Category Archives: Space Travel

Sue Murphy

By Sue Murphy

I got an email from a friend the other day saying, I just want to get on a plane and go somewhere. I hear ya, buddy. I hear ya.

For people who love to travel, this past year has been difficult. Ive tried not to think about it, mostly, but I desperately, desperately want to be free to move about the cabin. I want to have a Coke in a plastic cup that I have to chug before we land. I want to watch important safety briefings that dont all start with the words stand six feet apart.

Technically, I know I could get on a plane right now, but I also know that its more prudent to wait until the herd is fully immunized. Besides, right now my destinations would be limited. They really dont want an American in Paris. Theyre not ready with a warm Gday, mate in Australia, either. At this point, Americans are not even welcome in Canada, and Canadians are right up there with the people of South Bend, Indiana, as being the nicest people on the planet.

I understand everybody being skittish. Im not all that anxious to share my space with people who come in from places where the virus protection standards have been less stringent (like Texas). Better to be sure were not spreading germs before we start spreading out across the globe.

But, as soon as the COVID fog has lifted, buddy, stand back. I will be throwing things in a suitcase and flying out the door. Ill be gathering up tour reservations and airline tickets and meal vouchers with both hands. I want to see Yellowstone and Glacier Bay. You might receive posts from Portugal and Prague and those blustery islands off the coast of Scotland.

But first, I want to visit my family. I want to run through the sprinkler with my Florida grandchildren. I want to have a glass of wine on my sisters patio. I want to go to Disney World. (Mickey and Minnie are second cousins on the rodent side of my family.)

After all of the safer-at-home restrictions, it will be wonderful to just go and go and go. Theres one place Im not going, however: space. SpaceX has an all-civilian excursion set to launch later this year. I did not apply. The very idea of a rocket launch manned by people who usually surf the web and order takeout gives safer at home a whole new meaning. Also, for all that the trip will cost its passengers, there are no verandah suites on that vessel, no stage shows, no signature frozen drinks that come with little umbrellas. At least I dont think so. They didnt mention them in the press release.

While a trip into space might seem like the ultimate travel experience, and the scenery would literally be out of this world, youd really just be looking at it through a very small window, smaller than the porthole youd get on a lower-level cruise package. Yes, you would be able to drink the water but thats because you brought it with you. You even have to bring your own air, and the only way to bring home souvenirs is to put on one of those giant hazmat-ish suits thats connected to your ship only by a cord controlled by a fellow amateur astronaut. Houston, I foresee a problem.

So, no space travel for me, thank you. Planes, trains, and automobiles? Line them up. Ive been revving my engines for over a year now. Ready? Set? Gooooooo!

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Murphy's Law: Oh, The Places I'll Go - Over the Mountain Journal

An artists concept shows one of NASAs LLITED satellites in orbit. (Description of Aerospace Corporation)

Seattle based Space Flight Inc. It says a couple studying the factors behind atmospheric traction have won a deal to handle launch logistics for NASA satellites.

Double cubes for a task called Improvements in low latitude ionosphere / temperature density, Or LLITED, to be launched into orbit by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket later this year. That launch marks the first use of Spaceflights Sherpa-LTC orbital transmission vehicle, also known as the OTV or Space Duck.

In January, Sherpa-FX, a different space flight space drag Successfully sent a dozen spacecraft After a Balkan 9 launch. The Sherpa-LTC stands one step above the FX because it has its own orbital propulsion system.

Benchmark Space Systems is a chemically based thruster system built for space travel, making it possible for Sherpa-LDC to switch between different orbits. The space missions mission calls for early round satellite deployment, followed by setting up Shelba to place LLITED satellites in a different orbit.

Spaceflights full service delivery with a portfolio of Sherpa OTV vehicles greatly enhances the scientific opportunities for NASA, universities and other organizations to deploy to non-traditional orbit sites, said Valerie Scroopa, Business Development Director at Spacelight Inc. Said in a news release.

Another type of OTV, the Sherpa-LTE, will soon be introduced with an electric propulsion system.

Each of the LLITED satellites measures 4 by 4 by 6 inches, including their solar rows. The mission team includes scientists and engineers from The Aerospace Corp, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the University of New Hampshire.

