Category Archives: Space Exploration

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to the National Congress of American Indians' 78th Annual ... [+] Convention, Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021, from the South Court Auditorium on the White House complex in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Last week, Vice President Kamala Harris appeared in a YouTube video for World Space Day, which was meant to inspire new interest in space exploration. However, instead it has become the focus of scrutiny as reports surfaced that claimed it was a scripted event that included child actors instead of average kids who had a real interest in space.

Harris, who also chairs the National Space Council, was further criticized for appearing to lack in-depth knowledge on the subject of space exploration.

The news of the alleged "fakery" of the video was first reported by the UK's Daily Mail tabloid, which suggested, "Grinning school-age children who took part in a NASA YouTube video about space exploration with Kamala Harris have been revealed to be child actors. The 'Get Curious with Vice President Harris' video was filmed in August and tweeted out by the Vice President on October 7 to celebrate World Space Week. It appeared to viewers that the children she was with were all normal kids."

The video was apparently produced by the Canadian-based Sinking Ship Entertainment, which reportedly booked five teens to participate in a segment filmed at the Naval Observatory, the official residence of the vice president of the United States. The UK tabloid also reported that the video was shot from August 11 to 13, at the same time when the Taliban had been making rapid advances across Afghanistan.

Let The Conspiracy Theories Begin

None of this has the making of a faked moon landing of course, but the video does have a polished look that doesn't seem quite natural. Moreover, to her critics it was the way that the vice president even promoted it.

"I love the idea of exploring the unknown. There's so much out there that we still have to learn. As the chair of the National Space Council, I'm eager to get our young people interested in STEM and space exploration. Watch 'Get Curious' at http://youtu.be/Wlxq4S-4CCY," wrote the official Twitter account of Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) last Thursday.

Fake News Indeed

Almost on cue, many of the vice president's critics pounced on the news that the video involved hired actors.

Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo (@MariaBartiromo) wrote, "Wow even worse than we knew. Kamala Harris used child actors in her space video."

"Just when you thought the most fake human being in the history of the world couldn't get any more phony there's this Her commitment to cringe is truly impressive! Kamala Harris hired child actors to be part of her widely-mocked NASA space video," suggested Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr).

Nick Short (@PoliticalShort), digital media manager of The Claremont Institute, was even more blunt and direct, writing, "Vice President Kamala Harris takes fakery to a new level."

"Kamala Harris' cringy video was produced by a company called 'Sinking Ship Entertainment.' You can't make this stuff up," noted Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP), co-founder of RealClearPolitics.

Conservative columnist Todd Starnes (@toddstarnes) also called out VP Harris, "They actually used crisis actors to make @VP look motherly."

"My Agent Called': Viral Kamala Harris Space Video Featured Child Actors," mocked the Daily Caller (@DailyCaller).

The video's, which has been seen more than 413,000 times to date, actually saw a significant uptick in viewers since the news of the use of child actors broke.

What is still in question how is that there has been little to no corroboration that the video did use actors, and while it seems likely that this is the case, the responses are based on a single source. Yet, the follow up on social media has given this story greater creditability.

"That has been a trend since social media has gotten really hot," warned Chris Haynes, associate professor of political science at the University of New Haven.

"The tendency for opinion journalist and actual news has distorted in a lot of ways," Haynes explained. "That is concerning for journalism, which is predicated on facts. We're seeing increasing a tendency where there isn't corroboration and stories don't have confirmation. At the same time, many Americans don't see the difference between opinion and actual news."

There is also the issue of whether Harris would have been informed as to whether the kids were actors.

"The producers of the video set up an application that required the kids to send in what amounted to a casting monologue," said Matthew J. Schmidt, PhD, associate professor of national security and political science at University of New Haven.

"So of course child actors had agents telling them to apply, and of course trained actors looked like pretty good choices to the producers," added Schmidt. "I don't know if Harris even knew what was going on. Why would she?"

Should Harris Have Responded

Regardless of whether child actors were used or not, there is also the question as to whether the response on social media may have warranted a response given that so many of the vice president's critics had weighed in.

"That is really a hard call," suggested Haynes.

"There is one school of thought that you don't want to respond as you could give the story legs and even credibility that it didn't have," he added. "But there is also the chance that if you don't respond it could go completely viral, and then you find yourself having to play defense at some point."

In this case the story was one of a video about space exploration, but it also shows that everything any politician does today will be put under great scrutiny on the social networks.

"If Harris were to response it could also extend the life of the story," said Haynes. "Her critics aren't likely to be satisfied with any response. So there isn't really a clear answer here."

It may seem noteworthy too that only conservative outlets and commentators have picked up on the story, but is that the case?

"Center/center left outlets just didn't see it as newsworthy," said Schmidt. "It is newsworthy if you're rightwing media and your goal for the day is to keep your vase viewers and rightwing base voter amped up. This was bad optics for the vice president, but it nothing larger about her or the administration."

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Twitter Reacts To Claims That VP Harris Appeared With Child Actors In NASA Space Video - Forbes

The billionaire space race is only a race by name. In actuality, there is SpaceX and everyone else.

Only the company founded by Elon Musk nearly two decades ago has sent an orbital rocket booster into space and landed it safely again. Only SpaceX has landed a rocket the size of a 15-storey building on a drone ship in the middle of the ocean. Only SpaceX has carried both Nasa astronauts and private citizens to the International Space Station. Only SpaceX is producing thousands of its own table-sized communication satellites every year. Only SpaceX has the almost weekly launch cadence necessary to single-handedly double the number of operational satellites in orbit in less than two years. Only SpaceX is launching prototypes of the largest and most powerful rocket ever made, a behemoth called Starship that is destined to carry humans to the moon.

SpaceXs total dominance of the rocket industry is not what you would expect.

There is more innovation happening in the commercial space sector today than at any time in history and the launch services sector is particularly competitive. Relativity Space is building the worlds first 3D-printed rocket and plans to build rockets on Mars with robots. Virgin Orbit is putting satellites into orbit by launching a rocket from beneath the wing of a jumbo jet. Its sister company, Virgin Galactic, is flying people to the edge of space from an air-launched space plane. RocketLab has developed the first rocket engine fed with an electric pump and is trying to catch it out of the air with a net connected to a helicopter.

