Category Archives: Mars Colonization

Surviving the Aftermath was announced earlier this month as the sequel to Surviving Mars, the Martian colonization sim released last year by Haemimont Games and Paradox Interactive. Very little was revealed at the time but we got a closer look at the now-underway PDXCON and discovered a few surprises, including that it doesn't take place on Marsand that it's available today on the Epic Games Store.

This new survival management sim is actually set on Earth, albeit an Earth that's a whole lot more banged up than the one we're used to. Humanity has finally had the biscuit, and all that remains now is the detritus of civilization and a few stragglers who are going to do their best to rebuild, or at least not die immediately.

Customizable apocalypse scenarios can raise or lower the difficulty for those left behindit's a lot easier to get by in a depopulated wilderness than a scorched radioactive desert, after all. But the ultimate goal remains the same: Attract survivors, collect resources, build your society, and deal with the inevitable messes that result.

Surviving the Aftermath is being made by a different developer, Iceflake Studios, and the Earth-bound setting makes it sound a little more conventional than its predecessor. Based on our hands-on preview though, it sounds like things get rolling fairly quicklyalthough it's possible that letting the entire colony fistfight for kicks accelerated, well, pretty much everything.

The initial early access release is available now on the Epic Games Store for $20/16/20, while the full launch is expected to take place in 2020, and will also be on Steam. A development roadmap and other relevant details can be had at survivingtheaftermath.com.

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Surviving the Aftermath, the sequel to Surviving Mars, is out now - PC Gamer

During the opening ceremony of an international space conference on global cooperation for a future vision of space, United States Vice President Mike Pence made it clear that he would really like to see America taking the lead in space travel and exploration.

The United States of America will always be willing to work closely with like-minded, freedom-loving nations as we lead mankind into the final frontier, Pence said during the opening remarks at the 70th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) on Monday. Our vision is to be the leader among freedom-loving nations.

Prior to his opening remarks, a petition went around calling on the organizers of the event to cancel his appearance, with some participants threatening to walk out during his speech in protest of Pences political and social views.

IAC is an annual conference hosted by the International Astronautical Federation together with the International Academy of Astronautics and the International Institute of Space Law, bringing together scientists, industry experts and space agency leaders to discuss what is happening in space today.

This years theme is Space: The Power of The Past, The Promise of The Future, which honors the Apollo 11 crew with the World Space Award, and looks forward towards whats next on the space exploration agenda.

During his speech, Pence gave a nod to the Apollo 11 astronauts, while emphasizing a revival of U.S. leadership in space travel.

Under President [Donald] Trumps leadership, America is leading in space once again, Pence said. In our very first year of office, after laying dormant for nearly a quarter of century, President Trump revived the National Space Council.

In June, 2017, Trump signed an executive order to relaunch the National Space Council, which handles issues related to space policy, after it was disbanded in 1993.

The current administration also established a space force, a sixth branch of the armed forces that will train space soldiers, which Pence said will soon be a reality.

Space plays a critical role in our national security as it does for every nation around the world, Pence said. And the space force will be a vanguard to defending our nation, defending our freedom, and defending the rights of all freedom-loving nations in the vast expanse of space.

To ensure the U.S. gets a piece of that vast expanse, Trump signed a space policy directive which amended the policies of former President Barack Obama, and called for an American led human mission to the Moon, followed by a mission to Mars, in an effort for long term exploration and possible colonization of the lunar surface.

And yet, it hasnt exactly been smooth sailing between the current US administration and NASA. Two years later, a tweet from Trump dismissed what seemed to be a two-party understanding.

For all of the money we are spending, NASA should NOT be talking about going to the Moon We did that 50 years ago, he wrote on June 7, 2019. They should be focused on the much bigger things we are doing, including Mars (of which the Moon is a part), Defense and Science!

But NASAs Artemis mission scheduled to take off to the moon in 2024, is still on track.

We will return American astronauts to the moon for long time exploration and use, Pence said on Monday. Were going back to the moon, and then to Mars.

