Category Archives: Space Exploration

Enlarge / A rendering of SpaceX's Starship traveling to the Saturn system.

SpaceX

Jennifer Heldmann stared at the computer screens on her desk, watching as a rocket's upper stage slammed into a crater near the South Pole of the Moon. In the name of science, a 2.3-ton chunk of steel struck the Moon with the force of 2 tons of TNT.

It was October 2009, and Heldmann tracked the impact from inside the Science Operations Center at NASA Ames in California. As a 33-year-old planetary scientist, she was working her first major mission for NASA by coordinating observations of the impact with ground-based telescopes.

NASA sought to "touch the ice" with the LCROSS mission. Although the Apollo landings in the 1960s and early 1970s had found a gray and barren world, scientists had since come to believe that pockets of ice were trapped below the rims of craters in permanent darkness at the poles, the remnants of billions of years of cometary impacts. Centaur's mission was to blast one of these craters and see if the scientists were right.

After poring over the data, NASA declared that it had indeed found water in the vapor plume kicked up by the Centaur impact, as well as material ejected by the blast.

For Heldmann, this was a pivotal moment in her career. The experience cemented her interest as a planetary scientist in following the water. "It is truly amazing how the results of that mission have been so profound," she said.

The discovery of water ice on the Moon highlighted an era in which planetary scientists were finding ice and water all over the Solar Systemon the ice-encrusted moons of Europa and Enceladus, on and beneath the surface of Mars, and potentially in even more far-flung locations, such as the interior of Pluto or Neptune's largest moon, Triton. As they looked beyond Earth, scientists discovered, water was nearly everywhere.

These discoveries raised all manner of tantalizing prospects. Where there is wateror once waslife might have developed. Scientists were therefore no longer just looking for fossils in long-dry lake beds on Mars; they began seeking out living organisms in the large oceans of Europa, Enceladus, and elsewhere. For human exploration, too, the proliferation of water offered a great opportunity. Where there is water, there are the components for rocket fuelliquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.

In no small way, these discoveries have influenced the focus of NASA's science and human spaceflight programs. NASA has increasingly leveraged its annual planetary science budget, about $3 billion a year, to support missions that may find past or even present life on other worlds. And during the last four years, the space agency has been formulating a plan to send astronauts to the Moon, possibly to extract water there, as a precursor to sending humans to Mars.Enlarge / This image from the European Space Agencys Mars Express shows Korolev crater, an 82-km-across feature found in the northern lowlands of Mars.

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For scientists, there are always more questions than answers. And there are always many more missions they want to fly than funds available to fly them. The ubiquity of water has only heightened scientists' desire to get robots out into the Solar System to definitively find ice deposits and subsurface oceans and to characterize them. Just as we're learning that the Solar System holds far more secrets than we might have imaginedwhich makes our inability to fly out there and unlock them especially frustrating.

But what if we could?

Some planetary scientists have started warming to the idea that SpaceX's new Starship rocket, with its unprecedented lift capabilities and potentially paradigm-shattering low costs, could open up the Solar System to a new era of exploration. Imagine sending a lander to Europa, which harbors a vast, warm, subsurface ocean. During recent NASA planning meetings, scientists contemplated sending a complex spacecraft, costing billions of dollars, to conduct science on Europa. At best, they were hoping to land a payload of science instruments about the size and mass of a mini-refrigerator there.

With Starship, by contrast, NASA might land a cache of scientific payloads the size of a single-story unfurnished house.

"You can really take advantage of the Starship architecture and get to the outer Solar System in ways we haven't thought about before," Heldmann said. "It could provide a revolutionary new way of exploring these worlds."

Engineers at SpaceX have been working seriously on the development of Starship for about five years, and over the last dozen months or so, they have completed several early test flights. Much technical work remains, but the company appears to be well on its way to delivering a superheavy-lift rocket that is fully reusable, low-cost, and potentially capable of delivering as much as 100 tons to the surface of most bodies in the Solar System.

SpaceX and its founder, Elon Musk, view Starship as the key rocket to take humans to Mars and eventually build a self-sustaining settlement there. But such a vehicle would have myriad other uses for science, exploration, and defense purposes.

A highly reliable version of Starship likely remains several years away, but the vehicle could begin a series of orbital test flights in early 2022. NASA's human exploration program now has so much confidence in Starship that the space agency selected the vehicle to serve as the landing system of its Artemis Moon Program. Now, if Starship fails, NASA isn't going back to the Moon.

"Starship can bring unprecedented amounts of payload to Mars and elsewhere," Heldmann said. "Planetary scientists need to be thinking about how we can take advantage of this capability because its extraordinary. And if we want to take advantage of these opportunities, to have payloads on the uncrewed test flights, we need to get going."

SpaceX first approached the planetary science community in 2018 with a series of "Mars workshops" that addressed basic questions such as potential landing sites on the planet and gaps in knowledge that need to be filled before people can safely live and work on the surface.

SpaceX

The company invited prominent names from the Mars research community, and several dozen participated. Some had already bought into SpaceX's vision, but others were skeptical. Over time, as SpaceX built and tested prototypes, even some of the skeptics began to buy in, believing that Starship was really going to happen.

"As Starship has begun to seem more real, it has changed people's minds," said Tanya Harrison, a planetary scientist and Mars expert who participated in the meetings. "Starship being selected for the lunar missions was a huge credibility boost."

More here:

Planetary scientists are starting to get stirred up by Starships potential - Ars Technica

The history of the United States space program was molded in part by the many women who have not only been launched into orbit aboard spacecraft, but who have also worked tirelessly behind the scenes in making the rocket and shuttle launches mathematically possible. From the more than 50 women launched into space, to the engineers that started the process on paper, women have been an integral part of NASA from the beginning (via History of NASA).

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NASA wouldnt have had the many successes over the last decades without the dedication, innovation, and courage of the hundreds of women that they have employed. Lets take a closer look at 11 of them, whose names should be forever etched in our history books

NASA/Langley Research Center

The distinction of becoming the first woman engineer at NASA belongs to Kitty OBrien Joyner, who began her career with the NACA in 1939. Her path to a successful career began after being inspired by her father, an engineer by trade who encouraged Joyner to pursue her passion. Joyner was also the first woman to graduate from the University of Virginias engineering school.

