Category Archives: Space Travel

Astronauts in space might have a tougher time exercising due to decreased blood vessel function.

According to a new study conducted by researchers from Kansas State University, astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) have a 30 to 50 percent exercise capacity decreases in long-duration spaceflight because the heart and small blood vessels are not as effective at transporting oxygen to the working muscle.

It is a dramatic decrease, Carl Ade, assistant professor of exercise physiology at Kansas State University, said in a statement. When your cardiovascular function decreases, your aerobic exercise capacity goes down.

You can't perform physically challenging activities anymore, he added. While earlier studies suggest that this happens because of changes in heart function, our data suggests that there are some things happening at the level of the heart but also at the level of the microcirculation within capillaries.

The new research is expected to be used to help Earth-bound clinical patients with heart failure, as well as helping to improve astronaut health and provide information for future long-duration spaceflights, according to Ade.

During the study, nine astronauts established an exercise capacity by performing a stationary bike exercise test several months before they were launched to the ISS for about six months.

The researchers measured a variety of statistics including oxygen uptake, cardiac output, hemoglobin concentration and arterial saturation to show how effectively the body transports oxygen to the muscle mitochondria. The astronauts were then asked to perform the same bike test within a few days of returning to Earth.

Astronauts aboard the ISS are tasked with a variety of physical duties including opening the capsule door to helping a fallen crew member. Other tasks include performing emergency landings on Earth or performing extravehicular activities on the surface of Mars.

According to Ade, more research is needed on the way microgravity changes the interaction between blood vessel capillaries and red blood cells.

This decrease is related to not only health but performance, Ade said. If we can understand why maximal oxygen uptake is going down, that allows us to come up with targeted interventions, whether that be exercise or pharmacological interventions.

This important new information can help these astronauts and prevent any adverse performance changes in their job, he added.

While the research benefits astronauts in preparing for long-duration trips to space, it may also shed light on the blood vessel functions in older patients or patients with heart failure.

We have seen similar situations happen with heart failure and with aging, Ade said. If we can better understand what is happening in the astronaut and how to prevent it, then we might be able to do the exact same thing in a patient who is older or who has heart failure.

The study was published in the Journal of Applied Physiology.

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Space Travel Decreases Heart and Blood Vessel Function - R & D Magazine

Mark Watney, portrayed by Matt Damon, was probably more out of shape than we realized. (Image: The Martian)

Another day, another study showing how awful microgravity is to the human body. In the latest research, scientists have found that long term exposure to space inhibits the movement of oxygen through the body, reducing an astronauts ability to perform strenuous tasks.

New research from Kansas State University shows that prolonged exposure to space reduces an astronauts exercise capacity by 30 to 50 percent. Thats...a lot. As noted in the study, which you can check out at the Journal of Applied Physiology, this seems to be happening because our heart and small blood vessels suck at transporting oxygen to working muscles under microgravity conditions. Discouragingly, the effect still matters when astronauts try to maintain a high degree of fitness in space, by riding stationary bikes and running on treadmills.

For the study, a research team led by kinesiologist Carl Ade looked at NASA data collected for nine male and female astronauts who spent around six months aboard the International Space Station. Prior to embarking on their missions, each astronaut had various health measures taken to assess their physical fitness, including oxygen uptake, cardiac output, and hemoglobin concentration and saturation. (Hemoglobin is the iron-rich protein responsible for transporting oxygen in your blood.) These measures show how effective a persons heart and blood vessels are at getting oxygen to muscle mitochondriathe so-called powerhouses of our cells.

While in space, each astronaut followed an aerobic and resistance training regimen designed by NASA. Moderate and high-intensity aerobic exercise on a bicycle or treadmill was prescribed for four to six days each week, while upper and lower-body resistance training was prescribed six days per week.

Two days after the astronauts returned to Earth, each of them were put through the same battery of physical tests they received prior to launch.

Armed with this before-and-after data, Ade was able to show a 30 to 50 percent decrease in maximal oxygen, which is the maximum rate of oxygen thats consumed during exercise, and a standard measure of cardiorespiratory health. After about 90 days, the astronauts level of fitness returned above 97 percent of what it was before. Their inability to get back to full fitness capacity is likely due to altered function of the lungs following prolonged exposure to microgravity.

It is a dramatic decrease, said Ade in a release. When your cardiovascular function decreases, your aerobic exercise capacity goes down. You cant perform physically challenging activities anymore. While earlier studies suggest that this happens because of changes in heart function, our data suggests that there are some things happening at the level of the heart, but also at the level of the microcirculation within capillaries.

