Category Archives: Space Exploration

University of Central Florida researchers are part of a new $1 million project funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research to better understand and predict how and why raindrops are affected when they cross a hypersonic shock wave.

Hypersonic speeds are those at Mach 5 and higher, or five times greater than the speed of sound. The U.S. is currently working on developing hypersonic systems for defense and travel.

The new project is important because colliding with something as light as a single raindrop could cause a lot of damage at hypersonic speeds. The work will inform researchers as to whether or not the raindrop maintains its single droplet form or breaks up into tens of much smaller droplets.

If you have a rain droplet with a tenth of an inch diameter and you hit it at Mach 8, it can create a load as heavy as the weight of an elephant, says Michael Kinzel, project co-investigator and an assistant professor in UCFs Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. So, you cant put an elephant on the wing of an aircraft, and itll support it, right? Its a huge load. And these would be hitting all over parts of the vehicle.

Knowing the impact of different size raindrops on hypersonic aircraft and rockets will help predict when to fly, as light rainstorms may not affect travel as much as heavy storms.

The researchers want to narrow down what conditions make for safe hypersonic travel through rain. The knowledge could prevent damage and improve the accuracy of hypersonic rockets launched through rain and clouds, Kinzel says.

This work will help lead to structural integrity when designing hypersonic vehicles, Kinzel says. And it develops a framework to understand how to design in that context as well as understand limitations of hypersonic flight with respect to some weather conditions.

Kinzel will work to model the effects of raindrops on hypersonic travel by using computer simulations.

Subith Vasu, a professor in UCFs Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and co-investigator, will perform experiments using a shock tube to study the effects of hypersonic shock waves on droplets, such as behavior and timescale of breakup.

Unique test facilities combined with state-of-the-art optical and laser diagnostic systems will be used to understand the interaction of droplet and shock wave, Vasu says.

The work is important for deterrence and the national security of the United States, and we are proud to be involved in this prestigious effort, Vasu says. The knowledge gained from hypersonics research could have other applications as well, including space exploration.

Boston University is leading the project and will be working closely with Kinzel and Vasu to understand droplet behavior when impacted at hypersonic speeds. UCF will be receiving about $560,000 for the three-year project. UCF will be collaborating with engineers and scientists from the Air Force Research Laboratory and Lockheed Martin, both closely involved in the development of a variety of hypersonic vehicles.

The project further highlights UCFs expertise in the area of hypersonic propulsion.

Kinzel received his doctorate in aerospace engineering from Pennsylvania State University and joined UCF in 2018. In addition to being a member of UCFs Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, a part of UCFsCollege of Engineering and Computer Science, he also works with UCFsCenter for Advanced Turbomachinery and Energy Research.

Vasu received his doctorate in mechanical engineering from Stanford University and joined UCFs Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in 2012. He is a member of UCFs Center for Advanced Turbomachinery and Energy Research, is an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a member of the International Energy Agencys Task Team on Energy. Vasu is a recipient of DARPAs Directors Fellowship, DARPA Young Faculty award, the Young Investigator grant from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, American Chemical Societys Doctoral New Investigator, American Society of Mechanical Engineers Dilip Ballal Early Career award, and the Society of Automotive Engineers SAE Ralph R. Teetor Educational award. He has received many of the highest honors at UCF including the UCF Luminary and Reach for the Stars awards.

See more here:

UCF Lands New Project to Study Effect of Rain on Hypersonic Travel - UCF

Three projects at the University of Strathclyde to tackle the problem of space debris have won funding of more than 500,000 from the UK Space Agency.

A total of 1.7m of funding for 13 projects was announced by UK Science Minister George Freeman during a visit to the Harwell Space Cluster in Oxfordshire where he was joined by Paul Bate, CEO of UK Space Agency.

Orbital congestion created by space debris is one of the biggest global challenges facing the space sector. There are currently an estimated 330 million pieces of space debris, including 36,500 objects bigger than 10cm, such as old satellites, spent rocket bodies and even tools dropped by astronauts orbiting Earth.

Space debris can stay in orbit for hundreds of years and present a real danger to the rapidly increasing number of new satellites being launched each year which provide vital services, including communications, banking and monitoring climate change.

The Strathclyde projects, which are being led by Professor Massimiliano Vasile and Dr Christie Maddock from the Aerospace Centre of Excellence (ACE), a multidisciplinary research group within the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, are:

Professor Massimiliano Vasile, Director of ACE and project lead for HyperSST and AI4SST, said: We are delighted to have won funding from the UK Space Agency for these three projects which will help to ensure the sustainable use of space.

The future of space flight and satellite applications, our reliance on which will only grow, demands that we work hard to ensure to reduce the risks that orbital debris present. The Aerospace Centre of Excellence at Strathclyde is well-placed to play a leading role in promoting space sustainability alongside our global partners.