And then theres Blue Origin, which dominated world headlines for days this week with its launch of the Star Trek actor William Shatner briefly into space.

If there were any rocket company expected to be at a comparable level of technological achievement to SpaceX, it is Blue Origin. The company was founded by the former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in 2000, just two years before SpaceX set up shop in California. In 2015, Blue Origin became the first company to send a rocket above the Krmn Line, the internationally recognized boundary of space, and land it again. While this is not as challenging as bringing a rocket back from orbit as Musk has taunted Bezos in the past it was still a major milestone in the history of private space exploration. And unlike Musk, Bezos actually knows what its like to ride on his own rocket.

Bezos founded Blue Origin with visionary goals. Inspired by the late Princeton futurist Gerard K ONeill, Bezos dreams of moving heavy industry off of Earth and into space to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He wants to lay the foundation for an extra-terrestrial economy where thousands of people are living and working in space. His company is building a rocket as powerful as the one that carried Apollo astronauts to the moon and has partnered with leading defense contractors including Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Draper to develop a lunar lander that could bring humans back to the lunar surface. It has designed and built one of the most powerful rocket engines ever made and inked contracts with the United Launch Alliance to supply the engine for its next generation Vulcan rocket.

Theres no doubt that Bezos has plenty of vision. The question is: why cant the second richest man in the world execute on it?

Over the past few years, Blue Origins master plan has begun unraveling. Earlier this year, Nasa awarded its lunar lander contract to SpaceX, leaving Blue Origin in the lurch. Its now suing the US government to reconsider the award. Its seen an exodus of top engineering talent following the lost contract, which has only exacerbated its already considerable delays. Blue Origin has struggled to hit its stride producing its powerful BE-4 rocket engine and as a result the maiden launch of ULAs Vulcan rocket has slipped to late 2022. This will make the first flight of the engine a full five years behind schedule.

Meanwhile, the first flight of the companys fabled New Glenn rocket, a heavy launch vehicle capable of hoisting nearly 100,000 pounds into low Earth orbit, has also been pushed to late 2022 at the earliest. It was originally meant to fly for the first time last year. Bezos didnt even get the glory of being the first billionaire to ride his own rocket into space. Just two weeks before Bezos flew to the edge of space this summer, Richard Branson completed a suborbital flight in his own spaceplane with Virgin Galactic.

How did this happen? Blue Origin employs thousands of the worlds top rocket engineers. The company also has access to a virtually unlimited supply of money. Bezos, who is worth just south of $200bn, spends $1bn a year out of his own pocket to fund Blue Origin. By all measures, Blue Origin should be one of the most successful space companies in the world.

Blue Origin has all the ingredients for success and to become something truly fantastic, said Ally Abrams, the former head of Blue Origin employee communications who recently wrote a whistleblower essay detailing safety concerns and rampant sexism at the company. The engineers really believed that and they try every day to make that a reality despite the leaderships interventions.

According to Abrams, Blue Origins troubles have both a technical and cultural dimension. On the technical side, Abrams said the company suffers from an immense amount of technical debtengineering challenges that build up as a result of choosing a quick solution rather than the best solution and a relentless focus on speed that undermined its ability to properly address problems with its launch vehicles. She explained the exodus of top talent from Blue Origin as engineers who got tired of putting Band-Aids on problems.

Technical debt is a problem most companies have but at Blue its just on an incredible scale, Abrams said. It really failed to transition from an R&D company to a production company.

Abrams partially attributes the mounting technical debt to Blue Origins increasing focus on speed, an irony for a company whose motto is Gradatim Ferociter, the Latin rendering of step by step, ferociously. She traces the mounting pressure to move fast to 2017, when it was clear the company was failing to keep pace with its rivals at SpaceX. She said Bezoss growing impatience with the pace of development was palpable, as was the jealousy he seemed to have for the other billionaires who seemed to be making more progress than him.

The schedule was always a huge joke within the company, Abrams said. Wed put out the dates externally and employees would laugh because they knew that just wasnt possible.

But Blue Origin was racked by more than just engineering difficulties.

In her essay, Abrams described a company where executives show consistently inappropriate behavior toward women and where dissent is actively stifled. According to Abrams, Blue Origins cultural problems started at the top and flowed down throughout the company. She said Blue Origins CEO, Bob Smith, who was tapped by Bezos to lead the company in 2017, repeatedly failed to listen to his employees concerns about the safety of the companys vehicles and its toxic workplace culture.

Bob Smith is one of the most incapable leaders I have ever encountered, Abrams said. Passion withers in his presence. Plenty of engineers didnt feel comfortable raising safety and quality concerns for fear of retaliation, which is a very scary thing when youre working on a high-risk, experimental vehicle.

Abrams whistleblower essay was co-signed by 20 anonymous current and former Blue Origin employees. Many of its allegations were denied by the company.

A statement from Blue Origin said the company had dismissed Abrams for repeated warnings for issues involving federal export control regulations, that the company has no tolerance for harassment or discrimination, and that it believes its New Shepard rocket is the safest space vehicle ever designed or built.

It is particularly difficult and painful, for me, to hear claims being levied that attempt to characterize our entire team in a way that doesnt align with the character and capability that I see at Blue Origin every day, Smith wrote in an internal email to Blue Origin employees earlier this month. As always, I welcome and encourage any member of Team Blue to speak directly with me if they have any concerns on any topic at any time.

Still, Blue Origin employees continue to speak out. Earlier this week, an investigation by the Washington Post echoed the issues raised by Abrams and painted a picture of an organization riddled with distrust of its leadership, sexism and insufficient concern for the safety of its launch vehicles.

Looking to the future, the question for Blue Origin is whether it can overhaul its culture to deliver on its mission. Many observers, including Abrams, are skeptical. But perhaps a change is imminent. Earlier this year, Bezos stepped down from his role as the CEO of Amazon and committed himself to spending more time focused on Blue Origin. Whether Bezos can reinvigorate the companys culture with his grand vision for human space exploration and a sense of common purpose remains to be seen.

Theres going to be a lot of work and a lot of healing to do if they can actually put a good leadership team in place that is committed to moving forward in a different way, said Abrams. I think it would still take years for the scar tissue to heal with the employees.