The researchers suspect that microgravity is changing the way blood vessel capillaries interact with red blood cells, but more research is required to suss this out.

For would-be space travellers and Martian colonists, this news undoubtedly sucks. It means that astronauts, after several months of exposure to microgravity, can expect a fairly significant decrease in their ability to perform strenuous tasks. Once on Mars (or other celestial body of choice), an astronaut might be less capable of, say, performing manual labor on the surface. On the plus side, however, this finding alerts scientists to the problem, and they can now go about trying to figure out a solution.

This decrease is related to not only health, but performance, Ade said. If we can understand why maximal oxygen uptake is going down, that allows us to come up with targeted interventions, whether that be exercise or pharmacological interventions. This important new information can help these astronauts and prevent any adverse performance changes in their job.

We can now add reduced oxygen uptake to our ongoing list of crappy things that happen to our bodies when exposed to spaceproblems ranging from loss of bone density and muscle mass through to heart, vision, and back problems. Adapting humans to life beyond Earth, as were learning, is going to be tough.

[Journal of Applied Physiology]

George is a contributing editor at Gizmodo and io9.

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Extended Space Travel Causes an Inescapable Decrease in Physical Fitness - Gizmodo

Paying taxes on Earth is already a pain, but in California, you could one day be paying that extra fee in space. The state's franchise tax board wants the public to weigh in on the idea.

Its proposal would compute taxes on commercial space transportation companies. Basically, any company operating in California that makes half of their money from space transportation. They say it is any travel 62 miles above the surface of the Earth.

52 PHOTOS

How much Americans pay in taxes in every state

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Alabama residents pay less in property taxes than residents in any other state due to low median home values and the second-lowest property tax rate. Alabama residents have 23.66 percent of income going toward taxes, with a median household income of $44,509.

Beware health insurance in the state, though. A GOBankingRates study ranked Alabama among the worst states for health insurance costs.

Although the average income tax paid by Alaska residents is higher than the national average, it's largely due to the state's high median income of $75,112. Residents also only pay federal income taxes there is no state income tax. Residents of this oil-producing state pay the least in gas taxes in the nation, at 31 cents per gallon. That helps make Alaska one of the least expensive states to own a car.

Arizona falls in the bottom half of states for total taxes paid by its residents, who see 24.58 percent of their income, on average, go toward taxes. Property taxes and gas taxes paid in this state are lower than the national average.

However, the 8.25 percent sales tax is noticeably higher than the national average of 6.47 percent. Meanwhile, the state was ranked among the worst states to start a business by a GOBankingRates study.

Arkansas has one of the highest sales tax rates in the nation, at 9.3 percent. However, residents pay less in income taxes and gas taxes than the national average. Plus, the average property tax bill in Arkansas is among the lowest in the nation due to low median home values and a low tax rate.

California residents pay more in taxes than residents of most other states. In fact, 31 percent of their income, on average, goes toward taxes. Considering that the cost of living in California also is high, it's no wonder it's one of the states where residents are most likely to live paycheck to paycheck, according to one GOBankingRates study.

Colorado residents pay more in taxes than the national average of $14,998.83 and pay a higher percentage of their income toward taxes, on average. The reason: high income and sales taxes. Gas and property taxes paid in Colorado, on th other hand, are lower than the national average.

Connecticut residents pay more in income taxes than any other state, in part due to a high median income of $72,889. Average property taxes paid in the state also are about double the national average of $2,118.08. In addition to high taxes, residents also are faced with a high cost of living in Connecticut.

Delaware is one of the most tax-friendly states, with residents paying just 21.99 percent of their income toward taxes. One of the key reasons the total tax bill is low here is because there is no sales tax. Plus, the average property tax paid is nearly half the national average.

Washington, D.C., residents pay more in property taxes, on average, than residents in most states due to a high median home value of $540,400. Residents also pay more in income taxes, on average, than any other state, with the exception of Connecticut.

On the plus side, the sales tax rate of 5.75 percent is below the national average. Residents also pay less than the national average to fill up their gas tanks.

Florida is one of seven states with no income tax, so the average income taxes paid here reflect only federal taxes paid. Lower-than-average property taxes also help keep the total taxes paid as a percentage of income to just 21.9 percent in Florida.

The total taxes paid in Georgia are lower than the national average of $14,998.83. However, taxes actually consume a higher percentage of residents' income than the national average because of a low median income of $50,768 in the state.