The vice president also highlighted the role that private enterprise will play in this future vision for space, adding that NASA is leading a commercial friendly effort to develop lunar landers that will carry humans to the moon, as well as orbital platforms to replace the International Space Station.

Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon and founder of private space company Blue Origin will receive the Excellence in Industry Award on Tuesday for his contributions to the space industry.

Back in 2016, Founder and CEO of another private space company, Elon Musk,unveiled the spacecrafthe plans on using for a future mission to Mars, and possible colonization of the red planet.

Pence also spoke of cooperation with other countries. Well, specifically freedom-loving nations such as Japan, Canada, and European allies. The good news is, with the renewed American leadership in space, were also seeing renewed cooperation among freedom-loving nations around the world to advance space exploration, he said.

However, Pence left out Russia, with whom the U.S. has been locked in an eternal space race with.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine is scheduled for a press conference on Monday with representatives from space agencies in India, China, Japan and, obviously, Russia.

Bridenstine received a nod from Pence, who thanked him for the work he is doing to revive American leadership in space.

The IAC will run until Friday, October 25, with a live stream of the events here.

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At IAC, Pence sets heavy political tone and touts "space force" again - Inverse

At a recent gathering in Berlin of space technology businesses the mood was upbeat. Yet while astronaut Matthias Maurer was stealing the show and beguiling schoolchildren and adults alike, there were important issues floating through the air. The biggest question wasn't about colonizing Mars, sending millionaire tourists to the moon or even mining it for minerals. The biggest question of all was: Why isn't tech wonderland Germany at the head of the space race?

Besides giants Airbus and OHB in Bremen, there are a lot of smaller companies and startups looking toward the stars throughout Germany. Standing above all these private companies is the European Space Agency (ESA), an organization made up of 22 member countries with a total budget of 5.72 billion ($6.39 billion) for 2019.

After France, the German government is its second-biggest cash contributor. For this money, Berlin wasable to get two prizes: ESA Mission Control in Darmstadt and the astronaut training center in Cologne. This may sound like a big win, but they came at a steep price. Germany's contribution to ESA this year alone was 927 million.

At home Germany spends an additional 285 million on space programs. This may seem like a lot, but it's a pittance compared withFrance's 726 million. Overall Germany only spends 0.05% of GDP on such programs. This puts them behind India, Italy, Japan, China ,Russia, France and the USwhich spends 0.224% according to Goldman Sachs' European Space Policy Institute.

Missing the boat

But no matter how much is being spent, many are critical about how it is spent. Right now the lion's share of government cash goes to the major players, Airbus and OHB. Tom Segert, director of business and strategy at the startup Berlin Space Technologies, is one of those who sees change coming though. "We are having a moment where the big players in Germany, but also the smaller players, are waking up. They realize something big is going to happen,"he told DW.

In Germany, "we have the technology, but we don't have the demand,"said Segert, pointing to the fact that these conglomerates are working on biginternational projects and building big satellites, not the smaller ones businesses actually want. This is the gap that Berlin Space Technologies wants to fill.

Tom Segert is director of business and strategy at startup Berlin Space Technologies

Founded in 2010 by three friends, the startup now has 29 employees who work to design small satellites systems anywhere from the size of a microwaveoven to a washing machine and the technology behind them.

"Space seemed to be the place where you can always do something new, something that nobody has done before. I didn't know about the bureaucracy that was awaiting me and about all the pitfalls of a government-driven space program,"said Segert. Nonetheless, the company has so far taken part in over 50 space missions.

Making a prototype can take 1-2 years. But the company wants to move away from individual satellites into mass manufacturing, and for this they have started a joint venture in India. Once a satellite goes into large-scale mass production, the building time can be reduced to one or two weeks. This drives down costs, and having more satellites in orbit creates a network, a "constellation of satellites"in space.

The forefront of technology

In general, Segert thinks that for most companies building satellites is a waste of resources. They should instead focus on services and data. "The biggest chances for European startups are in the downstream because they are getting the data for free [from NASA or ESA]. It's not the best data, but they get some data for free which is a big hurdle for everybody else."

