Monthly Archives: July 2017

Susan B. Barnes, Special for USA TODAY Published 7:45 a.m. ET July 21, 2017

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

The Mars Rover concept vehicle was commissioned by Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex as an educational tool and to inspire the public about the future of space exploration and interplanetary travel.(Photo: Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex)

Imagine traveling over the landscape of the Red Planet in a Mars Rover, the fine sands slipping through its 50-inch wheels as it traverses over dunes, rocks, craters and hills at a slow-but-steady 2 to 4 MPH.

In an effort to bring Mars closer to home, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex teamed up with Parker Brothers Concepts, along with NASA-engineer science and specs, to develop the four-passenger Mars Rover concept vehicle, currently on tour along the Eastern Seaboard.

The nearly 11-foot-tall, 5,500-pound, all-aluminum Mars rover concept vehicle is as realistic as possible to show space enthusiasts the technology thats being developed to send to Mars, including carbon fiber, solar panels and a 700-volt battery that is used to power the Rover. This is a look but dont touch opportunity after all, this Mars Rover was created to be as realistic as possible, but for educational purposes only; it wont be making the trip to Mars when the time comes.

At Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, we create immersive space experiences for our guests, said Therrin Protze, chief operating officer, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. The Mars rover will give guests a front row seat to NASAs Journey to Mars and bring the future of space exploration to life for the generation that will first step foot on Mars, as they see and learn what it will take to travel the landscape of the Red Planet.

The Mars rover concept vehicles first stop on the tour was at The Battery Atlanta at Sun Trust Park in Atlanta, Georgia, and it will spend the next month traveling, starting withthe National Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C. (July 21-22), Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, New Jersey (July 29-30), Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York, New York (August 3-6) and finishing at the North Point Mall in Alpharetta, Georgia (August 12) before returning to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

Back at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the Summer of Mars continues with games that enable visitors to learn about plant life and habitats on Mars; a virtual reality trip to the Red Planet via Lockheed Martins Mars Experience Bus, using real NASA footage of Mars to explore 200 miles of the service; and more.

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2vIe0Tp

See original here:

Mars rover concept vehicle tours this planet - USA TODAY

Elon Musk has said humans need to build a base on the moon to get the public "fired up" again about space exploration.

Humans first landed there 48 years ago today [20 July], but nobody has stepped foot on the moon since the final mission of the Apollo programme in 1972.

Speaking at a conference in Washington about the International Space Station, the SpaceX founder complained that the public did not seem to grasp "how cool the ISS is".

Public interest and fascination with space travel exploded during the Apollo missions.

The funding the US ploughed into the space race led to huge advances in the development of new technologies and inspired many people to pursue engineering and science careers.

Elon Musk told the conference there were more technological advances and business opportunities to be grasped with greater space travel.

Satellites could help deliver cheap internet to those who do not have access to broadband infrastructure.

They could also monitor crop growth, climate change and potential natural disasters back on Earth, said Mr Musk.

But the Tesla boss added: "To really get the public real fired up, I think we've got to have a base on the moon."

"Having some permanent presence on another heavenly body, which would be the kind of moon base, and then getting people to Mars and beyond - that's the continuance of the dream of Apollo that I think people are really looking for," he added.

SpaceX has already announced plans to fly two tourists around the Moon next year, although they will not land on the moon itself.

Mr Musk has also spoken about his plans to land humans on Mars.

The banner image on SpaceX's Twitter profile shows a series of images of Mars being terraformed - a hypothetical process of deliberately modifying a planet to make it similar to Earth, and therefore habitable to humans.

Mr Musk said that "to get the public excited, you've really got to get people in the picture. It's just a hundred times different if there are people in the picture."

Original post:

Elon Musk: We need moon base to get people 'fired up' about space travel - Sky News

A yet unidentified space tourist from an Asian country will be sent to the International Space Station (ISS) as a member of the crew in 2019, Russia's Rocket and Space Corporation (RSC) Energia Director General Vladimir Solntsev said Tuesday.

"The new space tourist, who is set to travel to the ISS in 2019, is being trained already. He is a national of one of the Asian countries," Solntsev told journalists at the MAKS-2017 air show.

Solntsev also said that the RSC Energia was planning to resume the flights of space tourists to the ISS on a regular basis.

"We have signed a contract with a company, specializing in recruiting space tourists. We will prepare the first spacecraft for tourists in 2019 in order to organize it [space tourism flights] on a regular basis," he said.

Space Adventures, Ltd. is the only company that exclusively provides an opportunity for civilians to become space tourists since 2001. In June 2015, Space Adventures issued a press release, saying that a Japanese citizen, Satoshi Takamatsu, who had been training as a member of the Soyuz TMA-18M backup crew before, signed a contract for a future orbital spaceflight mission. According to the press release, Takamatsu was expected to convey his training as a fully-trained astronaut and travel to the ISS in two to four years.

A preliminary contract on a tourist flight around the Moon has already been signed by a foreign company, but investments are still needed to prepare the Soyuz spacecraft for the journey, Vladimir Solntsev added.

"We have already signed a preliminary contract... Another issue is that we need to integrate economic and technical issues. I think it will be difficult to raise this issue without a suitable investor," Solntsev told reporters on the sidelines of the 13th International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS-2017.

