Daily Archives: August 8, 2017

Of course, everyone in the Baby Boom generation remembers how uniting and inspiring the early orbits and moon landings were. Such heroic efforts, much like wars, also advance learning and technology, often beyond any expectations.

Today we have billionaires and tech leaders from Telsa Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEOElon Musk to Richard Branson planning civilian trips around the moon as early as next year leading the parade to Mars and its colonization and mining asteroids for precious and rare metals.

This may all sound kind of far out and unaffordable, maybe even wasteful, but one thing I know about leading-edge technologies is that they grow and improve exponentially, and, if viable, ultimately become affordable to the masses.

Who would have thought, when airplanes were first invented in the early 1900s, that today the everyday person could fly halfway around the world in less than 20 hours for just $1,000? Steamships took many months to do the same thing! Today we hardly think twice about the trip!

So, is this sort of out-of-the-box thinking by creative genii hype or reality?

My opinion is its both! It starts out as hype. The big dream. The stuff of science fiction. With time, it becomes reality.

Still, Im skeptical, as I know some of you are, based on your responses to Teresas question in the Saturday wrap-up

The payoffs from space exploration could take a long time to be felt back here on Earth. Likely, none of us will be alive to enjoy any of it.

Also, theres the old saying, stick to your knitting. Just because Elon Musk succeeded in jump-starting the electric car and home battery systems doesnt mean he can succeed at space travel ditto for Branson (maybe even more so because hes much less high tech).

The comedian and political commentator, Bill Maher, recently derided major expenditures on space exploration and the creation of colonies on Mars. He had a long list of advantages of Earth versus our red neighbor, including things like we have oxygen, Mars doesnt.

Besides, why would anyone want to spend 115 days flying to the red planet (the current optimist estimates of how long the trip would take), when you can fly to Arizona in a few hours?

However, free markets should be allowed to decide what makes sense for future investments, even though most early-stage attempts will and do necessarily fail.

They dont do it alone though. Government spending on large scale R&D that even large businesses cant afford often has huge payoffs for more practical innovations down the road, including the internet and GPS.

And as Stephen Sandford reveals in his book Gravity Well, there are dozens and dozens of technologies we use in our everyday lives now that wouldnt exist if it werent for our desire to travel to the stars.

With all of that said, there are two big questions to consider:

1. How much investment in the space drive is too much?

This question divides us as a nation (as do many things these days). Some believe the money would be better spent elsewhere. Others believe were not spending nearly enough. Im somewhere in the middle. We should explore, innovate, and advance. But we shouldnt go stupidly overboard.

2. Whats next?

This is the question that Stephen will attempt to answer when he addresses the audience in his keynote at this years Irrational Economic Summit in Nashville, Tennessee. And hes probably the person best positioned to provide realistic answers, having spent decades in the industry.

For me, Im most interested in hearing about the developments underway for mining rare minerals from the moon or asteroids. How close to reality is that? I suspect that this will really only start to become viable closer to the 2040s, when the next commodity cycle turns around and heads back down. If we can get at the space minerals in a cost-effective way, it would send prices of those same minerals on Earth into a negative spiral because supply would no longer be finite.

Only time will tell, but Im dying to hear what Stephen has to share with us. Join me.

Harry Follow me on Twitter@harrydentjr

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Space Exploration and Travel: Is It Crazy or Inevitable? - Investorplace.com

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20:52 07.08.2017(updated 20:55 07.08.2017) Get short URL

The recent foray of Ghana into space exploration provides immense business opportunities for the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), which boasts the most cost-effective launch vehicle.

New Delhi (Spuntik) Ghana recently launched its first ever satellite, GhanaSat-1, fromNASA's International Space Station. A group ofstudents atGhana's All Nations University (ANU) built the satellite, which weighs about1 kg and will orbit 400kms abovethe earth. Launched last month, it will help Ghana tomonitor its coastline aswell ashelp other activities toboost e-governance.

AFP 2017/ ALEXANDER KLEIN

The ground station atthe ANU's laboratory is awaiting first signals fromthe satellite. The $500,000 project that began in2015 has the support ofthe Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

"The launch will help us train the upcoming generation onhow toapply satellites indifferent activities aroundour region. For instance, [monitoring] illegal mining is one ofthe things we are looking toaccomplish," the BBC quoted Richard Damoah, director ofthe Space Systems Technology Laboratory atthe ANU, assaying.