At altitudes of 185 to 310 miles (300 to 500 km), LLITED explores the equatorial temperature of the equatorial atmosphere and the anomaly of the wind and the equatorial ionization anomaly that occurs in the region of electrically charged particles.

Aerospaces innovative CubeSat mission will measure both of these aspects simultaneously, a new milestone in orbital satellite capability, said Rebecca Bishop, Lis Linteis chief investigator at Aerospace Corp.

By observing this altitude more closely, scientists will gain a greater understanding of the magnitude of the change in atmospheric density, which affects the size of traction satellites and re-entry rates, Bishop said. Since traction depends on atmospheric density, understanding regional changes in density can help predict the re-entry time and path of an object.

To mark the 10th anniversary of its founding this year, Spaceflight Inc. is engaged in launching nearly 350 satellites in 37 passengers in eight different types of missile vehicles. The company plans to handle logistics for about 10 startups this year.

One such launch took place today. Rocket Laboratory It launched seven satellites from its New Zealand launch pad into low Earth orbit On the Electron Rocket One of those satellites is Blacksky 7, the seventh Earth observation satellite in the Blacksky Global Galaxy.

Spaceflight Inc. handled mission management and coordination services for the Blacksky satellite, not just the Seattle-area connection: Blocksky (Which was once a sister subsidiary of Spaceflight) has offices in Seattle and has built satellites Of Leostella Factory at Tuquila, Wash.

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Atmospheric-tracking satellites to ride in space flight space drag - The Press Stories

HONOLULU (KHON2) Hawaii third-grader and Girl Scout Laurel wrote an essay that is literally out of this world.

Laurel took part in the first-ever Making Space for Girls Challenge.

[Hawaii news on the goLISTEN to KHON 2GO weekday mornings at 7:30 a.m.]

Her essay out of 700 entries was one of 21 submissions picked to be included in a journey to the International Space Station.

To do the essay, I thought about the stuff we could do in the future and what I think would be nice to have, says Girl Scout Brownie Laurel S. from Troop 861. It makes me feel like the essay was special, so they chose it for its creativity.

Laurels submission included an essay and a Zoom interview.

The topic?What space travel will be like in 10 years.

My space dream is to take a car ship to Mars, says Laurel.

We might also build an elevator into space.If we do, it will have to have bathrooms, beds, a kitchen, and a TV.This is because the elevator will take 10 days to get into outer space.

I think its like a different dimension out there with other things that we can discover like new planets and new maybe sources of life.

The mission of the Girl Scouts is to build girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place.

80% of all female tech leaders, business tech leaders, were Girl Scouts, says Shari Chang, CEO of Girl Scouts of Hawaii.

Over 92% of every female astronaut was a Girl Scout.100% of all female Secretaries of State were Girl Scouts.Its a program that really provides girls with an opportunity to learn how to lead and become better leaders for their communities.

Selected items will go to space in the SpaceX Mission 23, scheduled to launch in August, 2021, from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

All items will be returned once they are back on Earth and processed by NASA as Certified flown in space.

August is also when the Girls Scouts of Hawaii has planned to open their new STEM Center for Excellence in Paumal.

Click here for more information.

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Hawaii Girl Scout selected to have essay taken to space - KHON2

Some of the Avengers are still waiting to go to outer space. It's maybe not a coincidence that these characters will be MCU Phase 4's major players.

By the end of Avengers: Endgame, most of the Avengers have been to outer space but there are still some holdouts among Earth's Mightiest Heroes who have yet to travel to the final frontier. Of course, fighting an alien invasion was the reason the Avengers were assembled in the first place. After the universal ordeal caused by Thanos, Earth's defenders are now well-aware that the gravest threats come from outer space, which is protected by Captain Marvel and the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Early in Avengers: Endgame as the heroes launched towards Thanos' "retirement" planet, Rocket asked,"Who here hasn't been to space?" Captain America, Black Widow, and War Machine raised their hands, while Captain Marvel, Thor, Nebula, Bruce Banner, and Rocket - all veterans of space travel - looked on amused. When the Avengers executed their time heists of the Infinity Stones, Hawkeye was also able to boast that he's been to outer space. Prior to this, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, and even Spider-Man traveled to Titan in Avengers: Infinity War where they linked up with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Going to outer space is now old hat to the Avengers.