Dr Christie Maddock, who is the project lead for FASTFRAG, said: Addressing the risk of the atmospheric re-entry of space debris is progressively becoming more and more pressing due to the increase in the number of orbiting objects, the consequent higher frequency of re-entry and the need to ensure that any new satellite or spacecraft is operated safely throughout its life.

Science Minister George Freeman said: Like debris on Everest, the first generation of space exploration and satellite launch has left millions of pieces of dangerous satellite fragments and 4,000 redundant satellites in orbit.

As our reliance on satellites for everyday activity grows, and the UK becomes a leading hub of small satellite design, manufacturing and launch this year via Virgin Orbit in Cornwall, this debris now poses a serious threat to our 16 billion space sector.Thats why we have made debris mitigation and removal and the long-term importance of space sustainability key elements of our National Space Strategy.These projects will help put the UK at the forefront of both protecting the space environment for future activity, and accelerating UK technology leadership.

The UKs National Space Strategy has set out a bold vision for the sector and recognises the need for the country to lead in making space safe and sustainable. The new funding supports the development of underlying technology or data processing capabilities for space surveillance and trackingto support the removal of orbital debris.

In 2021 the UK Space Agency worked with the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs(UNOOSA) to supportthe next stage ofinternational efforts to promote space sustainability and provided funding to research a UK led mission to remove junk from space.

Read more here:

Three Strathclyde projects win funding to support sustainable future of space - University of Strathclyde

Researchers have found the second Earth trojan asteroid and it is much larger than the first one.

11 years after the discovery of the first Earth trojan asteroid 2010 TK7, researchers have confirmed the existence of a second trojan asteroid for Earth. This new trojan asteroid has been named 2020 XL5 and it is three times larger than the first. Spread across a diameter of 1.2 kilometers, this asteroid can serve as the perfect space base to set out space exploration missions in the solar system. This discovery was made after observations from the Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) telescope, which is part of NOIRLabs Inter-American Observatory in Chile. Astronomers found the asteroid in 2020 by looking across the sky very close to the horizon at sunrise.

Finally, on February 1, 2022, researchers have published their findings and confirmed the existence of the 2nd trojan asteroid for Earth. So, what is a Trojan asteroid? A Trojan asteroid is an asteroid that travels around the Sun in another planets orbit. For Earth, these asteroids are often placed in Lagrange points. Lagrange points are gravitational spots between Earth and the Sun in Earths orbit where the force of both the bodies are equal and opposite and any space rock stuck there will move in the same orbit transfixed in the same position. Earth has 5 such Lagrange points which means there could be more trojan asteroids. However, these asteroids are very hard to spot due to odd angles of their location.

The asteroid was first discovered on December 12, 2020 by the Pan-STARRS1 survey telescope in Hawaii. But when it was first discovered, it was not known whether it was a near earth object (NEO) crossing our home planet or a trojan asteroid. To get a better understanding, the asteroid was tracked in SOARs archive footage from 2012 to 2019 and it was seen that the asteroid 2020 XL5 was in the same position throughout the years. This archival footage was part of its Dark Energy Survey and while that did not bear much results, it did lead to this astonishing discovery.

But what does this discovery mean for us? Well, its size has been the biggest reason to rejoice. With a diameter of 1.2 kilometers, the asteroid can support space missions and act as refueling point and can even be used as an observatory dedicated to further space exploration. While the potential is high, more observation and research on the asteroid 2020 XL5 will be needed before we can take another step in this direction.

Read more:

Wow! Earth just found a new neighbour, a Trojan ASTEROID! It will stay here for 4000 years - HT Tech

VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --The global nano satellite market size was USD 220.4 Million in 2020. Increase in number of space exploration missions in recent years, lower cost of launching as compared to conventional satellites, and rise in investment by key market players are major factors driving market revenue growth.

Drivers: Advancements in space technologies

Advancements in satellite miniaturization coupled with development and deployment of more innovative technologies are other key factors expected to drive revenue growth of the market during the forecast period. Nano satellites are equipped with advanced devices such as accelerometer, which helps to measure speed of the satellite, and magnetometer, which provides a compass reading and detects magnetic fields. Nano satellites are also mounted with gyroscope, which measures and maintains orientation and angular velocity satellite, and a barometer to detect pressure, among others. These technologies enable nano satellite resources to work efficiently. Furthermore, rapid escalation in production and launch of nano satellites is expected to drive market revenue growth over the forecast period.

Get Free Sample PDF Copy of the [emailprotected]https://www.emergenresearch.com/request-sample/902

Restraints: Stringent government regulations

Stringent government regulation is a major factor restraining growth of the global nano satellite market. Nano satellites often rideshare, either by secondary payloads on rockets for launching the large satellites, or for carrying cargo to the locations such as the International Space Station (ISS). These impose various restrictions to nano satellite integration and launch schedules, including orbit destinations, and loss of flexibility for the subsystems in nano satellites.

