Category Archives: Space Travel

The pandemic is prompting a lot of questions about everyday life. Malaka Gharib/ NPR hide caption

The pandemic is prompting a lot of questions about everyday life.

Each week, we answer "frequently asked questions" about life during the coronavirus crisis. And we ask readers to send in their queries. Some of the questions we get are a little ... unusual. They may not be the most critical health questions. Yet they are definitely interesting. So this week, here is a sampling of both frequently and infrequently asked questions. If you have a question you'd like us to consider for a future post, email us at goatsandsoda@npr.org with the subject line: "Weekly Coronavirus Questions."

I protested. Now what?

Over the last two weeks, many thousands of people across the United States and the world have taken to the streets to demonstrate solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and demand an end to police brutality. Last week's FAQ broke down some preventive measures to lower COVID-19 exposure while attending a protest. But some readers ask: How soon after protesting should you get tested to see if you might have been infected?

Dr. Joyce Sanchez, an infectious disease specialist who teaches at the Medical College of Wisconsin and directs its Travel Health Clinic, says symptoms develop on average of 3 to 7 days after exposure. So the first week after attending a demonstration is the peak time to monitor your health and look into obtaining a test through your primary care doctor or a local public health department or clinic.

There are, however, cases in which people take up to 14 days after exposure to the coronavirus to show symptoms, so both Dr. Sanchez and the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend keeping watch for a full two weeks following a crowded gathering just to be safe.

"Many people do not even notice when they're coming down with symptoms," says Sanchez. "The ones that are generally red flags are fever, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath. But some people just feel a little fatigue," says Sanchez. "And when you're like me a mother of two and a full-time working mother fatigue is a natural part of my life. So if there's any hint of something that just feels a little bit off, it's certainly very reasonable to get tested."

Dr. Mark Kortepeter, professor of epidemiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health, suggests waiting a few days after the protest to seek testing unless you're already showing symptoms. Even if you're infected, there's a chance you may not yet be shedding viral particles that a test could pick up.

In addition to getting tested, if you think you may have come in contact with someone showing symptoms of the coronavirus at a demonstration or otherwise try to isolate yourself from others for a week or so to minimize the risk of spreading infection to those around you.

Can my dog bring COVID-19 particles from the outside world into my home on its paws, say by walking on grass or a sidewalk where someone with the virus could have spit?

The experts we spoke to as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that the risk of transmission from a pet to a human is considered low. The coronavirus is still novel so there's a chance new information could develop in the future but for now, pets are not considered a major risk factor in the spread of infection.

Dr. Kortepeter adds that the risk of viral particles surviving on outdoor surfaces is low to begin with, and friction from the dog walking around would most likely get rid of any potential particles coming into the home.

"We don't know of any cases where there's been an animal playing a significant role in spreading the virus to humans. I think that is not going to be a major concern," says Dr. Sanchez. "But in general, it's going to be good to clean off paws just for the general cleanliness of the interior of the home." The same goes for human shoes.

Casinos are reopening how safe is it to go back?

For both Dr. Sanchez and Dr. Kortepeter, the main concern with casinos is that like churches or bowling alleys, they are enclosed indoor spaces where large groups congregate. That in itself presents a higher risk of exposure to respiratory droplets in the air, especially if the venue does not enforce the wearing of face coverings.

And in spaces like casinos, where many people touch the same inanimate objects and surfaces playing cards, chips, tables there may be potentially added risks that we don't completely understand yet, says Dr. Kortepeter.

Here are some general precautions to take, if you do decide to go to a casino:

"Even if the casino is practicing all of the disinfecting and mask wearing, there are variables that are going to be outside of your control," says Dr. Sanchez. "And again, you're sharing an enclosed space with many people who are outside of your general household circle and that is considered high risk."

What are the risks when traveling with young children on an airplane?

In past FAQs, we've discussed how to take precautionary measures when traveling by plane and how to weigh the risk factors of driving versus flying. But when it comes to traveling with young children, are there additional ways to prevent COVID-19 exposure?

If possible, try to make all children older than 2 years old wear a face covering for the duration of travel, both in the airport and on the plane. Children younger than 2 should not use face cloth coverings, according to CDC guidelines, because they may make breathing difficult.

Bring lots of sanitizer and wipes to clean off kids' hands and try to keep them from touching surfaces as much as possible, says Dr. Kortepeter.

Bring enough food and water for your kids so you have sanitized options in case they're hungry or thirsty, says Dr. Sanchez.

"I think my biggest piece of advice for parents, regardless if they fly or if they drive, is to try to model safe practices. Children, particularly small children, absorb by our example more than we know," says Dr. Sanchez. "So if you're wearing the mask, if you're disinfecting, if you're maintaining that distance and you're reinforcing that through what you say and what you do children pick up on that and try to mirror their parents."

Is it safe to drive in a convertible with the top down?

According to Harvard Medical School physician Abraar Karan, driving in an open convertible is probably one of the "less dangerous things you could do" in a pandemic when it comes to risk of infection. The velocity of the car and the open air would likely mitigate the direct exchange of COVID particles.