According to NASA, Joyner faced hurdles getting accepted into school. She successfully sued for admission into a program that was structured for males only, before eventually graduating and earning the prestigious Algernon Sydney Sullivan award (via University of Virginia).

After NACA transitioned to NASA, Joyner helped research and design wind tunnels and wind turbines. She retired from NASA in 1971.

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Peggy Whitson worked to develop quite the resume in the realm of space exploration. According to NASA, Whitson began her career with the space agency as a researcher in 1989. She was launched into space in 2002, on a mission to the International Space Station.

Whitson participated in two separate space station missions, each being six months long. On her second mission in 2008, she was the station commander.

Whitsons numerous space missions and time spent aboard the space station yielded in a total of ten space walks, the most of any woman in history. Whitson also has the distinction of spending 665 days in space. This is more than any other person from the United States.

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High school math teacher Dorothy Vaughan took a position with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in 1943. Vaughan thought she would only be at the Langley based facility while the war raged on, but found herself enjoying the work as a mathematician. As an African-American woman at the height of segregation, Vaughan and other women of color were assigned their own unit within a separate part of the building. This West Area Computing Unit was composed of all African-American women, save for the supervisors.

While working under two successive white managers, Vaughans tenacity and hard work paid off. She was promoted to a supervisor position in 1949, making her the first African-American woman to have a managerial role in this setting (via NASA). A decade later, NACA turned into NASA, and segregated facilities within the organization were officially abolished. Vaughan began to work for the Analysis and Computation division, becoming adept at FORTRAN computer programming and contributing to the Scout Launch Vehicle Program.

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If anyones struggles show just how far weve come in breaking down racial barriers, its those faced by Mary Jackson. Born in 1921 in Hampton, Virginia, Jackson was educated during times of racial segregation. Showing a prolific ability in mathematics, Jackson was able to secure rare and special permission to take University of Virginia math and physics classes while attending the segregated Hampton High School (via Biography). Completing these graduate level courses at such a young age led Jackson to pursue her education, earning herself a dual degree in physical science and mathematics from the Hampton Institute in 1942.

Jackson was hired by the predecessor of NASA, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in 1951. She was employed as a research mathematician, and her uncanny ability in this field earned her the moniker human computer.

Sadly, in spite of her efforts, Jackson was still being held back by archaic Jim Crow policies. Discouraged, she had a chance conversation with a supervisor about her struggles. This man offered her a position directly under him and encouraged her to take engineering courses. Jackson did so and began to assume new responsibilities. She was eventually promoted to aeronautical engineer, making Jackson the first African-American female engineer at NASA.

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Katherine Johnson was also employed as a human computer at NACA in the year 1953. Like her fellow mathematicians Vaughan and Jackson, Johnson was a woman of color who was forced to endure the racial inequalities of the era. Segregated at work in the West Area Computing Unit, Johnson excelled at her job while working alongside other women of color.

Johnson was not one to let the injustices that surrounded her stop her professional progress, however. Her mathematical ability led to her being absorbed into the NASA program, where she calculated the trajectories of both John Glenn and Alan Shepherd. Glenn was so impressed by Johnsons reputation that he personally asked that she check the computers results (via Insider).

Johnson later went on to calculate the trajectory of the Apollo 11 moon mission in 1969. After her retirement, she was the recipient of two prestigious awards. According to Solar System, Johnson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 by President Barack Obama and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2019.

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The Mother of the Hubble Telescope was born in 1925. From a young age, Roman expressed an intense interest in science, particularly astronomy. In her early teenage years, Roman formed a school astronomy club, in which she and fellow classmates would pour over books written about the various constellations in the night sky. She knew then that she wanted to pursue a career in this field (via Solar System).

After earning her doctorate in astronomy from the University of Chicago in 1949, Roman worked at the Yerkes Observatory at her alma mater before taking a research position with the Naval Research Laboratory. When NASA was later formed, Roman was tapped to head up a program in space astronomy. She was made NASAs first chief of astronomy in 1959 (via Solar System).

In this position, Roman discussed different ways that the universe could be viewed with the numerous fellow astronomers that she interviewed. The idea of launching a telescope on a satellite into space appealed to her, as it would mean we would be getting a view of objects never seen before by humankind. She set to work selling the idea, first with fellow NASA staff, then to lawmakers in D.C. who held the purse strings.

Romans tireless work on a space telescope continued after her retirement from NASA in 1979. Roman was 65 when the Hubble space telescope was launched into low orbit in April 1990 (via NASA).

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A teacher, childrens author, and astronaut, Sally Ride (pictured at the head of this article, and whose helmet youll see immediately above) is the modern definition of a Renaissance person. With aspirations as a child to be a professional tennis player, Ride found a passion for physics in her teen years. This led to her earning her Bachelor of Science degree in the subject in 1973, before pursuing her Masters of Science and her doctorate in physics from Stanford University (via Solar System Exploration).

Ride wrote herself into the history of space exploration by becoming the first U.S. woman to be launched into outer space. After five years of rigorous training, Ride and four fellow astronauts were launched into space aboard the Challenger space shuttle on June 18, 1983.

Ride was an astronaut aboard another Challenger shuttle mission the following year. She retired from NASA in 1987 to pursue a successful career as a university professor.

Following a desire to help other women shatter barriers in the fields of mathematics and science, Ride founded her own company, Sally Ride Science, in 2001. Drawing from her own experiences as a young woman who was interested in fields dominated by men, Rides company strived to show the fruits of what diversity can yield.

Ride passed on July 23, 2012 at the age of 61. Out of the many kind words that were spoken of her character and her contributions, former NASA administrator Charles Bolden summed it up in the best way when he stated that Sally Ride broke barriers with grace and professionalism and literally changed the face of Americas space program (via Solar System Exploration).

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While Ride went down in history as the first U.S. woman launched into space, Anna Lee Fisher was the first to break another barrier; the first mother in outer space. According to Space, Fisher was part of the 1978 class of future astronauts that graduated six women, including Ride.

Pregnant with her daughter when approached by NASA to be a mission specialist on a space shuttle mission, Fisher accepted the challenge. After giving birth, she completed an extensive 14 month training regiment before being sent into space with five fellow astronauts aboard the space shuttle Discovery on November 8, 1984. The crew spent nearly eight days in space on the mission that saw the first mother sent among the stars.