Hawaii residents have to pay a hefty tax bill to live in paradise. Total taxes paid are among the top 10 highest in the nation due, in large part, to high income taxes. Residents earning a median household income of $64,514 pay around $14,798.36 in income taxes.

On the plus side, property and sales taxes in Hawaii are lower than the national average.

Total taxes paid in Idaho $14,012.17 are slightly below the national average. However, residents pay a higher percentage of their income toward taxes than the national average due to the state's low median income.

Hefty property and sales taxes contribute to a high total tax bill in Illinois. In fact, the average property tax bill is more than 50 percent higher than the national average even though the median home value is below the national average. Overall, Illinois residents pay nearly 30 percent of their income, on average, toward taxes.

Indiana is a relatively tax-friendly state. The average total tax bill is lower than the national average because income and property taxes are lower in Indiana than in most other states.

Total taxes paid in Iowa are higher than the national average because residents pay more in income and sales taxes. Total tax paid as a proportion of income also is higher in Iowa 27.55 percent versus 26.08 percent. However, a 2015 GOBankingRates study found that Iowa is one of the cheapest states for raising a family.

Average property taxes paid in Kansas are relatively low due to a less-than-stellar median home value. Average income taxes paid also are below the national average because of the state's low median wage. However, Kansas residents are hit by a high sales tax, which is 8.62 percent versus the national average 6.47 percent.

Kentucky has the fourth-lowest average tax burden in this study. All taxes paid income, sales, property and gas are well below the national average. Income and property taxes paid are particularly low, on average, due to the state's low median income and property value.

Average property taxes paid in Louisiana are among the lowest in the nation, as are income taxes due to the state's low median income of $45,922. Further, Louisiana has a higher-than-average sales tax of 9.98 percent.

Total taxes paid in Maine are lower than the national average. But that doesn't mean residents don't face high taxes. Total taxes paid consume nearly 27 percent of residents' pay, on average, due to the state's low median income.

Maryland residents pay more in taxes than residents in all but three states. This is largely due to the high income taxes paid in this state, which has the third-highest median income in the nation.

Not only is Massachusetts one of the most expensive states to raise a family, more than 30 percent of what residents earn goes toward income, property, sales and gas taxes. That's a higher rate than all but four states: California, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York.

Michigan's property tax rate is higher than the national average. However, a low median home value helps keep down the average property taxes paid in the state. Income and sales taxes paid also are lower than the national average.

On average, nearly 30 percent of what Minnesota residents earn goes toward income, property, sales and gas taxes. Average income taxes paid are particularly high, compared with other states.

Mississippi residents pay the lowest total tax bill in the nation. Income taxes paid here are the second lowest in the country due to the state's low median income of $40,037. Plus, property taxes paid are among the lowest in the nation as a result of a low tax rate and median home value.

The total tax bill in Missouri is only slightly higher than the national average of $14,998.83, due to income and sales taxes that are higher than the average paid nationwide. However, property and gas taxes in Missouri are well below the national average paid.

Montana is just one of four states with no sales tax. Property and income taxes also are lower than the national average. As a result, Montana residents see just 22.28 percent of their income, on average, go toward taxes.

The total tax bill in Nebraska is higher than the national average. In large part, it's because residents pay more in income taxes as a result of a higher-than-average median income. Nonetheless, residents pay, on average, an amount equal to about 28 percent of their income.

Nevada has no state income tax, which explains why the state's total tax bill is among the lowest in the nation. However, residents are hit with a 7.98 percent sales tax, which is among the highest in the nation. If you're looking to buy a home in Nevada, best sure to check out Reno. It is the best city to buy a house in Nevada.

New Hampshire has no sales tax. It also doesn't have a state income tax, but the average amount of federal income taxes paid by residents is high because the state has the highest median income in the nation. Residents also pay more in property taxes than the national average paid. In fact, New Hampshire has the second-highest property tax rate in the U.S., after New Jersey.

New Jersey residents pay the highest total tax bill in the nation. They also pay the highest percentage of income toward taxes 33.17 percent, on average. The biggest reason the tax burden is so high in New Jersey is the state's 2.13 percent property tax rate, which is more than twice as high as the national average rate.

Total taxes paid in New Mexico are among the lowest in the nation. Property and income taxes paid are well below the national average. This is due, in large part, to a low median income and a low median home value in the state.