Focusing more on services will lead to the demise of many manufacturing companies. Only the strongest will survive Darwin in space a typical process in maturing industries.

German astronaut Matthias Maurer answering question from the public at a meeting in Berlin of space businesses organized by the Federation of German Industries (BDI)

At the same time industry associations are pushing Germany to build a spaceport, or launching center, of its own. They are not talking about thosebig enough to send humans into space, but one that would enable companies to launch rockets and satellites without depending on other countries. Today only a handful of countries have this capability. Bringing it closer to home would make things easier.

Though such prestige projects fascinate the public, space programs have developed many technologies that have come into normal use and impact daily life. Things like batteries, ceramics, solar technologies, autonomous driving and the use of lightweight metals were all advanced thanks to space innovations.

A shot in the dark

Newer technologies using satellites includebetter communications, weather forecasting and navigation. Images from space can be used to monitor coral reefs, forests, water levels, fires or natural disasters. They can also watch pipelines, trains and power lines. These images can teachabout the Earth and bring home the ideas of global warming.

To make the most of the possibilities in space, Segert from Berlin Space Technologieswould like to see industry do more of the things thatESA, Airbus or OHB do things that are often funded by taxpayers. He also warns companies to stick to the things they are good at like making equipment, components, satellites, rockets, organizing launches or providing services. Not everything at once.

"I am very doubtful about hardware startups that are founded right now because they are very late to the game,"concluded Segert. For him the future of the space business in Germany is unclear, it can go two ways: The first would be a business-as-usual model in which the government spends ever-increasing amounts of money to keep national champions alive that skew the marking and where no real progress is made.

In the second model the government, taxpayers and companies would see that things have not been done in the most efficient way. The government will get out of the business of making satellites and turn into a consumer of services. This would lead to a decline in satellite manufactures and costs. Then the focus would be on data, the gold of the 21st century.

Space offers nearly infinite possibilities and a lot of room to grow. Now 50 years after the first moon landing, the real test will be to see if governments will create the legal framework to govern space and then step aside and let the market take over and give consumers what they want. Germany as a big spender can nudge it either way.

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Why isn't Germany taking over the moon? - DW (English)

Elon Musk-led SpaceX is fast expanding its work on the development of Starship spacecraft and rockets for interplanetary travel.

A recent aerial video revealed the progress that the Starship rocket is making at the Florida facility of SpaceX.

According to reports, SpaceX is simultaneously working on three Starship rockets. One is in Boca Chica, Texas and two in Cocoa, Florida.

The footage showed bands of stainless steel for the Starship rocket on a stand. SpaceX uses stainless steel in building Starship to add a reflective sheen as evident in the video.

Shot by former commercial pilot John Winkopp from a flying drone, he allowed CNBC to use the footage.

Progress of SpaceX Starship

The cluster of SpaceX Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket is collectively referred to as Starship and reusable transportation systems that will carry crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, and Mars.

Starship as a reusable rocket can launch and land multiple times just like a commercial aircraft, per SpaceX news.

In late September, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk made a presentation in Texas as an update about Starships development. He spoke to the audience standing in front of the first assembled rocket at SpaceX Boca Chica facility in Texas.

Musk has been saying that SpaceX can fly to space in the coming months after a few more test flights of the new generation rockets. The Starship's nexttest flight is aiming 65,000 feet altitude. Mars colonization projects are high on Masks space agenda after encouraging data from NASA Mars rovers.

In April, SpaceX launch of a prototype Starship rocket called Starhopper has been successful. SpaceX is also bracing for the launch of Crew Dragon or Dragon 2 spacecraft that it is building for the U.S space agency, per NASA news.

SpaceX sees the army as Starship customer

Meanwhile, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell Said SpaceX views the U.S. Army as a potential customer for its Starship space vehicle and low Earth orbit broadband constellation Starlink.

Were talking to the Army about Starlink and Starship, she said.

Although the Army does not launch big satellites or sends crews to space, Starship can come handy for point-to-point transportation around Earth to deliver cargo in minutes in any part of the world.