Ghana is now reportedly planning tolaunch GhanSat 2 intothe space, equipping it withbetter cameras and using it formonitoring deforestation and the usage ofwater inthe country.

ISRO, which created history bylaunching more than100 satellites earlier this year, sees immense business opportunities insuch endeavors byAfrican countries, according toexperts.

"ISRO definitely aims tocommercially tap the multi-billion dollar global space market aswell, which will grow only asnations realise the usefulness ofsatellites forEarth observation, telecommunications and a host ofother objectives. When it comes tosatellite launches, ISRO has a distinct advantage asit could deliver it ina cost-effective way asseen duringthe launch of104 satellites inFebruary earlier this year," Dr Mayank Vahia, scientist inthe department ofAstronomy and Astrophysics atthe Mumbai-based TATA Institute ofFundamental Research, told Sputnik.

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India Eyes Big Business with Africa in Space Exploration - Sputnik International

NASAs Voyager-2 mission celebrates #40 Years of #space exploration this month. The ground breaking mission, now 11 billion miles away from planet Earth, continues to explore the vastness of space outside planet Earth.

The journey of the Voyagers is the journey of man. The story of these crafts made a huge impact to several generations of current and future scientists. The journey has also touched the culture of Earth including its music, film, arts, and culture.

The #Voyager 2 carries a special cargo. Inside the craft is a Golden Record of the life on Earth. The circular time capsule fitted in inside the space ship carries Earths music, including messages and pictures of its people.

And since the Voyager is expected to last for billions of years more, time may come that this record will become the final trace, the only proof that once, the civilization of human existed on the face of the Earth. Times of India reports that the Voyager 1, the twin ship of Voyager 2, also carries a similar record.

Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator for NASAs Science Mission Directorate (SMD) at NASA Headquarters believe that the achievements of the Voyager mission are hard to match. The four decades journey has enlightened the human race and opened opportunities to explore the wonders of the infinite universe. The Voyagers have also served as the beacon of hope, the inspiration for men to continue to explore the space beyond Earth.

The twin space crafts were both launched into space in 1977.

Voyager 2 was launched on August 20 while its twin spacecraft, the Voyager 1, left for space on September 5. Ever since their take-off, the Voyager crafts have set significant records that are considered milestones in the history of space exploration.

The Voyager 1 is the only craft that successfully entered the interstellar space. Its twin, Voyager 2, is the only space vehicle that was able to reach the four outer planets of the Solar System which include Jupiter, Neptune, Saturn, and Uranus.

The planetary encounters of the Voyagers have revealed the presence of an active volcano on the surface of Io, Jupiters moon. The twin crafts have also discovered clues that hinted a subsurface ocean on Europa, another moon orbiting Jupiter. Their trip to Saturn also revealed that Titan, one of Saturns moons have an atmosphere that is similar to that of planet Earth. The Voyagers have also led us to discover Uranus icy moon Miranda and the geysers that lie on the surface of Triton, a moon of Neptune.

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Voyager-2 celebrates 40 years of space exploration - Blasting News

August 7, 2017 11:36 AM BySamuel R. Murrian Parade @SamuelR_Murrian More by Samuel R.

Just over 500 people in human history have traveled to space, and former NASA astronautsJeff HoffmanandJerry M. Linengerare among them. Hoffman was born in Brooklyn, New York, and made five space flights, including the first mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993. Eastpointe, Michigan-born Linenger is a retired captain in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps, and has flown on the space shuttle Atlantisand Russian space station Mir.

They are both involved inNational Geographicchannels highly anticipated and ambitious One Strange Rock, an event series exploring the conditions that make Earth the only planet known to sustain life. Hoffman and Linenger will each host one episode of the show, which is produced by Academy Award-nominated director Darren Aronofsky(Black Swan,Requiem for a Dream).One Strange Rock is slated for an early 2018 premiere.