Growth Projections

The global nano satellite market size is expected to reach USD 1,336.9 Million in 2030 and register a revenue CAGR of 20.4% over the forecast period, according to the latest report by Emergen. Increasing adoption of miniaturization technologies across civil, commercial, and military sectors, and increasing initiatives of academic institutions, private companies, and space agencies to launch new nanosatellite missions are key factors driving global nano satellite market revenue growth.

COVID-19 Direct Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic had an adverse effect on market growth.Lack of funds from private investors and government along with technological challenges have resulted in slow development of nano satellites. The COVID-19 pandemic had led to implementation of stringent lockdown regulations across several countries, which resulted in disrupted supply chain of aeronautical parts and delayed the launch of various satellites.However, many large companies have been able to recover after the pandemic; however small and medium size enterprises are still in the process.

Looking for Discount on Nano Satellitemarketreport [Click Here]@ https://www.emergenresearch.com/request-discount/902

Current Trends and Innovations

Advancements in satellite technologies such as advanced ground systems, in-orbit services, advanced payload systems, and others is boosting growth of the nano satellite market. Advancements in tracking, telemetry, and command-to-control satellites is making ground systems a top satellite technology trend. Ground stations use Radiofrequency (RF) communication terminals, electronically steered, and phased-array antennas to track satellites with minimal human intervention. Moreover, increase in satellite constellations requires modern inter-satellite links for coordination of constellation movement. For this, smart RF and optical communication technologies are used for better in-orbit relays in upstream and downstream data transfer. This innovation will prove very useful in boosting development of nano satellites.

Geographical Outlook

Market in Europe accounted for moderate revenue share in 2020, which is expected to expand at a rapid rate during the forecast period. Countries in Europe are more developed in terms of advanced technologies, and companies are investing substantially in development of nano satellite technologies, which is creating opportunities for nano satellite providers and boosting market growth.

Market in North America accounted for largest revenue share in 2020 and is expected to register a rapid rate over the forecast period. The U.S. launches a vast number of nano satellites for various applications such as observation of the Earth and remote sensing, mapping and navigation, communications, and military operations. The number of launches is expected to increase in the near future owing to increased defense spending and need to upgrade communication networks and links.

Strategic Initiatives

In March 2021, NASA announced the launch of new inexpensive variants of the nano satellite under its CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI), which will provide opportunities for smaller satellite payloads built by small non-profit organizations, high schools, and universities to fly on upcoming satellite launches. NASA provides these CubeSat developers a cost-effective pathway through innovative technology partnerships for conducting technology demonstrations and scientific investigations in space. Similar initiatives by other space industry giants is expected to support market growth.

Explore Complete Report Description and Table of Contents of Nano Satellite Market [emailprotected] https://www.emergenresearch.com/industry-report/nano-satellite-market

Some Key Highlights From the Report

Buy Your Exclusive [emailprotected] https://www.emergenresearch.com/select-license/902

Emergen Research has segmented the global nano satellite market on the basis of mass, application, end-use, and region:

Want to Explore Complete Table of Content (TOC) for Nano Satellite Market[Click Here]@ https://www.emergenresearch.com/industry-report/nano-satellite-market/toc

Latest Published Reports by Emergen Research in Chemical Industry Segment:

Graph Database Market By Component (Solution, Service), By Deployment (On-premise, Cloud), By Graph Type, By Organization Size, By Analysis Type, By Application, By End-Use, and By Region Forecast to 2030.

Data Fabric Market By Component (Solution, Service), By Type (In-Memory Data Fabric, Disk-Based Data Fabric), By Deployment (On-Premises, On-Cloud), By Organization Size, By Application, By End-Use, and By Region Forecast to 2028.

Data Visualization Market Size, Share, Trends, By Component (Software, Service, Solution), By Deployment (Cloud and On-Premises), By Enterprise (Small, Medium, Large), By End Use (Healthcare, Education, Government), and By Region Forecast to 2028.

Internet of Nanothings Market Size, Share, Trends, By Product Type (Nano Phones, Nanosensors, others), By Communication Type, By Network Architecture Type, By Application, and By Region Forecast to 2028.

Decision Intelligence Market, By Model (Human-based, Hybrid-based, Machine-based), By Software (Analytics, Machine Learning), By Provider (Big Cloud Providers, Start-Ups), By Application, By End-Use, and By Region Forecast to 2030

Geographic Information System Software in Agriculture Market, By Deployment (On-premise, On-cloud), By Application (Crop Monitoring, Irrigation Monitoring, Soil Analysis, Others), and By Region Forecast to 2028.

Blockchain Distributed Ledger Market Size, Share, Trends, By Component (Solution, Services), By Type (Public, Private), By Enterprise Size (Large, Small & Medium), By Application (Payments, Trade Finance), By End-use (BFSI), and By Region Forecast to 2028

About Emergen Research

Emergen Research is a market research and consulting company that provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. Our solutions purely focus on your purpose to locate, target, and analyze consumer behavior shifts across demographics, across industries, and help clients make smarter business decisions. We offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across multiple industries, including Healthcare, Touch Points, Chemicals, Types, and Energy. We consistently update our research offerings to ensure our clients are aware of the latest trend's existent in the market. Emergen Research has a strong base of experienced analysts from varied areas of expertise. Our industry experience and ability to develop a concrete solution to any research problems provides our clients with the ability to secure an edge over their respective competitors.

