Elon Musk plans to blast a tourist around the moon in a ship made by his rocket company, SpaceX.
The private lunar mission is meant to demonstrate a new two-part launch system called Big Falcon Rocket, which is designed to eventually bring humans to Mars.
Engineers are said to be building a prototype of the BFR’s spaceship primarily out of carbon-fiber composites.
Exactly how SpaceX is building that spaceship isn’t publicly known, but industry experts have some guesses.
They’ve awarded cash prizes as part of an ongoing competition.
NASA has selected five winners in an ongoing contest it has been running to get smart ideas about how to build a 3d-printed habitat on Mars.
The winners have passed level one of the 3D-Printed Habitat Centennial Challenge, which required developing about 60 percent of the design. Level Two will require greater complexity with 100 percent completion and an understanding of the hydraulics of each build. The teams will then create virtual structures and, on April 29, build them for real on the campus of Bradley University in Peoria, Ill.
The teams have different approaches and their video entries reflect that. First-place Team Zopherus, for example, highlights the autonomous robots that build out their modular structures. Using the Martian soil, their robots would build structures from the ground up.
Continue reading… “Here’s what NASA thinks Mars houses could look like”
Elon Musk has shared a video that helps visualize the sheer scale of SpaceX’s rockets, and the results are awe-inspiring. The CEO retweeted a video on Wednesday from YouTube channel Corridor Crew, which uses visual effects to show the size of the Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy and BFR rockets in real-life situations.
The video, which uses 3D models produced by Reese Wilson, shows the sheer scale of the company’s rockets that it’s using to fulfil its space exploration ambitions. While the Falcon 9 has been sending satellites into space and the Falcon Heavy completed a test flight with the Tesla Roadster, it’s the upcoming BFR that will transport humans to Mars as soon as 2024. Musk described the video as “cool,” while astronomy writer Phil Plait wrote that it was “amazing. The SF/X are really really good. I’ve been to the SpaceX factory twice, and have seen the landing leg on the main floor and the booster outside. They’re WAY bigger than you’d think.”
Continue reading… “Space X: Elon Musk shares staggering video that shows true size of rockets”
Elon Musk issued yet another incredibly ambitious timeline.
During a Q&A at the SXSW festival on Sunday, Musk said SpaceX will be ready to fly its Mars rocket in 2019.
Continue reading… “Elon Musk: Mars rocket will fly ‘short flights’ next year”
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Initial tests in Nevada on a compact nuclear power system designed to sustain a long-duration NASA human mission on the inhospitable surface of Mars have been successful and a full-power run is scheduled for March, officials said on Thursday.
Continue reading… “U.S. tests nuclear power system to sustain astronauts on Mars”
The slope rises as high as London’s Big Ben tower. Beneath its ruddy layer of dirt is a sheet of ice 300 feet thick that gives the landscape a blue-black hue. If such a scene sounds otherworldly, it is. To visit it, you’ll have to travel to Mars.
Continue reading… “‘A fantastic find’: Mars hides thick sheets of ice just below the surface”
If successful, experiment will mark a major step towards making Mars habitable for human colonies in the future.
Continue reading… “Nasa plans to extract oxygen from Mars to make a new atmosphere”
Elon Musk wants to launch a million people to Mars in the event some apocalyptic disaster eventually ruins Earth. And he wants it to be somewhat affordable — $200,000 or less per person.
To that end, the SpaceX CEO outlined his plan to colonize Mars on September 27, including how his Interplanetary Transport System of rockets, spaceships, fuel pods, and other crucial components would get the job done. Still, the full presentation at the International Astronomical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, barely scratched the surface.
Continue reading… “Elon Musk’s 4-step plan for colonizing Mars”
Food and transportation aren’t the only aspects of a mission to Mars scientists must consider. Limited cargo space means to obtain tools or similar items, astronauts may need to make use of resources available on the red planet – like dirt. Four Northwestern University researchers were recently able to utilize a Martian dust simulant to 3D print building blocks and tools.
NASA started looking into space 3D printers back in 2013 to manufacture repair parts or tools. Now Northwestern scientists have used lunar and Martian dust simulants approved by NASA to 3D print tools in a process the university described as simple, scalable, and sustainable.
Continue reading… “Scientists use Martian dust to 3D print tools”
The world has set its sights on Mars — not just to visit, but to stay. Private organizations and governments have made it their mission to get to the Red Planet, and the United Arab Emirates wants to be first. The UAE said it planned to build the first city on Mars in 100 years. (Pics)
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”
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”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.