ParadeattendedNational Geographics annual Nerd Nite bash on the roof of the Kimpton Solamar Hotel in downtown San Diego during Comic-Con weekend. During the lively party, Hoffman and Linenger each gave passionate talks about their experiences in space and their involvement in One Strange Rock. Afterward, we talked to them about what inspired them to pursue careers in space travel, their favorite science fiction movies and the future of our planet.

What made you want to go into space travel?

Hoffman: When I was a little kid, in the 1950s before sputnikat that point the Space Age was still mostly science fiction. I read about sounding rockets that were being launched, and monkeys going into space, but essentially my childhood heroes were the science fiction guys: Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon and Tom Corbett, Space Cadet. It was really exciting because I lived through the beginning of the real Space Age when sputnik was launched and then the first people went into space. All of the early astronauts were military test pilots, so I never really looked at being an astronaut, although I was always fascinated with the idea. It wasnt a realistic career goal, because I was never going to be a military pilot. I was interested in science and space. I actually became a professional astronomer.

It was really when the space shuttle came along in the 1970s, and the shuttle had a crew of seven and they only needed two pilots that really opened things up for scientists, engineers and medical doctors. When NASA put out a call for the first group of shuttle astronauts, thats when I applied and I was lucky enough to get selected. That changed my life.

Linenger:When I was 14 looking at the moon, I thought I wanted to be an astronaut someday. I went home and said, Dad, I want to be an astronaut. He could have said, Jerry, forget it. Set your sights on something more realistic. Your odds of being an astronaut are one in a billion. But he didnthe put him arm around me and said, This is America, work hard and study hard, and you can be anything you set your mind to. When I was up in orbit, during rough times on the space station, Id be running on a treadmill and I could feel his presence. I could feel him telling me he was glad I made it and he was proud of me. That tells me that youre never really alone. That tells me you always have people around you who care about you to draw on. You could say thats a coping mechanism, but I choose to believe that was my dads presence helping me.

How would you describe the feeling of being in space to someone who has never been?

Hoffman:Its a feeling of freedom, and being able to do things physically that you would never dream of. Thats why its such a delightful feeling. I really think theres a future for commercial space travel, because people will pay to have that incredible experience. Its a joy; its an ecstasy. Your body has no weight and you have the freedom to move around in ways that you maybe dreamed of before but could never do it.

How has space travel changed your life?

Linenger: I used to be a different person, a real stoic old Naval officer. Up there, I got in touch with being a human being. When I give talks like I did tonight, or in this show coming up, were hitting at some serious human emotions and feelings, and what its like in space. It makes you take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

What is it aboutOne Strange Rockthat made you want to get involved?

Hoffman: When they contacted me, I thought it was an honor to be asked by National Geographic to work on a project. Then, when they described it to me, the idea of explaining some of the unique things about our planet that make it one strange rock, and that each of the episodes would be hosted by an astronaut given that weve had the opportunity to look at our planet from such a different perspective, I thought that was also a very nice idea.

Linenger: This show was very much on a personal level. My episode is on death. The show made me think about that kind of stuff. My bodys atoms of the Big Bang are in me, and now I need to be there for my kids and to perpetuate the next generation and leave something behind.

Are there any films about space that really stand out to you as accurate portrayals of space?

Linenger:The Martian(2015). As an astronaut watching that movie, everythingMatt Damons character did in that movie was something I was trained to do. The only question was could I execute one thing after another under pressure like that? Im not sure that I could, and Im not sure any astronaut could. The big insight for me in that movie is he used about 65% of the knowledge I have gained in my training. It was fun to watch.

I took my daughter and her class to seeHidden Figures(2016). My girl is 16, and her eyes lit up. Im always encouraging her, and telling her she can do anything. Weve got it pretty darn good in the U.S.if youve got the drive, you can do it. I tell her that all the time.

Apollo 13(1995)was fabulous.Gravity(2013) in 3Dis the closest Ifeltto being in space. As an audience, if you want to know what it feels like, that gives you a pretty good feel, even though some of the details are a little farfetched.