Contact Us:

Eric LeeCorporate Sales SpecialistEmergen Research | Web: http://www.emergenresearch.comDirect Line: +1 (604) 757-9756 E-mail: [emailprotected]Visit for More Insights: https://www.emergenresearch.com/insightsExplore Our Custom Intelligence services | Growth Consulting ServicesRead our Press Release on Nano Satellite @ https://www.emergenresearch.com/press-release/global-nano-satellite-marketRead our Blog on Low cost [emailprotected] https://www.emergenresearch.com/blog/top-10-leading-companies-in-the-low-cost-satellites-market

SOURCE Emergen Research

Continue reading here:

Nano satellite Market Size to Reach USD 1,336.9 Million in 2030 | Rise in Demand for Earth Observation Related Applications is a Key Factor Driving...

Tell me something. Do you believe in God?'

Snow darted an apprehensive glance in my direction. 'What? Who still believes nowadays?'

'It isn't that simple. I don't mean the traditional God of Earth religion. I'm no expert in the history of religions, and perhaps this is nothing new--do you happen to know if there was ever a belief in an...imperfect God?'

'What do you mean by imperfect?' Snow frowned. 'In a way all the gods of the old religions were imperfect, considered that their attributes were amplified human ones. The God of the Old Testament, for instance, required humble submission and sacrifices, and and was jealous of other gods. The Greek gods had fits of sulks and family quarrels, and they were just as imperfect as mortals...'

'No,' I interrupted. 'I'm not thinking of a god whose imperfection arises out of the candor of his human creators, but one whose imperfection represents his essential characteristic: a god limited in his omniscience and power, fallible, incapable of foreseeing the consequences of his acts, and creating things that lead to horror. He is a...sick god, whose ambitions exceed his powers and who does not realize it at first. A god who has created clocks, but not the time they measure. He has created systems or mechanisms that serves specific ends but have now overstepped and betrayed them. And he has created eternity, which was to have measured his power, and which measures his unending defeat.'

Snow hesitated, but his attitude no longer showed any of the wary reserve of recent weeks:

'There was Manicheanism...'

'Nothing at all to do with the principles of Good and Evil,' I broke in immediately. 'This god has no existence outside of matter. He would like to free himself from matter, but he cannot...'

Snow pondered for a while:

'I don't know of any religion that answers your description. That kind of religion has never been...necessary. If i understand you, and I'm afraid I do, what you have in mind is an evolving god, who develops in the course of time, grows, and keeps increasing in power while remaining aware of his powerlessness. For your god, the divine condition is a situation without a goal. And understanding that, he despairs. But isn't this despairing god of yours mankind, Kelvin? Is it man you are talking about, and that is a fallacy, not just philosophically but also mystically speaking.'

I kept on:

'No, it's nothing to do with man. man may correspond to my provisional definition from some point of view, but that is because the definition has a lot of gaps. Man does not create gods, in spite of appearances. The times, the age, impose them on him. Man can serve is age or rebel against it, but the target of his cooperation or rebellion comes to him from outside. If there was only a since human being in existence, he would apparently be able to attempt the experiment of creating his own goals in complete freedom--apparently, because a man not brought up among other human beings cannot become a man. And the being--the being I have in mind--cannot exist in the plural, you see? ...Perhaps he has already been born somewhere, in some corner of the galaxy, and soon he will have some childish enthusiasm that will set him putting out one star and lighting another. We will notice him after a while...'

'We already have,' Snow said sarcastically. 'Novas and supernovas. According to you they are candles on his altar.'

'If you're going to take what I say literally...'

...Snow asked abruptly:

'What gave you this idea of an imperfect god?'

'I don't know. It seems quite feasible to me. That is the only god I could imagine believing in, a god whose passion is not a redemption, who saves nothing, fulfills no purpose--a god who simply is. Stanisaw Lem, Solaris

Read more:

Space Exploration Quotes (212 quotes) - Goodreads

We're going to infinity, and beyond with our list of the best space exploration games out there.

Its a big universe out there, and video games have made traversing star systems a common activity. There was a time when space exploration games were limited to certain genres, but now its more of a theme, a core idea that defines the philosophies of wildly different titles. In this article, our aim is to showcase some of the biggest and best space exploration games out there. This is not a ranking, and all of the titles mentioned have something interesting and unique to offer despite sharing a common goal: making us feel closer to the stars.