Like their New Jersey neighbors, New York residents pay more than 30 percent of their income toward taxes. Residents pay a lot on the state's high sales tax of 8.49 percent and property tax of 1.38 percent.

The total tax bill in North Carolina is lower than the national average thanks to lower-than-average property and income taxes. However, residents pay more in gas taxes.

North Dakota residents have a lower total tax bill than the national average, paying around $13,381.61 every year. Gas and property taxes are lower than the national average, too.

Although the property tax rate in Ohio is higher than the national average, property taxes paid fall below the national average due to the state's low median home value of $125,300. Ohio residents also pay slightly less in income taxes overall, forking over just under $9,000 annually.

Oklahoma has one of the lowest total tax bills in the nation. Income and property taxes are well below the national average because median income and the median home value are among the lowest in the U.S. However, residents are hit by a high 8.86 percent state sales tax.

Oregon is just one of four states without a sales tax. Still, residents pay just over 28 percent of their income toward taxes. They face a high income tax bill.

At 77 cents per gallon, the gas tax in Pennsylvania is the highest in the nation. Property and income taxes in this state also are higher than the national average. If that wasn't bad enough, the state is also home to one of the worst cities in the U.S. for investment properties Pittsburgh.

Rhode Island residents pay over 29 percent of their income toward taxes. The big tax bite is due primarily to the state's high property tax rate of 1.51 percent. Income and sales taxes, on the other hand, are on par with the national average.

South Carolina's total tax bill is among the lowest in the nation. Residents pay below-average income, gas and property taxes. Its sales tax, however, is above average at 7.22 percent.

South Dakota has no income tax, which helps keep residents' total tax bill below the national average. Property and sales taxes paid also are slightly below the national average.

Tennessee has no state taxes on income, but it makes up for it with a high sales tax rate of 9.46 percent the second highest in this study. The average property taxes paid, on the other hand, are half the national average.

The total tax bill Texas residents pay is lower than the national average because residents don't pay state income tax. And they pay lower gas taxes than residents in most states. It's no surprise then that cities like Plano, Lubbock and Austin rank among the best cities to live in when you're saving money.

The overall tax bill in Utah is higher than the national average due to high income taxes paid by residents. However, the state does offer a high median household income of about $66,000. Meanwhile, the state's property tax rate is just 0.64 percent, compared to the national average of 1.02 percent.

Vermont residents pay more in property taxes than residents in most other states. As a result, total taxes paid in this state nearly top $18,000, far higher than the national average.

Virginia residents have a higher income tax bill than the national average, paying just over $12,600. But it's due, in part, to the state's median income, which is higher than the national average. Sales, gas and property taxes are all lower than national averages.

Washington has no income tax. However, residents are liable to pay a lot in income taxes thanks to the state's high median household income of $67,243. The state sales tax is also high, at 8.92 percent.

The total tax bill in West Virginia is the second lowest in the nation, after Mississippi. The typical property tax bill is also the second lowest in the nation, due to the state's low property tax rate of 0.53 percent and a low home value of $102,400.

Wisconsin residents pay a higher overall tax bill than the national average because of the state's high income and property taxes. In fact, Wisconsin is among the top 10 states that take the most out of your paycheck.

Residents of this tax-friendly state pay only about 20 percent of their income toward taxes the lowest percentage in the nation. Wyoming has no state income tax, and property and sales taxes in the state are well below national averages.

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Now, the reason the board created the rules is to let entrepreneurs know the state's tax code will be ready once business takes off. And, figuring out the amount of tax is actually pretty simple. The farther away from Earth you go means the less tax you pay. While the closer you are means more tax.

A public hearing on the rules is set for June 16th.

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California considers taxing space travel - AOL Finance - AOL Small Business

News | May 08, 2017 | MRI Magnetic resonance imaging shows evidence of changes in the orbital and ventricular fluid volumes among astronauts who participated in prolonged missions on the International Space Station (ISS), according to a study published in the journal Radiology.

Researchers from the University of Miami in Florida performed a retrospective study to determine the respective roles of vascular and cerebrospinal fluids in spaceflight-induced vision impairment in astronauts, known as the visual impairment and intracranial pressure (VIIP) syndrome.

Sixteen astronauts participated in the study, nine who flew on the space shuttle for a mean of 14.1 days and seven who flew on the ISS for a mean of 188 days. Their mean age during their mission was 46.1 years.

