Category Archives: Space Exploration

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Space Exploration | Aviation Week

What if a video game could teach science in a way that didnt put gamers to sleep?

Thats the idea behind a new game called Space Odyssey, which aims to be a virtual universe governed by real scientific laws where players can build planets and solar systems and explore the cosmos. Neil deGrasse Tyson is helping to develop the game and is planned to be the narrator who guides players through space.

Space Odyssey, as Business Insider reports, would feature buildingactivity similar toMinecraft, space colonization akin to that in Civilization: Beyond Earth, elements of exploration like No Mans Sky, and echoes ofElon Musks favoriterocket-building simulator,Kerbal Space Program.

What would set this game apart, however, is its educational bent and insistence on using real-life science to inform the mechanisms of the game. On this point Tyson won't budge.

I have no patience for people who say, I dont want the laws of physics to constrain me, Tyson said at a recent E3 convention.

The game is in early stages of development and at the time of writing has received just more than a third of its $314,159Kickstarter goal.

can-video-games-teach-values

If the game receives full funding (which wouldn't solely come from the Kickstarter) players will be able to develop planets, colonize worlds, nurture species, mine elements, build robots, and discover unique life-forms as you coordinate with others in an intense game of real-time strategy, according to the Kickstarter video.

The first stage of the game would take place onProxima B, which, at 4 light years away, is the closest known exoplanet to our solar system. Players would explore the planet and acclimate themselves to the game with Neil's voice helping them learn the ropes. They would then move to a space station where they'd be able to create, terraform and protect a home planet. Other major activities, missions, and narrative arcs are planned, as well.

Players would also be able to explore systems created by other online players or prominent scientists and fictional world-builders like Tyson, Bill Nye, George R.R. Martin, Neil Gaiman, and Peter Beagle, according to the Kickstarter page.

Space Odyssey co-creator elaborated in an interview with Digital Trends:

Part of the gameplay will allow you to grow a planetary system, Murphy said. Its size and scope is relative to the level of challenge you would like to undertake. You can grow and mature these planets as much as youd like, creating colonies, ports, mining structures, undertake trade of elements you discover/mine or invent or innovate. We are adding strategic partners that will consult with us on design and tech possibilities, including Bigelow Aerospace and the National Space Society to name a couple.

Murphy said Tyson has played a creative and scientific role in the game's development.

Hes helped create challenges in the game, and has challenged our creative team to entertain and inspire, Murphy said. He has also brought forward some incredible collaborators to our efforts, an incredible team of scientists, astronauts and explorers.

Accordingto a fact sheet for the game, Space Odysseyis being designed for PC and will target the Steam market but plans also call for virtual reality missions that will be playable on Oculus Rift or Samsung Gear.

Its a departure from what the core game feels like when you play it, but thats okay. Our goal with the VR missions is to take things to an even more educational level, Murphy said.

It remains to be seen if Space Odyssey can fuse science education into its ships and terraformed planets, and end up with gameplay that's compelling to mainstream gamers.Minecraft,one of the most widely played video games ever, is one of the few games that's bridged the gap of education and playability some teachers even use it to teach lessons in the classroom.

Space Odyssey reportedly borrows some ofMinecraft'sbuilding-blocks applications. Add that to Tyson's narration and preternatural ability to get the masses absolutely hyped for science, and this new game might just have a chance at taking off.

neil-degrasse-tyson-bringing-commercial-space-fantasies-back-to-earth

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Neil deGrasse Tyson is Developing a Space Exploration Video Game - Big Think

Power players of space exploration are relativelyfew and far between, but the list is growing. India and China are making strides to keep up with and even surpass mature programs like those in the U.S. and Russia.

India recentlysent 31 satellitesfrom 15 different countries into orbit. And in early 2017, it sent 104 satellites into orbit at once the most everfor a single rocket. It surpassed the previous record of 37 setby Russia in 2014.

China is set to send an unmanned probe to the moon to bring back thefirst soil samplesin more than 40 years. By 2018, it's expected to be the first country to soft-land a probe on thefar side of the moon.

India and China are also two of six space agencies in the"heavy-lift" rocket club. China joined at theend of 2016, and in June, Indiasuccessfully launchedsatellite into orbit that's several tons and 13 stories tall.

SEE MORE: A NASA Engineer Has A Creative New Way To Find Missing Rockets

And it doesn't look like they're ready to slow down, either. In the next five years, Indiaplans to send25 rockets into space and spend $6 billion on its space program.