After the Challenger disaster in January 1986, Fisher took a lengthy leave of absence from NASA When she returned in 1996, she became the chief of the space station branch. Fisher retired in 2017 (via Insider).

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While many women had been sent into space during NASAs shuttle program, no woman of color had been aboard any of the missions until Dr. Mae Jemison became the first African-American woman to do so in 1992. A mission specialist for the Endeavor space shuttle, Jemison and her crew orbited the Earth a total of 127 times during an eight day mission that began on September 12 of that year (via Womens History).

Inspired as a child by Star Trek reruns, Jemison felt her passion for science grow throughout her teenage years. Noticing the absence of women involved in the numerous Apollo missions she saw on television, Jemison was driven to success in academic fields that had previously been staffed by males. Earning her M.D. designation, Jemison went into general practice before joining the space program in 1987.

Teacher, doctor, Peace Corps volunteer, and astronaut. Rounding out Jemisons list of accomplishments is the fulfillment of another childhood dream: being an actress on Star Trek. After being approached by Star Trek: The Next Generation actor LeVar Burton about making an appearance on an episode, Jemison accepted. She played Lt. Palmer in the episode, Second Chances, becoming the first real astronaut to ever appear on an episode of any of the Star Trek series.

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1993 was the year the United States sent the first Hispanic woman into space. This astronaut, Ellen Ochoa, was the mission specialist aboard the Discovery space shuttle. The space craft launched into orbit in April and was the first of four missions that took Ochoa into space. Her missions included studying solar winds and the impact of the suns rays on the Earth. Ocha was also aboard the Atlantis in 1994, Discovery in 1999, and again on the Atlantis in her final mission in 2002.

According to Britannica, Ochoas total time in orbit over each mission exceeded 1,000 hours. On her shuttle Discovery mission in 1999, Ochoa was part of the crew that successfully docked with the International Space Station for the first time.

After her years as an astronaut, Ochoa went on to become the director of the Johnson Space Center. She left this post in 2018 and is now the vice-chair of the National Space Board (via Insider).

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Not to be outdone by the women who paved the way, Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot a space shuttle in 1995. Logging an impressive 38 days in space, Collins was part of four missions, including a 1997 ride that had her docking with the Russian space station Mir in a trip to distribute supplies to the cosmonauts on board (via Britannica).

Collins not only was the first woman to pilot a space shuttle, but she was also the first woman to command a shuttle mission. Collins was on board and in charge of the Columbia shuttle mission in 1999 that deployed the Chandra X-ray Observatory.

These women are only 11 of the hundreds of women who have enjoyed successful careers in the United States space program. The hurdles each had to cross to even be given a chance were many. Those who persevered helped to shape the future of both space exploration and national defense.

Read the rest here:

The 11 Most Influential Women in NASA History - SlashGear

Screen image captured at Beijing Aerospace Control Center in Beijing, capital of China, Oct 16, 2021 shows three Chinese astronauts, Zhai Zhigang (C), Wang Yaping (R) and Ye Guangfu, waving after entering the space station core module Tianhe. [Photo/Xinhua]

Heavenly Palace Class to be broadcast live around the globe in coming days

Crew members of China's Shenzhou XIII mission will soon give a space-based lecture from the orbiting Tiangong space station to students around the world, the China Manned Space Agency said on Thursday.

It said the lecture will take place in the coming days and will be broadcast live to audiences around the globe. It will mark the launch of the Heavenly Palace Class, China's first extraterrestrial lecture series to popularize space science, it added.

Heavenly Palace is the English translation of Tiangong, the most sophisticated endeavor in China's manned space program, which aims to build a massive space station about 400 kilometers above Earth.

The Heavenly Palace Class lectures will be based on the country's manned spaceflights and will be presented by Chinese astronauts. Featuring interactive teaching, the activities will be mainly targeted at youngsters.

The statement issued by the agency on Thursday did not mention which member of the crewMajor General Zhai Zhigang, Senior Colonel Wang Yaping and Senior Colonel Ye Guangfuwill host the lecture, but Lin Xiqiang, the agency's deputy director, told a news conference in mid-October, right before Shenzhou XIII's launch, that "Teacher Wang will soon bring her second space lecture to you."

In June 2013, Wang took part in the Shenzhou X mission that lasted nearly 15 days. During that mission, she carried out the nation's first space-based lecture inside an experimental space station module to more than 60 million Chinese students. The activity made China the second country, following the United States, to have held a space-based class for students.

The agency said that as a national space-based laboratory, the Tiangong station is also tasked with promoting and propagating science and technology knowledge. The orbiting outpost has abundant, unique educational resources and boasts special advantages when it comes to encouraging the public, especially young people, to embrace science and space exploration, it said.

Members of the public are welcome to submit questions, suggestions or requests for the kind of content they would like to see shared through the lectures, the agency said, adding that they can contact it via its media partners or its own website.

Wang Yanan, editor-in-chief of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, said the Heavenly Palace Class will inspire more young people to study science and technology and explore the universe and will arouse a sense of patriotism among them.

"I think the astronauts will display the space station and their scientific experiments to the students, and will show some interesting physical phenomena to them," he said.

The Shenzhou XIII mission was launched on Oct 16 by a Long March 2F carrier rocket that blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China's Gobi Desert, with the crew soon entering the Tiangong station. They are scheduled to spend six months working in the station, making it China's longest manned space mission.

Early last month, Wang Yaping, 41, became China's first female spacewalker when she took part in the Shenzhou XIII mission's first extravehicular activity.

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Crew to offer live lecture from China's orbiting space station - Chinadaily USA

The 100 million Space Park Leicester opened its doors to dozens of youngsters to show them a fun way of getting into space technology as a future career.

The University of Leicester-led research, innovation and teaching hub hosted experiments, 3D printing shows and demonstrations of thermal imaging, among other things, for school pupils from around the region.

In the past few months the facility has become home to space-related high-tech companies and researchers and a place for collaboration to take place between academia and industry.

A central part of its operations will be the use of satellite data to help improve life down on earth.

Members of the public also attended an open evening featuring presentations, guided tours and stands from organisations including the National Centre for Earth Observation and the nearby National Space Centre.