But, what makes a good space exploration game? Well, we like to think they dont have to be realistic experiences all the time. Its all about the wonder of going out there and uncovering the cosmos secrets. Maybe the task is simply to abandon Earth, or maybe space is simply defining an otherwise simple adventure or tales of conquest. The journey is what matters, and outer space is inherently the most unpredictable setting we can wish for.

If youre looking for something more peculiar, you might want to check out our list of the best PSVR space games, or the best Star Wars games. The somewhat extensive list well be exploring in this article isnt bound to certain franchises or platforms, and weve tried to include something for everyone. Now, lets blast off into the unknown.

An open-world game on the surface, Outer Wilds takes flight and sends players on a timed adventure across a solar system stuck in a 22-minute loop which ends with the sun going bye-bye. Its all about the freedom of exploration and figuring out the systems secrets each planet is strange in its own way, and an extinct alien race might hold the key to breaking the time loop and stopping the sun from going supernova.

This ones an easy recommendation for almost anyone looking for a compelling and emotional non-linear adventure that doesnt overstay its welcome and is filled with interesting characters. Of course, its jam-packed with puzzles and situations that make your head spin. Take that into account before putting on your space suit.

Today's best Outer Wilds deals

We promised you a bit of space conquest, and Endless Space 2 is the best turn-based, space-set strategy title that you can find right now. It completely behaves like a normal 4X game (explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate), but the path to victory is never the same. This sci-fi universe is vast and rich, and so are its possibilities, but one thing always remains true: reaching new systems and colonizing their planets never gets old.

Build an isolated empire, expand your borders across the stars through diplomacy, or let money do the talking to keep your enemies away. Its expansion packs make things weirder and more unpredictable, as if sentient trees which colonize worlds with celestial vines werent strange enough.

Today's best Endless Space 2 deals

Space flight simulation aficionados are familiar with this one, as its been dominating that genre for years now, and with good reason. In spite of its steep learning curve, few games are as massive and rewarding as Elite Dangerous the persistent online universe and a 1:1 scale representation of the Milky Way galaxy houses many gameplay possibilities that move at their own pace.

Elite Dangerous certainly isnt for everyone, and is more of a lived-in experience that grows with you. Dont expect to get a lot done in one hour. The journey matters here way more than crossing off tasks. Still, the number of different occupations (from space trucker to pirate) guarantee more than enough variety to keep patient players entertained for hundreds of hours. Furthermore, the Odyssey expansion (released May 19, 2021) introduces an on-foot FPS element to the game, although the community doesnt seem to be vibing with it.

Today's best Elite: Dangerous deals

Faster Than Light aint a looker, but its got it where it counts. It can be largely described as a procedurally generated roguelite, and the goal is to reach an allied fleet in order to deliver a package of critical information. The problem is that there are a bunch of dangerous space sectors between your single spacecraft and the bulk of your allies. Plus, a massive rebel fleet is also chasing you.

The game focuses on managing the ships systems and your crew, who are the blood that keep the entire thing working. Its profoundly stressful but highly addictive, and remains one of the most unique space-related indie titles available. Moreover, you get to make some hard decisions as you push forward through the cosmos in a piece of junk, so its not all about battling pirates and fixing your ship with little to no resources.

Everyone remembers how much of a disaster the launch of No Mans Sky was, but Hello Games turned the ship around in spectacular fashion around a year and a half into post-launch development. With a few more years of massive updates, it now packs an absurd amount of content, so youll never be at a loss for anything to do. And, in case you didnt know, its procedurally generated universe is practically endless and can be fully explored with friends and/or random players.

As stated by the developers, No Mans Sky captures a sense of exploration and optimism typically seen in the sci-fi literature of the 1970s. That promise was always there, but the original experience was extremely shallow. Now, it feels like one of the liveliest universes weve explored in a video game. The first couple of hours might be rough, but it quickly picks up and goes where no game has gone before.

Today's best No Man's Sky deals

Squads Kerbal Space Program (KPS) is another game that may not seem very enticing at first, but contains lots of absorbing ideas and executes most of them in an engrossing and charming manner. It took a while to get KSP out of Steams early access program, but the final result has captured countless players minds for years, and user-created mods might have something to do with that.

The player controls a space program operated by small humanoids called Kerbals, and the goal is simple: come up with vehicles and plans to explore their star system while avoiding catastrophic failures. KSP plays out like a comedy based on the history of space exploration, and its slowly gained a cult following that is now eagerly awaiting the sequel, which launches in 2022.

Today's best Kerbal Space Program deals

We know this is an odd pick, but hear us out. Spore: Galactic Adventures was a great expansion pack that turned the basic Spore late-game experience (uneven and mostly shallow) into an exciting set of space adventures. Jumping from one planet to another and exploring every corner of the galaxy became more than just a chore, and the extensive adventure and planet creators gave users even more tools to come up with fun content.

Spore hasnt aged that well overall, but its Complete Collection is, in our humble opinion, worth revisiting even now. Maxis threw lots of exciting ideas into it, and many of them still havent been successfully replicated by more modern titles. We wouldnt reject a reboot either.