Meanwhile, China is set to build its own space station. Constructionwill start in 2019, and it's expected to be done by 2022. That's two years ahead of thepossible retirementof the International Space Station.

Originally posted here:

2 Nations Are Vying To Be The New Heavyweights Of Space Exploration - NewsChannel5.com

Power players of space exploration are relativelyfew and far between, but the list is growing. India and China are making strides to keep up with and even surpass mature programs like those in the U.S. and Russia.

India recentlysent 31 satellitesfrom 15 different countries into orbit. And in early 2017, it sent 104 satellites into orbit at once the most everfor a single rocket. It surpassed the previous record of 37 setby Russia in 2014.

China is set to send an unmanned probe to the moon to bring back thefirst soil samplesin more than 40 years. By 2018, it's expected to be the first country to soft-land a probe on thefar side of the moon.

India and China are also two of six space agencies in the"heavy-lift" rocket club. China joined at theend of 2016, and in June, Indiasuccessfully launchedsatellite into orbit that's several tons and 13 stories tall.

SEE MORE: A NASA Engineer Has A Creative New Way To Find Missing Rockets

And it doesn't look like they're ready to slow down, either. In the next five years, Indiaplans to send25 rockets into space and spend $6 billion on its space program.

Meanwhile, China is set to build its own space station. Constructionwill start in 2019, and it's expected to be done by 2022. That's two years ahead of thepossible retirementof the International Space Station.

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2 Nations Are Vying To Be The New Heavyweights Of Space ... - ABC2 News

Autonomous space robots are going to be key to making new discoveries and exploring the furthest reaches of our Solar System and beyond, according to NASA scientists.

By making their own exploration decisions, robotic spacecraft can conduct traditional science investigations more efficiently and even achieve otherwise impossible observations, Steve Chien and Kiri Wagstaff, AI researchers working at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, wrote in Science Robotics.

Autonomy will allow robots to respond and turn their attention to sudden, unexpected phenomena like the plumes sprouting from distant comets, instead of waiting around to execute the next command sent from Earth.

AI and machine learning has a long history at NASA. Its tough to pinpoint the exact time the technology was used, but Chien said the first time it cropped up onboard a spacecraft was 1999 with the Deep Space One (DS1) Remote Agent Experiment (RAX).

DS1 was a spacecraft that was used to perform a demo of the RAX to test how it could generate its own plans to achieve mission goals over a 48-hour flight.

More modern spacecraft orbiting Earth employ machine learning classifier algorithms to distinguish between snow, water and ice so they can detect more unusual weather events like volcanic activity, fires or floods. The same principle is also used on the Curiosity rover to capture whirling dust devils, kicked up by the Martian wind.

The idea of robots coming up with its own schedule is particularly interesting to Chien as it enables a higher level of autonomy and intelligence.

Understanding the competing objectives, and measurements you are trying to do, so that you can design software that can pack it all in, is quite a challenge. A lot of times it gets quite involved in the science - what you are trying to model, what you are trying to observe - whether it is a plume in the ocean, a the evolution of a volcanic eruption, or the geology behind how a particular site evolved, Chien told The Register.

All of the planning systems rely on modelling the spacecrafts current state and resources and use better search algorithms to decide on a schedule.

NASA is currently developing an automated scheduler for its Mars 2020 rover mission. But to go further, robots will have to be able to explore unknown environments for days, weeks or even months without human support.

There is an ongoing project exploring potential technologies for autonomous submarines to detect signs of life underwater. It is hoped that one day, such submersibles could be used to probe the oceans hidden beneath the icy exteriors on Europa, Enceladus or Pluto.

It is believed that these watery world may have hydrothermal vents that support life, like the extremophile microbes that live near similar vents in Earths oceans - a possible hotbed that could explain the origin of life.

NASA are also looking at newer areas of AI like deep learning. Its important to keep learning to achieve longer term goals, Chien said. But applying them is trickier since space missions are very expensive. We have few opportunities to launch [robots], so NASA does not want to take unnecessary risks, so most of the machine learning deployments are on the ground.

The ultimate challenge would be to visit Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system to the Solar System - only 4.37 light years away. Last year, scientists announced that Proxima b, a possible rocky planet, was orbiting in the habitable zone around Alpha Centauri.

To traverse a distance of over 4 light years, an explorer to this system would likely endure a cruise of over 60 years. Upon arrival, the spacecraft would need to operate independently for years, even decades, exploring multiple planets in the system. Todays AI innovations are paving the way to make this kind of autonomy a reality, the paper said.

