Category Archives: Space Travel

A couple of years ago, I brought you guys news that Star Citizen was collaborating with a company called MyRadar that makes a weather app for phones. Its a terrestrial weather app but has a twist. The CEO of MyRadar, Andy Green also happens to be a Star Citizen backer so he decided to add some of the in game planets into MyRadar and this partnership with Cloud Imperium Games was announced 2 years ago at CitizenCon.

Well, that collaboration has continued, and today we bring you exclusive news of its latest evolution, an evolution which will see MyRadar and Star Citizen going to space properly! MyRadar is launching a satellite into space and in a crazy twist, the Star Citizen backer decided that he would put the Star Citizen logo on the satellite itself so that it will make Star Citizen the first videogame in space! This is no glory project and as you'll see in the video and interview below, has real world implications that will help real people.

Star Citizen Introduces microTech Planet and Anvil Carrack, Pisces Ships

This news obviously comes ahead of this years CitizenCon event tomorrow which well be covering. Lets just say that a weather app with in game weather may just prove useful in future versions if some of the rumours circulating are to be believed...

For now though, I got to ask Andy Green a few questions about the satellite that MyRadar will be launching. They've made a video talking a bit about it and from the (admittedly little) I understand about real world space and satellites this sounds amazing. Check the video out here:

Wccftech: Space! It's amazing, what the Star Citizen community is doing and launching a satellite is unbelievable! Given MyRadar is a weather app, can I assume that the satellite will be for giving you guys more granular data to use within the app?

Andy Green: This first satellite is an introductory satellite that will be a testbed for the aviation side of our business; it will listen to aircraft tracking signals from space and transmit them back down to the ground. This is incredibly helpful as present day infrastructure requires an aircraft to be in range of a ground-based tracking station in order to receive timely information on it. Receiving the signals from space will allow us to track trans-oceanic aircraft, which would have been a tremendous help locating some high-profile missing aircraft tragedies in the last decade.

Our second satellite, already in development, will be our testbed for weather-related sensing. It will look down upon the earth using a patent-pending imaging technique, and the data we get back from the observations will help with everything from hurricane predictions to agricultural analysis.

Star Citizen 3.7 Free Fly This Week Cave Mining Now in Game

W: How did the idea to launch your own satellite first come about? I can't imagine that many other weather companies have their own satellites.

AG: Essentially, we saw a gap in the ability to provide some of the data we're about to start collecting with the new satellites, and with launch costs coming down and our in-house technical capabilities up to the challenge, we decided to move ahead and launch our own. The aircraft tracking data will be able to provide an important safety service that frankly should have been in place long ago, and the weather/environmental observation satellite with its unique image processing will give us some incredible insight that no one else is able to provide. We'll be able to provide all of this data through the MyRadar app to the millions of people who use it every day, including the ability to task satellites to take custom imagery.

W: What type of satellite is it? Who makes it? What company will launch it?

AG: We are engineering and building both satellites in-house. The first satellite is a pocket-cube satellite. It'll be launching into space very shortly on the Rocket Labs "We're Running Out of Fingers" mission, with our launch partner Alba Orbital. The launch window opens this month on November 28th

W: I assume given it's a satellite, it'll have lots of sensing equipment in it, which ship would you most closely associate it with from Star Citizen? The Carrack perhaps as an explorer?

AG: Given its smaller size and specific mission, I think I'd most closely associate it with the Terrapin! It's designed to hide out quietly in space, slipping "under the radar", and its main mission is to track other vehicles and relay that data back to command

W: Star Citizen stuff, what specific artwork will be going up on the satellite? Will it be on the outside? Inside? Both?

AG: The cubesat will have the Star Citizen logo emblazoned on the exterior of one size of the satellite. Check out this promo video we made where you can see it!

W: Do you REALLY need a satellite for myradar or is this just your way of getting in to space while we wait for affordable commercial space travel??

AG: As the initial satellites are just the testbeds, their early-stage purpose is to establish the workflow and proof of concepts, but both of them will still be fully functional. It's the intention to launch a constellation of the satellites to allow us more global coverage for both services each satellite was designed to address.