Leicester West MP Liz Kendall, who was given a tour of the building, said: This centre is really important for Leicester, Leicestershire and the country too because there is a huge growth potential in space science and jobs in this sector.

If we want to grow our country and give everyone a chance of a better life, investing in something like the Space Park is really important.

The university developed the Space Park in partnership with Leicester City Council and the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP).

Dr Suzie Imber, Associate Professor in Space Physics at the University of Leicester, led a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) outreach workshop for young guests involving a water rocket experiment.

She said: You dont have to be a scientist to be in the space industry, we need a whole range of people, such as engineers and technicians.

We need people thinking about how we design the spacecraft of the future and how we keep people alive in space. Its about the broader aspect of the space community.

More than 70 Year 6 pupils from the Inglehurst Junior School and more than 60 Year 5 children from Queensmead Primary Academy, both located nearby, attended workshops putting science into practice and learn about space exploration.

They also got the opportunity to learn about Leicesters role in the development of the James Webb Space Telescope, NASAs biggest and most powerful science telescope which is set to launch in December.

Elizabeth Peutherer, a teacher at Queensmead Primary Academy, said: We are learning about space at school and the visit was about how those skills are used in reality and to broaden their learning.

Letting them see and give them some ambition, showing them that that science isnt just something they learn about at school, can really make a difference.

Space Park Leicester is only 10 minutes down the road from where we are and its amazing to be so close.

Pupil Keanna Ngwenya, aged nine, said: I thought it was amazing. It was so exciting, I will tell my mum about everything I did. My favourite part was launching the water rockets outside.

Nine-year-old Arjun Singh said: Launching the rockets was the best bit. I learned that the water bears can live in boiling water or freezing water or in space.

In the evening, the centre opened its doors to the local community, with residents having the chance to learn about the projects being conducted and visit the labs that will be used for satellite design and build.

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How Space Park Leicester is inspiring the next generation of space pioneers and engineers - Business Live

Starfield is one the most highly-anticipated games of the coming year. Its Bethesdas next big title and the first one under Microsoft Studios. As was confirmed at E3 last year, Starfield is indeed an Xbox exclusive but will also launch on PC. Its currently set to release on 11th November, 2022 so roughly a year from now. In the meantime, Bethesda has kept fans both curious and excited at the same time with little snippets of the game here and there. Today, the company finally gave us our first serious look at Starfield since last years trailer.

Starfield is an open-world sci-fi action-adventure RPG from Bethesda Game Studios that follows the path of previous great Bethesda titles. The game is centered around space exploration and you play as a member of Constellation, the last of the space explorers in the game world. In a way, Starfield is similar to No Mans Sky because it lets you wander around and discover space at your own pace and will. However, the game wont be as colorful or fantastical as No Mans Sky as it takes a much more grounded, almost Interstellar-like approach to outer space.

The concept art reflects this well, showing off realistic spacecrafts and environments that arent far from what us humans already have seen or, at least, imagined. Everything from the suits worn by the explorers to the food eaten by the people onboard the spaceships is made to look as close to real as possible. The game is still a science fiction story and very much a Bethesda one at that (as well see later), but its trying to do something different than everything else on the market.

In the first episode of the Into The Starfield series released on YouTube, the legendary Todd Howard sits down with two other Bethesda developers, Studio Director Angela Browder and Art Director Matt Carofano to discuss the vision of Starfield. As weve all come to know by now, Todd Howard is an exceptional salesman and he certainly delivers on that promise here as well with cleverly-marketed glimmers of hope like youve never seen before. I mean, the man managed to sell us on Fallout 76 for Christs sake!

The group starts off with talking about how by now everyone knows what a Bethesda game is. A deep focus on exploration, role-playing, and larger than life narratives along with extensive world-building, mixed in with relatable characters and moments of humane genuineness is present throughout their games. And the team wants to continue in this set path of creating yet another world, yet another story for everyone to enjoy, but with some significant advancements that evolve the game in a new way.

Starfield will feel like a true Bethesda game. It will follow a first-person perspective and include all the Bethesda stables youve come to expect from their games. Todd talked about how even though the mechanics of Starfield are completely new, things like being able to pick up any random object wherever and whenever you like are all here. Even seeing the sun set over the horizon as the world transforms in real-time around you is present in Starfield. All of those things make the whole world more believable and the team at Bethesda certainly understands this.

As the conversation continues, throughout the video we see new concept art. We get to see the insides of different spaceships, a beautiful wide shot of a spacecraft, a planetary landing along with some other neat teases that make me even more excited for the game. The group also mentions how the art of this game is vital to the aspect of reality. Everything you see in Starfield is through a real-world lens. Like all this could actually be a reality one day. The team has even penciled the fictional food for space explorers and toys for their kids.

And what makes things more believable? Details. Well, Starfield has a ton of those. The group tells us that the Starfield dev team took inspiration from everywhere and incorporated it into the game. For example, members of the team who have a general interest in robotics helped design and conceptualize the robots in game. How the devs with engineering backgrounds contributed in the design of everything from spaceship doors to the actual space suits. Real life inspiration flows through Starfield.

Moreover, Todd really hammers down the importance of exploration. Now, exploration has been integral to Bethesda games in the past but Starfield is different. Because its the tale of the ultimate plain of exploration; space. What really lies beyond this little planet of ours, whats really out there? Thats the question Starfield is looking to answer.

The game also wants to immerse you inside a whole new world where everyone you meet, everyone you see, every place you visit has history, its own art, its own entertainment, its own life. Nothing should feel like its just a game, rather its a universe with endless stories to be told and adventures to be had. Thats why Bethesda is working hard to ensure that the game has rich world-building that only reflects the epic scale of the environment but also portrays the more grounded nature of the narrative.

In the light of exploration, Todd highlights that Bethesda games have always had a step-out moment. This is the moment where you/your character steps out in the world for the first time and sees the abyss for what it is in its full glory. Most famously, the vault opening in Fallout is a prime example of the step-out moment. This moment really makes you want to know more about the world and the drive for exploration sets in. Starfield, being the ultimate exploration game, has two step-out moments, according to Todd Howard.