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NASA? More like NASAI: Brainy robots 'crucial' to space exploration ... - The Register

Sacramento Bee

Artificial intelligence could power space exploration | The ... Sacramento Bee Here on Earth, the rise of autonomous vehicles looms large. But researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena are more interested in using that ... Space Robots Learn To Think For Themselves - PC-TabletPc-Tablet Media all 2 news articles »

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Artificial intelligence could power space exploration | The ... - Sacramento Bee

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Wednesday, June 21, 2017, 2:16 PM

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson is lending his increasingly famous name, and his expertise, towards the creation of a space video game that will be part mind-blowing adventure and part lecture hall.

The "awe-inspiring" game, Space Odyssey, based on real physics, real science, will deal with both exploration and colonization with Neil deGrasse Tyson's voice as your guide on various science-based missions.

It gives the gamer the ability to make planets, solar systems and even life. The built-in missions of the game will challenge players to figure out problems and explore while learning actual science.

"Develop planets, colonize worlds, nurture species, mine elements, build robots and discover unique life-forms as you coordinate with others in an intense game of real-time strategy," the Kickstarter for the project says.

DeGrasse Tyson: Blame education for B.o.B's flat-Earth ideas

Based on real-life plans to one day explore further, players begin their "Space Odyssey" journey on Proxima B the closest known planet to Earth outside of our solar system, about four light years away.

Solo gamers or those playing online with friends on a Mac or a P.C. will then learn science-based physics, biology and chemistry while developing an outpost and colony on this planet and advancing the human race in space.

The companies behind the creation of the game, Big Red Button and Space Media Ventures, combine VR (virtual reality) technology with the visions of producers and comic creators who previously worked on other projects like "God of War 3" and the X-Men game, "Wolverine." Tyson will largely consult on the science within the game, ensuring its authenticity.

"I have no patience for people who say, 'I don't want the laws of physics to constrain me,'" Tyson said at a recent E3 video game convention in Los Angeles.

Neil deGrasse Tyson take all the fun out of Star Wars'

The Kickstarter for the project has a goal of $314,159 that its hoping to reach by July 29 it's currently about a third of the way there.

Space Odysseys fundraising site invites gamers and fans to invest in its creation so they can then help "build the game suggest ideas, ask questions and participate in (its) development.

The game is hoping to launch in January 2019.

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Neil deGrasse Tyson is making an educational video game about space exploration - New York Daily News

June 21, 2017

When Apollo astronauts on the moon spoke with Mission Control on Earth, there was a noticeable time gap between a statement from Tranquility Base and its immediate acknowledgment from Houston. The gap lasted almost three seconds, or 10 times longer than human reaction times would account for.

What was happening? The answer is simple: space. The moon orbits far enough from Earth that light (and radio) take 1.3 seconds each way to travel the distance. At exploration targets farther away, the delay increases; for exploring Mars, signals take between 5 and 40minutes, depending on the varying distance between the two planets.

"During the Apollo missions, the astronauts were making scientific observations and relaying what they saw back to scientists on Earth. Both were collaborating on decisions about observations and which samples to collect and bring back to Earth to yield the most scientific value," said Kip Hodges, Foundation Professor in ASU's School of Earth and Space Exploration.

"This worked reasonably well for lunar explorations, but the time delay is likely to dramatically reduce the quality and scientific value of such collaborations in exploring faraway places like Mars."

So far, Hodges notes, fieldwork is being done remotely on Mars by scientists on Earth using robotic tools such as the Curiosity rover. But it's slow.

"Even though signals commanding observations and measurements take only minutes or tens of minutes to reach Mars, a single research activity on Mars, from command to data return, can take a day or more," he said.

In the June 21 issue of the journal Science Robotics, Hodges and collaborators Dan Lester at Exinetics and Robert Anderson of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratorysuggesta new approach to scientific exploration that they call exploration telepresence.

"To the extent that much scientific research is a process where awareness drives action," the authors say, "the communications delay between humans on Earth and planetary exploration sites is limiting."

The ideal is to keep these delays, or "latencies," within the length of human reaction times. One approach is to have the astronaut scientists working directly on the surface of a planet. But landing humans and keeping them safe is an expensive and dangerous strategy.

A safer and less expensive approach, according to the authors, may be exploration science using telepresence, a strategy widely used on Earth now for activities as delicate and demanding as surgery.