In the case of the aircraft tracker (the one launching soon), this is part of ACME AtronOmatic, LLC's original core business (ACME is the parent company of the MyRadar app). MyRadar currently provides aircraft tracking services as well as arrival and departure delay information, gate information, and other flight details that can assist both the casual traveler and aircraft pilots/operators.

In the case of the weather/environmental satellite, the new types of imagery we'll be able to collect will, among a plethora of other tasks, be able to look inside the eye wall of a hurricane with a 3D perspective, allowing us to get greater details on the intensity and temperatures at the center of these storms. This data can then in turn be used as inputs to existing forecast models to provide for greater accuracy in tracking these deadly storms. The satellite will also be equipped with a visual-spectrum camera, so we'll be able provide both the custom data imaging and regular visual imaging of the earth below, and we'll be able to offer these on-demand to users right from the app.

Check out the MyRadar app here:

Android

iOS

Share Submit

Read more here:

Exclusive Star Citizen Goes to ACTUAL SPACE with MyRadar! - Wccftech

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed a new shape-changing textile that can be used for the development of next-generation smart clothing for space travel and other applications. (Image source: University of Minnesota)

A team at the University of Minnesota hasdeveloped a new shape-changing textile that can be used for the development of next-generation smart clothing for space travel and other applications. The material is responsive to temperature and can be used to create self-fitting garments powered only by body heat.

The textiles team includes professors and students in the universitys Design of Active Materials and Structures Lab and Wearable Technology Lab. The textiles resemble typical knits, but instead of traditional material, they are made from shape memory alloys (SMAs). These active materials change shape when heated.

This technology is a showcase of what is possible when connecting smart materials and traditional textile architectures, Kevin Eschen, a graduate student who worked on the project, told Design News.

Eschen and fellow researchers envision the material can be used for next-generation clothing that can intelligently conform to a persons body movements for the most optimal fit possible for complete freedom of movement. I believe this technology highlights a very promising material-textile combination and hope that it inspires smart textile research using many other multifunctional materials and textile architectures (braiding, weaving, etc.) to enable the best smart textile product possible, said Eschen.

Testing material potential

One area where such clothing would be needed is in the design of clothing for space exploration, which is why its not surprising that NASA partnered with the researchers to design and test the textile.

Specifically, the teamled by Eschen, graduate student Rachael Granberry and professors Julianna Abel and Brad Holschuhstudied and observed the unique dimensions and movements of a human leg. They then subsequently designed, manufactured, and tested a knitted garment using their SMA textile that can precisely conform to that topography.

We have designed leg and wrist sleeves that self-fit to the human body upon donning, said Eschen. They are knitted fabrics that utilize shape memory alloy fiber a nickel-titanium alloy which has a temperature-dependent material stiffness.

When body heat or an external force warm the fabric, the material stiffness changes and the fabric changes its shape. Through our fabric design process designing the loop geometry and the knit pattern we can predict the shape change and accomplish fabric conformity to the complex topography of the human body, said Eschen.

Changing shape dynamically

Clothing created from the textile can easily transform from loose to tight-fitting, even bending uniquely to conform to places on the body that have irregular shapes, such as the back of the knee.

The team published a paper on its work in the journal Advanced Materials Technologies.

The textile can be used to create compression garments that are initially loose fitting and easy to put on, but which could subsequently shrink to tightly squeeze those wearing them. However, this is just one of many uses of the material for next-generation clothing. I believe [these garments] will be an integral part of our life, sensing physiological changes to provide comfort and support, as well as offering haptic feedback to communicate while maintaining a low profile and looking/feeling like traditional fabrics, said Eschen.

The researchers plan to continue their work to integrate the textiles into full-sized garments, as well as to better understand on a holistic level how the materials work to better tailor and improve their performance. Predicting the lifetime performance of these fabrics will also be an important next step toward their realization in products, said Eschen..