All participants underwent MR imaging before flight and again after their return to quantify pre- to post-flight changes in globe flattening and optic nerve protrusion. Automated quantitation was also used to measure pre- to post-flight changes in orbital and ventricular cerebrospinal fluid volumes and in brain tissue volumes. Relationships between individual measures and differences between cohorts were assessed by using correlation and unpaired t test, respectively.

The results showed the pre- to post-flight increases in globe flattening and nerve protrusion were significant only in the long-duration cohort (0.031 0.019 versus 0.001 0.006 and 0.025 0.013 vs 0.001 0.006, respectively). The increases in globe flattening and nerve protrusion were associated with significant increases in orbital and ventricular cerebrospinal fluid volumes. In contrast, brain tissue volumes do not change or correlate with globe flattening and optic nerve protrusion.

The researchers concluded these findings were evidence for a primary role for cerebrospinal fluid and a lesser role for brain volume changes in the formation of VIIP.

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Prolonged Space Travel Affects Astronauts Eyes | Diagnostic Imaging - Diagnostic Imaging

smithsonian.com May 3, 2017

If humans ever make it to Mars, they may bring a little color along with them. AsKatherine Kornei reports for Science, a new study suggests that the seeds of the morning glory flower can withstand radiation levels that wouldfry other types of seeds.

Back in 2008, the space shuttle Atlantis carried an experiment to the International Space Station called EXPOSE-Ea module full of biological samples including organic molecules, microoraganisms, as well as lichens and fungi. The module also included 2,000seeds from two plants: tobacco andArabidopsis thaliana, a weedy European plant used often in research. The samples were secured outside the confines of the space station for558 days, exposed to extreme temperatures, UV light and cosmic radiation.Astronauts then collected them and returned them to terra firma.

Not surprisingly, most of the seeds friedbut 20 percent germinated and grew into "normal-looking plants," writesKornei.

Almost a decade later, researchers decided to look at the seeds that didnt germinate to figure out why. Analyzing an antibiotic resistance gene in the tobacco plants, the researchers determined that DNA degradation from short wave UV radiation deactivated the seeds by causingsome parts of the genetic code to fuse, reports Kornei.

Though the researchers were interested in learning more, sending seeds into space is costly. So they recreated the conditions of space in the lab. According to the study published recently in the journal Astrobiology, they exposed more tobacco and Arabidopsis seeds to UV radiation. But they also included morning glory seeds, which are comparatively large and have been known to last for decades in the soil. While most of the tobacco and Arabidopsis seeds lost their ability to germinate after exposure to some 87 megajoules per square meter of radiation, all of the morning glories survived. They could withstand radiationup to amassive dose of 2420 megajoules.

Its likely that the heavy seed coat of the morning glory protected it, and Kornei reports that the researchers believe flavonoidscompounds found in wine and teain the seed might also act as a cosmic sunscreen. The research means that properly protected seeds could survive on trips to Mars and bolsters the idea of panspermia or the hypothesis that life can spread from planet to planet by traveling on comets or asteroids.

The seeds are model space travelers, the researchers write in the paper. Much of their genome is redundant, which means they have multiple copies of genetic information if some of it gets damaged. Seeds are also designed to survive long stretches of cold with no water andcarry bacteria and fungi that could hitch a ride to a new planet. And even if a seed doesnt survive a long journey through space, it still brings organic materials like proteins, nucleic acids and ribosomes to wherever it lands, which could help jumpstart primitive forms of life.

These results add to the fast-growing body of evidence showing that panspermia is not only possible, but absolutely inevitable, Chandra Wickramasinghe, director of the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiologyat the University of Buckingham, tells Kornei.

Whether or not morning glories spread throughout the galaxy, its likely researchers will continue to send seeds into space. Scientists first attempted a seed launch in the 1940s, when they put added seeds tothe capsules of V2 rockets, reports Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan at Gizmodo. In 1983, the Park Seed company launched 40 different fruit and vegetable seeds into space as part of special collaboration with NASA. (They later launched seeds that they sold for a hefty $27 per packet.)

Cherry trees joined in the fun onanother seed launch into space in 2008. Four of those treesbloomed in 2014, much more quickly than the ten years common for the plant.

But there is much more to be learned from the space faring seeds.And discoveries from the glorious morning glory could lead the way.

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Why Morning Glories Could Survive Space Travel - Smithsonian

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Not satisfied with being the heaviest-taxed state in the nation, the clever folks at the Franchise Tax Board disclosed their intention to begin taxing the Apportionment and Allocation of Income of Space Transportation Companies under a new addition to the state tax collection enforce Code of Regulations.