"Telepresence means humans operating robotic systems from a distance close enough where the delay between human action and the robotic response is a fraction of a second," Hodges explained.

For Mars research, astronauts might go to Mars orbit, but not to the surface. From orbit, the communications travel time would be such that an astronaut/scientist could work with a robotic surrogate, experiencing the surface environment virtually, and doing scientific investigations as if she or he were on the ground.

Moreover, humans in Mars orbit could control instruments in real time at many different sites across the planet. And by preventing contamination of Mars with terrestrial biology, exploration telepresence from orbit also offers advantages overin situhuman explorers.

While the authors add that scientific research by humans working directly on the other planetary surfaces is the ultimate goal, exploration telepresence could be an important next step.

Today we do good science on Mars using long time-delay telerobotics, but we could do much better science much more quickly with humans on the surface, Hodges said. Exploration telepresence would be a reasonable compromise until that day comes."

Moreover, he said, "There are important targets for scientific exploration for which we currently don't have the technology to land humans safely. Exploration telepresence could greatly expand the number of destinations where humans can do great science."

Top photo:When scientists control Mars rover Curiosity, the turnaround time from deciding to examine a rock to getting the raw data back from the rover is one day at a minimum, due to the time delay for sending a command and getting a reply from the rover. But astronaut-scientists in Mars orbit could one day control, in real time, telerobotic landers, rovers and other surrogates all over the Martian surface. Image by NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

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New virtual approach to science in space | ASU Now: Access ... - Arizona State University

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson is making a video game about space exploration.

Or trying to, anyway - theKickstarter for the projectwent live on June 13 and runs through July 29. At the time of writing, they have raised US$100,121 of the US$314,159 goal (get it?).

The game, called Space Odyssey, would "allow players to travel through the cosmos to scientifically accurate planets, moons and exoplanets based in real science," according to a press release emailed to Business Insider.

Tyson's basic concept seems to be a captivating interactive experience that still follows scientific principles.

"I have no patience for people who say, 'I don't want the laws of physics to constrain me,'" Tysonsaid while discussing the gameat the video game E3 convention in Los Angeles this week.

Space Odyssey

On the Kickstarter page, the team behind the game promises a long list of potential activities: "Develop planets, colonise worlds, nurture species, mine elements, build robots, and discover unique life-forms as you coordinate with others in an intense game of real-time strategy."

Players would supposedly begin by exploring Proxima B, the closest known exoplanet to our own solar system, just over 4 light years away (there arereal-life plans to try to send mini-spacecraftthere).

After exploring the surface of that planet and learning how the science-based physics systems work (with Tyson as your guide), players would be ready to start the main event.

Beginning at a space station, they'd create and terraform a home planet and system, taking into account real aspects of biology and chemistry. That system can include be colonies and outposts - and you can play solo or with friends.

Players would also need to protect their systems from threats, including environmental disaster, space objects, climate change, disease, and the changes brought about by evolution and whatever else may happen to a planet.

Luckily, a digital assistant with Tyson's soothing voice would guide you through all of this.

Players would also be able to design a spacecraft to explore galaxies created by friends or "prominent scientists and fictional world-builders like Tyson, Bill Nye, George R.R. Martin, Neil Gaiman, and Peter Beagle," according to the Kickstarter.

Plus, there would be bonus virtual reality (VR) missions, playable on an Oculus Rift or Samsung Gear, according to a fact sheet for the game.

The company behind the game is called Space Media Ventures. The team includes producers who have worked in games, movies, and VR; the comics creator behind Wolverine; and artists who have worked on games like God of War 3.

Tyson's role seems to be largely inspiration and helping ensure that the game stays true to real science.

Mark Murphy, a co-creator of the game and creative director at Space Media Ventures,told Digital Trendsthat Tyson "helped create challenges in the game, and has challenged our creative team to entertain and inspire. He has also brought forward some incredible collaborators to our efforts, an incredible team of scientists, astronauts and explorers."

An ambitious undertaking

Space Odyssey seems to involve building activity similar to Minecraft, space colonisation akin to that in Civilisation: Beyond Earth, elements of exploration like No Man's Sky, and echoes ofElon Musk's favouriterocket-building simulator, Kerbal Space Program. Plus a whole lot of real (and really cool) science.

That's ambitious, especially since the anticipated launch date of Space Odyssey is January 2019.

With all that to design, the Kickstarter funding seems unlikely to be sufficient for the project. But a secondary purpose of the Kickstarter may be to encourage community members to interact with and and influence the game.