Elizabeth Montalbano is a freelance writer who has written about technology and culture for more than 20 years. She has lived and worked as a professional journalist in Phoenix, San Francisco and New York City. In her free time she enjoys surfing, traveling, music, yoga and cooking. She currently resides in a village on the southwest coast of Portugal.

January 28-30:North America's largest chip, board, and systems event,DesignCon, returns to Silicon Valleyfor its 25th year!The premier educational conference and technology exhibition, this three-day event brings together the brightest minds across the high-speed communications and semiconductor industries, who are looking to engineer the technology of tomorrow. DesignCon is your rocket to the future. Ready to come aboard?Register to attend!

View original post here:

These shape-shifting textiles are powered by body heat - DesignNews

Theres a disturbing lack of hibernation in our space-faring plans. In movies and books, astronauts pop in and out of hibernationor stasis, or cryogenic sleep, or suspended animation, or something like iton a regular basis. If we ever figure out some kind of hibernation, can we take advantage of it to get by with smaller spacecraft?

The European Space Agency (ESA) is working to answer that question.

The ESA has what they call a topic team working on human hibernation. The topic team is working under the umbrella of the Advanced Concepts Team, which studies ideas and technologies that are of long-term significance to the ESAs space-faring endeavours. Its like a think tank that supports multidisciplinary research.

If we want a future where crewed missions to other planetsor possibly other solar systemsis a reality, then human hibernation will be a part of it. Either that, or a multi-generational star-ship, with all its resource-hungry parameters.

The ESA says theyve identified the controlled use of torpor & hibernation as a game-changing technology for human spaceflight. They also speculate that lowering the metabolic rate of astronauts on long space journeys could not only conserve air, water, and food, but also lower their susceptibility to radiation damage.

The ESA is using their Concurrent Design Facility (CDF), a multimedia facility that allows their different teams to work together, to examine human hibernation for a trip to a nearby planet, likely Mars. The team members took stock of current space travel technology for a five-year Mars mission that sends six astronauts to the red planet and back. This is the first time theyve studied the impact that hibernation could have on mission design.

We worked on adjusting the architecture of the spacecraft, its logistics, protection against radiation, power consumption and overall mission design, comments Robin Biesbroek of the CDF.

Theres a lot to think about. Various sci-fi movies and books have explored human hibernation, so most of us can name many of the issues. What psychological effects will there be? It would surely be shocking to hibernate for a week, a month, a year, even longer, and then to awaken somewhere out in space. How could a human being possibly prepare for that?

And what about safety? Sci-fi is littered with people who woke up too early, or too late, from hibernation. Weak and puking, or maybe covered in a cold sweat, many a protagonist has awakened at the wrong time, and found their life turned upside down by a malfunctioning hibernation system.

But first things first.

How would hibernation technology, if we could develop it, affect spaceship design?

We looked at how an astronaut team could be best put into hibernation, what to do in case of emergencies, how to handle human safety and even what impact hibernation would have on the psychology of the team. Finally we created an initial sketch of the habitat architecture and created a roadmap to achieve a validated approach to hibernate humans to Mars within 20 years, said Biesbroek.

Probably the first thing to notice is the size of habitation modules. A hibernating crew could utilize a much smaller hab module than an awake crew, as this image illustrates.

The preliminary study showed that the mass of the spacecraft could be reduced by one third. The crew would hibernate in small pods that would double as cabins for the crew while awake. The removal of consumables would help by eliminating several tons of mass.

The study looked at a 180 day cruise to Mars. The astronauts would have to put on extra body fat prior to the mission, and a drug would induce their hibernation, or torpor. They would hibernate inside their darkened, cooled pods, and when they awakened there would be a 21 day recuperation period.

One of the most well-known hazards facing astronauts on long spaceflights is radiation. High-energy particles abound in space, and protecting the crew is a primary concern. But because crew-members would be hibernating in one spot, it makes it easier to design protection. Shielding, such as water containers, could be built around the pods.