You can decipher that statement in countless ways but what I personally think is that the first step out moment is when the actual game starts and youre greeted on to perhaps your room in a space station or maybe on Earth and as soon as you step out of there and see the full environment, you get your first step out moment. The second step out moment is when you finally go into space for the first time, or maybe when you make your first landing and step out on an unexplored planet. Im sure you can imagine all the possibilities.

It also seems like Starfield will have mod support from day one, or at least early on in its life because the group were very insistent of getting the point across that Bethesda games have two lives: one that the actual developers create and one that we do. The first live is the way that the game is meant to be played, the way the developers intender for the game. The other life implies how the fans mod the game to the point where it becomes an entirely different experience.

The group specifically mentioned how the fans create this other world using their tools, once again implying the use of mod tools. Lately, weve seen Bethesda be more and more supporting of mods and encouraging them more than ever so it wont be a surprise if we see Starfield launch with decent official mod support, or even extensive mod support down the line.

Lastly, its important to note that Starfield is aiming to be a mature yet grand sci-fi tale that will likely be several hours long rich with side quests and activities, just like every other Bethesda game. If you ask me, this seems much more like a Elder Scrolls than a Fallout, you know? Its a game Bethesda has been reportedly working since 2013, thats when the term Starfield was first trademarked.

It looks like the team is pouring their hearts out in this game and trying to capture the magic of what it feels like to defy gravity. Embarking on an cosmic journey is a landmark endeavor for any human and Bethesda wants to make sure you feel that. As weve seen with a lot of recent titles such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Battlefield 2042, expectations are the thief of joy and Starfield is hyped to oblivion.

So, this is a dangerous line to walk for Bethesda as theyve got to prove themselves in light of recent events. With a laser focus on exploration and open-world gameplay, Starfield will be the most ambitious project the company has ever taken on, and it seems as if the wait might just be worth it. Fingers crossed.

Starfield releases on November 11, 2021 on Xbox Series X|S and PC, it will also be available on Xbox Game Pass on day one. Expect more episodes of the Into The Starfieldseries as the weeks go on, and return here to catch up on everything revealed in the videos. The next major reveal, which will most likely be a full gameplay reveal, will be seen at E3, eight months from now. Till then, these introspective shorts on Starfield should keep our appetite in check.

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What does going to space mean to you? Bethesda Details Their Vision For Starfield with Gorgeous Concept Art - Appuals

NASA launched theDouble Asteroid Redirection Test (DART)mission on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenburg Air Force Base in California on Nov. 24. Next fall, DART will move into the vicinity of the asteroid Didymos and its tiny moonlet Dimorphos. Although it does not pose a danger now, it serves as an opportunity: The probe will smash into Dimorphos, increasing the time of its 12-hour orbit by between 73 seconds and 10 minutes. Thus, DART will practice saving the world from an asteroid collision, like the one that ended the dinosaurs.

Stories of big rocks threatening to hit the Earth have been a staple of science fiction for decades. Indeed, back in 1998, two movies, Armageddon, and Deep Impact, depicted heroic astronauts saving the world from extinction-level objects. The two movies involved the use of nuclear weapons to destroy the oncoming objects. DARTs mission will bea little less spectacular, testing a technique that will cause an object to miss the Earth entirely.

Until recently, deflecting asteroids instead of using nuclear devices to explode them was the preferred method of sparing the human race from the fate of the dinosaurs. Most scientists who had studied the problem had concluded that blowing up an oncoming asteroid or comet would simply change one huge object into a lot of little ones that would rain down over a wide area of the Earth.

However, according toa recent paper in Acta Astronautica, nuclear weapons may actually be a preferred solution to a kinetic impact vehicle such as DART. Instead of shattering the asteroid, the energy created by a nuclear blast would be used to irradiate a portion of the asteroids surface. The asteroid would eject a stream of material that would act as a rocket, diverting the asteroid away from a collision course with the Earth.

Of course, for any method of diverting an asteroid to work, scientists must track Earth-approaching asteroids that could cause an extinction-level event.As BGR reports, NASA tracks Earth-approaching asteroids all the time, including a 1,000-foot-wide object called 4660 Nereus, which is due to pass 3.9 million kilometers from the Earth on Dec.11.

The prerequisite for stopping an asteroid or comet headed to Earth is to detect it, the farther away the better, which suggests that NASA needs to expand its asteroid search operation. If an asteroid or comet is found to be on a collision course with the Earth at a far enough distance, then possibly a kinetic vehicle like DART could be used to bump it into a different path. If the asteroid is detected when it is close and/or if it is of sufficient size and mass that a DART-like vehicle would not be sufficient, then the nuclear option should be made available.

Which organization should be tasked with asteroid defense? Fortunately, the United States has a new military branch that is uniquely suited for such a task:the Space Force.

The Space Force is tasked with defending American and allied space assets from terrestrial enemies, such as China and Russia. No reason exists that it cannot also defend against threats that come from outer space.

The Space Force should be tasked with a mission to test the scenario presented in the Acta Astronautica piece. Such a mission would be tricky diplomatically. TheNuclear Test Ban Treatyprohibits testing nuclear weapons in space. For a test of an asteroid-diverting nuclear device to pass muster, some agreement would have to be acquired from the signatories of the test ban treaty. Perhaps, the nuclear device would not be defined as a weapon for the purposes of the treaty, but as a deflection device. The test would be in the best interests of every nation on the planet, so logically there should be little or no objection.

Physicists including Michio Kaku and Neil deGrasse Tyson have remarked: Killer asteroids are natures way of saying hows that space program coming along?

If, in some future time, an asteroid is detected on a collision course with Earth and humans have developed the capacity to stop it, every last cent spent on space, NASA, military and commercial space exploration, will be seen as having been worth it, even without all the other benefits. We will have saved the human race, all that we were, all that we are, and all that we might someday become.

MarkR.Whittingtonis the authorofspace explorationstudiesWhy is It So Hard to Go Back to the Moon?as well asThe Moon, Mars and Beyond,andWhy is America Going Back to the Moon?He blogs atCurmudgeons Corner.

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How NASA will practice saving the world from an asteroid apocalypse | TheHill - The Hill

Explore the solar system with the Playz Solar System for Kids Exploration kit, now on sale for Cyber Monday!

This set is the perfect STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) gift for the kids in your life ready to explore outer space.