Hoffman: So many science fiction movies and articleshow should I put it kindlythey just, get it wrong. In the case ofThe Martian, just like withApollo 13, they did their best to get it right. Its a pleasure when that happens. And they made a good story out of it. Its a real public service, because people get the feelingyou know, maybe we really could go to Mars someday. And thats important. Thats one role that science fiction plays that I think is maybe not appreciated enough. Science fiction has been around for a long time. And its given people the belief that we can go to space, that these things are possible. And thats important because if you dont think that something is possible, youre not going to try to do it.

Do you think that young people today are being educated enough about the world around them, and about space exploration?

Linenger: Yes, I think theyre in the right spot at the right time and Im envious. My goal in life right now is to help launch them, because theyve got so much more potential than I had when I was their age. When Im talking to teenagers, I tell them the sky is not the limit. Space was what I got to, and I dont know what their limits are going to be.

Hoffman: First of all, space exploration is not in the news these days in the ways that it was during the early days of the space program. Its something that people have gotten used toThe really nice thing is nowadays for people who are genuinely interested, you dont have to get your news from the main news channels. With all of the different media today, if you want to find out whats going on there are a hundred different ways you can get that information. The NASA website is mobbed after every Mars probe or fly by Pluto, because even though its not on the evening news every night, theres a lot of interest out there.

Is there any advice youd want to give young people who are considering a career in space travel?

Hoffman: Weve barely scratched the surface. Its been 50 years since we flew more than a few hundred miles away from the EarthIf this is something that kids are interested in, work really hard and build up your technical knowledge because space flight is a highly technical enterprise. You need your physics, math, chemistry and computers. Dont be afraid to dream of difficult things, but realize that youre going to have to work hard to make your dreams come true.

Linenger: My main point I tell people is youve got to love what youre doing. Youve got to have passion for what youre doing. If you do, youll do it well. Thats the key to becoming an astronaut. You better have a great thirst for knowledge, and curiosity better be a big driver within you. Set your sights on big things, and even if you dont quite make it, at least youre going in a good direction and you have lots of other good options.

Being astronauts, you have a truly unique perspective of Earth. What are some of your hopes and fears for Earth for the next 100 years?

Linenger: One thing I will say is that on a space station I had to support life. When I was working up there, it took a lot of my time and a lot of my effort to keep myself alive and to make it a habitable environment. Planet Earth is wondrous. Its incredible. Its evolved over millions and millions of years, and its buffering ability is majestic. It can take a lot of insult, but we cant overdo it. Were getting to the point where were overdoing it. With just some common sense measures on all of our parts and well be just fine.

Hoffman: The first thing that most astronauts will tell you when we look at the Earth is what a beautiful planet it is. When you look closely, there are some pretty scary things that you can see. We can see some of the ecological damage that were doing to our planet from the cosmic perspective. You see the destruction of a rainforest, the pollution of rivers, the pollution over big cities. I think a lot of astronauts come back from space with an increased ecological sensitivity that we try to share with other people when we talk about it.

One Strange Rock will premiere on National Geographicin the first quarter of 2018, date TBD.

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Former Astronauts Talk About Space Travel, Their Favorite Sci-Fi Movies and the Future of Our Planet - Parade

Aug.07.2017 / 1:30 PM ET

Terry Virts was a NASA astronaut from 2000 to 2016. He flew two space missions: STS-130 in 2010, and ISS Expedition 42/43 in 2014-2015. You can follow Terry at @AstroTerry. His forthcoming book, View From Above, will go on sale on October 3, 2017.

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We Americans are an optimistic bunch. Just compare Hollywood movies with foreign films, and youll see a big difference in worldview we love it when the good guys win. I believe this difference goes all the way back to Manifest Destiny, the 19th Century belief that American settlers were destined to expand across the continent.

But when it comes to space exploration, Manifest Destiny doesnt apply. And if we choose simply to rest on the laurels of being the first nation to send humans to the moon, or on the achievements of the Space Shuttle and International Space Station (ISS), we will be surpassed by nations whose people are humble and hungry.

As a former NASA astronaut who is troubled by our ever-shifting goals for space, I dont want this to happen. If we dont have a destination, we'll never get anywhere. A decade ago, NASA was pursuing the Constellation program, whose goal was to develop a new space capsule and related systems that would ferry humans to the ISS before taking us to the moon and then to Mars and beyond. But Constellation was cancelled in 2010, ostensibly for budgetary reasons, and since then the U.S. has lacked a coherent strategy for human spaceflight. So I am proposing the following plan that ultimately would send humans to Mars. This plan sets concrete goals, and would inspire future generations of scientists and engineers and bring nations together to solve the many technological and political challenges we face here on Earth.