According to Shotwell, SpaceX has already made this pitch to the U.S. Air Force. Pictured is the exterior of SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California as seen on July 22, 2018. Photo: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

Gwynne Shotwell was recently invited to speak on a panel ofArmy leaders who discussed steps to modernize the force and injecting innovation in the realm of military procurement.

Shotwell talked on the panel on the last day of the Association of the U.S. Armys annual conference.

Although Shotwell did not mention Starlink during the panel discussion, the interest of SpaceX in securing the U.S. military as a customer has been apparent.

SpaceX has deployed 60 Starlink satellites this year and plans to launch thousands more in the coming years.Army officials said they would like to explore commercial LEO mega-constellations thatcan support the demands of the service for bigger capacity and lower latency communications.

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Video Shows SpaceX Building Another Starship Rocket In Florida - International Business Times

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gives an update on the next-generation Starship spacecraft at the companys Texas launch facility on September 28, 2019 in Boca Chica near Brownsville, Texas. Loren Elliott/Getty Images

After weeks of teasing SpaceXs new prototype of its Mars-colonizing spacecraft, dubbed Starship, Elon Musk finally called a press conference on Saturday at a SpaceX launch site in Boca Chica, Texas, to give a thorough update on how his space company is going to take humans to Marswith crewed testing to begin as soon as next year.

Dressed in head-to-toe black against the backdrop of a moonless Texan night, Musk unveiled the 165-feet-tall, all-stainless-steel Starship Mk1, a triple-engine reusable space vessel that will fly humans to the moon and Mars.

SEE ALSO: SpaceX Is Utilizing Ubers Business Strategy to Bring Satellites to Space

This is the most inspiring thing Ive ever seen, Musk said proudly.

SpaceX announced its ambitious plan to land humans on Mars three years ago. But building a launch vehicle and spacecraft that are powerful yet cost-effective enough to send humans beyond the Earths orbit has been a challenging first step.

So far, SpaceX has tested two low-altitude flights with Starhopper, an earlier prototype of Starship powered by a single Raptor engine.

The new prototype, Starship Mk1, is expected to test fly to reach an altitude of 12 miles in about one or two months, Musk said, with two far more aggressive tests to follow shortly.

This is gonna sound totally nuts, but I think we want to try to reach orbit [1,200 miles] in less than six months, Musk said. I think we could potentially see people flying next year, if we get to orbit in about six months.

Another handful of new Starship prototypes will have to be built before the orbit test takes place, though. While the Mk1 was unveiled in Texas, SpaceX was constructing a second Starship prototype, the Mk2, in Florida. A Starship Mk3 is also on the agenda, set to begin construction in Boco Chica as soon as next month and finish within three months. At the projected rate of production, Musk said, the vehicle used in the orbital test will likely be an Mk4 or Mk5 prototype.

The space vessel will then be boosted from the Earths surface by a yet-to-be-tested Super Heavy rocket, which will have 37 Raptor engines to provide twice as much thrust as NASAs Saturn V, the most powerful rocket built to date that was used in crewed moon missions between 1967 and 1973.

And speaking of Saturn, Musk teased a project during his presentation to make the remote planet his next stop after Mars, as if the mission at hand wasnt already wild enough. Showing a conceptual image of Starship heading toward Saturn, Musk reminded his audience that Mars is just a beginning of his interplanetary living dream.

I think we should do our very best to become a multi-planet species, and we should do it now, the space entrepreneur said.

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Elon Musk Unveils SpaceXs Newest Mars-Colonizing Spacecraft - Observer

Astronauts traveling to Mars may be able to pack a little lighter with microbes that could make nutrients and the building blocks of plastic.

smithsonian.com August 24, 2017 12:53PM

There's no doubt that the journey to Mars will be a feat of both engineering and logistics. But a few basic human waste products could actually help in the venture, providingnot onlyvital nutrients, but also materials that could be used to make tools.