Relic Entertainments Homeworld games are landmarks of the real-time strategy genre, and even bigger triumphs for lovers of good, meaty science fiction. Gearbox Softwares substantial remaster of both titles only solidified their legendary status and made them relevant again. The series has now started to grow past the classic games, but theyre still must-play releases.

As in most RTS titles, the Homeworld games focus on gathering resources to build military forces to crush your opponents, but the plot and worldbuilding that hold everything together make them stand out: the Kushan exiles of the planet Kharak set out on a mission to reclaim their ancient homeworld of Hiigara from the Taiidan Empire. Its a sprawling epic about space nomads with really cool ships. Whats not to love?

Today's best Homeworld deals

Visit link:

Best space exploration games | Space

When humanity contemplates sending assets to other planets, what should be our goal? There are two fundamental choices:

1) Use artificial intelligence (AI) astronauts to plant seeds of scientific innovation in other locations, so that intelligence is duplicated and not at risk of extinction.

2)Make numerous copies of what nature already produced on Earth.

The choice is between taking pride in what nature manufactured over 4.5 billion years on Earth through unsupervised evolution and natural selection, or aspiring to a more intelligent form of supervised evolution elsewhere.

The first choice AI is apt to an industrial duplication line, for which the proof of concept for the assembly line was already demonstrated on Earth and we can duplicate it in an Earth-like environment. We are emotionally attracted to the second choice, because we are attached to ourselves and our natural path for maintaining the longevity of our genetic-making through biological reproduction.

Prioritizing the natural processes of the second choice is misguided for two reasons. First, we tend to think we are special and so reproducing more of us is appealing. Second, we forget the extensively long series of trial and error that ended up in our naturally selected species. The second choice reflects a unique selection bias, namely we like who we are and imagine that if we duplicate natural selection in an Earth-like environment somewhere else something as special as us will result. Of course, natural selection holds no such guarantee. This underscores the appeal of the first choice of AI, which promotes new systems that are more advanced and adaptable to very different environments. If evolution is supervised by AI systems with 3D printers, it could be more efficient at identifying optimal solutions to new challenges that were never encountered before.

The second approach was the sort adopted by barbarian cultures throughout human history. Its brute-force simplicity in making copies of existing systems could lead to dominance by numbers, but its main weakness is that it is vulnerable to new circumstances that previous systems cannot survive. For example, the dinosaurs were not smart enough to use telescopes capable of alerting them to the dangers of giant space rocks. Also, the ideas offered by Ancient Greek philosophy survived longer than the Roman Empire despite the latters military might in conquering new territories.

AI scientists could use machine learning to navigate through virgin territories and adapt more effectively to their challenging terrain than terrestrial life forms. In this vein, AI systems could be viewed as our technological kids and a phase in our own Darwinian evolution, as they represent a form of adaption to new worlds beyond Earth. There is no reason for us to be attached to primitive representations of life on Earth, just as there is no reason to resurrect the dinosaurs.

Periods of snowball Earth removed some forms of life from our terrestrial habitat, but the physical challenges on other planets could be so extreme that envisioning terrestrial life there is a non-starter. Adopting survival tactics by AI systems in these alien environments might be essential for tailoring sustainable torches that carry our flame of consciousness there.

Is there a smarter kid on our cosmic block who already figured out the best strategy? If so, it would be interesting to find out whether the first choice or the second are more popular among extraterrestrial civilizations.

The first choice has a higher likelihood of survival in the face of natural disasters, such as loss of planetary atmospheres, climate change, meteorite impacts, evolution of the host star, nearby supernova explosions or flares from supermassive black holes. However, the second choice natures choice could be sufficiently infectious, like the omicron variant of COVID-19, so as to seed many locations at once and compensate for its reduced impact.

By studying other planets for signs of life we could identify which choice is most favorable and even might learn what was most popular by civilizations elsewhere. Based on human history, we might find evidence for a lot of barbarian cultures that had perished and a much smaller population of intelligent cultures that maintained longevity. Although more difficult to find, those precious needles in the haystack that survived over billions of years, could teach us an important lesson about the favorable path. To put my cards on the table even before we find them: I am all in favor of option A for AI than B for barbarian.

Avi Loebis head of HarvardsGalileo Project,a systematic scientific search for evidence of extraterrestrial technological artifacts. Loeb is the founding director of Harvard'sBlack Hole Initiative, the director of the Institute for Theory and Computation at the Harvard-SmithsonianCenter for Astrophysics, and he chairs the advisory board for the Breakthrough Starshot project.He is the author ofExtraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth.

Read more here:

Two choices in space exploration | TheHill - The Hill

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida in 2015 Orlando Sentinel via Getty Images

A piece of a SpaceX rocket will crash into the moon after spending nearly seven years hurtling through space, experts predict.

The Falcon 9 booster was launched by Elon Musk's space exploration company in 2015, but after completing its mission, it didnt have enough fuel to return to Earth. The rockets second stage has been in an uncontrolled orbit ever since.