Solntsev stressed that the investments were needed to modernize the Soyuz spacecraft to make it ready for Lunar orbit.

"The Soyuz spacecraft, which flies to the International Space Station [ISS] and Soyuz, which must fly to the Moon are different. This includes another refueling systems and distant radio communication systems, as well as the return at the second space speed," Solntsev said.

RSC Energia has been cooperating with the US-based Space Adventures space tourism company to secure potential clients wishing to fly around the Moon. Space Adventures reportedly priced the Moon trip at $150 million, with the launch itself likely to take place by 2020. The company has so far sent seven tourists to the ISS since 2001, with the tickets ranging from $25-$35 million. Energia has also been in contact with other partners in the United States, according to Solntsev.

The International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS-2017 is being held in the town of Zhukovskiy, in the greater Moscow Region Tuesday-Sunday.

Source: Sputnik News

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

See the original post here:

Space Tourist From Asian Country to Travel to ISS in 2019 - Space Daily

UK air traffic controllers are expecting the busiest day on record for Uk airspace. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo

UK air traffic controllers were expecting to handle more than 8,800 flights on Friday the busiest day on record for UK airspace while millions take to the roads as the summer school holidays begin for many pupils.

A record 2.4 million UK holidaymakers will be heading overseas, according to the travel association Abta.

Airports in the south-east are expecting a very busy weekend with more than 500,000 passengers expected to depart from Heathrow, 335,000 from Gatwick, 136,000 from Stansted and 85,000 from Luton.

However, an earthquake said to have been up to a magnitude of 6.7 south of the Turkish city of Bodrum and east of the Greek island of Kos may disrupt travel plans for some holidaymakers.

Air traffic controllers are expecting to manage a record 770,000 flights in UK airspace over the summer, 40,000 more than last year, the BBC reported.

The UKs National Air Traffic Control Service (Nats) has warned its ability to deal with the surge is being stretched.

Its director, Jamie Hutchison, told the broadcaster: In the last few weeks we have already safely managed record-breaking daily traffic levels, but the ageing design of UK airspace means we will soon reach the limits of what can be managed without delays rising significantly.

Todays heavy aerial traffic could be a sign of things to come. A UK-wide forecast from the Department for Transport has warned that if airspace remains unchanged, by 2030 delays could be 50 times worse than they were in 2015.

A Government consultation could result in changes to permitted routes to allow more flights, Nats said, and the system could be updated to take advantage of the ability of modern jets to fly further and take steeper approaches to airports, to maximise the use of available space while minimising noise disruption and pollution on the ground.

But redesigning flight paths is a contentious issue as it can mean communities currently unaffected by aircraft noise are put under flight paths.

Fridays record day came as the Government launched its proposed aviation strategy for the years to 2050, in which ministers say they are minded to be supportive of airports that want to make better use of existing capacity.

Proposals included in the Governments aviation strategy include doorstep luggage collection services and town centre check-in desks for passengers flying from British airports.

On the ground, travellers will find their journeys similarly beset by traffic: as families head for the seaside as schools break up this weekend, experts are warning that roads could be even more packed than usual, with many choosing to holiday in the UK because of the impact of Brexit.

About 9 million motorists will take to the roads for the start of the school summer holiday. Some 3.4m journeys will be made on Saturday, according to the RAC. There will be 2.8m trips on Sunday, while those trying to beat the rush by leaving on Friday morning may have found just as much of a jam, with up to 2.5m cars expected to vie for space with commuters.

Traffic chaos is customary at the start of the school holidays with 37m trips regularly made in the first two weeks.

And confidence is high among the domestic tourism industry. According to Visit Britain more than half (55%) of accommodation providers and nearly three-quarters (73%) of visitor attractions in England expected their performance in 2017 to be better than 2016.

This could be attributed to a mix of factors, including the exchange rate, the convenience of holidaying at home and certainty of budgeting and costs, it said.

An analysis of UK travellers by the travel search engine Sojern found a 25% year-on-year increase in searches and bookings for holidays within the country, something it attributes to the unfavourable exchange rate. Sterling has plummeted by 13% against the dollar and 9% against the euro since last Junes referendum.

Research by home-sharing platform Airbnb found that four out of five Brits were choosing to holiday in the UK this year, with Devon and Cornwall the most sought-after staycation destinations. Both areas have seen Airbnb guests increase by 100% over the past year, with more than 136,000 guests arriving in Cornwall and 110,000 in Devon. Of these guests, 84% are travellers from the UK.

Unsurprisingly, those driving to Devon and Cornwall can expect the worst of the traffic, according to the RAC, with long tailbacks inevitable, particularly in the south-west on the M5, which is the main route to the coast.

For those deciding to go abroad, Spain remains the top destination for UK travellers, with the Balearic and Canary islands leading the way, while bookings to Portugal, Greece, Italy and France are also strong, according to Abta.

The Mediterranean still dominates the family market, but the associations members reported strong growth for Bulgaria and Croatia among those seeking summer sun.

Destinations popular with those travelling further afield include Cuba, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Mexico, with Florida keeping its spot as the number one long-haul family choice.

European cities such as Barcelona, Paris, Rome and Amsterdam are leading the way as city break destinations for families seeking culture and architecture.

Read more:

UK airspace faces busiest ever day as big summer getaway begins - The Guardian