"If you're riding, one would think that most of the respiratory droplets coming out of your mouth are going to be flying behind you," he explains. "The risk of transmission there would probably be low, because you're both outdoors and having a lot of wind blowing [particles] back."

Still like any disease transmission scenario there are many factors at play: If you're at a stoplight having a face to face conversation with someone in a car next to you, you should probably wear a mask to protect the other driver and possibly give yourself some protection as well.

Seating arrangements matter, Karan noted. "Let's say someone's sitting behind you, and they're inhaling all the particles coming out of your mouth." That's why the safest bet for all car drivers and passengers is to still wear a mask.

Beyond in-car preventive measures, Karan said it's important to keep in mind that frequently touched car parts, like door handles, could hold viral particles, which could spread the disease. Use hand sanitizer after touching such objects, he advises.

One more car point: The risk of transmitting the virus in a closed car may be higher than in a convertible.

"In a convertible, the top's down, and you're theoretically almost outdoors at that point," Karan says. "We know transmission in enclosed space [like a non-convertible] is a big deal."

Is it safe to go back to bowling alleys?

If you want to play it safe, you probably won't be hitting the bowling alleys until the later phases of reopening. But even then, there are many concerns about transmission.

Even the most avid bowler recognizes that it's not essential to go bowling. As Harvard Medical School physician Abraar Karan put it: bowling is a "higher risk, but lower necessity, activity."

Why higher risk?

"We're talking about indoors," he says."We're talking about people sitting next to each other, around the area where the bowling balls come back, and probably in close proximity," he says.

While bowling alleys are typically spread out and large, Karan noted that there are more groups clustered around small areas. So it's probably not a great idea in the immediate future.

If you do decide to go bowling, it's essential to wear a mask, wash hands and sanitize yourself often.

I don't have a dishwasher. Should I wash my dishes with bleach? My husband says soap and water isn't enough!

Harvard Medical School physician Abraar Karan didn't have much to say on this one: "Just soap and water should be sufficient," he said, adding decisively: "No bleach."

I fell and broke a tooth and think it's infected. But I'm afraid to go to the dentist during a pandemic what should I do?

If you need essential tooth care, you should go to the dentist. And it will most likely be OK, said Harvard Medical School physician Abraar Karan.

"Dentists are health-care workers," he said. "They'll be wearing personal protective equipment like N-95 masks [which] should block the majority of particles [traveling] from the dentist's face to yours. There could be some small particles that escape, but I would think that would be very unlikely."

Despite these precautions, there are some inherent risks involved, especially because tooth work is an oral procedure involving really close face-to-face contact. A dentist and the dental staff could fiddle with a mask, reducing its efectiveness, or wear it improperly. But the threat is "relatively low," Karan said. What's most important is that you get help if you need it.

"In a situation where somebody has a potential tooth infection developing, they need to get it done," Karan said, adding: "You should feel reassured that the dentist is going through some symptom checks before they come in."

Karan said he'd be "surpri(sed)" if we saw a lot of transmission from dentists properly wearing PPE and exhibiting no symptoms.

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Is It Risky To Ride In A Convertible? Go To A Casino? Travel With Kids? : Goats and Soda - NPR

Andrew Thomas talks to amateur astronomer Stuart Atkinson about his lifelong interest in the night sky and his heartfelt desire to see humans walking on Mars

Stuart Atkinson can remember the exact moment when his passionate interest in space and the night sky began.

When I was at junior school the Apollo missions were happening, he told me.

"In those days schools just had one television, which was kept in a big cupboard and was wheeled out for big events.

I was sitting on the floor and watching grainy black and white footage on TV of people bouncing around on the Moon and the pilot light whooshed and that started my interest in space.

Stuart, 55, grew up in Cockermouth and fondly remembers his supportive headmaster at his first school.

I would always be hiding in the library at break times, reading books about space, rather than being outside playing football, and he would never throw me out!

He described how he devoured science books and how his interest in space got serious in 1981 when the first Space Shuttle mission took off. He avidly followed subsequent missions and the building of the International Space Station.

He has always been interested in planets but his favourite is Mars.

I am known as a frustrated Martian and my Twitter handle is @mars_stu. When I was at Cockermouth Grammar School in around 1982 or 83 I found a National Geographic magazine from 1977 that had amazing photographs of Vikings mission to Mars. My obsession with Mars started there.

He recalls how reading Kim Stanley Robinsons epic novel Red Mars had a huge impact on him.

It is full of geology and science and it brought the Mars in my head to life, said Stuart.

He wrote to the author many times as a fan and received replies. Indeed, Stuart is referenced in the credits for the third book in the trilogy, Blue Mars.

Stuart bought a tiny container of Martian dust taken from meteorites.

I sent it to Kim Stanley Robinson and he ate it! Theres a poem in one of his follow-up books, The Martians, where he talks about taking a bit of dust and rolling it on his tongue that is the dust I sent him!

For many years he assiduously followed the progress of two American Rovers as they roamed about exploring the surface of Mars.

They put up raw images every few hours every day, said Stuart. I walked beside the rovers for years, seeing what they saw. It became a big part of my life.