The basic assumption behind human hibernation in space is built around animal hibernation. There are two types of hibernators in the animal kingdom: obligate hibernators that hibernate annually no matter the temperature or conditions; and facultative hibernators that hibernate as a response to stressors in the environment. Many types of animals hibernate, including bears, marsupials, bats, some rodents and some squirrels.

For a while now hibernation has been proposed as agame-changing tool for human space travel, explains SciSpacE Team Leader Jennifer Ngo-Anh. If we were able to reduce an astronauts basic metabolic rate by 75%similar to what we can observe in nature with large hibernating animals such as certain bears we could end up with substantial mass and cost savings, making long-duration exploration missions more feasible.

Thats still a big if, though. Bear hibernation is still somewhat mysterious. They recycle their proteins and their urine while hibernating. And they can hibernate for up to 7 months without losing bone mass. Other hibernating animals interrupt their torpor with periods of more typical temperature and heart rate called euthermic arousals. How all this would be managed in humans, a species that does not naturally hibernate, is unknown.

Theres some premise for human hibernation though, and that comes from modern medicine.

And the basic idea of putting astronauts into long-duration hibernation is actually not so crazy: a broadly comparable method has been tested and applied as therapy in critical care trauma patients and those due to undergo major surgeries for more than two decades, said Ngo-Anh. Most major medical centres have protocols for inducing hypothermia in patients to reduce their metabolism to basically gain time, keeping patients in a better shape than they otherwise would be.

So researchers arent starting from scratch. They at least have a starting point, which is what these types of think tanks are all about.

We aim tobuild on this in future, by researching the brain pathways that are activated or blocked during initiation of hibernation, starting with animals and proceeding to people, Ngo-Anh concluded.

Like Loading...

Original post:

If Astronauts Hibernated on Long Journeys, They'd Need Smaller Spacecraft - Universe Today

The latest lifestyle, fashion and travel trends

In the 21 years since the launch of the International Space Station (ISS), 239 astronauts from 19 countries have visited.

This includes 151 Americans, 47 Russians, three Germans and just one Brit Timothy Peake.

Selected as an ESA astronaut in 2009, 47-year-old Peake graduated from basic astronaut training in 2010 before three years conducting further training and working as a communicator with the ISS prior to being assigned a long-duration mission in 2013.

The Chichester-born astronaut spent six months at the space station from December 15, 2015 to June 18, 2016. During this time Peake conducted a spacewalk to repair the Stations power supply, drove a rover across a simulated Mars terrain and ran the London marathon using the space stations treadmill.

NASA discovers 'mind boggling' oxygen fluctuations on Mars

Upon his arrival back to earth, Peake was awarded a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the Queens 2016 Birthday Honours for services to space research and scientific education.

US President Ronald Reagan first directed NASA to build the ISS within the next 10 years in 1984 but it wasnt until 1998 that the first segment of the ISS launched, taking over 10 years and more than 30 missions to assemble

Two years later, on November 2, 2000, American Commander Bill Shepherd, and Russian Flight Engineers Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev became the first crew to reside for several months in the station.

Expedition 1's crew, American Commander Bill Shepherd, and Russian Flight Engineers Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev (AFP/Getty Images)

There are currently five members on board the ISS: NASA astronaut Drew Morgan, European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, plus the newest arrivals, NASA astronaut Jessica Meir and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka.

In June this year, NASA announced it will allow tourists to visit the ISS from 2020 at a price of $35,000 (27,100) per night. The space agency saidthere will be up to two private short astronaut missions per year and the tourists will be permitted to travel to the ISS for up to 30 days - the beginning of a new era of space tourism.

Click through the gallery above to see some of the most incredible images of the International Space Station from the past 21 years.

Excerpt from:

The most incredible images of the International Space Station as it turns 21 - Evening Standard

Fans of Hugh Laurie rejoice. The talented actor will be returning to American television in a new show, Avenue 5. Laurie is probably best known for his Emmy-nominated turn as the titular doctor on the show House MD. Although, some fans may recognize him for his early work as a well-known British comedian. His new project, Avenue 5, is described as a sci-comedy about a pleasure cruise in space gone wrong. Interested viewers can tune into HBO in January 2020, to watch the shows premiere. In the meantime, heres everything you need to know about the show.