Related: How Every MCU Superhero Got Their Nickname In Canon

However, the Avengers who died thanks to Thanos' Snap have been denied the chance to go to space. Meanwhile, WandaVision introduced S.W.O.R.D., an agency dedicated to space defense and building sentient weapons, which shows how seriously the Earth now takes extraterrestrial invaders. Meanwhile, Nick Fury is working with Skulls to fend up a future Secret Invasion, while the MCU's newest superhero, Monica Rambeau, was a test pilot for S.W.O.R.D. It's likely not coincidental that the heroes who are still waiting for their chance to go to outer space are major players who arelikelyto comprise MCU Phase 4's Avengers lineup. Until then, outer space, and all of its incredible sights and unimaginable dangers, is waiting for these Avengers to come and visit.

In WandaVision, Wanda Maximoff learned that she is the Scarlet Witch, a wielder of chaos magic and one of the most powerful sorcerers alive. With her upcoming guest appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Wanda may be more likely to jump across dimensions and open up the multiverse than strap into a spaceship and rocket into the stars, but the Scarlet Witch could still get her chance for space travel.

The Vision was rebuilt by S.W.O.R.D. as White Vision and given back his memories thanks to his doppelgnger in WandaVision. The future of the noble synthezoid and where Vision will appear next is a big question mark. It's possible Vision could return to S.W.O.R.D. or rejoin the Avengers,but working with S.W.O.R.D. could send him into space before long.

Sam Wilson was given Captain America's shield by Steve Rogers and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will explore his new mission as America's superhero. Although he's an Air Force pararescue airman, outer space is foreign territory to the Falcon. Sam would need a totally different kind of winged flying suit if the Falcon wants to soar through the stars.

Bucky Barnes is a World War II veteran and to him, going into outer space is the stuff of science fiction. The Winter Soldier has been coping with how different life is in the 20th century, but that already included fighting aliens in Avengers: Infinity War. If the Winter Soldier ever gets to go to space, he'll probably take it in stride as he has every other bizarre thing that's happened since he escaped his Hydra brainwashing.

While neither Ant-Man nor the Wasp has been to outer space, Scott Lang has a great deal of experience in the Quantum Realm. The microverse was vital to the Avengers' success in Endgame and the Quantum Realm is the exclusive corner of Lang and the Pym/Van Dyne family. However, knowing Scott Lang's exuberance, Ant-Man would probably jump at the chance to go to space, and Hope Van Dyne would likely join him so Scott doesn't get himself killed.

The tragic death of Chadwick Boseman means the Black Panther will not get to travel to the stars. Ironically, as the most technologically advanced nation on Earth, Wakanda is in a prime position to lead the planet in exploring the heavens. Black Panther 2 is expected to spotlight other characters in Wakanda so perhaps space travel could be something the Vibranium-rich nation will tackle next. But sadly, they would do so without King T'Challa leading the way.

There are still plenty of Avengers who have only ever been Earth-based, but that's bound to change as MCU Phase 4 jumps into and explores the multiverse.

Next: All 13 Marvel Movies Releasing After WandaVision

Ray Fishers Top Pick For Cyborg Movie Director Is Former Flash Helmer

John Orquiola is a Features staff writer who has been with Screen Rant for four years. He began as a directors assistant on various independent films. As a lover of film and film theory, John wrote humorous movie reviews on his blog, Back of the Head, which got him noticed by Screen Rant. John happily became the Star Trek guy at Screen Rant and he leads Feature coverage of the various Star Trek series, but he also writes about a wide range of subjects from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to Cobra Kai. His other great nerdy love is British TV series like The Crown, Downton Abbey, and Killing Eve. John can be found on Twitter @BackoftheHead if you want to see photos of the food he eats.

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Every Avenger Who Still Hasn't Been To Space | Screen Rant - Screen Rant

NSW FLOOD UPDATEThe rain might be starting to ease, but the floods are certainly not over in New South Wales. Many parts of the state are still being told to evacuate, and the Bureau of Meteorology says the next few days could bring the worst flooding we've seen. A week ago these guys popped down to crescent head caravan park for a holiday. Now they're stuck. 9 hours and 852km south in Temora, Billy has experienced a lot of the same. More than 20,000 people having to be evacuated from their homes. Today, blue skies and some sunshine have finally returned in parts of the state. But even with the sun back out, it's still going to be a while before the flood water clears, and for many, the cleanup from the flood is only just beginning.