Therockethas been pulled by the competing gravitational forces of the Earth, moon, and sun, which has made its path chaotic, says Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

"It's been deadjust following the laws of gravity, McDowell says to Georgina Rannard for BBC. "Over the decades there have been maybe 50 large objects that we've totally lost track of. This may have happened a bunch of times before, we just didn't notice.

While the SpaceX rocket isnt the only piece of space junk orbiting Earth, it could be the first documented rocket collision with the moon, according to data analyst Bill Gray who developed software that tracks near-Earth objects. Gray predicts the rocket will hit the far side of the moon on March 4, 2022.

I realized that my software complained because it couldnt project the orbit past March 4, Gray told Timothy Bella of the Washington Post. And it couldnt do it because the rocket had hit the moon.

The SpaceX booster was part of the companys first deep-space mission designed tomonitor solar storms and Earth's climate, per Live Science's Ben Turner.After the booster sent the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Deep Space Climate Observatory satellite to a gravitationally-stable Lagrange point, the rockets second stage became derelict.

When the rockets second stage finally collides with the moon at roughly 5,771 mph, it will explode on impact.

"It's basically a four-tonne empty metal tank, with a rocket engine on the back. And so if you imagine throwing that at a rock at 5,000 miles an hour, it's not going to be happy," McDowell tells theBBC.

Unlike deliberate collisions with the lunar surface, this impact is not likely to reveal anything new about the moon. In 2009, NASA fired its Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite onto the moon's south pole, which released a plume of material that allowed scientists to confirm the presence of water ice.

Though thebooster's crash will be largely uneventful, space debris can have serious consequences. Because of the high speed that objects travel in space (around fivemiles per second), a collision with even a tiny chip of free-floating paint can damage a spacecraft. Last November, astronauts in the International Space Station were forced to shelter in their spacecraft when they passed through a debris cloud from a Russian anti-satellite test. All of that space junk whizzing around the planet could complicate future space travel.

"If we get into the future where there are cities and bases on the moon, we want to know what's out there, McDowell tells theBBC. It's much easier to get that organized when there is slow traffic in space, rather than waiting until it's a problem."

Recommended Videos

Read more from the original source:

A Chunk of a SpaceX Rocket Is Going to Slam Into the Moon - Smithsonian

Michelle Nichols refers to herself as an astroeducator, and the label could not be more apt. In a comprehensive slide presentation for the Levy Lecture audience on Jan. 25, Nichols described the history of the International Space Station (ISS), the ingenious temporary home to a constantly changing group of international astronauts.

The idea of living in space has been a mainstay of science fiction for years. The first known image of a home among the stars appeared in the 1869 novella The Brick Moon by Edward Everett Hale. In 1928, Herman Potonik, an Austro-Hungarian army officer, engineer and space enthusiast, conceived of humans living permanently in space on an orbiting spacecraft and drew the first architectural model for this structure.

In the 1950s, Wernher von Braun was a German aerospace engineer who worked for NASA after being recruited by the Americans. He was a major proponent of using rockets for space exploration and envisioned employing a team of scientists to build a satellite in space based on the same spherical shape advanced by Potonik.

In 1971, the idea of a space station moved from fantasy to reality. The Soviet Union launched Salyut 1, the first space station inhabited by humans. It was tubular in shape and included a docking station to receive astronauts launched into orbit weeks or months later. The Salyut program lasted for 20 years, ending in 1991 with Salyut 7.

Nichols summarized the advances made by the Soviet Union during this period, including the transition from monolithic to modular stations, the use of multiple docking ports, orbital handovers from one crew to another, the use of unmanned resupply vehicles, and the viability of conducting long spaceflight programs, which were science experiments that lasted for many months. The international scientific community cheered these advances.

Using photos from NASA and other sources, Nichols took the audience through decades of spacecrafts and space stations, including U.S. Skylabs 1, 2 and 3 and the Soviet Unions Mir space station launched in 1986. Mir was essentially assembled in orbit between 1986 and 1996. Later managed by Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it served as an example of international partnership and development as astronauts from several countries were sent to Mir to participate in building and maintaining the structure and conducting experiments within it.

The United States led construction of the ISS, which began in 1998. Over the course of 13 years, other countries including Russia and Canada built and supplied components of the station. Nichols marveled at the photo of the finished ISS, reminding the audience, The International Space Station was constructed once. These modules were never put together on the ground, together as one piece. That would have been impossible to do. There were no second chances.

The audience viewed photographs of various astronauts going about their everyday routines such as working on a laptop, shaving, exercising, getting ready for sleep, getting a haircut, conducting experiments, preparing food, eating, playing a musical instrument and moving from one module to another. One of the most challenging aspects of life in space is just knowing where everything is. There is plenty of storage space, but every inch of the structure has a purpose and every object must have a function or reason for being there. Within the ISS, weight and volume are too precious and too expensive to allocate other than purposefully.