The series is set in the not too distant future, 40 years from now. It starts out with what sounds like a dream vacation: a luxury cruise through space. Unfortunately, that dream takes a dark turn. At the center of the plot is the titular spaceship, Avenue 5. The cruise will face an unspecified problem at some point in its journey, causing distress for both the passengers and the crew. Overall, the series is said to be about space tourism. Most of the action will also take place in space, with only one major character having a role set on earth. Its doubtful that the show will stay so narrow in focus though. Knowing the production team, it will probably tackle quite a few topics. In terms of tone, the show is another in a new resurgence of sci-fi comedies. As a whole, sci-fi has grown in popularity over the last few years, owing to a slew of excellent genre films. On television, shows like The Orville have proven that people enjoy smart, humorous sci-fi. Avenue 5 seeks to round out that group by adding its own spin to the space travel narrative. Expect a lot of satire and plenty of irony from this new show, setting it apart from some of the lighter fare.

Hugh Laurie takes the lead role as Ryan Clark, the captain of the ship. Hes a charming, ideal leader, who has mastered his public appearance. As for his real personality, that may not be as perfect. With him in the disaster are the ships billionaire owner, Herman Judd, and his go-to woman, Iris Kimura. (Played by Josh Gad and Suzy Nakamura, respectively.) Although on the ship with everyone else, its clear from the trailer that these two have other priorities besides passenger safety. Theyre more caught up in preserving Hermans life and fortune. Other key characters include Matt Spencer, played by Zach Woods, and Rav Mulcair, played by Nikki Amuka-Bird.

Fans of The Office will probably recognize Zach Woods from his role as Gabe. Woods gamely portrayed Gabes particular brand of strangeness, so hes sure to shine in his new role as Matt Spencer. Spencer is in charge of customer relations on the ship, although his nihilism may make that job difficult. Meanwhile, Rav Mulcair is on earth, trying to deal with the disaster as the head of mission control. Shes described as being odd, although its not clear how that aspect of her personality will come into play. Ethan Phillips, Lenora Crichlow, Rebecca Front round out the rest of the cast, as key passengers and crew aboard the vessel. Theyre all on board for different reasons, but its clear theyre not the sort to sit calmly in a disaster.

The show was created for HBO by Armando Ianucci. Fans of television may recognize Ianucci as the creator of another great comedy, Veep. Veep was a very different show, focused on modern politics, rather than future space exploration. Having run for seven seasons, the show was much loved and earned numerous awards. Despite a change in location and genre, expect Ianucci to bring his same biting wit to Avenue 5. Even though the show is set in the future, its clear that it will satirize issues currently faced by viewers. In the trailer, there are already signs that classism and capitalism are both going to get the comedy treatment. Other executive producers on the show include Simon Blackwell, Tony Roche, Kevin Loader and Will Smith. As a team, theyre bringing experience from movies like My Cousin Rachel, and other satirical shows like Succession. Many of them have also worked together previously with Iannucci, on Veep.

Currently, you can only watch Avenue 5 on HBO. If you have HBO through your cable provider, you can watch it on TV like any other prime-time show. Youll also have access to recording and On Demand services, depending on your plan. For anyone who has cut the cord with cable, you can still enjoy the show. Download the HBO Go app, or add HBO as part of a Hulu streaming subscription. Keep in mind, with both options you will have to pay in order to access the HBO show library. If you do use Hulu or HBO go, youll also be able to stream the show. This means you can watch it on any device, including your television. Hulu is compatible with a range of devices, including Roku, Apple TV, and Fire TV Stick.

Its hard not to have high expectations for Avenue 5s premiere, especially given its cast and production crew. Veteran actors like Hugh Laurie and Josh Gad are sure to deliver. Theyve both done comedy and drama, which is ideal for satire work. And many of the other cast members have proven their comedic chops as well. The show runners are equally adept, having a wealth of successful television shows and movies between them. With so much talent at the helm, its hard to see Avenue 5 being a flop. At the very least, the show will be good for a few laughs. Check it out in January 2020 to see if you agree.