The only thing thats certain is Bezos will never have his colonies in space if he cant build the rockets to get there and that may be a problem that no amount of money can fix.

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How did Jeff Bezoss Blue Origin fail to dominate the billionaire space race? - The Guardian

The moon will star in a pair of live webcasts tonight as NASA and lunar enthusiasts around the world celebrate International Observe the Moon 2021 and you can watch it all for free.

NASA is hosting an hour-long event starting at 7:30 p.m. EDT (2330 GMT) on NASA Television and several social media channels in partnership with Slooh.com. You can watch them on this page at start time for dazzling views of the moon. You can check out our guide onhow to photograph the moon with a camera if you're hoping to observe it yourself.

"Our live hosts will guide you on a scientific and cultural expedition to the moon," NASA said in a statement. "See greetings from people around the world, hear an ancient Incan story about the moon [and] enjoy a close-up view of the lunar surface as seen through Slooh's telescopes in Chile and the Canary Islands." Slooh is an online remote telescope service that allows users to control its robotic telescopes around the world.

The moon is currently in its waxing gibbous phase ahead of the full moon, which will occur on Oct. 20.

Photos: The moon: 10 surprising lunar facts

NASA's International Observe the Moon 2021 broadcast with Slooh will include flyovers of lunar features, a preview of NASA's Artemis program that hopes to put astronauts on the moon later in the 2020s.

It will also feature a discussion of the VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) lunar mission expected to touch down in 2023 to search for signs of water.

The Virtual Telescope Project will also host a broadcast showcasing the moon above the skyline of Rome. The broadcast will start at 1:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT) at the project's WebTV page, or in the YouTube stream above.

"We will enjoy the moon hanging above the celebrated monuments of the 'Eternal City,'" the Virtual Telescope Project said in a statement. The webcast will include live commentary by astrophysicist Gianluca Masi, founder of the Virtual Telescope Project.

There are other ways to celebrate the moon this weekend, which we rounded up in this International Observe the Moon Night 2021 guide. NASA has several free activities and crafts, as well as guides and maps to help you learn about the moon, its surface and its science.

Space.com has an astrophotography for beginners guide if you want to capture some pictures of our lunar neighbor. You can also track the phases of the moon every month to watch how moon phases change over time.

Coincidentally, this year's Observe the Moon Night will fall on the same day as NASA's launch of the Lucy mission to Jupiter, which will study smaller space rocks called asteroids, including asteroids trapped in the planet's orbit, called Trojans.

International Observe the Moon Night is co-sponsored by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission and the Solar System Exploration Division at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. It also has support from several other NASA partners.

Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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International Observe the Moon Night 2021: Don't miss these live moon webcasts tonight. - Space.com

Some of the brightest stars in space research and exploration will lead Expo 2020 Dubai's space-focused week, which kicks off on Sunday.

The Space Week, which will run from October 17 to 23, will highlight the latest innovations in space research and travel, while providing a platform to discuss critical issues.

UAE's first astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri and the country's first female astronaut Nora Al Matrooshi will highlight the wonders of the cosmos and demonstrate space sector's accessibility to the public during one of the sessions.

Researchers and science leads for various international space missions will also congregate at the world fair to shed light on the benefits, solutions and challenges of exploring beyond our planet's orbit.

Here's a peek at what's in store this week.

October 17

>> The Peoples Mission: Citizens in Space Exploration and Space Tech for Inclusive Development, the flagship Space Week event, with famous astronauts making an appearance, takes place all day at Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC).

>> Chile: Our Space Story The seminar on Chiles own space exploration is at 10am at Terra Auditorium.

>> World Majlis | Powers Out of this World: Using Space for the Benefit of All Humanity is at 4pm at Terra Auditorium.

October 18

>> Timor-Leste National Day celebrations will take place at 10.15 am at Al Wasl Plaza.

>> World Giftedness Centre Biennial International Conference Top-level researchers come together to showcase giftedness best practices from 4pm to 6pm at DEC, Hall 1A North.

>> Matryoshka Festival, featuring the best folk artists from Russia, is from 6pm to 8pm at Dubai Millennium Amphitheatre.

>> Dignified Storytelling, Stories of Great Ambition and Hope Key figures from space exploration share their stories from 3pm to 5.30pm at Terra Auditorium.

>> Space Session Four panellists discuss space science in Pakistan all day from 10am to 10pm at DEC, Hall 1A North.

October 19

>> Guyana National Day celebrations are at 10.15am Al Wasl Plaza.

>> Space Business Forum, highlighting technology and progress demonstrated by the UAE, various timings at DEC Hall 2A South.

>> Future Food Forum Discussion with representatives from the F&B industry, until 6pm, DEC, Hall 1A South.

>> World Majlis | Does Life in Space Offer a Blueprint for a More Sustainable Life on Earth? The session will be from 4pm to 6pm at Terra Auditorium.

ALSO READ:

>> ISRO chief to speak at 'Space Week' at India pavilion

Speaking about the upcoming event, Yousuf Hamad AlShaibani, director-general at Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, said: We are proud to host The Peoples Mission: Citizens in Space Exploration event during Space Week at Expo 2020 and we look forward to welcoming the international space community and global stakeholders to Dubai.

He added: To focus on the future of the space sector, we need improved cooperation between countries and other sectors to deliver on further discoveries and new revelations.

"We are certain that the event will hold meaningful and detailed discussions of the future of space and will further encourage development and innovation in the space sector and contribute to the advancement of human knowledge.

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Expo 2020 Dubai: Emirati astronauts to showcase wonders of the cosmos at Space Week - Khaleej Times

Britain's Prince William says the world's greatest minds should address the climate crisis on Earth as he hit out at celebrities and business figures engaging in space tourism and the quest for extraterrestrial settlements.

The royal's comments come after former Star Trek actor William Shatner made history by becoming the oldest person in space on board a Blue Origin rocket, the space tourism company owned by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos.

We need some of the worlds greatest brains and minds fixed on trying to repair this planet, not trying to find the next place to go and live, the duke said in a BBC interview about climate change, ahead of his inaugural Earthshot Prize awards.

