People rarely bring their houses with them when they move from one city to another — they just rent, buy or build a new one. Astronauts don’t have the luxury of a realtor on other planets, or even a hardware store in space.
Thoth Technology’s inflatable space elevator gets a lift
Over the past 50 years, getting to space hasn’t become any easier technically speaking. It still requires using huge rockets to create a massive enough amount of force to push a payload beyond the grip of Earth’s gravity.
Continue reading… “Thoth Technology’s inflatable space elevator gets a lift”
The growing problem of space junk
Forty-five years ago, Ernst Stuhlinger, the associate director of science at Nasa’s Marshall Space Flight Center, an original member of Wernher von Braun’s Operation Paperclip team, was asked by Sister Mary Jucunda, a Zambia-based nun, how he could suggest spending billions of dollars on spaceflight when many children were starving on Earth.
Goodbye drones, hello disposable satellites
Raytheon is moving into the next generation of surveillance, while most of the country is still focused on the growing number of drones in this country – both military and civilian. Continue reading… “Goodbye drones, hello disposable satellites”
Stephen Hawking and Russian billionaire Yuri Milner announce $100M search for ET
Stephen Hawking, Russian billionaire Yuri Milner, Martin Rees, Frank Drake and others have announced at The Royal Society a $100 million funding for Breakthrough Listen. It is the “most powerful, comprehensive, and intensive scientific search ever undertaken for signs of intelligent life beyond Earth.”
Continue reading… “Stephen Hawking and Russian billionaire Yuri Milner announce $100M search for ET”
NASA’s prototype drone aircraft destined for Mars
This may be the first aircraft to fly the Martian skies. NASA revealed that they are building a Prandtl-m (Preliminary Research Aerodynamic Design to Land on Mars) prototype for a glider drone that would launch from a descending rover and survey landing sites for the eventual manned mission. Continue reading… “NASA’s prototype drone aircraft destined for Mars”
‘Smart’ LED farming: making space veg viable?
According to researchers at Purdue University, ‘targeted’ LEDs could be the future of extraterrestrial horticulture, the tiny electrical components could lead a revolution in fine-tuning food production off (and on) Earth. Continue reading… “‘Smart’ LED farming: making space veg viable?”
DARPA says they are engineering the organisms that will teraform Mars
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is investing heavily in genetic engineering and synthetic biology, that could excite or terrify you depending on how you feel about the military engineering totally new life forms. Continue reading… “DARPA says they are engineering the organisms that will teraform Mars”
Flying saucers on Mars to be tested by NASA
Trying to work out how to safely deliver astronauts to the surface of Mars, NASA will be testing flying saucers. Continue reading… “Flying saucers on Mars to be tested by NASA”
JAXA: Space sail producing energy
Japan’s main space agency has said that they have successfully deployed a space sail 770 kilometers above the earth and that it has started producing power. Continue reading… “JAXA: Space sail producing energy”
Small ‘Cubesats’ finding a bigger role in space
When work on the first cubesat in 1999 began, Jordi Puig-Suari and Bob Twiggs has a rather basic goal – to develop a compact satellite that university students could build and use to conduct scientific experiments and test out new technologies. Continue reading… “Small ‘Cubesats’ finding a bigger role in space”
$2.25M prize offered by NASA for 3D printed deep space habitats
NASA is starting a competition to intended to encourage creative thinkers to design and build a 3D printed habitat for deep space exploration, with a $2.25 million prize. Continue reading… “$2.25M prize offered by NASA for 3D printed deep space habitats”