Playz Solar System for Kids Exploration Kit is 65% off right now at Amazon for $24.48.

This is a serious price drop from the kit's usual price of $69.95. And there's quite a bit that's included in this STEM kit. For kids obsessed with outer space, the kit includes 17 different space exploration experiments and activities, 34 different tools and pieces along with a colorful 36-page guide that includes a whole lot of space information and trivia.

For the young, curious people in your life, this interactive kit will allow them to explore outer space, build a spiral galaxy, tour through our solar system and more. With this kit, they will even be able to build their own rocket ship, drive a space rover and more.

Between experiments, activities and STEM crafts, this kit has it all. Whether the young ones in your life dream of being astronauts or are always asking questions, there will be something in this kit for every kid.

In search of more family-friendly deals? Check out this year's best telescopes for kids.

Be sure to check out Space.com's Cyber Monday Space deals for more.

Today's best space board game deals

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Explore the solar system with this STEM kit for 65% off this Cyber Monday! - Space.com

The nation's pioneering vision has been at the core of its outstanding achievements

By Sherouk Zakaria

Published: Fri 26 Nov 2021, 12:35 PM

Last updated: Fri 26 Nov 2021, 12:36 PM

Unesco's declaration to adopt the UAEs National Day, December 2, as the World Futures Day comes at a momentous time when the Emirates gears up to mark its 50th anniversary.

Founded on the solid basis of progress and advancement, the UAE has launched proactive policies and strategies to shape a prosperous future for generations to come.

The country's futuristic vision has been at the core of its outstanding achievements over the last five decades, placing it as a global inspiring model and an active player on the world map.

Here are 10 ways in which the UAE is shaping people's future:

1. Digital transformation since 2001

The UAE Government adopted digital transformation early on by introducing the eDirham in 2001, launching the eGovernment in 2011 and the smart Government in 2013.

To lead the post-pandemic era, the UAE launched the National Digital Government Strategy 2025 to employ advanced technologies in better serving people.

2. Projects of the 50

The UAE is setting firm footsteps towards the next five decades. After launching the UAE Centennial 2071 back in 2017 to pave a long-term roadmap into the country's 100th anniversary, the UAE Government announced the Projects of the 50 earlier in September 2021 to drive the UAE's new era of political, economic and social development.

3. Early vision to space

Sights to space was not new to the UAE. In fact, it started when the UAEs late founder Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan met three Apollo 17 astronauts back in 1976.

The Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST) was formed in 2006 before evolving, nine years later, into the present Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre.

Besides manufacturing satellites, the centre supervised the design, manufacturing and launch of the Hope Probe, which made a historic arrival to Mars on February 9, 2021, placing the UAE as the first Arab nation to reach Mars. The Centre is currently working on the Emirates Lunar Mission in 2022 and a five-year mission to explore the planet Venus and the solar systems asteroid belt by 2028.

4. Hosting Expo 2020

The UAE transformed a desert spot in Jebel Ali into a futuristic city to host Expo 2020 under the slogan Connecting Minds, Creating the Future. Over six months, 192 countries are gathering in one place to create sustainable solutions and develop inventions for a better future. Dubai won the Expo bid back in 2013.

5. Driverless transport

To keep pace with emerging technologies, the UAE is developing legislative frameworks to regulate autonomous transport.

Shortly after the cabinet approved a temporary license to test self-driving vehicles on UAE roads earlier this month, Abu Dhabi unveiled its first driverless taxi. Dubai plans to convert 25 per cent of its transport to autonomous trips by 2030, and a fleet of self-driving shuttles were tested in Sharjah last year. Flying cars are also being tested in Dubai.

6. Creating new ministries

The UAE regularly adapts its agile structure to the rapidly-changing world. A cabinet reshuffle in 2020 saw the merging and creation of new ministries to lead the post-pandemic era including the formation of a new ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, the expansion of the ministry of artificial intelligence to oversee the digital economy and remote work applications, and the appointment of three ministers to oversee different facets of the Ministry of Economy.

The UAE was the first in the world to appoint ministers for happiness, tolerance and coexistence, and youth affairs.

7. Future as a strategy

Strategic planning is a key element of the UAE Government to achieve sustainable development across all sectors.

In 2016, the government launched UAE Strategy for the Future to forecast opportunities, trends and challenges, and develop responsive solutions. Since then, a series of strategies and plans were announced to support a comprehensive journey into the future, including the National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence, National Climate Change Plan of the UAE 20172050, National Strategy for Higher Education 2030, National Space Strategy 2030 and National Strategy for Wellbeing 2031, among others.

8. Active response to climate change

Last month, the government was the first in the region to adopt the goal of decarbonizing its economy and reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 as part of the strategic initiative UAE Net Zero 2050.

Earlier this month, the UAE won the bid to host the COP28 climate conference in 2030, reinforcing its global contribution to combating climate change.

9. Accelerating the future

In 2016, the UAE launched the Government Accelerators as a platform for cross-sectoral government teams to address challenges and achieve ambitious goals in short periods.

The initiative was expanded to other emirates including Abu Dhabis Ghadan 21 and the Dubai Future Accelerators. The country also saw the establishment of future-centric institutions like Abu Dhabis Masdar, which has been leading the UAEs efforts in renewable energy since 2006, and headquartering of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in Abu Dhabi since 2009.

10. Sharing futuristic model

The UAE provides a platform for world governments to explore the future and share successful experiences.

In collaboration with the World Economic Forum (WEF), the UAE hosts the Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils, bringing together more than 700 experts from 70 countries in 41 specialized councils to prepare a clear future agenda to tackle pressing challenges.

The UAE also signed strategic experience exchange partnerships with several countries like Jordan, Costa Rica, Greece, Egypt, Columbia, Uzbekistan and Sudan.

sherouk@khaleejtimes.com

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UAE: Space exploration, flying cars; 10 ways the country is shaping the future - Khaleej Times

In a few weeks, the most ambitious, costly robot probe ever built, the 6.8bn James Webb space telescope, will be blasted into space on top of a giant European Ariane 5 rocket. The launch of the observatory which has been plagued by decades of delays and massive cost overruns promises to be the most nervously watched liftoff in the history of unmanned space exploration.