With space is internationally defined as all the infinity that is 62 miles or more above the earth, the 21stcentury commercial opportunities for the development of space seem to be creating a new lust among California lawmakers to finda whole new source of revenue. The Franchise Tax Board is proposing to tax the movement or attempted movement of people or property including, without limitation, launch vehicles, satellites, payloads, cargo, refuse, or any other property to space.

In November, California voters passed Proposition 55to extend the temporary 13.3 percent top state tax rate on high-income earners until 2030, helping the state retain the highest marginal tax rate in the nation.

But the state also has the highest collections in the nation for property tax, sales tax, business tax, cap and trade tax and tax on aiplanes during the minutes that they travel in the states airspace. Californias local governments have also been clever in tacking on novel new revenue schemes from such items as soda and plastic (or paper) bags.

In 1966, the BeatlesGeorge Harrison wrote lyrics for the songTaxman, which appeared as the first track on the Revolver album. It became the theme song for a U.K. rebellion against the British Labour Party, which had setan astronomicaltopincome tax rate and surcharge of 98 percent while Harold Wilson was Prime Minister in 1974.

Those high tax rates led to most of the members of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and othertop stars of the 1960s British music scene going into a form of tax exile out of the country. Harrisons most iconic lyrics iconic include:

If you drive a car, Ill tax the street, If you try to sit, Ill tax your seat. If you get too cold Ill tax the heat, If you take a walk, Ill tax your feet.

Dont ask me what I want it for If you dont want to pay some more Cause Im the taxman, yeah, Im the taxman

The current space tax issupposedly designed to only hit companies operating in California that generate at least 50 percent of revenue from space transportation. But the tax, if enacted, will undoubtedly be expanded later, and it would also apply to any out-of-state company that launches a missile from the Vandenberg Air Force Base Space Launch Complex.

Vandenberg launches have big advantages for commercial space missions because they fly southward, allowing payloads to be placed in polar and Sun-synchronous orbit. That allows full global coverage that is difficult to achieve through launches at Cape Canaverals Kennedy Space Center, where missiles must fly eastward to avoid risks to major population centers.

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California Proposes to Tax Space Travel - Breitbart - Breitbart News

Yesterday, SpaceX pulled off yet another successful launch and landing of its Falcon 9 rocket. This rocket, its 10th to launch and land intact, carried NROL-76, a classified satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office. That is to say, a spy satellite.

This is the first spy sat delivered by SpaceX something that could well lead to a windfall of government contracts from the likes of the Air Force or NOAA (if their funding remains) to come to Elon Musk's company. But the bigger feat here is that SpaceX has started to make the launch and landing of a first-stage rocket seem downright routine. Even during the Space Shuttle years, NASA had to discard an external tank on every launch and spend months refitting the two solid rocket boosters. SpaceX's feat may well be the money-saving step that we need for space travel to become profitable and therefore more common.

Check out the separation and landing of the rocket a fiery technological marvel in a post by Elon Musk above, or watch the full launch below.

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Witness the Future of American Space Travel with SpaceX's 10th Successful Rocket Landing - Men's Journal

Nasa astronaut Peggy Whitson, who spent time aboard the International Space Station, told Trump this week: Were absolutely very ready to go to Mars. But she did not say when. Photograph: Reuters

Donald Trump would like to see Americans walk on Mars during his presidency within three to seven years, depending on the whims of the voting public. Nasa would love to get there that quickly, too. The reality of space travel is slightly more complicated.

On Monday, during a call with astronaut Peggy Whitson, who was aboard the International Space Station, Trump pressed her for a timeline on a crewed mission to Mars, one of Nasas longest standing and most daunting goals.

Tell me, Mars, he asked her from the Oval Office, what do you see a timing for actually sending humans to Mars? Is there a schedule and when would you see that happening?

Whitson answered by pointing out that Trump, by signing a Nasa funding bill last month, had already approved a timeline for a mission in the 2030s. She added that Nasa was building a new heavy-launch rocket, which would need testing. Unfortunately space flight takes a lot of time and money, she said. But it is so worthwhile doing.

Trump replied: Well, we want to try and do it during my first term or, at worst, during my second term, so well have to speed that up a little bit, OK?

It was not clear whether the president meant the remark as a quip or something more serious. Nasas current plan aims for a 2033 launch of a crewed mission to orbit Mars, with a later mission to land there just as the Apollo missions circled the moon before touching down. Even with private partnerships that Trump has encouraged, for instance with Elon Musks SpaceX, getting to Mars will take years.