MCG CROWDSAustralia could soon host the biggest sports crowd the world's seen, since the start of the pandemic! Up to 75,000 people will be allowed in to the MCG to watch Carlton take on Collingwood on Thursday night. This week, Victoria recorded its first day of being completely COVID free for the first time this year. AFL Boss Gil McLachlan's hoping that if things continue to go well, a full house of 100,000 fans will be allowed in to the G for the big Anzac Day clash.

SPACE JUNKThere's a lot of rubbish on earth. But did you know there's also a lot of rubbish in space, and it's causing plenty of problems. It's made up of things like old, broken satellites, and bits of rockets and spacecraft from previous missions. Right now, there are thousands tonnes of junk orbiting above earth, some traveling at speeds of around 28,000 kays an hour, so if they run into working satellites it doesn't end well. With about 10,000 or more satellites launching in the next decade, the problem's only going to get worse. So how do we clean it up? Well, by sending more stuff into space! Meet ELSA-d, a little gold-wrapped satellite with a brain. ELSA-d can figure out where space junk is and grab it with this nifty robotic arm. Then when it's mission is complete, and it's collected enough junk, it heads back into the earth's atmosphere where it burns up along with all the rubbish it's collected! If ELSA-d's successful in its mission over the next couple of months, we may start to see more of these tiny space janitors up in the stars helping to make space travel safer.

HOLI FESTIVALHoli is a festival that's all about colour! Well, it's actually an important Hindu festival celebrating the arrival of spring and of good triumphing over evil. But colour is definitely a big part. It usually only lasts for a day, but in some of India's northern districts, the celebrations last for almost 10 days! However, COVID's still causing some big problems in India, so it's expected more people will stay at home and away from the crowds this year.

BANKSY AUCTION RECORDBanksy has just broken a Banksy record with this artwork selling at auction for a whopping 30 million dollars. It was gifted to a hospital in the UK last year, as a tribute to workers in the British health service. The proceeds will go towards projects for healthcare workers and patients.

GOAT SURFERAnd finally, buckle up, because you're about to meet one pretty colourful character. Surfboards, goats, you can probably work this one out. Pismo the goat and his owner Dana ride the seven seas, or maybe just the Californian coast, all in the name of fun and encouraging people to get out onto the water.

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BTN Newsbreak 24/3/2021 - Newsbreak - Behind The News - BTN - ABC News

What would it be like to have a spaceship with a truly diverse crewnot the mix of alien species seen in so many sci-fi series, but human beings with all kinds of bodies? The European Space Agency announced in early February that it is recruiting a new pool of four full-time and 20 reserve astronauts for upcoming missions to the International Space Station, as well as future international missions to the moon. The agency promises the new astronaut class will be more gender-diverse than ever, and will seek qualified individuals with certain disabilities.

During a press conference two weeks ago, ESA officials told reporters the agency would open its upcoming application pool to include candidates who have a lower limb deficiency in one or both legs or feet, either congenitally or due to amputation; people who have differences in the lengths of their legs; or people who are less than 130 centimeters (4 feet, 3 inches) tall. This new height standard is considerably shorter than NASAs existing requirement that astronauts must stand between 5 feet, 2 inches and 6 feet, 3 inches. All ESA astronaut candidates also need to have at least a masters degree in a science, technology, or engineering field, or have training as a test pilot, and be younger than 50 years old.

ESA spokesperson Marco Trovatello says the application process, which opens March 31 and continues through May 28, is just the beginning for the so-called parastronaut program. The last time the agency had astronaut openings, they received more 8,000 applications. Trovatello says that agency officials consulted with both NASA and the International Paralympic Committee before making the announcement. We have informed all our ISS partners regarding our intent, Trovatello wrote in an email to WIRED. But we have to run the feasibility study first.

After selecting astronaut candidates from its 22 European member states, ESA officials will spend the next few years figuring out how to make a parastronaut program work with its US and Russian partners, and what internal spacecraft modifications might be needed. The agency has its own Ariane 5 rocket, but not a spacecraft that can carry astronauts. The ESA is overseeing the development of the European Service Module, the part of NASAs Orion spacecraft that will provide air, electricity, and propulsion during a future Orion flight to the moon and back. That means any disabled astronaut would have to ride inside a spacecraft operated by NASA, Russias space agency, or a private firm like SpaceX.