He also ruled out going into space himself, adding that there was a fundamental question over the carbon cost of space flights.

The royal said the climate crisis is inducing anxiety in young people, adding it would be a absolute disaster if his eldest son, Prince George, was having to talk about the same issue in 30 years time.

We are seeing a rise in climate anxiety. You know, people, young people now are growing up where their futures are basically threatened the whole time."

If were not careful were robbing from our childrens future through what we do now

Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge

Its very unnerving and its very, you know, anxiety making, he said. If were not careful were robbing from our childrens future through what we do now. And I think thats not fair.

He also warned attendees at the Cop26 summit, where world leaders will gather in Glasgow at the end of the month, against clever speak, clever words but not enough action.

British astronaut Tim Peake on Thursday pushed back against criticisms of space exploration, saying that it was "incredibly important" to the field of climate change research.

The former ISS crew member pointed out that half of climate data comes from space-related assets and that rocket fuel, such as liquid hydrogen, only has a "tiny impact" on the environment.

"Everybody is using space on a daily basis, probably, without even knowing it, Major Peake told Sky News. "But we need to use space sustainably, we need to consider the environment, absolutely."

On Wednesday, William was at an educational event at London's Kew Gardens, two weeks after he warned of an environmental crisis facing the planet.

He was joined by his wife, Kate Middleton, as well as London Mayor Sadiq Khan, TV presenter Steve Backshall and double-Olympic rowing champion Helen Glover.

The group were joined by guests and pupils from The Heathland School in Hounslow, west London, who took part in a series of fun and thought-provoking activities as part of the Generation Earthshot event.

Education is such an important part of protecting our planet, said Prince William, who, along with Queen Elizabeth II and the Prince of Wales, will be attending the Cop26 UN climate conference.

We must inspire in the next generation the optimism, confidence and enthusiasm to chase those solutions and to continue building a more sustainable future.

We know that young children already identify the climate as one of their biggest worries, and Generation Earthshot aims to educate and encourage them that, together, we can find the answers.

Children can be uniquely creative and I can't wait to see some of the ideas that are shared with us.

Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza commissioned the Big Ask survey of young people, which published their responses last month with worries about the environment raised by youngsters.

Four in 10 children said the environment was one of their main priorities and concerns for the future, with the second most common worry being whether they would grow up to benefit from a healthy planet.

Generation Earthshot aims to inform children's interest in the environment and encourage students and their teachers across the world to generate ideas to solve the world's greatest environmental challenges.

Founded in 2020 by the UK's Prince William, the Earthshot Prize claims to be 'the most prestigious global environment prize in history' and will award 50m ($68m) over 10 years. Finalist in the Protect and Restore Nature category Pole Pole Foundation, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. All photos: The Earthshot Prize

It's been great to work with the bright young leaders of our future today to develop ideas on how to address the climate and environmental crisis, Mr Khan said.

I want London to be a zero-pollution city so that no child has to grow up in our city breathing toxic air, and I'm determined that we continue to tackle the twin dangers of air pollution and the climate emergency so that we can deliver a future that's greener, fairer and more prosperous for everyone.

The Earthshot Prize is an ambitious awards project to recognise ideas, innovations and solutions that combat climate change and help protect the environment.

Winners in five categories will be named during a ceremony on Sunday and each will receive 1 million ($1.3m) to develop their projects.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will attend the star-studded ceremony, hosted by Clara Amfo and Dermot O'Leary, at Alexandra Palace in north London.

Ed Sheeran, Coldplay and KSI are among those performing, and actors Dame Emma Thompson, Emma Watson, David Oyelowo and Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah will be handing out awards.

Updated: October 14th 2021, 9:47 AM

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Prince William attacks space travel when the climate is threatened - The National

Corryn Wetzel

Daily Correspondent

The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover dubbed VIPER is headed to the moons south pole in late 2023 to search for resources that could sustain future human settlements in space. The NASA rover will travel to areas of the lunar surface that have never seen sunlight to map and analyze concentrations of water ice in near real-time. The distribution and availability of water could have big implications for NASAs Artemis program, which has the goal of returning humans to the moon by 2024.

It's kind of mind-blowing when you think about the fact that we've got rovers going all over Mars and we have never sent a rover to the moon, says Tracy Gregg, a planetary volcanologist at University at Buffalo College. We sort of skipped over that partwe sent landers and then we sent astronauts with a dune buggy.

In September, NASA announced that VIPER will touch down just west of Nobile, a crater near the moon's south pole chosen for its terrain and potential for hosting water. To prepare for that occasion, here are five things you should know about NASAs first lunar rover:

Scientists already know that frozen water is trapped at the moons south pole from remote sensing data. The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite confirmed the presence of water ice at the moons south pole in 2009. But exactly where that water is and how it got there remain a mystery. The rovers meter-long drill will offer an in-depth look at lunar soil that scientists have been limited to assessing remotely. To really get at the heart of some of these questions, we need to get to the surface, says Anthony Colaprete, VIPERs project scientist at NASAs Ames Research Center. That's where the VIPER rover comes in.

Water is a critical resource not just for human consumption, but for space exploration. Water can buffer humans from radiation and can be used to make rocket fuel and breathable oxygen. If there's a way to avoid shipping water through the solar system, and instead find water where you are, suddenly space travel and having humans on the moon for extended periods of time becomes feasible, says Gregg. She notes that launching a Mars-bound rocket from the moon rather than from Earth is potentially cheaper because the effort would require a fraction of the fuel, but it would only be possible if the moon had enough water.

Based on remote sensing data, NASA suspects the moons soils could contain hundreds of millions of gallons of frozen water. Scientists think its unlikely the rover will find water ice in large chunks or sheets like those found on Earth. Instead, water will likely be in small fragments within the lunar dust. If the water is literally frozen onto the outside of these lunar dust particles, that's fairly accessible, says Gregg. You shovel it into a heater, and the water melts and you collect the water and the and the dirt is left behind. What's harder would be if the water is more chemically bound to the lunar materials, and then it's not just a matter of an oven, then you've actually got to do chemistry. That doesnt mean water will be impossible to accessit will just be more costly and time consuming to obtain.