The observatory built by Nasa with European and Canadian space agency collaboration has been designed to revolutionise our study of the early universe and to pinpoint possible life-supporting planets inside our galaxy. However, its planning and construction have taken more than 30 years, with the project suffering cancellation threats, political controversies and further tribulations. In the process, several other scientific projects had to be cancelled to meet the massive, swelling price tag of the observatory. As the journal Nature put it, this is the telescope that ate astronomy.

Now scientists are about to discover if those sacrifices and soaring costs are justified when, according to current schedules, the telescope is fired into space on 22 December. Its the launch of a generation, says Daniel De Chambure of the European Space Agency (Esa).

Designed as a replacement for the Hubble space telescope still in operation after its 1990 launch the James Webb is a far bigger, much more complex instrument with many more ambitious goals. For a start, it will not study the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum as does the Hubble and most ground-based telescopes but will gather only infrared radiation.

There are many reasons for this, says Prof Gillian Wright, director of the UK Astronomy Technology Centre in Edinburgh. For a start, infrared is the perfect part of the spectrum for looking through dust, and that is important because stars and planets form in regions full of dust. So if you want to understand where and how other solar systems are being created, the James Webb should provide crucial data.

In addition, atmospheres of planets that might contain chemicals such as methane a gas associated with biological processes are also best studied by gathering infrared radiation and could indicate if they are capable of supporting life.

Spectroscopy is an important way of looking at the formation of promising planets in our own galaxy, adds Wright, who is the European principal investigator for the team that built one of the Webbs four main instruments: the MIRI or Mid-infrared instrument. (The other three devices will also study the infrared spectrum but at differing wavelengths.)

This part of the James Webbs operations is essentially a local affair and will involve looking at stars in our own galaxy. However, astronomers also want to study the very early universe in the period that followed the birth of the cosmos in the big bang 13.8bn years ago. That means focusing on very, very distant galaxies. And again studying infrared radiation provides key advantages.

A telescope is a time machine. It lets you see what the universe was like in the past because light takes a finite time to reach us from a distant object, says Prof Martin Ward of Durham University, who is a member of the MIRI science consortium. However, light gets fainter and redder the further back you look into the universe until its wavelength reaches the infrared part of the spectrum. So if we want to study how the first stars, black holes and galaxies formed, you also need an infrared telescope.

Ground observatories can operate at infrared wavelengths but for prime-quality observations telescopes really need to be lifted above Earths warm, wet atmosphere, which blocks much of the infrared radiation that reaches us from space. Unfortunately, putting such a telescope into orbit has been so demanding it has led to countless delays as thousands of scientists and engineers have struggled to overcome the technical hurdles thrown up by the James Webbs ambitious design.

One problem has been the simple fact that the telescope will not be able to rely on human aid once launched. Hubble still flies in low Earth orbit, where astronauts on the space shuttle were able to repair and service it. But the shuttle was grounded a decade ago and so the James Webb has been designed to operate without any prospect of hands-on help from humans.

Instead, it will be fired on a trajectory that will take it into orbit round the sun to a region known as the second Lagrange point (L2), where, 1m miles from the Earth, the gravity of our planet and the gravity of the sun cancel each other out. Here the telescope can be kept stationary in roughly the same position, where it can operate continuously for 24 hours a day. In addition, small gas engines will be burned to ensure the craft remains at L2.

At Lagrange 2, it will also be easier to keep the James Webb cold. The telescope has been designed to operate at around 40C above absolute zero (about -233C) so that its instruments do not generate spurious heat signals that could swamp the faint infrared radiation it receives from the other end of the universe. Far away from its warm home planet, the telescope will be protected by a five-layer-thick shield that will block out radiation from the sun and Earth, and its MIRI will also be chilled by a liquid helium refrigerator, the James Webb should be able to keep its cool for up to a decade, its designers hope.

But first the observatory will have to overcome a journey riddled with risk. For a start there is the danger of launcher failure. The Ariane 5 has notched up a total 111 liftoffs since 1996, 106 of which were successful. More importantly, its failures occurred early in the rockets development schedule and it is now rated as a highly reliable launcher. Nevertheless there is a chance it could fail as it lifts off from Esas space port at Kourou in French Guiana. And given the amount of money, time and effort already expended on the project, that is still a scary prospect.

And that is just the beginning. On its months-long journey to its new home at Lagrange 2, the telescope will be slowly unfurled as it cruises across space. First to be released will be huge sheets of wafer-thin foil that will act like giant parasols for keeping the telescope cool. Next to appear will be James Webbs main mirror, the heart of the telescope that will collect that infrared radiation from across the universe. It is seven times bigger than Hubbles mirror far too large to be accommodated as a single item. As Wright says: It is a simple fact that putting large objects in space is a lot harder than launching small ones. That has been a key technical challenge for the telescope.

To get round the size issue, the James Webbs designers have built a mirror that is constructed of 18 hexagons of gold-coated beryllium mirror. These will unfurl like a blooming flower and slot together automatically to create a 6.5-metre (21ft) mirror.

Everything to do with this unfolding, this unprecedented automated self-assembly, will have to work flawlessly, a process that will take around six months to complete. Only then will astronomers find out if the James Webb is going to be one of the great technological triumphs of the 21st century or a dollar-devouring disaster. As Thomas Zurbuchen, Nasas associate administrator for science missions, puts it: Those who are not worried or even terrified about this are not understanding what we are trying to do.

A different perspective on the caution and delay that has affected the telescope is provided by Faye Hunter of Airbus, who acted as project manager for the MIRI instrument 10 years ago. I was just going into secondary school when the idea of the James Webb telescope was agreed, she says. Now I am a mother, and a successful project manager and the telescope still has not been launched.

However, Hunter stresses the care and attention that has been taken to make sure the observatory operates perfectly once in orbit, a process that has involved more than 200 engineers and scientists working on MIRI alone. A European consortium provided the components and MIRI was assembled from these at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire, she adds.

Then it was put in test chambers, which had all air sucked from them, and temperatures were reduced to levels that the telescope will experience in space. After it passed these tests, MIRI was sent to Nasa, integrated with the telescopes other three infrared detectors and again put through more cyrovac tests. It takes a long time to do this sort of thing but it will be worth the effort.