He set up as astronomical society in Cockermouth and when he moved to Kendal 15 years ago, he became the secretary of the towns Eddington Astronomical Society, a position he held for about 12 years.

What does he see as the value of such societies? Astronomy can be a very lonely hobby. You tend to spend a lot of time standing on your own in the dark. Its good to be part of a group. You can swap information and share experiences.

Living in the wettest county in one of the wettest countries in Europe it is easy to miss things and you can be tempted to give up and take up another hobby. Being part of a group helps to keep you going.

He said anyone interested in learning more about astronomy should Google Eddington Astronomical Society.

Stuart is well known as a media expert on the night sky, for his Skywatch column in The Westmorland Gazette and through his outreach and education activities.

I give talks to Womens Institutes, Soroptimists, Lions, Round Tables, U3As and schools. My talks are aimed at beginners level.

"I talk about what you can see on the next clear night and about our place in the Solar System.

He has been the consultant for a number of space books and has written ten of his own, including his first, Journey Into Space, about 30 years ago, the forward for which was written by sci-fi author Isaac Asimov.

His latest book is A Cats Guide To The Night Sky, a reference book as told by a cat with lovely illustrations. It has been translated into 21 languages.

The idea for the book came when he was on a Kielder Star Camp with his girlfriend. The couple always take their cat and four years ago he was standing outside at night holding their cat, Peggy.

There was a clear night sky and Peggy was looking around at all the stars, said Stuart.

I had an idea, scribbled it down and a publisher liked it. The book teaches children about the night sky.

His astronomy highlights include seeing Halleys Comet in 1986, the twin-tailed Hale-Bopp comet in 1997 and the Northern Lights at Cockermouth in 2001. The whole sky was red with billowing curtains, said Stuart.

He believes we will one day set foot on Mars. If we decided to go today, we could probably get there in five years. It wont be NASA, though, as that relies on Government funding. It would be a private mission, maybe by Elon Musk.

When I watched Tomorrows World many years ago Maggie Philbin said we would see someone on Mars by the mid-1980s. We are way behind schedule.

I think we are looking at the first people on Mars by 2030 or 2031, if not sooner. I have always wanted to see people on Mars and I dont want to be too old to appreciate it when it happens!

For more information about Stuart Atkinson visit https://stuartatkinson.wordpress.com/

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Astronomer on why he is a 'frustrated martian', his love of the night sky and what the future holds for space travel - Times & Star

Bringing our city to your living room

The Black Lives Matter movement has shone a light on systemic racism, taken a stand against police brutality, and called for justice following the death of George Floyd.

It has also changed narratives online and hopefully in real life forever, affecting the way many people consider the problematic aspects of popular culture.

Shows and films have been pulled from online platforms in acknowledgement of offensive traits and portrayals of BAME characters, including the likes of 1939 film Gone With the Wind, which was removed from HBO over its racist depictions of slavery and black people, and Little Britain, removed from Netflix, NOW TV, Britbox and BBC iPlayer over its use of blackface.

These releases havent only just started being offensive, of course the former long deplored for its racist narrative, and while Little Britain and its follow-up Come Fly With went out as peak time comedies with blackface characters, they still were criticised at the time for their offensive portrayal of black characters. Still, they were hits; now that seems inconceivable.

With popular culture being revisited and re-examined, and more efforts being made than ever to call out problematic traits, these are some of the worst examples of diversity in film, as well as some of the more positive and progressive movies that filmmakers and film lovers can learn from.

Based on Truman Capotes 1958 novel of the same name, Breakfast at Tiffanys has long been hailed as one of Hollywoods finest movies with the picture winning an Oscar for its score, and screenwriter George Axelrod bagging an accolade at the 1962 Writers Guild of America Awards. But beyond its glamorous costumes and sterling performances from both Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard, the film also includes a shockingly distasteful depiction of a Japanese man.

Played by white actor and comedian Mickey Rooney, the character of Mr Yunioshi is drenched in racial stereotypes and is problematic to say the least. Rooney not only wore yellowface and false buck teeth for the role, but he depicted Holly Golightlys irate neighbour as clumsy and often stupid, as more of a punchline than a noteworthy character in the story which, no doubt, is tied up with anti-Japanese sentiments post-World War II.

The film itself was a total stinker and an unnecessary reboot of the hugely influential 1995 Japanese anime film, but it was the central issue of casting that overshadowed this 2017 action film and made it one of the most controversial movies of recent years, with Scarlett Johansson as protagonist Motoko Kusanagi. The initial announcement was met with outrage, with prominent Asian stars in the industry like Agents of SHIELD Ming-Na Wen hitting out at the decision. Nothing against Scarlett Johansson. In fact, I'm a big fan. But everything against this Whitewashing of Asian role, she wrote.

It was made worse when reports emerged that suggested filmmakers had attempted to correct the issue by using CGI to shift ethnicity and make actors appear more Asian, which meant they were accused of "digital yellowface". Its perhaps the most overt case of its kind, with film fans also critical of the casting of Emma Stone as a half-Chinese, half-Hawaiian woman in Aloha.