Read more:

Hugh Laurie is Back on TV With Avenue 5 - TVOvermind

Hollywood loves making movies set in outer space. But how does the actual science in these films measure up? Garrett Reisman, a former NASA astronaut and a former director of space operations at SpaceX, reacts to 10 memorable scenes from famous space movies, rating each scenario based on its accuracy. Find out what black holes, microgravity, nitrogen jetpacks, vacuum chambers, sound waves, polycarbonate visors, centrifugal forces, the Coriolis effect, and lunar soil tell us about the accuracy of iconic space movies.

Can you hear something explode in the vacuum of space? Is it possible for spaceships to run out of fuel in the middle of space travel? Why do movies often get it wrong when it comes to rotating space stations? Reisman explains the science underlying these and many other space movie phenomena, including the physics of the Death Star in "Star Wars"; dangerous space debris in "Gravity"; artificial gravity plates in "Star Trek"; Matt Damons Iron Man stunt in "The Martian"; crash-landing on a desert planet in "Spaceballs"; and event horizons, wormholes, and Einsteins theory of relativity in "Interstellar." What went so horribly wrong in the real-life NASA Apollo 13 mission and did the 1995 Tom Hanks movie get all its facts right?

He breaks down why scuba divers and astronauts both have to worry about decompression sickness, what's with the bending light inside the tesseract in "Interstellar," why Sandra Bullock should have held on to George Clooney in "Gravity," why Chris Pratt would get something called barotrauma in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1," and whats so impressive about Stanley Kubrick's depiction of Space Station V, the fictional spinning spacecraft in "2001: A Space Odyssey."

Reisman is a NASA veteran who was selected as a mission specialist astronaut in 1998 and went on to fly on all three of NASA's space shuttles: the Space Shuttle Endeavour, the Space Shuttle Discovery, and the Space Shuttle Atlantis. He's spent months at a time on the International Space Station and performed three spacewalks over the course of his missions. Post-NASA, Reisman went on to head space operations at Elon Musk's SpaceX from 2011 to 2018, helping the aerospace company prepare for human spaceflight. He continues to serve SpaceX as a senior space advisor while also teaching at the University of Southern California Viterbi School as a professor of astronautical engineering. Reisman's been profiled in The Wall Street Journal and has been featured on "The Colbert Report" with Stephen Colbert.

Reisman is the author of the upcoming book "Down to Earth."

Story continues

For more from Reisman:

http://garrettreisman.com/

Tweets by astro_g_dogg

See the original post here:

NASA astronaut rates space movies based on how realistic they are - Yahoo News

Its science rule #1: Dont eat your experiments.

Typically, this is good advice, but for the astronauts aboard the International Space Station, tasked with baking the first batch of cookies in space, it may be tough to follow.

And understandably so. For the last year and a half, husband and wife duo Ian and Jordana Fichtenbaum, founders of Zero G Kitchen, have been developing the first zero-gravity oven that could revolutionize space food and bring a taste of home to astronauts who dearly miss it. Last week, the oven arrived at the space station. No date has yet been announced for it to be tested.

The Fichtenbaums mission is both simple and highly technical: We want to build a kitchen in space, one piece at a time, and partner with companies, educators and researchers all along the way, said Ian Fichtenbaum.

They decided to start with an oven the centerpiece of the kitchen and joined forces with Nanoracks, the leading provider of commercial access to space, and DoubleTree by Hilton, the leading provider of gooey chocolate chip cookies to hotel guests, to send hospitality and innovation to the space station.

Designing an oven capable of baking space cookies is no easy feat. Everyday tasks are more difficult in space, which lacks the force of gravity to keep objects from floating around and baking presents its own unique challenges. Traditional convection ovens function by utilizing gravitational properties; the hot air rises, the cool air falls, explained Abby Dickes, Nanoracks marketing director.

Then theres the challenge of keeping food secure and stationary while it bakes. To complicate things further, the oven must run on a limited power supply, so as not to blow a fuse on the space station.