VIPERs primary goal is to assess what resources the moon can provide for future missions, but the characteristics of the moons polar water could even provide insight into the presence of the water on Earth and elsewhere in the inner solar system. The rovers samples could help identify the origin of the moons water, which may have arrived on an asteroid or comet before getting trapped in icy shadows.

I don't know what we're going to find yet, says Colaprete. We go into these things as best we can with our eyes wide open because we will learn things we did not anticipate.

The rover will look for frozen water ice in the only place the substance could survive on the moon: places where the sun never shines. The moons axis has only a slight tilt compared to Earths, which means the sun doesnt rise as high on the horizon and leaves basins of craters in a permanent shadow. Because the moon lacks the Earths insulating atmosphere, surface temperatures reach a sweltering 225 degrees Fahrenheit during the day. At night and in permanently shadowed areas, the lunar surface drops to -400 degrees Fahrenheit, making the moons polar craters some of the coldest places in the universe.

If the ice is there, and it's there in any quantity, that's the likely place you're going to find it, says Thomas Watters, senior scientist at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Any water deposited on the moon by an asteroid impact, for example, would have immediately evaporated in the sunlight. Only water that settled in sunless crater basins would survive in these cold traps. VIPERs components are designed to withstand extreme temperatures, but the rover must run heaters to stay warm enough to function in shadowed areas. Unlike Perseverance and other nuclear-powered robots, VIPER will have to stay warm using energy generated from solar panels alone.

Going into the unknown for the first time, so many unknown questions will be answered, says Colaprete. That moment that we go into that dark crater that's never seen the light of day 3 billion years or so...thats what I'm most excited for.

VIPER will spend part of its time soaking up the energy from its three solar panels, and part of its time using headlights to navigate the craters of the south pole. The rover must maintain enough power to venture into dark craters and to make it back to sunlight before it dies.

Because VIPER is going to a place that is unlike anything we've explored before, says Colaprete, the rover is quite distinct. The moons crater-pocked landscape poses a challenge to the golf-cart-sized rover, which can comfortably cruise a slope of up to 15 degrees and handle a slope of 25 or 30 degrees when necessary. VIPERs onboard cameras will help rover operators avoid rocks and other hazards, in addition to capturing images of the lunar surface. The mobile robot has four independently controlled wheels, those solar panels and that meter-long drill that will cut samples of lunar soil to be analyzed by onboard spectrometers.

The neutron spectrometer is kind of like the bloodhound of the rover, explains Colaprete. It can sense neutrons leaking out of the soil as the robot cruises the landscapeand can pick up on hydrogen atoms as deep as one meter, which could be an indication of water. The near-infrared spectrometer assesses minute changes in the color of lights from the lunar surface, which could also reveal the presence of water or other volatile compounds. VIPERs mass spectrometer measures gases released from the moons surface, which could be kicked up by the rover as it agitates the moons top layer of soil.

Because no satellites that could be used to relay communications to Earth orbit the Moon, VIPER needs a direct-to-Earth radio link. That means the rover needs to avoid large landscape features like high mountains or steep crater rims which would block the communication signal. And when the moons south pole rotates away from view, which happens for two weeks of every month, the rover must wait out in an identified safe haven location until communication can resume.

These safe havens are particularly secure, sunny spots so that the rover can glean enough energy to survive stretches of darkness. VIPER needs regular access to sunlight, as it cant survive more than 50hours of continuous darkness. Often, the safe havens are elevated areas where slices of sunlight can reach the rover for the maximum time possible. While parked in such a location, most of the time the rover is just sitting there in the sun, basking, just relaxing, says Colaprete. When darkness descends and temperatures drop, the rover shifts into hibernation, using just enough power to keep warm and stay alive.

The mission is scheduled during the summer season on the moons south pole to maximize periods of life-giving daylight. NASA hopes to get 100 days out of the mission, which will span November 2023 through March of 2024. As the summer draws to a close on the moon, periods of darkness will grow longer and longer until VIPER can no longer generate enough power to survive.

Unlike rovers on Mars missions, VIPER will operate close to Earth, allowing quicker communication. Rovers on Mars took up to 20 minutes to send commands to Earth, while VIPERs latency will be a mere 6 to 10 seconds.

The travel time between issuing commands from Earth and the rover receiving that command is just a couple of secondsthink about a laggy cell phone call, says Gregg. It's going to be like a video game, almost, being able to drive this thing and react almost immediately to the data and to what you see on the surface.

Mars rovers carry out a series of pre-planned commands alone on the planetary surface, while VIPER operators stop, move and reorient the rover every 15 feet depending on what they see via the rovers cameras. As soon as the lunar rover samples are analyzed in an area, NASA scientists can decide within minutes about where to drill next. It allows us to react and plan and optimize our observations in ways that we wouldn't learn much usually done over a much longer period of time for example with Mars rovers, says Colaprete. That's a really unique and exciting aspect of this mission.

Editors' Note, October 14, 2021: This article has been updated with new information from NASA that states VIPER can't survive more than 50 continuous hours of darkness.

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Five Things to Know About NASA's Lunar Rover 'VIPER' - Smithsonian

When it comes to space exploration, the fascination among the worlds richest men for everything extra-terrestrial is unparalleled. Now, as someone pointed out that Elon Musks net worth has increased exponentially, the SpaceX CEO acknowledged it and expressed his wish to continue with his mission involving the Red Planet. Before long, his remark garnered a lot of attention and left netizens divided online.

Recently, popular crypto YouTuber Matt Wallace tweeted that Musk is now richer than Bill Gates and Warren Buffett combined, with a net worth equal to 861 billion Dogecoin. In reply, the billionaire entrepreneur wrote: Hopefully enough to extend life to Mars.

This comes after the Tesla CEO, in September, became the third person ever to amass a fortune worth $200 billion, according to Forbes, surpassing Amazon founder and rival billionaire Jeff Bezos.

Soon, many joined Wallace and Musk to share memes and jokes wondering if Dogecoin would be the currency on the Red Planet, while others discussed the challenges that lay ahead for Musks dream to turn into reality.

Not everyone, though, was thrilled about the idea of leaving Earth and overlooking its problems, wondering why such extensive funds are not being used to resolve problems on the planet that we currently inhabit.