The decades-long delay inflicted on the James Webb has had other consequences, however. Since it was originally named in 2002, politics has moved on. In 2021, many scientists regard the name as inappropriate since they accuse James Webb a former Nasa administrator of purging gay and lesbian people from jobs in Nasa in the 1950s and 1960s and have pressed for the telescope to be given another name. The space agency has refused such demands, though the controversy is likely to linger.

It also remains to be seen what the James Webb will discover. In its three decades of operations, Hubble helped pin down the age of the universe to 13.8bn years ago; determined the rate at which the universe is expanding; and showed that nearly every major galaxy is anchored by a black hole at its core.

This time, astronomers will be expecting even more. Among their hopes is the prospect of imaging the first galaxies to form after the big bang, understanding how stars are born and evolve, and investigating the potential for life to appear in planetary systems. All this will have to be done in a decade, the maximum likely lifetime of the James Webb. After 10 years, it is expected that it will run out of fuel and the telescope will no longer be able to keep itself located at L2. Then it will drift off course to become the most expensive piece of space junk ever built.

It is unlikely an observatory as costly and complex as the James Webb will be constructed again for a very long time, says Ward. Big observatories like these are like Christmas trees. They are fitted with so many different instruments that are attached like baubles. In future, we can expect that smaller and cheaper telescopes with more specific roles will be preferred by space agencies. So yes, in a sense, this could be the last Christmas for space astronomy.

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The James Webb space telescope: in search of the secrets of the Milky Way - The Guardian

Jancy McPhee kept meeting people who did not know about the International Space Station. At the time, humans had been living in space for nearly 10 years. How could people not know?

Her day job was managing scientific research for NASAs Human Research Program, but McPhee couldnt let go of this question.

I was getting more and more interested in how we talk about space, McPhee said. They have to be motivated. They have to care in order to remember the details given to them about the future of space exploration.

MARS INITIATIVE: Pearland nonprofits pitch: $100 equals one mile to Mars

So McPhee, whose hobbies have always revolved around music and theater, created a student art competition to motivate a younger generation. This contest accompanied an international human spaceflight symposium held in Houston in 2011, and she received 550 entries from 22 countries.

This contest was followed by another, and another, until the program became too large to be included with her day job at the nonprofit research corporation Universities Space Research Association.

McPhee created the SciArt Exchange nonprofit in 2015. And this year, it was one of 19 nonprofits to each be offered $1 million in grant money from Blue Origins Club for the Future, its foundation focused on STEM education.

Now we have a little bit of seed funding that will allow us to increase our capabilities, McPhee said, and, ideally, to really have a greater impact and start moving even further into our ultimate vision.

That vision starts by getting people excited about space exploration; making them feel welcome and inviting them to contribute to the future in space. Then SciArt Exchange wants to train people on communication, creative problem solving and collaboration. Ultimately, it hopes to get people from a variety of backgrounds scientists, engineers, painters, musicians, etc. to work together to solve future challenges on Earth and in space.

Today, SciArt Exchange creates competitions that ask children and adults to create paintings, music, films and stories around broad questions about the future of space. This creativity is shared through live performances and displays around the world, which helps engage an even broader audience about whats happening in space.

The questions vary, with past competitions focused on the International Space Station and the emerging commercial space sector, exploring and colonizing the moon, Mars and beyond, and using space, science and technology to benefit humanity.

But artists often echo the same themes: protecting the Earth from strife and climate change, building cities on other planets and exploring space as one international community.

In 2012, Arundhati Chowdhury entered a contest with her story titled Back to Home. Its about a child growing up on another planet who learns that Earth was destroyed by pollution and world wars. Shes then inspired to become a scientist to reverse the destruction her ancestors caused on Earth.

Chowdhury is from India and submitted this story when she was 13. She won first place for Overall Literature ages 10 to 13 and first place for Short Story Non-Native English Literature ages 10 to 13. She was flown to Cologne, Germany, for an award ceremony in July 2013, where she met rocket engineers, scientists and researchers who changed her life.

The moment I put my feet onto the soil, I knew that I wanted to be here and I knew that I wanted to study physics, Chowdhury said. I found a goal that I could work toward. And I knew in my mind, Hey, I won a competition hosted by NASA. I could do this too.

Chowdhury, now 22, is at the University of Cologne working on a masters degree in physics.

In 2018, Ricardo Bernardini entered an adult competition called Project Mars. Gareth Edwards, director of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, was among the judges.

Bernardini had been a graphic designer in Orlando, Fla., who made a living by creating websites and logos. He wanted to work in special effects and animation, but he couldnt get his foot in the door.

The competition was a chance to meet Edwards, so Bernardini wrote and directed a five-minute short film about the first mother on Mars. His film encapsulated the mothers guilt knowing her daughter would never see Earth and her pride knowing what her daughter could explore and accomplish on Mars.

The movie was selected by judges as the most inspirational film, and Bernardini began submitting it to film contests around the world. This got him work with Netflix, Disney, Hulu and EA Sports.

It affected his family, too. Bernardinis daughter Vicky, who acted in the film, became fascinated with math and science previously two of her least-favorite subjects. His daughter Emilia and son Leo, also in the film, can point out constellations and have spread their love of space to their friends (Bernardini cant take Leo to a rocket launch without also bringing his sons two best friends).

This contest was the door, the gateway to all of this he said. All of the sudden, things started to happen because of this short film.

The grant money from Blue Origins foundation will help SciArt Exchange grow and reach more people.

BLUE ORIGIN NEWS: Blue Origin's next space flight to include Alan Shepard's daughter, NFL legend Michael Strahan

McPhee, who has a doctorate in biophysics, has been the only employee since it opened in 2015, and she currently splits her time between SciArt Exchange and NASA. Through her affiliation with The Aerospace Corp., McPhee is associate chief scientist for the Human Research Program at the Johnson Space Center.

McPhee would like to hire three to four people who can help SciArt Exchange maintain sustainable funding, communicate to a broader audience and host activities, training and events that promote art-science collaborations that benefit humanity on Earth and in space.

This nonprofit is definitely an important outgrowth of myself, she said, but its time for me to step back and let a larger group of people help shape its next phase.

andrea.leinfelder@chron.com

twitter.com/a_leinfelder

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Houston nonprofit to use $1M from Blue Origin foundation toward 'ultimate vision' of space and art - Houston Chronicle