With Nasas current budget it would be challenging to go to Mars without a massive increase, Phil Larson, a former senior adviser for space and innovation to Barack Obama, told the Guardian. Larson said that Nasa is far more prepared to go to Mars today than it was to go to the moon in the 1960s, but stressed: The devils in the detail and the devils in the funding.

In the bill last month, Trump and Congress kept most of the agencys funds intact, at about $19bn, but cut $200m for climate science, education programs and an asteroid mission that Nasa had hoped would be a stepping stone to Mars. Although 100 days into his presidency, Trump has not yet named anyone as Nasas administrator. Nasa has estimated that the total cost of missions to Mars would be hundreds of billions of dollars.

Larson wrote in an op-ed last month that at the rate set by Trumps budget request, sending humans to Mars in less than a decade is not just impossible, its laughable.

Depending on launch timing, it takes seven to nine months simply to reach Mars from Earth the Apollo missions to the moon took on average three days and Nasa has to overhaul its rockets and spacecraft for such a long mission.

The agency is currently building the most powerful rocket the agency has ever designed, called the Space Launch System (SLS). On Thursday, the agency pushed back its planned 2018 test flight to 2019, after a report by the Government Accountability Office cast doubt on the rocket systems readiness to fly.

The private spaceflight company SpaceX is also developing a new rocket, the Falcon Heavy, and has announced an ambitious plan to use it to take two private citizens around the moon in 2018. That rocket also remains untested in flight.

SpaceXs CEO Musk wants to reach Mars by 2024, but has acknowledged that his private company would probably need help and luck for that optimistic timeline. Any organization, public or private, needs to solve the challenges of fueling, radiation bombardment, and, if it wants to land, how to do so safely and with the ability to take off again from the surface of Mars. The planets atmosphere is about 100 times thinner than Earths, making descent faster and more perilous than when astronauts return home.

Deep space is full of hazards to life, and Nasa has said that a crewed mission to Mars and back could take as long as three years. The agency plans to send a crewed mission into deep space in the 2020s as a readiness gauge a test of whether it has technology for a long-term space habitat, protected against effects of radiation and microgravity, which over time weakens bones, muscles and eyesight. Lockheed Martin, Nasas partner for the project, is working toward a main base camp spacecraft for 2028.

Astronauts on a Mars mission will also face psychological tests of extreme isolation and close quarters whose only comparisons might be the journeys of 16th-century mariners, 19th-century whalers and the Arctic explorers in centuries past. Space agencies have had several teams do mock missions for as long as 500 days, and Nasa researchers have stressed that psychological tests and prep will be key for any crew.

Though the International Space Station has had humans on board for over a decade, it receives regular supplies and only a handful of people have logged more than 340 continuous days in space (Whitson holds the US record). A mission to Mars requires food, oxygen, water and fuel for as much as three times as long. Astronauts who land on the surface would not only need those resources, they would have to contend with uncertain terrain, high winds and even dust that could be toxic. And while the moon is sterile, Nasa also does not want to contaminate a planet where liquid water still flows nor have Mars contaminate the astronauts.

Were absolutely very ready to go to Mars, all of us would be very happy to go, Whitson told Trump on Monday. She did not say when.

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Trump has grand plan for mission to Mars but Nasa advises: cool your jets - The Guardian

In the halcyon days of yore, people put away money with the hopes of retiring somewhere warm, where they could argue about chicken salad with other curmudgeons until they expired. But very soon, the new retirement hotspot might be on Mars. While billionaires like Elon Musk have long touted human settlement of the Red Planet, at least a few ordinary folks are listeningand saving up money accordingly.

After SpaceXs most recent success with the launch and landing of a refurbished Falcon 9 rocket, everyone in (and out of) the aerospace community was buzzing about the next steps. The big benefit of reusable rockets is that theyll make space travel cheaper, and therefore more accessible, for the average personat least thats what Musk and his company claim.

Following that launch, automated investing serviceBetterment, which assists folks in planning for big-ticket life events like retirement, pulled some data on its customers. In a search of 250,000 accounts, the companys analysts found that among the usual account types (e.g. retirement, anniversary trip), there were 22 accounts set up for either Mars or Space. According to Betterment, some accounts are receiving $1,000 a month in deposits, and one, opened in January 2016, has a staggering $60,000 saved. Betterment told Gizmodo that the earliest space-related account was set up in March 2014.