In a presentationgiven this week at the American Chemical Society's National Meeting and Exposition, a scientist from Clemson University explained how genetically engineered yeast could feed on the astronaut's urine and carbon dioxide to produce valuable byproducts like omega-3 fatty acids and compounds commonly found in plastics, reports Andrew deGrandpre for the Washington Post.

"If astronauts are going to make journeys that span several years, well need to find a way to reuse and recycle everything they bring with them, biomolecular engineer Mark Blenner saidin a statement before his presentation. Atom economy will become really important.

This is an urgent problem. NASA is hoping to start human settlementson Mars in the next 20 years, and private space companies are pushing for even fastercolonization. But this will be no easy feat. Mars is just over 30 million miles from Earth, and the people that eventually make the tripmust be protected and nourishedthroughout the journey.

Every supply brought on board adds to the total mass of the craft flung into space. Not to mention each extra tool takes up space in what will likely already be a cramped environment. But without adequate provisions and tools, astronauts on boardthe Mars-bound craft would be doomed before they even left Earth.

To help get around this problem, NASA has been funding Blenner since 2015 to scrutinize a strain of yeast called Yarrowia lipolytica, reports Catherine Caruso for STAT. Blenner has used the yeast strain, a close relative of baker's yeast available in grocery stores, as a template that he then modifieswith genes from algae and phytoplankton. These alterations allow the microbes to produce the omega-3 fatty acids necessary for healthy metabolism in humans.

This yeast can also be genetically engineered to produce monomers, the basic building blocks of polymers that could be used by 3D printers to create new tools on the spacecraft or on Mars, reports Becky Ferreira of Motherboard.

But the yeast still need fuel to produce these products. That's where the astronauts, and their waste, comein. The microbes can use thenitrogen in humanurine andcarbon dioxide from their breath to create useful compounds.

This work is still in its very early stages, notes Nicola Davis of the Guardian.Blenner still needsto tweak the yeast so that it produces useful quantities of the nutrients and monomers. There's also the question of whether the microbes could survive in the low-gravity, high-radiation conditions of a trip to Mars.

If it all works out, however, future settlers on the Red Planet might not have to live solely off potatoes.

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Could Astronauts Harvest Nutrients From Their Waste? - Smithsonian

Photo Credit: Ancient Aliens/History Channel Image Acquired from A&E Networks Press

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Photo Credit: Ancient Aliens/History Channel Image Acquired from A&E Networks Press

In 1984, a roll of 35mm film was sent from an anonymous source in Albuquerque, NM to the doorstep of filmmaker Jaime Shandera in Burbank, CA. The film contained still pictures of eight top secret pages known as the Eisenhower Briefing Document. The documents are a briefing from the head of the CIA to Eisenhower from 1952, and they inform him of not only the MJ12 organization, but also groups composition and purpose. That purpose is UFOs and communication with aliens.

In April 2017, Giorgio Tsoukolos met with investigator Linda Moulton Howe, one of the first people to see Top Secret documents in 1994. Those documents are from April 1954 and have official Majestic 12 Group markings, as well as a war office stamp.

Regardless of opinions on the matter, many believe the Roswell Incident is incontrovertible proof of Americas involvement and interaction with aliens. In fact, the local newspaper reported that a flying saucer was captured at Roswell Army Air Field in the following days paper. Government officials may have clarified with the whole weather balloon comment the following day, but a close examination of all the available data makes that fairly difficult to believe.

Could the Roswell Incident and the formation of MJ12 be mutually revealing? If not, its awfully coincidental. Furthermore, other Top Secret organizations were formed around the same time:

According to Dwight D. Eisenhowers great-granddaughter, the organization was real, and her famous relative had no choice but to continue what Truman had started. In fact, she says Eisenhower physically met with aliens.

Any secret with more than one person involved risks not being a secret. So its interesting to consider MJ12 as a hoax considering its relative anonymity.

In the first place, MJ12 itself may have actively attempted to throw investigators off the scent. Famous astrophysicist Donald Menzel may have been the perfect person to dissuade potential believers. Menzel was a UFO contrarian and skeptic. In fact, he wrote multiple books on the matter. According to Robert Wood, PhD, Menzels books were nothing more than counter-intelligence. Indeed, while some of the information in MJ12 documents has been disproven, there is certainly more than a grain of truth when it comes to Menzels inclusion in the group.