"[W]e do have other funding sources for the game; those sources are not contingent on the crowdfund. For us this is a committed community build, we want the people who will be playing our game to have the opportunity to engage while the build is underway," Murphy told Business Insider.

"We are committed to providing an enhanced physics experience which we call experiential physics that will elevate game play regarding modding, mapping and building and expressed action. I think it's fair to say our budget exceeds our community raise goal."

It's hard to say whether everything will really come together by January 2019, but whenever the game gets released, we're excited to play - and learn while doing so.

This article was originally published by Business Insider.

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Neil deGrasse Tyson is creating a 'Space Odyssey' video game ... - ScienceAlert

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Bill Gates first noticed parallels between President John F. Kennedy and President-elect Donald Trump after speaking with the newly electd president: But in the same way President Kennedy talked about the space mission and got the country behind that, there can be a very upbeat message that [Trumps] administration [is] going to organize things, get rid of regulatory barriers, and have American leadership through innovation.

Indeed, there may be more to Mr. Gates JFK-space reference than just a metaphor.

The Cold War with Russia greeted JFK upon becoming president in 1961, including the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in his first 100 days. Currently, Donald Trump is experiencing real Cold War-style tensions with China, Russia and their client states.

Over the last decade North Korea has developed a nuclear weapon and ballistic missile capability that threatens its neighbors and (eventually) the U.S. Recalling obvious parallels with the 1960s, Robert Litwak (Woodrow Wilson International Center) and others call this a Cuban Missile Crisis in slow-motion.

In 1957 the shock of the century occurred when Russia unexpectedly launched the first artificial satellite (Sputnik) into orbit. The American publics firm belief in its national security and technological superiority was severely shaken. In 1962 Russia secretly placed nuclear missiles in Cuba that were aimed at the U.S. Miraculously World War III was avoided, but significantly, the Cuban Missile Crisis intensified bilateral competition in the 1960s space race. In an effort to lower tensions JFK proposed a joint U.S.-Russia mission to the Moon in his September 1963 speech to the United Nations.

Its challenging to identify potential 21st-century Sputnik moments. For example, in December 2013 China became the first nation in the 21st century to land a rover on the Moon. While it attracted some Cold War-style concern in the space community, there was no Sputnik-level arousal in the American public.

When China launched a spacecraft that flew around the Moon and then successfully soft-landed back in China on Nov. 1, 2014, the event was lost in the intense media coverage of the 2014 U.S. elections. In fact, including its growing space station, China was signaling its capability to send spacecraft and soon humans to the Moon at least, a mini-Sputnik moment, considering Chinas successful anti-satellite program.

For North Korea, the Sputnik moment and Cuban Missile Crisis analog may soon converge. But Mr. Trumps new relationship with China will hopefully encourage them to reduce nuclear tensions. By analogy with our 1960s Russia/Cuba experience, this could easily stimulate momentum toward the Moon either in competition with China or possibly ISS-style cooperation.

In any case, the water ice (billions of gallons) at the lunar poles is a strategic resource that can accelerate scientific, technological and commercial development of the Moon as well as Earth-Moon space. And as of now, it remains unclaimed.

Both JFK and Mr. Trump inherited slow economies. President Eisenhowers average annual growth over his term was 2.5 percent plus a very sluggish recovery from the 1958 recession, and President Obamas average was 2.0 percent per year, including the slowest recovery since World War II. JFKs bold solution was a dramatic tax-cut plan for both individuals and businesses: In short, it is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high today and tax revenues are too low, and the soundest way to raise revenues in the long run is to cut rates now.

JFKs tax reform package worked; according to Larry Kudlow, The U.S. economy grew by roughly 5 percent yearly for nearly eight years. And Mr. Trump is following in JFKs economic footsteps.

Mr. Trumps charisma, vision, and style are reminiscent of JFK and he may be able to lead this generation to Mars and beyond. Indeed game-changing, 1960s-style decades (Maslow Windows) featuring major economic and technology booms, great human explorations, and geopolitical stress appear about twice per century back to Lewis and Clark.

They are often triggered by a Sputnik moment and a large economic boom, and powered by the societal ebullience it creates. Although definite signs of unusual optimism are visible in the markets, corporate profits, and numerous surveys, we may not know until later this year when they will expand into a transformative JFK-style boom.

Bruce Cordell was formerly with General Dynamics. He teaches Human Spaceflight at the University of Southern California.

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Donald Trump sees new opportunities for space exploration ... - Washington Times