The statement comes amid growing criticism against billionaires for exploring space as a recreational activity when many, including Prince Charles and Bill Gates, have insisted that we have a lot to do here on Earth. Several netizens too felt the same after seeing Musks response.

Heres how they reacted to the SpaceX founders tweet:

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Elon Musk hopes he has enough wealth to extend life to Mars, but not everyones amused - The Indian Express

Expo 2020 Dubai thematic Space Week, which kicks off on October 17, features a wide range of activities including talk with pioneering Emirati astronauts. Image Credit:

Dubai: Learn more about climate change, food security, water management; or chat with pioneering Emirati astronauts and much more during Expo 2020 Dubai thematic Space Week, which kicks off on October 17.

There will be comprehensive discussions and presentations that will probe the benefits, solutions and challenges of exploring beyond our planets orbit during the weeklong event that will run until October 23.

Held in association with the UAE Space Agency and Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), Space Week will revolve around engaging topics such as the UAEs space vision; how space exploration is being used for good back on Earth; the international cooperation through new coalitions; partnerships in the space industry that are bringing together less-represented nations; womens vital contributions to space exploration; sustainability in space; cleaning space waste; and intergenerational dialogues.

Space Week is the second of 10 theme weeks taking place throughout Expo, as part of the Programme for People and Planet.

For all of humanity

The safe, productive and responsible exploration of space is a growing priority for all of humanity, noted Reem Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director General of Expo 2020 Dubai.

She added: Nations large and small, economies developed and emerging, are today taking their first strides into space in the hope and expectation that what we learn will positively impact our lives on Earth, and beyond.

In the areas of climate change, food security, water management and much more, our understanding has the potential to be reshaped by what we learn from the sky above, whether through the study of carbon dioxide levels in the Earths atmosphere, or the intelligent application of satellite data for the benefit of agricultural development, or through advances in water purification that bring space station tech to villages in sub-Saharan Africa, she continued.

Al Hashimy underlined: At Expo 2020 Dubai we join with more than 60 nations in our exploration of this common good, and in the creation of partnerships that will ensure that the gains we make are achieved and shared globally. In the days of the original Space Race, in the early days of the UAE, we explored because we could. Half a century later on the occasion of the UAE Golden Jubilee, we explore because we must.

International collaboration

The UAEs latest announcement to explore Venus and the asteroid belt will also be highlighted during Space Week, with special focus on international collaboration and cooperation as well as creating a world-class space sector in the UAE.

Sarah Al Amiri, UAE Minister of State for Advanced Technology and Chair of the UAE Space Agency said: As we expand our horizons after launching an interplanetary journey to explore Venus and the asteroid belt, greater international collaboration and cooperation among space-faring nations has never been so important.

We play an active role in strengthening partnerships with leading organisations globally to promote peaceful and mutually beneficial space exploration. Expo 2020 Dubais Space Week represents an opportunity to build on our long-standing relationships with a wide range of stakeholders to deliver on our mission: creating a world-class space sector in the UAE, she added.

Advancement of human knowledge

MBRSC Director General Yousuf Hamad AlShaibani said: To focus on the future of the space sector, we need improved cooperation between countries and other sectors to deliver on further discoveries and new revelations. We are certain that (Space Week) will hold meaningful and detailed discussions of the future of space and will further encourage development and innovation in the space sector and contribute to the advancement of human knowledge.

What to explore?

On Sunday, October 17, dont miss The Peoples Mission: Citizens in Space Exploration and Space Tech for Inclusive Development. Co-curated with Mozambique, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the United States this is a day for everyone beginners and enthusiasts with an interest in space. There will be an insightful chat with UAE astronauts Hazza Al Mansouri and Noura Al-Matroushi, as they showcase the wonders of the cosmos and demonstrate the accessibility of the space sector. They will also talk about bringing astronauts, popular astronomers and space scientists together to share their latest discoveries and missions.

On 18 October, there will be Expo 2020 Dubais Space Business Forum, co-curated with Dubai Chamber. The stellar line-up includes Al Amiri; Naoko Yamazaki, former JAXA Astronaut, Space Policy Committee Member and the second Japanese woman in space; and high-level attendees from NASA and the national space agencies of Luxembourg and South Africa.

Four World Majlis sessions and one Womens Pavilion Majlis will be hosted during Space Week. On October 21, Hope and Perseverance: Lessons Learnt from the Red Planet for Life on Earth will examine what the exploration of Mars suggests for the future of our species on another planet, with a panel from around the world.

Other events include Never Be Lost: Learn to Read the Stars on October 23 at the Australia Pavilion. This will bring together both digital and physical celestial presentations, culminating with a poetry reading by leading Emirati poet, artist and film director Nujoom Alghanem.

Also on 23 October, space travel and sustainability of the space environment will be discussed at Protecting the Great Unknown, to held at The Nexus for People & Planet in association with the UAE Space Agency and co-curated with Slovenia. The event will include a keynote speech by Maruka Strah, executive director at World Space Week.

Spacewalk app

Dubai Expos extra-terrestrial education will continue beyond October 23 as the curated Spacewalk visitor journey a self-guided tour available via the Expo 2020 app takes a voyage to the stars, exploring how off-world technology and discovery can change life on Earth for the better.

Stops on the journey include Alif The Mobility Pavilion, which features the UAE space programmes Mission Control, as well as space explorations in the national pavilions of Canada, France, India, Kazakhstan, New Zealand and Switzerland, plus the UAE University Pavilion.

Meanwhile, Al Wasl Plaza the beating heart of Expo 2020 and home to the worlds largest 360-degree projection surface will have two nightly projection shows about the cosmos and space. Lasting 15 minutes apiece, the shows embark on a voyage through the infinite, touching the face of Mars and bending space and time, as stars fall like raindrops.