I think theres a nice dovetail here with Elon [Musk] and SpaceX, who are looking far into the future of where humanity is going to be, and what we need to do to bootstrap ourselves into the stars, Dan Egan, Betterments VP of behavioral finance, told Gizmodo. The whole idea is that over time, the price of [space travel] will come down, and if our customers start saving, theyre going to be able to afford that.

Indeed, Elon Musk has already touted a relatively affordable $200,000 price tag for SpaceX-led trips to Mars. Egan said that by Betterments calculations, a customer would have to contribute $263 dollars a month in order to get to Mars in 30 years, assuming a 6 percent annual realized returnin English, that means how much you gained/lost over a year. So, the future is now-ish.

These are goals that are pretty serious, Egan added. Two of [the accounts] have about $1,000 going into them on a monthly basis, which is not an insignificant amount of money. According to Egan, the companys average clients tend to be individuals earning more than $200,000 a year and tech-enabled.

Sowho the hell are these financial unicorns who have enough money to comfortably afford food, rent, and space travel? We spoke with one of thema lawyer named Michael Cappo, who lives and works in the midwest. He opened a space tourism account with Betterment three years ago and has been socking away a few hundred dollars per month.

Cappo explained that space exploration has been a life-long fascination of his, in addition to traveling in general. Growing up, my dad was really into sci-fi and aliens, he explained. So Ive always had an interest in space, and combining that with really liking to travel...it would be a fun adventure.

While hes still mulling over whether or not hed like to end up on Mars, Cappo said hes very interested in checking out commercial space tourism opportunities, like those being created by SpaceX and Blue Origin. Blue Origins New Shepard capsule will send people on short stints into suborbital space, while SpaceX plans to carry two passengers around the Moon next year in its Dragon 2 spacecraft.

Id like to return home to Earth, but well see what happens, Cappo said. A lot of [space tourism technology] is developing pretty quickly, so maybe the answer will be different in 50 years.

Ideally, a sojourn in space would be the ultimate getaway. But although commercial entities continue to develop impressive tourism vehicles, the risks of sending untrained citizens off Earth remain very real. As for retiring on another planet, were still just learning how long-duration spaceflight and extended time in microgravity affect the human body, say nothing of psychological element that comes with being stuck on a barren planet. Needless to say, folks who are planning ahead ought to be sure theyre thinking about the potential medical bills.

Cappo added that hes aware of the risks of spaceflight but doesnt really have any reservations.

I feel pretty secure, he said. But hopefully by the time I would be in the position to go, some of the kinks will be worked out.

Obviously, weve got a long way to go until theres a Margaritaville on Mars. Itll definitely be interesting to see how popular the early bird special is there.

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People Are Already Opening Accounts to Save for Space - Gizmodo - Gizmodo

American astronauts may be walking on Mars in the next eight years,or ideally the next four,if President Donald Trump has his way. But the new timetable has baffledexperts in space travel.

The surprise announcement or rather instruction took place this week duringa live video conference between President Trump andveteran astronaut Peggy Whitson, who is currently aboard the International Space Station.

During theconversation, Trump askedWhitson when itwouldbe possible to send a human to Mars.She gave a careful and detailed answer explainingthat a trip to the Red Planet might be possible sometime in the 2030s.

Not good enough for the White House. "Well, we want to try and do it during my first term or, at worst, during my second term, so we'll have to speed that up a little, OK?" Trump replied. There was awkward laughter from outer space. "We'll do our best!" Whitson promised, grinning.

According to Professor Tom Pike of Imperial College London (who worked on the 2008 Mars Phoenix Lander),the NASA timetable cannot easily be shortened. "I wasn't quite sure whether [Trump]was mis-speaking. Maybe he meant the moon, [not Mars]?" Pike says. "He's got to do it on a realistic timescale, and with the budget that gives it the funding that it would require."

One of the biggest constraints is the return journey, according to Pike. Compared tothe Moon, Mars has much higher gravity, and a substantial atmosphere. So a rocket for the return will probably need to be sent to Mars well in advance. That plan is still at an early stage.

That is not the only matter to be overcome. "The issue is not just sending a man or woman to Mars," Pike says. "[Currently] even the space station is out of reach. The American astroanauts now there are there courtesy of the Russians, since the end of the shuttle program. So to go from essentially zero [to Mars] this is a stretch."

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Astronauts are baffled by Trump's space travel plans - PRI