While F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu is not consciously anti-Semitic, there are many references and symbols used in the film especially the representation of Nosferatu's character as a Jew that, according to Patrick Hogan of the University of Connecticut, show a sacrificial structure that ultimately fit Nazi ideas quite well.

Although it should be noted that the film was created in Germany during the Weimar Republic, it was a time of great socio-economic turmoil and hyperinflation prompted widespread unemployment. Anti-Jewish sentiments were already brewing before Hitlers Nazi Party took power, and there are clear racial stereotypes to be found in Marnaus film from the vampires hooked nose to his rat-like teeth. A letter sent by Nosferatu in the film also appears to contain Hebrew characters, not to mention the fact that the vampire motif itself is parasitic and Stokers original tale is all about playing into contemporary fears of The Other.

Mike Myers comedy played on lazy stereotypes, with the actor as a Hindu guru called Pitka and jokes that centre around the misinterpretation of religious terms (namely swapping 'Namaste' for 'Mariska Hargitay' an actress known for her work on Law & Order.) The actor avoided the use of brownface, but his accent, prosthetic nose and fake beard sparked complaints of racism. Paramount were unsure about the release of the film following complaints from Hindu groups in North America, who called for cinemas to pull the film. Kanayalal Raina, executive director of the Canada Hindu Heritage Centre in Mississauga, told the Times of India at the time: "It should not be released in Canada without editing. After being released, it was widely slated by critics.

Celebrating the role black women scientists played in sending people to space for the first time, Hidden Figures proved a much-needed re-addressing of history. Taking place in 1961 Virginia inside the NASA research centre, the film shines a light on the key work of genius mathematicians Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson) and Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer), as well as NASA engineer Mary Jackson (Janelle Mone). All three were vital to US success in the Space Race, and before then, for all the space movies that went before it, their story hadnt been told.

The movie film presents a strong, critical view on the discriminatory segregation laws of the time and the ingrained white supremacy of the age. Crucially, the film highlights how the stories of these black women were written out of the narrative of space travel in the decades that followed, too.

The New Yorkers Richard Brody, like a number of high profile critics, praised the 2016 film as a subtle and powerful work that finally told these black womens incredible stories, providing a subtle and powerful work of counter-history, or, rather, of a finally and long-deferred accurate history.

Released just a year after Breakfast at Tiffany's but in stark contrast to it, the film adaptation of Harper Lees bestselling novel To Kill a Mockingbird is a perfect example of how issues of systemic racism and racial prejudices should be portrayed on-screen. Lee, coincidentally, was very good friends with Capote.

Beyond Gregory Pecks outstanding performance as lawyer Atticus Finch, the film highlights social injustices connected to race and racism, with a poignant message about how damaging and dangerous racial profiling is not just to those who are the victim of it, but to society as a whole. Featuring black actor Brock Peters as Tom Robinson, the film is about a wrongfully condemned man who, despite there being no evidence and Atticus water-tight case, gets sent to jail for a crime he did not commit. While there is no happy ending per se, there are lots of powerful statements made in the film which should be celebrated, and are still relevant today illustrating what a forward-thinking novel and movie Mockingbird is.

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From Breakfast at Tiffanys to To Kill A Mockingbird, the best and worst examples of diversity in film - Evening Standard

Science fiction might inspire us to dream, but heres a rather more realistic vision of what space travel will look like in the future.

When Jules Verne wrote his novel From the Earth to the Moon over 150 years ago, he imagined future space travel very differently to how it came to be when man first set foot on the Moon a century later in 1969. Instead of the technically impossible space cannon described in the book, mankinds first mission to the Moon blasted off from Floridas Kennedy Space Center in an expendable, liquid-fuelled Saturn V rocket at nearly 25,000 miles per hour (40,000 kph). Fast-forward to the end of 2017, and were still relying on the same underlying technology to travel to the final frontier.

That all space launches are carried out by rockets is far from the only limitation of current spaceflight. A far cry from the realm of science fiction space operas, theres a lot that hasnt changed at all in the last 56 years of manned space travel. Far from being a glamorous affair, real-life space travel still sees astronauts contending with the serious health challenges of excessive solar radiation and weightlessness. Even the relatively cutting-edge International Space Station can hardly be described as a comfortable place to live with its pokey quarters and general lack of comforts.

So, what will space travel look like in another century from now, or even another ten years for that matter? While were still a long way off from the lofty dreams of science fiction, lets explore how we might overcome some of the major challenges of human spaceflight in the future.

It might look like fun, but weightlessness takes a severe toll on the human body.

From muscle loss to reduced effectiveness of the immune system, weightlessness is highly detrimental to human health, particularly over long periods. The realities of zero gravity have also proven highly inconvenient to science fiction authors to the extent that everyone miraculously walks around abroad their starships and on the surfaces of alien planets as they would on Earth. Unfortunately, theres no known way to overcome the latter, which means future colonists on Mars, for example, will simply have to learn to get used to weighing only 38% of what they weigh on Earth.