With these modest goals in mind, let us begin with past as prologue...

NASAs moon program of the late 1960s actually played out over three distinct programs: Mercury, Gemini, and last and most famous Apollo. The initial phase, Mercury, proved that we could fly humans in space. Gemini, the least well known of the three programs, was even more critical. It created and tested the technologies that would be needed for the moon landings that were to follow. These included long-duration missions, spacewalking, the development of computers and software, and protocols for the rendezvous and docking of spacecraft flying in formation at thousands of miles per hour.

Finally, of course, Apollo was the fulfillment of President Kennedys famous charge that we should land a man on the moon and return him safely to the Earth. But again, Neil and Buzz and the men who followed them would never have made it to the moon without Mercury or Gemini.

I give this brief history because I believe the next strategy we pursue in space should parallel the Mercury/Gemini/Apollo model. First and most important, we need a vision. In the 1960s it was to put a man on the moon. Now it should be to send humans to Mars and back beginning in the 2030s, with increasingly long-duration missions to the planets surface. This vision is clear, and it goes beyond mere boot prints and flags. Long-term goals should be to understand the environmental, geological, and biological history of Mars, but also to set the stage for human settlements on the red planet.

The ISS has been the equivalent of Project Mercury, proving that humans can live and work in space for long periods of time. (I myself recently spent 200 consecutive days in space.) But the next phase of our space program like the Gemini program must be used to develop and test the critical technologies that will be needed for eventual missions to Mars. These technologies should be demonstrated on the ISS as well as on the moon.

The most important of these critical technologies is advanced space propulsion. With existing rocket technology, a round-trip to Mars would take three years. The astronauts aboard would need a huge amount of supplies and would be exposed to dangerous radiation for the entire trip. Whats more, ensuring the reliability of critical equipment for a three-year mission would be costly, if not impossible.

Electric space propulsion engines could send a crew to Mars and back in roughly one year, dramatically lowering the radiation risk and circumventing the other problems associated with a three-year mission. A one-year mission would also cost a lot less, since it would take hundreds of thousands of dollars per pound to send stuff to Mars.

Electric engines have been used for decades on small satellites but have never been scaled up to a size capable of sending humans into space. The elephant in the room is that a 50-megawatt nuclear reactor would be needed for such massive engines. And the political challenges of sending such a reactor into space are probably more difficult than the technical challenges.

There are other Gemini technologies we will need to develop before travelling to the red planet. These include reliable life-support systems, such as CO2 removal, and water and oxygen recycling; equipment capable of launching and recovering crews at the highest speeds humans have ever flown; habitats and rovers that could be landed and robotically assembled on the Martian surface; space suits that would let astronauts live and work on Mars without frequent servicing; a Martian navigation and communication satellite network; innovative ways to protect crews from radiation; and finally, surface-based nuclear power to provide enough electricity for human survival.

This is a lot of expensive work, and making this project international would make it more affordable. But there are other, more important reasons to make this a multinational mission. Astronauts from many countries working aboard the ISS have demonstrated a level of cooperation that is often missing down here on Earth; I recently commanded the ISS during the height of U.S.-Russian tensions, and I am proud of how well my international crew of astronauts and cosmonauts worked together. And without the stabilizing influence of partners, its doubtful that the U.S. would have the political attention span to stick with a long-term Mars program.

Finally, this project must have bipartisan buy-in here in the U.S. The president should unveil and promote this vision alongside the minority leaders of the House and Senate. If not, it will be doomed to cancellation once his administration ends.

If we do these things promote a coherent vision for space exploration, build international cooperation, and pursue a Gemini-style program of technology development well be flying our next Apollo missions to Mars in the near future. And if we fail to do these things? There will be no 21st Century Manifest Destiny for the U.S. Instead of securing our place in history, well watch as other, more forward-thinking nations secure theirs.

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Ex-Astronaut Offers Bold Three-Step Plan to Put Humans on Mars - NBCNews.com