But the zero-gravity oven was designed to circumvent these issues. Its composed of a sleek, cylindrical chamber that houses an insertable silicone frame, which surrounds the food to hold it in place. Cylindrical heating coils focus the heat on the food in the center of the chamber and rise to temperature much more slowly than traditional ovens, to accommodate the power constraints.

The oven went through a few different iterations, but the final creation ended up being very chic, very beautiful, and now its up on the space station ready to bake some DoubleTree cookies and hopefully after that, all kinds of other creations, says Ian Fichtenbaum.

What might those other creations be? Right now its best to stick with things that are patty-size and shape a roll, a meatball, said Jordana Fichtenbaum.

What about more composed dishes? A tiny casserole, perhaps? Yeah, maybe a mini casserole, says Ian Fichtenbaum.

But first, cookies. The irony, of course, is that the cookies are not technically meant to be eaten. They are, after all, the product of a science experiment and, whats more, one thats never been conducted before.

The top priority for everyone who works on the space station is the safety of the crew on board, said Dickes. Some cookies will be reserved for analysis. For the rest, taste-testing will be at the bakers discretion.

For astronauts who choose to eat the cookies, the real question will be whether they taste just as good as those you get at any DoubleTree here on Earth. While the proof will be in the pudding, Dickes has high hopes.

You have to start with great ingredients, which we know were doing because weve eaten far too many of these cookies, she said. I think theyre going to look different like more of a spherical blob shape, which honestly just sounds gooey and delicious.

But just in case the first batch doesnt turn out to be edible, a tin of pre-baked DoubleTree cookies was sent up to the space station along with the oven.

The shape of the cookie may lend itself perfectly for this experiment, but thats not the only reason it was chosen for the zero-gravity ovens maiden voyage.

Its a symbol of hospitality and were trying to make space travel more hospitable for the future, said Dickes. A cookie represents the perfect symbol of everything were trying to do in this mission.

Oh yeah, and its delicious.

More:

The story behind the first batch of cookies in space and the first zero-gravity oven - WREG NewsChannel 3

More than a third of Britons believe humans will inevitably have to live in space due to the Earth becoming increasingly uninhabitable.

While the public sector dominated space exploration in the 20th Century, the space race this century has been revolutionised by the private sector.And it seems increasingly likely that people will look to private enterprises like SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and Asgardia to facilitate their space travel.

To find out what the UK thinks about travelling to and living in space, Asgardia the first space nation commissioned Populus to conduct a poll of 2,103 people. From this figure, 37 per cent said it was inevitable that humans would have to move off Earth because the planet will not be suitable to live on.

A total of 29 per cent of those surveyed said they would pay to go to space if it were easily accessible to the general public.Less than a fifth (18 per cent) would use their savings to visit space if given the chance.

Read more about space exploration:

People were also asked their opinions on aliens, with 42 per cent believing extraterrestrial life has or will visit the Earth.One fifth of those polled were worried about an asteroid potentially crashing into Earth, and the same number believe planetary alignments affect their mood.

A quarter of the recipients said the UK needs a stronger asteroid defence system.

Asgardia, the first space nation, is named after the City of the Gods in Norse mythology.Its main aim is to develop space technology unfettered by earthly politics and laws, leading ultimately to a permanent orbiting home where its citizens can live and work.

Imagine a colony on the Moon or Mars run by a corporation. That one company would control everything the colonists need to survive, from the water to the oxygen to the food. Thats a dangerous amount of power for any company, but its a very real scenario.

The further we look into the future of humans in space, the more reality resembles science fiction. Thats why its difficult to make people take the issues which could potentially arise seriously.

But now is the time to consider the problems that could arise from a commercially-led space race, and take the necessary small steps now to avoid potentially disastrous consequences in the future.

Read more about the privatisation of space here.

Former Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik, chairman of Parliament for Asgardia, said: Inspiring the public to dream about space travel and tackle the final frontier is vital to the success of our endeavours even the Apollo programme, that ultimately put a man on the Moon, was scrapped largely due to a lack of public support in the US.

