, SSERVIs director at NASA's Ames Research Center. Their wide variety of experience in a broad range of lunar sciences will add to the great science we're already accomplishing and contribute immensely to Artemis and a new era of landed missions on the Moon as we progress toward a sustainable future on the Moon and eventually Mars."

LunaSCOPE will focus on five main research areas, spanning the magnetism of the Moon, its volcanic and tectonic activity, and the formation and evolution of the Moons impact craters and regolith meaning lunar dust.

The team also plans to delve into the formation of the ancient lunar magma ocean, which encompassed the bulk of the Moon 4.5 billion years ago before it cooled and generated the large surface patches of bright white material that are visible today. Unlike Earth, where the rocks that show the chemical history of the planets magma ocean all became mixed and altered with new material that formed, the Moon still has its original material well-preserved on its surface. Studying the history of the magma ocean and what happened can help to better inform how planets are built, the researchers said.

Related to that, understanding the kilometers-deep lunar dust that completely covers the Moons surface is critically important to all Moon missions. The fineness, abrasiveness and electrostatic charge of the lunar dust helps it stick to and coat almost any surface it contacts, including spacesuits and solar panels. This can lead to clogged machinery, scratched lenses and shredded spacesuits. The dust is also toxic, so keeping it out of living environments is a major concern.

When you talk to the old engineers from the Apollo era, the biggest challenge for exploring and living on the Moon is dust, said Steve Parman, an associate professor of Earth, environmental, and planetary sciences at Brown who along with Brown Professor Jack Mustard will serve as the projects deputy principal investigator.

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NASA selects Brown-led team to study the Moon in effort to establish ... - Brown University

Gio Benitez, a Self-Professed Space Geek, Gets Ready for Blast Off on Good Morning America – Yahoo Entertainment

Gio Benitez is hoping to marry the two jobs he holds for ABC News.

As the Disney units transportation correspondent, he has been close to the recent movement into private space travel. As a newly named co-anchor for the weekend edition of ABCs Good Morning America, he will handle stories that draw out viewers emotions and attention. He will continue to handle both roles.

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Im a space geek, says Benitez, and I get to still keep on doing it.

Ill tell you what hes pitching, says Simone Swink, the executive producer of ABCs A.M. flagship. He wants to be the first civilian and journalist on whatever the first mission to Mars is. That will be our ongoing conversation for the next five years.

One thing I love to do is I love to examine the human condition, and there are so many ways to do that and so many different stories. says Benitez. What Im excited about is Ill be able to stretch into that territory.

Viewers are going to hear a lot more from Benitez starting Saturday. He will join the programs weekend broadcasts alongside current co-anchors Whit Johnson and Janai Norman.

The anchors are not strangers. Indeed, in his early 20s, Benitez reached out to Johnson, tben a CBS News correspondent, for advice. Johnson wrote back. And he continued to check in on how Benitez progressed in his career. Now it has come full circle, says Benitez.

Benitez has been ABC News transportation correspondent since 2020 and joined the division in 2013. During his time at the network, he has covered such events as the Pulse nightclub shooting, El Chapos underground escape from a Mexican prison and the Boston Marathon bombing. He also has a history of breaking exclusive investigative stories, and some have led to important safety recalls. Before joining ABC News in 2013, he was a reporter for WFOR-TV in Miami.

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Gio is an intrepid journalist and talented anchor, and his addition marks an exciting, new chapter for the best weekend morning program in the business fueled by the tireless work and dedication of co-anchors Whit and Janai, Simone and the team, says Kim Godwin, the president of ABC News, in a prepared statment. I look forward to Gios unique energy and to Gio bringing more enterprise and feature reporting to the program.

When he kicks off his tenure on GMA this weekend, Benitez will likely be carrying his grandfathers pocketwatch, a tribute to his grandparents, he says. They left communist Cuba with absolultely nothing and came to this country, he recounts. So to be able to sit on a desk that has, quite literally, the name of the country that gave them so much hope, thats very, very inspiring to me.

The countdown to a possible Mars mission starts this weekend.

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Gio Benitez, a Self-Professed Space Geek, Gets Ready for Blast Off on Good Morning America - Yahoo Entertainment