Theres little chance of long-distance space travel, let alone fully-fledged colonization of outer space taking off if we cant find a way to generate a similar effect to Earths gravity. Fortunately, the scientific theory necessary to make artificial gravity is well-established, although current technical limitations make it very difficult to implement.

Centripetal force can, in many ways, mimic the effects of gravity through rotation, but the technical requirements make its application no easy feat. For a start, your space habitat would need to have an enormous rotating ring in which its living areas would be located. To simulate Earths gravity, a ring with a 3,220-foot (1,000 metres) radius would need to make a full rotation once every 62.8 seconds, which requires a speed of 100 miles per hour (360 kph). The centre of the spaceship, or the rotational axis, would always remain in zero-g. With this model, people in the ring would be able to move around much like they would on Earth, although the gravity felt at their heads would be lower than what theyd feel at their feet, thus leading to new problems such as disorientation, nausea and dizziness. These effects can be mitigated by having a larger ring, which would mean the gravity would be distributed over a larger area.

The technology exists, and the theory is sound. Today, the fact that rotating space habitats dont exist is largely down to a lack of necessity. Since short-term stays in space dont have any serious effects on human health and comfort is not a priority, todays space travellers simply have to do without the luxury of artificial gravity.

Currently, the worlds space agencies, as well as some privately-owned companies, are turning their sights to Mars. To that end, one of the major areas of study for the ISS crew is the effects of zero-gravity over long-term exposure. If its deemed likely that humans can handle the one- or two-year trip to Mars and back without suffering severe health repercussions due to zero gravity, then its unlikely well see artificial gravity become a thing in the foreseeable future.

Once we finally start setting our sights to the outer planets and to the permanent colonization of space, it will be a very different story. To that end, there will no doubt come a time when artificial gravity becomes the norm in long-distance space travel and colonization by way of vast rotating habitats. The question is more a matter of when than if but, if manned space travel to Mars is going to become a thing by the 2030s, then it seems reasonable to expect artificial gravity to overcome one of the greatest challenges of space travel in the decades that follow.

Future starships would have to rely on a far more efficient propulsion system than todays liquid-fuel rockets.

The realms of science fiction often disregard the laws of physics, dismissing them as inconvenient facts getting in the way of a good story. Unfortunately, its the very fact that nothing can travel faster than light that makes future space travel la Star Trek highly unlikely. Thats not to completely rule out the possibility of ever finding a way around the Universes speed limit; its just that concepts such as the Alcubierre warp drive step beyond the limits of accrued physics and are, therefore, not even known to be possible. With that in mind, lets look at how we might overcome the problem of unimaginably large distances in the foreseeable future.

While the Enterprise might be able to zip around the galaxy almost instantaneously, the reality of exploring solar systems of our own will be the product of monumental efforts spread across multip

le generations. Current theory suggests it may one day be feasible to build spaceships capable of travelling up to 12% the speed of light, in which case it would take around 34 years to reach Alpha Centauri, the nearest star beyond the solar system. This would be achieved using nuclear fusion propulsion, which is itself beyond our current technological capabilities.

NASA and DARPA are currently looking into the possibility of interstellar travel as part of their 100 Year Starship grant, an initiative that ultimately intends to make human interstellar travel possible within the next century. Far more likely than warp drives, however, the first manned interstellar spaceships will almost certainly be one-way trips owing to the distances and travel times involved. Trips beyond around ten light years, a relatively tiny distance in astronomical terms, would require generation ships, since it would take longer than a human lifetime to even reach the destination.

Assuming interstellar travel will take the form of slower-than-light travel, which is currently the only way we know to be possible, the challenges involved in such a trip would be truly immense. For a start, artificial gravity would be a must but, even more importantly, any interstellar spacecraft would have to be fully self-sustaining. In other words, it would need to be an entirely independent ecosystem capable of generating and supporting its own atmosphere, water and food crops. To that end, even with the challenge of distance met, there would still be a whole lot more to think about.

Another option, and one that any sci-fi aficionado will be familiar with, is suspended animation. Induced hibernation would help overcome many of the challenges of long-distance spaceflight, such as the consumption of resources and the fact that a lot of trips would take longer than a human lifetime. However, suspended animation might even become a thing long before we start aiming for the stars. In fact, even NASA is exploring the possibility of human stasis during the long trip to Mars. Perhaps, future space travel wont look like much at all, since well be fast asleep for the journey!

Future space habitats would be enormous, the result of monumental efforts to make the permanent habitation of space truly viable.

If living in space is ever to become anything more than a scientific curiosity, then it will become necessary to literally build a new world; a fully self-sustaining habitat that doesnt need any help or intervention from us here on Earth. In fact, it seems possible, perhaps even inevitable, that we will one day need to colonize space to save our species from our own destructive tendencies. This line of thinking does, of course, set a very dangerous precedence but, even if it does (hopefully) turn out that we can look after our own planet, the lust for exploration is an innate human trait.

With enough motivation, whether by necessity or inspiration upon finding definitive evidence of life among the stars, it will likely one day be technical feasible to build a self-sustaining space habitat. Initially, space habitats would import their resources from Earth but, when it comes to interstellar journeys, recycling would be necessary for maintaining a consistent water, air and food supply. However, even recycling has its limits, since a percentage of the original product will always be lost in the process. In other words, recycling is and can never be 100% efficient.