But with nearly a third of UK with an ambition to visit space, it is clear to see that this support is not unattainable.

One of the keys will be to help people feel as though they are a part of something bigger and more tangible than just watching a rocket launch or following the fate of a satellite due to crash into a comet.

Asgardia aims to provide this, with over a million followers already, the space nation offers the opportunity to contribute to the exploration of space. From running for a seat in our Parliament to tackling the scientific challenges associated with space living, democratising space exploration is a key goal of ours.

Link:

One third of British people think we will have to leave Earth eventually - sciencefocus.com

While space travel has been left to the experts, it is slowly but surely becoming commercialised - and a holiday in the stars could be on the agenda in as little as eight years. The Von Braun Space Station, which will come in the form of a rotating spaceship, is being designed by the Gateway Foundation. Much like the International Space Station (ISS), the Von Braun Space Station will be situated in low-Earth orbit.

However, unlike its predecessor, the Von Braun Space Station will have artificial gravity, making both visiting and long-term habitation far more comfortable.

The space hotel will reportedly feature a 620ft (190m)-diameter rotating wheel to simulate a gravitational force similar to that felt on the Moon.

According to The Gateway Foundation, 24 individual modules fitted out with sleeping accommodation and other support functions will surround the wheel.

In total, the space station which is named after Dr Wernher von Braun, the chief architect of the Saturn V rocket which sent the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon will be able to accommodate 450 people.

Lead architect of the Von Braun Space Station, Timothy Alatorre told Space: The inspiration behind it really comes from watching science fiction over the last 50 years and seeing how mankind has had this dream of starship culture.

I think it started really with Star Trek and then Star Wars, and [with] this concept of large groups of people living in space and having their own commerce, their own industry, and their own culture.

We expect the operation to begin in 2025, the full station will be built out and completed by 2027.

Once the stations fully operational, our hope, our goal, and our objective is to have the station available for the average person.

READ MORE:The big danger that threatens NASA astronauts life on space station

Read more from the original source:

Final (summer holiday) frontier! Space hotel to open in matter of years - Express.co.uk

Virgin Galactic, the first and still the only space tech company to go public, disclosed results for the third quarter this week.

Itreported $80 million in deposits and $120 million in potential revenue, and founder Richard Branson promised investors to be profitable by 2021.

Virgin Galactic needed 15 years since its founding to get to this point and now commercial space travel may be finally in reach within a year, he said.

Given how nascent the industry still is, its remarkable how many have signed up to fly despite remaining unknowns, risks and lack of regulations. Virgin Galactic booked reservations from 600 people in 60 countries as of September 30. In addition, the company reported 3,557 expessions of interest by the end of the third quarter.

It was only earlier this year that Virgin Galactics non-pilot flew on board a commercial spaceship to space for the first time. That was also the first time that a crew member floated freely without restraints in weightlessness in space onboard a commercial spaceship and it marked the first time three people flew to space on a commercial spaceship.

Thats a lot of firsts for a newly minted public company, yet the long-term success of space tourism will depend on consistent consumer demand.While the companys mission is to open space to everyone, early adopters are eager to part with $250,000 for a seat aboard SpaceShipTwo, which can accommodate six passengers and two pilots.

Virgin Galactics competitors including Blue Origin and SpaceX are looking to bring space tourists further into space beyond Earths orbit.

The value of the space tourism and nanosatellite industries as a whole may reach $1 trillion by 2030, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch note to clients this week.

Peter Ward, a journalist and author of a recent book The Consequential Frontier: Challenging the Privatization of Space, has experienced the intense fandom and dedication of space volunteers.

I spoke to one guy who has a ticket to go on Virgin Galactic. Hes been waiting for years now, Ward recalled. I asked him if hed go to Mars if hed die on Mars. And his answer was a bit startling. He said, kids I love you, but Im going to Mars.

Excerpt from:

Space Tourism Calling: Thousands Are Ready to Board Virgin Galactic - Karma