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Explore Earth and beyond during Expo 2020 Dubais Space Week - Gulf News

This composite image made from six frames shows the International Space Station, with a crew of seven aboard, in silhouette as it transits the sun at roughly 5 miles per second on April 23, 2021, as seen from Nottingham, Md. Aboard are: NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Mark Vande Hei; Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy, Pyotr Dubrov; and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi. Joining the crew aboard station the next day were Crew-2 mission crew members: Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur of NASA, JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet. Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA | License Photo

Aboard the ISS are NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Mark Vande Hei; Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy, Pyotr Dubrov; and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi. Joining the crew aboard station the next day were Crew-2 mission crew members: Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur of NASA, JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet. Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA | License Photo

This long exposure photograph was taken during an orbital night period on April 8 from the International Space Station 271 miles above the Indian Ocean. The Milky Way extends above the airglow blanketing the Earth's horizon with an aurora near the bottom right of the frame. Photo courtesy of NASA

The Soyuz MS-18 crew ship, with three Expedition 65 crew members aboard, approaches the International Space Station 265 miles above Russia on April 9. NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, riding alongside Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov, would dock to the Rassvet module just three hours and 23 minutes after launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Photo courtesy of Roscosmos/NASA

A full moon is pictured above the Earth's horizon on March 27, 2021, as the International Space Station orbited 262 miles above Iran. Photo courtesy of NASA

The night lights of Tokyo are pictured from the International Space Station on February 27 as it orbited 261 miles above Japan. Photo courtesy of NASA

A volcano is pictured in the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia as the International Space Station orbited 264 miles above on April 2. Photo courtesy of Roscosmos/NASA

NASAs Curiosity Mars rover used two different cameras to create this panoramic selfie, comprised of 60 images, in front of Mont Mercou, a rock outcrop that stands 20 feet (6 meters) tall on March 26. These were combined with 11 images taken by the Mastcam on the mast, or head, of the rover on March 16. The hole visible to the left of the rover is where its robotic drill sampled a rock nicknamed Nontron. The Curiosity team is nicknaming features in this part of Mars using names from the region around the village of Nontron in southwestern France. Photo courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

NASA spacewalker and Expedition 64 Flight Engineer Victor Glover works to ready the International Space Station's port-side truss structure for future solar array upgrades on January 27. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

An image of the area where the Perseverance Mars rover landed is shown during an update at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., on February 18. Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA | License Photo

The first photos taken by NASA's Perseverance Mars rover after landing on the Martian surface on February 18. A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

NASA Astronaut Chris Cassidy, serving as commander of the Expedition 63 mission aboard the International Space Station, took these photos of Hurricane Laura as it continued to strengthen in the Gulf of Mexico on August 25, 2020. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

The International Space Station was orbiting over Kazakhstan and into China while the solar eclipse shadowing a portion of the Asian continent was captured by an external high definition camera on June 21. In the left foreground, is the H-II Transfer Vehicle-9 from Japan. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

NASA astronauts Chris Cassidy (L) and Bob Behnken work on U.S. spacesuits inside the ISS's Quest airlock on June 20. The two are slated to conduct spacewalks on June 26 and July 1 to begin the replacement of batteries for one of the power channels on the orbiting laboratory. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

This satellite image from June 14 shows a brush fire, sparked by a vehicle fire, near Bush Highway and Arizona State Route 87. By June 16, nearly 65,000 acres northeast of Phoenix had burned, making the Bush Fire the largest in the state this year and the largest burning now in the United States. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

Tropical Storm Cristobal is pictured on June 7 from the ISS as it was nearing southeastern Louisiana. The orbiting lab was just off the coast of West Palm Beach, Fla., when this photograph was taken. Photo courtesy of NASA

An orbital nighttime view from the ISS as it orbited above the Indian Ocean shows the "aurora australis" and a starry sky with Russia's Progress 74 resupply ship in the foreground on June 7. Photo courtesy of NASA

NASA astronauts Doug Hurley (L) and Bob Behnken, who flew SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft to the ISS, briefs mission controllers about their experience in the new vehicle on June 1. Photo courtesy of NASA

SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, carrying NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley, is pictured approaching the International Space Station with part of southwestern Turkey, including the coastal city of Demrem, in the background on May 31. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

Somalia's capital city, Mogadishu is seen as the International Space Station passed over the Horn of Africa on February 19. This historic port on the coast of the Indian Ocean is home to more than 2 million people. The red and orange colors in the dune fields are due to natural chemical and weathering processes that left behind traces of iron in the sandy minerals. These dunes stand in contrast to the lightly-colored, calcium carbonate-rich sands near the shore. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

NASA's Juno mission captured this look at Jupiter's tumultuous northern regions during the spacecraft's close approach to the planet on February 17. Notable features in this view are the long, thin bands that run through the center of the image from top to bottom, observed since Juno's first close pass by Jupiter in 2016. The streaks are layers of haze particles that float above the underlying cloud features. Scientists don't yet know precisely what these hazes are made of or how they form. NASA/UPI | License Photo

This image is one of the most photogenic examples of the many turbulent stellar nurseries the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has observed during its 30-year lifetime. The portrait features the giant nebula NGC 2014 and its neighbor NGC 2020, which together form part of a vast star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, about 163,000 light-years away. The image is nicknamed the "Cosmic Reef" because it resembles an undersea world. Photo courtesy of NASA/ESA | License Photo

This Hubble image shows a globular cluster known as NGC 104, or, more commonly, 47 Tucanae, since it is part of the constellation of Tucana (The Toucan) in the southern sky. Scientists using Hubble observed the white dwarfs in the cluster. These dying stars migrate from the crowded center of the cluster to its outskirts. While astronomers knew about this process, they had never seen it in action until the detailed study of 47 Tucanae. Photo courtesy of NASA/ESA | License Photo

MyCn18, a young planetary nebula located about 8,000 light-years away, was imaged with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 aboard Hubble. This image reveals the true shape of MyCn18 to be an hourglass with an intricate pattern of "etchings" in its walls. This picture has been composed from three separate images taken in the light of ionized nitrogen (represented by red), hydrogen (green), and doubly ionized oxygen (blue). Photo courtesy of NASA/ESA | License Photo

The Eagle Nebula's Pillars of Creation, one of Hubble's most iconic images, shows the pillars as seen in visible light, capturing the multi-colored glow of gas clouds, wispy tendrils of dark cosmic dust, and the rust-colored elephants' trunks of the nebula's famous pillars. With these new images comes better contrast and a clearer view for astronomers to study how the structure of the pillars is changing over time. Photo courtesy of NASA/ESA | License Photo