The limits of recycling would require any self-sustaining space habitat to be able to mine resources from things like asteroids, comets and even the surrounding space. Fortunately, the ingredients needed to sustain life, such as water and nitrogen, are widely available throughout the solar system and no doubt beyond, although space missions would still need to be able to stock up for those immensely long journeys spanning the practically empty stretches of interstellar space.

If indeed the more distant future, say a hundred plus years from now, self-sustaining space habitats become a thing, theyll no doubt be vast. Presenting a monolithic scientific and technological endeavour, these habitats will likely come in the form of toroidal or cylindrical colonies built to emulate Earths gravity and sustain complex ecosystems that can operate on their own for indefinite periods.

Future space colonies could house tens of thousands of people, complete with artificially generated gravity providing many of the comforts of home.

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We may still be a long way off from the dreams of science fiction, but I firmly believe there will come a day when space travel does finally become commonplace, and living in space with most of the comforts of home will become a viable option. As for setting our sights on alien solar systems, however well, thats anyones guess for the time being.

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What Space Travel Will Look Like in the Future - Earthly ...

For the first time in nearly a decade, two American astronauts were recently launched into orbit from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken were on a SpaceX vehicle, which successfully docked with the International Space Station after spending 19 hours orbiting around Earth. They joined three other astronauts already on the station and will remain for up to four months to work and research.

I remember watching rocket blastoffs on a black and white TV in the 1960s, culminating with Neil Armstrong walking on the moon in July, 1969. The 1960s were a huge decade for space exploration. Space travel was unbelievably inspiring.

So much so that in a brick ranch house in Kankakee, an experimental flight took place. My brother, Mark, decided to conduct his own airborne encounter. Not entirely scientific, it was nonetheless, a memorable experience for our family in 1965.

Our youngest brother, Eric, had been born in December of 1963. He had a congenital heart condition that required hospital stays in Chicago. (He is now a healthy high school teacher.) When our parents stayed with him in the hospital, our maternal grandmother came to stay with Mark and me.

Grandma lived in Joliet and like many women her age, never learned to drive. When we needed her, Grandpa would bring her over where she kept our household moving along, cooking and cleaning and taking care of Mark, me, and our dog, Peanuts.

Our house had a semi-finished basement where we kids often played. A long, steep, uncarpeted staircase led to the lower level.

One day, while I was at school, Mark decided to play astronaut. We had been watching the space news on TV which must have motivated him to give Peanuts her chance to be a hero and sail through the sky.

Lacking a proper rocket ship, he selected a small, round, metal garbage can as a substitute. Peanuts was a fairly small miniature dachshund. For her protection, he wrapped her in a woven rug and placed her inside the metal can.

At the top of the staircase, he rolled/launched the makeshift rocket and then raced ahead of it down the stairs. The metal can made a tremendous noise as it repeatedly spun, bounced, and hit off the stairs. It rolled over and over, louder and louder.

Grandma heard the ruckus and came running to the stairs. Seeing the garbage can but not the dog, poor Grandma screamed, thinking that Mark had fallen down the stairs.

Seeing how scared she was, he quickly reassured her that it was the dog who had tumbled and not him. Her relief was brief; when she recovered and asked how the dog came to be wrapped in a rug inside the can, Mark was busted.

Grandma always said later that her first gray hairs appeared that day. Peanuts was not harmed, but there was never another launch on Summit Avenue. Our astronaut episodes were limited to drinking Tang in our kitchen while the real astronauts drank it in space.

I am glad that space travel is back to once again give us faraway dreams and adventures; transforming kids, dogs, and basements into vessels of imagination.

And giving gray hairs to grandmas.

Karen Roth is a semi-retired librarian/educator living in Ottawa. To reach her, email tsloup@shawmedia.com.

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WRITE TEAM: Space travel is back to once again give us faraway dreams - MyWebTimes.com

Former NASA astronaut Kathy Sullivan has become the first person to both go to space and plumb the depths of the ocean, after making the perilous journey down to the deepest point on Earth.

Challenger Deep is a point about 11 kilometres beneath the surface of the water in the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean.

Only eight people have ever reached Challenger Deep and Dr Sullivan, who is also a leading oceanographer, became the first woman to do so when she made the journey alongside Victor Vescovo, who piloted submarine Limiting Factor.

Dr Sullivan was the first American woman to walk in space and flew three shuttle missions in the 1980s and 1990s before being inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2004.

"As a hybrid oceanographer and astronaut this was an extraordinary day, a once-in-a-lifetime day," the 68-year-old said.

"Seeing the moonscape of the Challenger Deep and then comparing notes with my colleagues on the ISS about our remarkable reusable inner-space, outer-space craft."

After the journey to the ocean floor, the crew of the submersible contacted the International Space Station (ISS), which was in low Earth orbit at an altitude of about 408 kilometres.

Rob McCallum from EYOS Expeditions, which coordinated the mission, said "it was amazing to set up a conversation between two spacecraft" one in outer space and one in "inner space".