(While the ESAs search marks the first time a government-run space program has recruited astronauts with disabilities, private industry already has at least one celebrity example: Cosmologist Stephen Hawking experienced a few minutes of weightlessness during a zero-G airplane flight in 2007 and was preparing to fly on Richard Bransons Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo spacecraft before his death in 2018.)

Aerospace engineering experts and former astronauts say the push for diversity is welcome in a universe of explorers who have been mainly male, and that the concept of a parastronaut will open the door to a population that has mostly been ignored when it comes to space exploration. There shouldnt be any reason why space travel should be limited to people without disabilities, says Cheri Blauwet, an assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School and a former Paralympic athlete. Just as we seek diversity in every other place, why shouldnt we see diversity in space?

In fact, some differences among astronauts that would be apparent on Earth would disappear in the zero-G environment of space or the one-sixth gravity found on the moon. On Earth, the purpose of a prosthesis is to provide the function of gravity and support body weight, Blauwet says. But, she continues, in a zero-gravity environment, much of that would be mitigated, and you could use something much simpler in space.

Excerpt from:

Can Technology Open Spaceflight to Disabled Astronauts? - WIRED

Students in U.S. high schools can get free digital access to The New York Times until Sept. 1, 2021.

Have you ever dreamed of becoming an astronaut or traveling to outer space? Whats so appealing about leaving Earth?

How realistic are such aspirations?

One ordinary citizen was recently chosen to be a passenger aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Kenneth Chang writes about Hayley Arceneaux, a 29-year-old cancer survivor who recently learned that she had been chosen to join a crewed mission to orbit the Earth, in She Beat Cancer at 10. Now Shes Set to Be the Youngest American in Space. Heres an excerpt:

Ms. Arceneaux, a physician assistant at St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital in Memphis, will be one of four people on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from Florida. Scheduled to launch late this year, it is to be the first crewed mission to circle Earth in which no one on board is a professional astronaut.

I did ask, Am I going to get a passport stamp for going to space? Ms. Arceneaux said. But I dont think Im going to. So Im just going to draw a star and the moon in one of my passports.

This adventure is spearheaded by Jared Isaacman, a 38-year-old billionaire who announced in January that he had bought the rocket launch from SpaceX, the space company started by Elon Musk. Mr. Isaacman said at the time that he wanted the mission to be more than a jaunt for the superwealthy, and that he had given two of the four available seats to St. Jude.

The article goes on to explain the significance of this space journey:

Ms. Arceneaux could become the youngest American ever to travel to orbit. She will also be the first person with a prosthetic body part to go to space. She was a patient at St. Jude nearly 20 years ago, and as part of her treatment for bone cancer, metal rods replaced parts of the bones in her left leg.

In the past, that would have kept her firmly on the ground, unable to meet NASAs stringent medical standards for astronauts. But the advent of privately financed space travel has opened the final frontier to some people who were previously excluded.

Dr. Michael D. Neel, the orthopedic surgeon who installed Ms. Arceneauxs prosthesis, says that although having artificial leg bones means that she cant play contact sports on Earth, they should not limit her on this SpaceX trek.

It shows us that the sky is not the limit, Dr. Neel said. Its the sky and beyond. I think thats the real point of all this, that she has very little limitations as far as what you can do. Unless youre going to play football up there.

Students, read the entire article, then tell us:

Have you ever dreamed of becoming an astronaut or working for NASA? Are you fascinated by outer space or space travel? Why do you think so many of us are captivated by space and its mysteries?

If you had an opportunity to go anywhere in space, where would you visit? The moon? Mars? Another planet? Would you want to venture beyond our solar system? Why?

If you could be part of the SpaceX Falcon 9 flight, what would thrill you the most about the ride? Making history? Experiencing weightlessness? Viewing Earth from orbit? Something else?

In the article, Ms. Arceneaux said that she wanted to give hope to those battling serious illness: Theyll be able to see a cancer survivor in space, especially one that has gone through the same thing that they have. Its going to help them visualize their future. Are you inspired by Ms. Arceneaux? Have you been through hardships that have inspired others?

If you dont want to journey to outer space, where would you prefer to go instead?