This image from Hubble shows the dramatic shape and color of the Ring Nebula, otherwise known as Messier 57. From Earth's perspective, the nebula looks like a simple elliptical shape with a shaggy boundary. However, observations combining existing ground-based data with new Hubble data show that the nebula is shaped like a distorted doughnut. Photo courtesy of NASA/ESA | License Photo

This image from Hubble depicts bright blue newly formed stars that are blowing a cavity in the center of a star-forming region known as N90. The dust in the region gives these distant galaxies a reddish-brown tint. Photo courtesy of NASA/ESA | License Photo

The Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) aboard Hubble snapped this image of the planetary nebula, cataloged as NGC 6302, but more popularly called the Bug Nebula or the Butterfly Nebula, on July 27, 2009. NGC 6302 lies within our Milky Way galaxy, roughly 3800 light-years away. The "butterfly" stretches for more than two light-years, which is nearly half the distance from the Sun to the nearest star, Proxima Centauri. Photo courtesy of NASA/ESA | License Photo

Hubble's image of the star V838 Monocerotis (V838 Mon) reveals dramatic changes in the illumination of surrounding dusty cloud structures. The effect, called a light echo, has been unveiling never-before-seen dust patterns ever since the star suddenly brightened for several weeks in early 2002. Photo courtesy of NASA/ESA | License Photo

This picture, taken by the Advanced Camera for Surveys aboard Hubble, shows the upper 2.5 light-years of the Cone Nebula (in NGC 2264), a height that equals 23 million roundtrips to the moon. The entire pillar is seven light-years long. Astronomers believe that these pillars may be incubators for developing stars. The ACS made this observation on April 2, 2002. Photo courtesy of NASA/ESA | License Photo

This composite image, produced by the NASA-NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite, provides a view of the Americas at night. The clouds and sun glint, added here for aesthetic effect, are derived from MODIS instrument land surface and cloud cover products. Photo courtesy of NASA/UPI | License Photo

The "aurora australis" is pictured near the southernmost point of the International Space Station's orbital trek above the Indian Ocean on April 8. Photo courtesy of NASA

The NGC 4651 galaxy may look serene and peaceful as it swirls in the vast, silent emptiness of space. It is believed that this galaxy consumed another smaller galaxy to become the beautiful spiral. Although only a telescope like the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, which captured this image, could give a picture this clear, NGC 4651 can also be observed with an amateur telescope. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

The Canadarm2 robotic arm and Dextre, the fine-tuned robotic hand, are remotely controlled on Earth to extract Bartolomeo from the pressurized trunk of the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship on March 25. Bartolomeo is a European Space Agency science payload system that will enable numerous external science experiments to be conducted and controlled outside the space station. Photo courtesy of NASA

The bright lights of Osaka, Japan, on Osaka Bay were pictured from the International Space Station on March 15 during an orbital night pass 259 miles above the island nation. Photo courtesy of NASA

The cities of southeast China glitter brightly during an orbital night pass on March 5 as the International Space Station soared 259 miles above the Asian continent. The brightest lights at right center represent the city of Shanghai on the coast of the East China Sea. Photo courtesy of NASA

The well-lit New York/New Jersey metropolitan area is viewed during the early morning hours on February 2 as the International Space Station orbited 263 miles above the northeastern United States. Landmarks include the dark rectangular area (lower center) that is Central Park in Manhattan. Photo courtesy of NASA

Mount Rainier is viewed from the International Space Station on February 19. Photo courtesy of NASA

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features a spiral galaxy known as NGC 4689. It is known as an "anemic galaxy," a galaxy that contains only quite small quantities of the raw materials needed to produce stars. This image was featured as ESA's Picture of the Week during the week of February 21. Image courtesy of ESA

The ISS flies in front of the moon in February as seen from Madrid. The photographer attached a camera to a telescope and while recording at 25 frames per second captured the 690-millisecond transit on video and composed this image of 17 stacked frames. Photo courtesy of Javier Manteca/ESA

The Mississippi River runs past Lake Pontchartrain, through the city of New Orleans, La., and into the Gulf of Mexico beaming from the sun's glint on February 7. Photo courtesy of NASA

The Strait of Gibraltar connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain on the European continent from Morocco on the African continent. The ISS was orbiting 265 miles above the Atlantic off the coast of Lisbon, Portugal, when this photograph was taken on February 11. Photo courtesy of NASA

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Non-profit to send 12 disabled people on weightlessness flight - UPI News

When William Shatner, 90, traveled to the edge of space aboard Blue Origins New Shepard on Wednesday he became the oldest person ever to reach such heights.

Mr. Shatner, whose name has been synonymous with space exploration since he played Captain James T. Kirk in the original Star Trek series more than half a century ago, became the first nonagenarian to cross the Krmn line, the widely recognized boundary between the atmosphere and space about 63 miles above the Earth.

Mr. Shatner became emotional when he emerged with three other passengers from the spacecrafts capsule after it set down in West Texas and was met by the Blue Origins owner, Jeff Bezos.

The actor spoke of how the experience of seeing the blue earth from space and the immense blackness of outer space had profoundly moved him, demonstrating what he called the vulnerability of everything. The atmosphere keeping humanity alive is thinner that your skin, he said.

Im so filled with emotion with what just happened, Mr. Shatner said to Mr. Bezos, breaking into tears. I hope I never recover from this, he added.

Mr. Shatners voyage came hot on the heels of one by Wally Funk, who at 82 was the oldest person to travel to space when she took part in a Blue Origin flight in July with Jeff Bezos, the companys owner.

Ms. Funk excelled at tests for astronauts in the space program in the 1960s, before Mr. Shatner played Captain Kirk, but NASA did not allow women to become astronauts at the time.

John Glenn, who was the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962, also became the oldest person to reach space when he flew aboard a space shuttle mission more than 35 years later at the age of 77. Unlike Mr. Shatner or Ms. Funk, Mr. Glenns trip went to orbit, which requires a much more powerful rocket than the one powering Blue Origins New Shepard spacecraft.

The youngest person ever to travel to space also flew on Blue Origins July flight. He was Oliver Daemen, 18, of the Netherlands.

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William Shatner Becomes the Oldest Person to Reach Space - The New York Times