"Two groups of humans using cutting-edge technology to explore the outer edges of our world," he said.

"It highlighted the vast span of human endeavour while at the same time linking us close together as fellow explorers."

Dr Sullivan became an astronaut with NASA in 1979 and held a number of positions, taking part in shuttle missions in 1984, 1990 and 1992 before leaving the agency in 1993.

She left because she had received a presidential appointment to become chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is effectively NASA but focusing on the ocean.

In 2014, she was named under-secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere in the US, but Mr Vescovo tweeted that he "pulled her out of retirement" for the journey.

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Former NASA astronaut Kathy Sullivan becomes first person to travel to space and ocean's deepest point - ABC News

Netflixs new comedy series Space Force is exposing animal cruelty.

The series, which debuted last month, centers on a group of people that have been tasked with creating the sixth branch of the U.S. Armed Forces: the U.S. Space Force. It satirizes President Trumps launch of a new military branch of the same name in December 2019 with the passing of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act.

The series stars actors Steve Carell, John Malkovich, Lisa Kudrow, and musician Tawny Newsome, among others.

In the second episode of season oneentitled Save Epsilon 6!the series tackles the issue of using animals in space travel. (Spoiler ahead!)

In the episode, two animalsa dog named Theodore and a chimpanzee named Marcusare sent into space for a promotional mission of obtaining cute footage. The duo, who were abandoned in space after completing their mission, are then tasked with making repairs to the spacecraft.

Although its fictional, animals have been sent into space in the past.

In 1947, fruit flies became the first creatures launched into space.

In 1949, a Rhesus monkey named Albert II became the second lab monkey (there is little documentation on his predecessor, Albert I) to be sent into outer space. According to NASA, Albert II reached an altitude of 83 miles before dying on impact.

Albert II isnt the only animal to die for the sake of space travel. Before humans went to space, scientists sent a number of animalsincluding dogs, chimpanzees, and other monkeysto determine whether or not it was possible to send a living organism safely into the great unknown.

In 1957, Laika the dog became the first animal to actually orbit the earth aboard the Soviet Unions Sputnik 2. She died during the flight.

Of the early flights using animals, Julie Robinson, NASAs chief scientist for the International Space Station, told Space.com: We didnt even know if humans would be able to digest their food [in space].

She continued: We were concerned that humans might suffocate on the contents of [their] own stomachs if it all went floating up.

While its now clear that humans can travel in space without suffocating on their food, animals are still being used as test subjects and subjected to experiments to study how outer space affects the human body. In 2018, the SpaceX Drage spacecraft launched with 20 mice on board in a study to determine how a creatures physiology and sleep schedule responds to the stress of being in space.

The use of animals in space has been a point of contention for animal rights advocates. Many animal rights groups, including Humane Society International (HSI), have launched campaigns urging for the end of such animal experimentation.

On the use of animals for space research, Andrew Rowan, HSIs president, told the Dodo: Its not necessary.

[They are] a waste of time, intellectual capacity and money. There are masses of data in the published literature on the effects of space on living creatures, he continued. This is about bragging rights.

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Netflixs Space Force Just Exposed Animal Cruelty In Space Travel

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Netflixs new series Space Force exposes animal cruelty in space travel research. Many animals have died due to space experimentation.

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Audrey Enjoli

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LIVEKINDLY

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Netflixs Space Force Just Exposed Animal Cruelty In Space Travel - LIVEKINDLY

Chances are the coronavirus outbreak has curtailed any ambitious summer vacation plans you may have had. But as far as Google is concerned, that doesnt need to be the case. In fact, the internet giant wants to take you to space.

Google Arts & Culture now offers a full, 360-degree virtual tour of the International Space Station, and its accessible to anyone with internet access. Making use of the companys Street View technology, the tour lets you explore every single nook and cranny of the 21-year-old space station without the decades of hard work and preparation that would normally require.

A look inside the International Space StationGoogle Arts & Culture

While you wont get to experience the feel of floating through the space station, Googles digital exhibition feels like the next best thing. You can travel down any of ISSs long and winding tunnels and look around all of its equipment-packed rooms. You can even check out the crew quarters and see some of the astronauts personal items.

In addition to the tour, Google has also whipped up a fun and educational ISS-themed informational program. Aimed specifically at younger virtual space tourists, the show attempts to illustrates what life on the station is like. It covers everything from what and how the visiting astronauts eat to the effect that zero-gravity takes on their bodies while they orbit the Earth.

Google Arts & Culture

If your virtual trip to the ISS has only managed to stoke your appetite for more space content, Google has you covered. The station tour is just one of several digital exhibitions Arts & Culture has on its Space Exploration page. Other exhibitions of interest include a closer look at the moon landing, a tribute to women who have gone to space, as well as scores of high-definition video content shot from space. Of course, if your virtual traveling interests are more earthbound, theres still plenty of content for you to check out on Arts & Culture, too. The company also has countless virtual tours of tourist attractions, national parks and museums around the world.

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You Can Now Tour the International Space Station From the Comfort of Your Home - Robb Report

Travel stocks are heading north.