Continued here:

Do You Want to Travel in Space? - The New York Times

Last week, NASA accomplished a goal that reminded Americans that the future is coming fast: It landed another rover on Mars. Among billionaires and space enthusiasts, thats just the tip of the iceberg, with many of them believing the United States could send humans outside of Earths orbit again in the next 10 years if the country plays its cards right.

But outside of some government agencies or private companies that are setting their sights beyond Earth, the enthusiasm for space travel is much more grounded: Most U.S. adults dont see sending humans no matter if theyre astronauts or civilians to the moon or Mars as a high space priority, new polling data suggests. Despite this, much of the public does want the United States to maintain its global dominance in the area.

In a Morning Consult survey conducted Feb. 12-15 among 2,200 U.S. adults, 33 percent said sending human astronauts to the moon or Mars should be a top or important but lower priority for the U.S. governments space efforts about 30 percentage points lower than monitoring key parts of the Earths climate system (63 percent) or monitoring asteroids and other objects that could strike the Earths surface (62 percent).

Those priorities shed light on a larger trend among adults sentiments on space research and exploration: While a plurality (47 percent) say its essential that the United States continues to be a world leader in space exploration, few think it should be a high priority for the Biden administration and even fewer say theyd want to embark in space travel themselves, even if price werent a concern.

People have kind of generalized that, Yeah, its a good thing to do, but most people dont spend a lot of time thinking about it, said John Logsdon, the founder and former director of George Washington Universitys Space Policy Institute.

The survey has a margin of error of 2 percentage points.

Investing in space research and exploration ranked 25th on a list of 26 priorities for the Biden administration that were included in the survey. Forty percent said the Biden administration should make it a top or important, but lower priority, compared with 84 percent who said the same about controlling the spread of COVID-19 in the United States and 81 percent on stimulating the economy to recover from the pandemic.

Yet the public still believes that the United States needs to keep its competitive edge in space to win out against other threats. Roughly half of adults (52 percent) said China is a major threat to the United States leadership in space research, compared with 45 percent who said the same about Russia and 34 percent about North Korea. Thirty-percent also said they viewed Iran as a major threat. Each country surveyed was included based on an assessment by the Defense Intelligence Agency as to who poses a threat to security in space.

When it comes to the specifics of oversight for space-related issues, though, adults were either split or at a loss. For example, when asked which agency or company is best prepared to handle sending human astronauts to the moon, adults were evenly split around 25 percent between federal space agencies, international space partnerships and having no opinion; about 1 in 5 respondents pointed to private aerospace companies.

While most people said they supported Bidens decision to keep Space Force (61 percent), the new branch of the U.S. Armed Forces established under the Trump administration, more people said they werent sure or had no opinion (23 percent) about the move than those who opposed it (15 percent). And nearly identical shares of people said Space Force should remain a military agency (33 percent) or they didnt know or had no opinion (30 percent), indicating that much of the public might not be as up to speed on the governments space efforts.

But Logsdon said space research doesnt need to be a top priority for the United States to keep its competitive edge. By his estimates, NASAs annual budget makes up less than one-half of 1 percent of the U.S. governments budget. And Congress fell just short of completely funding NASAs $25.2 billion budget request last year so it could keep an anticipated 2024 moon-landing project on schedule by instead awarding the agency with about $23.3 billion.

To get that amount of money, you dont have to be a top priority, he said.

While Logsdon says its too early to tell if the new Congress will fill the gaps left behind in the latest funding bill, the Biden administration is in the early stages of piecing together its space policies.

Earlier this month, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the administration plans to carry on with the Artemis program, a NASA-led effort in partnership with private aerospace companies to send one man and one woman to the moon by 2024 although that timeline is being reassessed.

While Space Force lives on under Biden, questions remain about whether the administration will reinstate the National Space Council, an executive branch group overseeing space policy led by the vice president and including several cabinet secretaries and agency heads.

In the background of these government efforts is the ever-growing presence of private space companies, which dont appear to face the same budget windfalls or political concerns. Morgan Stanley estimated in July that the global space industry could generate more than $1 trillion in revenue in 2040, compared to the $350 billion estimated in 2020. Space Capital, a seed-stage venture capital firm focused on the space economy, also reported last month that investors poured $15.7 billion into 252 space companies in 2020, including $9.4 billion to U.S. companies.