Nichols noted that the three most frequently asked questions concern normal functions such as eating, sleeping and going to the bathroom. The physical processes of those three actions work the same in space as they do on earth, but the lack of gravity necessitates accommodations such as handholds and footholds, Velcro to secure items, and tying ones occupied sleeping bag to surfaces at all four corners. Every aspect of the astronauts lives is measured and monitored; they are walking science experiments and they wouldnt have it any other way. Each of them worked for years to be selected as astronaut candidates, make it through training and be chosen to go to space.

The audience response to Nichols presentation, her fourth as a Levy Lecture speaker, was overwhelmingly positive. Viewer Tom Wallace emailed saying, Amazing! Thanks so much for this beautiful, inspirational and informative presentation! One anonymous commenter was excited to watch the webinar with a grandchild. Several noted how much they learned by listening to Nichols. A particularly effusive audience member observed, I wasnt sure I would be interested in this presentation, but gave it a try. So glad I did!! Excellent speaker that held my attention! Taught me all kinds of new things. Fascinating! Thank you!

The webinar is available on the Levy Senior Center Foundation YouTube channel.

See more here:

Levy Lecture: Exploring the International Space Station - Evanston RoundTable

Artists concept of an Orion spacecraft at the moon. Credit: NASA

NASA will announce later this year the four astronauts who will slingshot around the far side of the moon on the Artemis lunar programs first crew mission, currently scheduled for launch in 2024, the head of the agencys human space exploration division recently said. The crew is expected to include three U.S. fliers and one Canadian astronaut.

The Artemis 2 mission will follow two years after NASAs Artemis 1 test flight, an unpiloted pathfinder mission scheduled to launch no earlier than March from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Artemis 1 will be the first flight of NASAs Space Launch System, a heavy-lift rocket designed for lunar missions thats been in development for more than a decade. It will also be first trip by NASAs Orion crew capsule to the moon, following a demonstration flight that orbited Earth in 2014.

The goal of NASAs Artemis program is to land astronauts on the moons surface for the first time since the final Apollo lunar mission in December 1972. The Artemis programs first attempt to land a crew on the moon is penciled in for the Artemis 3 mission, scheduled for 2025, with a derivative of the Starship vehicle SpaceXs is developing in South Texas.

Before attempting a lunar landing, NASA will send four astronauts on a voyage around the far side of the moon on Artemis 2. The mission will carry the crew farther from Earth than any humans in history.

Jim Free, head of NASAs exploration systems development programs, said Jan. 18 that the agency soon plans to reveal which astronauts will fly on Artemis 2.

Were planning on making the announcement for the Artemis 2 crew this year, Free said in a meeting of the NASA Advisory Councils Human Exploration and Operations Committee.

NASA announced a cadre of 18 astronauts in December 2020 for possible assignments to early Artemis lunar missions. The same month, NASA and the Canadian Space Agency revealed an agreement to put a Canadian astronaut on the Artemis 2 flight around the moon.

The Canadian flier will join three U.S. astronauts on the Artemis 2 mission.

Canada also secured a spot for a Canadian astronaut on a future mission to the Gateway mini-space station NASA and its international partners plan to construct in orbit around the moon. NASA is providing the flight opportunities for Canadian astronauts in exchange for Canadas contribution of a large robotic arm for the Gateway,which is intended to serve as a waypoint, spacecraft refueling station, and deep space research outpost in the vicinity of the moon.

After launching from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to begin the Artemis 2 mission, the Space Launch System will place the Orion crew capsule into orbit around Earth, where the astronauts will perform checkouts, test out the ships rendezvous and docking systems, and then fire Orions service module engine to fly to the moon a quarter-million miles away.

The Artemis 2 mission will follow a hybrid free return trajectory around the moon. The Orion crew capsule wont enter orbit around the moon, but still instead loop around the far side and return directly to Earth for splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

The Orion spacecraft will arc out to a distanceof 4,600 miles (7,400 kilometers) beyond the far side of the moon, farther than any humans have ever traveled into space.

The Artemis 2 mission will last around 10 days, paving the way for future landing expeditions and longer-duration flights to the Gateway. As of November, the launch of the Artemis 2 mission from Kennedy Space Center was scheduled in May 2024.

NASA hasnt confirmed flight opportunities for Japan and the European Space Agency, the other major partners in the Artemis program. But astronauts from both partners are expected to fly to the moon in the Artemis program.

ESA supplies the service modules for Orion missions, and is developing a refueling and communications module for the Gateway station. Japan is helping work on an international habitation module, along with ESA, and could send resupply ships to the Gateway complex.

The first two elements of the Gateway are being built in the United States by Maxar Technologies and Northrop Grumman for launch together on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket no earlier than May 2024.

Email the author.

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.

More here:

NASA to name astronauts this year for first Artemis moon mission Spaceflight Now - Spaceflight Now