Some cruise and hotel names have rebounded by triple-digit percentages from their 52-week lows as economies kick-start their post-Covid reopening plans. They include:

Investors should approach this rebound in travel with caution, Boris Schlossberg, managing director of FX strategy at BK Asset Management, said Monday on CNBC's "Trading Nation."

"The trade that is most overbought and most ridiculously overvalued at this point is the cruise ship trade," Schlossberg said.

Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise are all still down roughly 50% year to date. Lately, some have been trying to "revamp demand" by offering exceedingly low rates, but that strategy may be flawed, Schlossberg said.

"Carnival, for example, is pricing rooms as low as $28 a night per passenger when their actual fixed costs are close to $100," he said. "The hope is that the passengers will then be able to make up revenue by [buying] on-board amenities. But if you think about this, the people who are going to take advantage of this are going to be young families, the ones that have the least amount of disposable income to spend, because those who are most vulnerable to Covid are the older travelers and they're going to be much less likely to take advantage of these offers."

Add to that the wild card of possible spikes in coronavirus cases in states that are reopening, and Schlossberg's outlook for the cruise liners gets even more grim.

"We're starting to see a rise in Covid cases, especially in places like Florida, up to about ... 1,000 per day at this point," he said. "By the time they open up the cruise ship offers, which will be August, if we're running at 2[,000]-3,000 Covid infections per day in Florida, I think you're going to see a much greater dampening of enthusiasm towards that trade. So, I am not at all a buyer of this rebound in travel."

Ari Wald, senior technical analyst at Oppenheimer, looked to the other side of the travel trade for opportunity.

"These stocks have become overbought, and I think the tactical idea is to probably find something that has lagged of late," Wald said in the same "Trading Nation" interview."So, this is really just to say that it's getting late to buy the travel stocks."

Even so, Wald said he wouldn't bet against any of the above names until they near their 200-day moving averages, "and many of them, including the cruise lines, aren't there just yet."

"You might be able to squeeze a little bit more out of it," Wald said of the trade. "One name from that list that has already reached its 200-day average is Marriott International, the hotel chain."

"The stock is right below resistance at $119. That does mark the 200-day," Wald said, adding that he would recommend buying the stock below that level.

"Of course, a rally above it would mark an incremental change in the stock's trend," he said.

Marriott shares closed up nearly 5% at $113.14 on Monday. The stock fell about 3% in Tuesday's premarket trading.

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This is the 'most ridiculously overvalued' trade in the travel space, strategist warns - CNBC

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Evolution of 3rd, 4th and 5th Dimensions of Travel" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This study provides a comprehensive overview of the new dimensions of travel which could have a major impact on the transportation landscape of the future.

The report begins by introducing the current modes of transportation and the challenges associated with them. The need for new modes of transportation and the key drivers for them are also discussed. The 3rd, 4th and 5th dimensions of travel are clearly defined along with the vehicles associated with each of them. A section is dedicated to each of these dimensions of travel.

Firstly, the 3rd dimension of travel is discussed, capturing the key players, analyzing the various stages of product development that each company is at, and the major application areas for the different vehicles in this dimension.

Secondly, the 4th dimension of travel is analyzed, capturing the various vehicles involved, the salient features of each including high-speed rail (HSR), Maglev trains, and Hyperloop. A snapshot of major companies in each of the 4th dimension modes and the active projects is captured. The study also discusses the infrastructure required by each mode of transport. Furthermore, the report also compares the various vehicles in the 4th dimension of travel in terms of speed, passenger-carrying capacity, and application avenues.

Thirdly, the study focuses on the 5th dimension of travel breaking it down into 3 categories, namely Suborbital, Orbital, and Deep Space Travel. These 3 categories are defined clearly followed by a list of the major companies involved in these areas of transportation. Furthermore, the infrastructure required for space tourism, key milestones, major investments in this space, and future missions are also discussed. The report then proceeds to undertake a comparative analysis of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th dimensions of travel in terms of capital costs involved, ticket costs, ease of implementation, timeline, and application avenues.

Finally, this study looks at how these new dimensions of travel will impact the transportation landscape of the future, including ushering in a zero era in transportation, new business models, a more effective public transportation system, and the rise of sustainable modes of transportation.

The advent of new dimensions of travel poses a number of pertinent questions related to key new vehicle types, the infrastructure required, application areas, and growth opportunities.

Key Issues Addressed

Key Topics Covered

1. Executive Summary

2. Research Scope and Methodology

3. Overview of the Current Modes of Travel and Challenges

4. Analysis of the 3rd Dimension of Travel

5. Analysis of the 4th Dimension of Travel

6. Analysis of the 5th Dimension of Travel

7. Comparative Analysis of the 3rd, 4th and 5th Dimensions of Travel

8. Implications for the Transportation Landscape of the Future

9. Growth Opportunities and C2A

10. Conclusion

Companies Mentioned

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/lix77k

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Evolution of 3rd, 4th and 5th Dimensions of Travel - Use Cases, Infrastructure Required, Application Areas, and Growth Opportunities -...