That outpouring of funds is showing in private space companies more ambitious goal posts. For example, SpaceX Inc. Chief Executive Elon Musk said in December that he is highly confident that his company will be able to land humans on Mars by 2026, and hes gone as far as estimating that SpaceX could send 1 million people to the Red Planet by 2050. And Amazon.com Inc. CEO Jeff Bezos plans to dedicate more time to his space company, Blue Origin, once he leaves his day-to-day role at the e-commerce giant later this year.

While most adults (54 percent) are bullish that humans will be able to routinely send civilians to space as tourists in the next 50 years, theyre not so sold on going into space themselves. Fifty-eight percent said they were either not too likely or not likely at all to travel to space if price werent a concern, up 10 points from the 48 percent who said the same in a September 2017 Morning Consult/Politico poll.

When asked if they would be willing to spend more or less than the price of an average airplane ticket to go to Mars, 53 percent said they were not interested at all in space travel.

Those numbers change slightly based on gender and age. More men (44 percent) said they were likely to embark in space travel if price werent a concern, than women (23 percent), while the idea of traveling to space was more popular among Gen Z (46 percent) and millennials (49 percent) compared to 32 percent of Gen X adults and 19 percent of baby boomers.

Making space exploration a priority though, even during a pandemic, could bode well for Americans morale, Logsdon said, such as what happened with the first moon landing in 1969 that came on the heels of a decade of domestic and international civil unrest.

It was a counter balance to the negativity of the time, Logsdon said. If we do inspirational things in space go back to the moon or travel beyond land rovers on Mars that gives us a sense of future, a sense of positive achievement to counter the pervasive negativity.

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Nearly Half the Public Wants the US to Maintain Its Space Dominance. Appetite for Space Exploration Is a Different Story - Morning Consult

One of the four people on board a space shuttle slated for takeoff before the end of 2021 will be pediatric cancer survivor Hayley Arceneaux, a 29-year-old physician assistant at St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital in Memphis. The mission, Inspiration4, will be crewed entirely by non-astronauts.

Arceneaux will become the youngest Americanand the first person with prosthetic body partsto orbit Earth. In an interview with The New York Times, she said she hopes her trailblazing feat will inspire pediatric cancer patients at St. Jude and other medical centers around the world.

Theyll be able to see a cancer survivor in space, especially one that has gone through the same thing that they have, she said. Its going to help them visualize their future.

The historic opportunity comes courtesy of billionaire Jared Isaacman, who announced that he had bought the rocket launch from the space exploration company SpaceX in January. Of the four available seats, one will be filled by Isaacman, one by a frontline health care worker at St. Jude (Arceneaux), one by a donor to St. Jude and one by an entrepreneurial member of the public who wins a sweepstakes contest sponsored by Isaacmans financial software company Shift4. The donor and the sweepstakes winner have yet to be chosen, although the sweepstakes itself has ended. By the time of the launch, Isaacman hopes to have raised $200 million for St. Jude, $100 million of which is coming out of his own pocket.

I truly want us to live in a world 50 or 100 years from now where people are jumping in their rockets like the Jetsons and there are families bouncing around on the moon with their kid in a spacesuit. I also think if we are going to live in that world, we better conquer childhood cancer along the way, Isaacman told The Associated Press of his decision to marry the mission with a fundraising effort for the hospital.

Arceneaux, a Louisiana native, was chosen in January to accompany Isaacman. She was 10 in 2002, when she developed a noticeable bump on her left knee and began experiencing severe local painsymptoms that prompted her mother to seek medical attention.

Doctors at St. Jude eventually diagnosed her with bone cancer and surgically replaced her left knee and a section of her left thighbone with metal prostheses, according to the AP. While in treatment, Arceneaux attended fundraisers and won one of Louisiana Public Broadcastings Young Heroes awards. The whole experience informed her desire to pursue a career in medicine. In a video shown at the 2003 awards ceremony, she said, When I grow up, I want to be a nurse at St. Jude. I want to be a mentor to patients. When they come in, Ill say, I had that when I was little, and Im doing good.

In 2020, Arceneaux fulfilled that longtime dream when St. Jude hired her to work with children with leukemia and lymphoma. In the intervening year, her personal experience with cancer and its treatment has helped her form a rapport with the kids and teenagers under her care.

I shared with him that I also lost my hair, Arceneaux told the Times, recounting a recent encounter with a patient. I told him, You can ask me anything. Im a former patient. Ill tell you the truth, anything you want to know. And he said, Will you really tell me the truth? And I said yes.

Isaacman and Arceneaux have already paid three visits to SpaceXs headquarters in Hawthorne, California, to prepare for the launch. Per a SpaceX press release, the shuttle, Dragon, will take off from Launch Complex 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, orbit Earth every 90 minutes for three or four days and touch down off the coast of Florida.

Some studies have found that space travel comes with an increased cancer risk, but others have disputed that conclusion. For more on both sides of the debate, read Long-Term Space Travel Could Pose a Major Cancer Risk and Astronauts May Not Face Increased Risk for Cancer After All.

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Pediatric Cancer Survivor to Go on Historic Space Mission - Cancer Health Treatment News

Mars, the Red Planet, has fascinated humankind for millennia. The little world revealed more of its magic, mystery and majesty when an unmanned American spacecraft aptly named Perseverance made a gentle and on-target landing on the surface of Mars in February. Soon after the landing, Perseverance began sending back color images of the rocky Martian terrain, while a microphone on the robotic craft picked up the sounds of the wind on that tiny world. Scientists also hope to get a birds-eye view of the Martian surface by deploying a 4-pound helicopter drone called Ingenuity, carried to Mars aboard the Perseverance rover.

Ancient Romans named Mars after their god of war because of its angry reddish color. The Italian astronomer Galileo first viewed the planet by telescope around 1610. Interest in the Red Planet peaked in the late 19th Century when a wealthy American named Percival Lowell built an observatory in Arizona dedicated to the study of Mars in an effort to discover signs of intelligent life there. In his book Mars as the Abode of Life, Lowell voiced his belief that Mars could be the home of an ancient and advanced civilization. In 1898, author H.G. Wells penned War of the Worlds, a fanciful account of an invasion of Earth by beings from Mars. Forty years later, in 1938, thousands of Americans were frightened by a radio broadcast of War of the Worlds in the form of a breaking news story.

Science fiction magazines and stories like pioneering sci-fi writer Stanley Weinbaums 1934 publication of A Martian Odyssey kept Mars on the minds of Earthlings during the frightening times of the Great Depression and World War II. In the postwar 1950s, movies and television shows often featured monsters from Mars, but audiences also viewed a realistic depiction of astronauts voyaging to the Red Planet when Walt Disney aired a TV show called Mars and Beyond in December 1957just two months after the Space Age began with the Soviet Unions Earth-orbiting Sputnik satellite.

By the 1960s, both the United States and the Soviet Union had attempted without success to send robotic spacecraft to Mars. Not until 1965 would Mars reveal some of its secrets when Americas tiny 575-pound probe, Mariner IV, flew past the planet and beamed back 22 grainy black-and-white photos of its cratered surface. In the decades that followed, other unmanned spacecraft from the United States and other countries would explore Mars, including two successful Viking landers that touched down on the planet in 1976 and a series of NASA rovers that have roamed the Martian landscape since the 1990s. Perseverance and Ingenuity are just the latest in a long line of Earths electronic emissaries to our neighboring world.

As humans explore Mars close up with color and sound, Ray Bradbury must be smiling in his grave. The beloved writer, who died in 2012 at the age of 91, brought fright and delight to millions with such works as Fahrenheit 451 and Something Wicked This Way Comes. He brought Mars down to Earth in the years after World War II with his publication of The Martian Chronicles, a series of stories about human flight to Mars. Space travel will be just as silly, sad, exciting and wonderful as any other great human adventure, said Bradbury.

Scientists recognized Bradburys influence when spacecraft began to show the first clear views of the planet he had described in fiction. Bradbury was invited to the California control room during Mars missions in 1971 and 1976, and a digital copy of his Martian Chronicles was carried to the planets surface aboard a NASA lander in 2007. Another Mars landing site was named Bradbury Landing a few weeks after the writers 2012 death.

Humans need a sense of beauty and wonder here on an Earth so often despoiled by human folly. Missions to Mars show that Bradbury was right when he said, If you enjoy living, it is not difficult to keep the sense of wonder.

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Mars Rover Perseverance Illustrates the Wonders of Space | Flagpole - Flagpole Magazine