Americas first Secretary of Defense was James Forrestal, who was also the first man to lead MJ12. Appointed by Truman to be in charge of the secret MJ12 investigations, Forrestal may have uncovered German secrets that needed to be kept secret. The official stance is that he suffered from depression, and committed suicide from the 16th floor of a hospital.

His suicide is highly questionable. Some have mentioned scratch marks were allegedly on the window, and his own brother unequivocally refutes the possibility of suicide. Among his brothers concerns are the plans James had following hospital discharge, the bill of health given by all top level people (including Truman), and the fact he committed suicide a few hours before was to be discharged.

Perhaps James Forrestal was planning on spilling the beans on Americas involvement with UFOs?

JFKs death has been discussed, researched, reported and debated ad nauseam. Those details wont be discussed. Howe provides one extra piece of information. She breaks down one Top Secret document often referred to as the Scorched Memo, recovered from a fire. That document is allegedly from CIA chief Allen Dulles referencing JFK. For example, it says LANCER the Secret Service name for JFK at the time was getting a little too curious for their liking.

The fact that a later portion mentions that it should be wet, makes the document potential authorization to kill JFK if he doesnt cease his inquiries.

Furthermore, author Douglas Caddy was interviewed on the episode about his last interaction with CIA operative E. Howard Hunt. Caddy says he had personal communication with Hunt in 1975, and explicitly asked about a JFK assassination. According to Caddy, the reply was that JFK was indeed assassinated. Apparently JFK was about to give Americas most vital secret to the Soviets.

Much of this Ancient Aliens episode revolves around a second roll of film unveiled in March 1994. According to Howe, its the most compelling document to confirm the MJ12 cover-up.

Howe states the documents titled Extraterrestrial Entities and Technology, Recovery and Disposal have been authenticated multiple ways, one of which includes the typeset. In fact, typeset nuances were traced back to a monotype in a government printing lab, and confirmed by a longstanding employee there.

Other details contained within the second roll of film are four different sketches of UFOs (e.g. Triangle, Long tube, Ice cream cone), a note about mutually agreed upon, alien initiated, obscure location meetups, and an investigation into Interplanetary Phenomena Unit (IPU) in July 1947. The IPU investigation was ordered by President Eisenhower, and conducted at the White Sands Proving Ground by General Nathan Farragut Twining. According to Eisenhower, Twinings report was for the purpose of making an appraisal of the reported unidentified objects being kept there. Additionally, the final report included talks of a possible atomic engine inside a UFO confirmed by Dr. Robert Oppenheimer.

The rest of the Ancient Aliens episode rambles a bit, as most episodes do. If there were a format for 45 minute shows, Ancient Aliens would be a perfect candidate. Speaking of perfect candidates, there is a guy named Corey Goode who alleges to be part of a secret military space program (i.e. Solar Warden) and Mars colonization effort that involves three dozen nations.

Furthermore, a hacker named Gary McKinnon may have found more proof of a link between MJ12 and current space operations. He hacked into NASA and Pentagon servers to uncover files he claims provide undeniable proof of MJ12 and their legacy. In one such document, he found a list of people and ships that were named after original MJ12 personnel. For what its worth, Corey Goode confirms his experiences with Solar Warden.

Both believe the truth is being hidden from the general population, but everything will soon be disclosed.

This episode of Ancient Aliens is a bit different. It deals more with cover-ups than actual aliens. Nonetheless

The total count for the ancient astronaut theorists suggest/say/theorize phrase variation: 3.

Ancient Aliens airs Friday nights on the History channel.

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Ancient Aliens: Did Truman create the Majestic 12 to conceal UFOs? - Hidden Remote

Tesla CEO Elon Musk joined more than 100 technology leaders in signing a new letter that urges the United Nations to protect the world from the "dangers" of deadly autonomous weapons.

The letter, released at the opening of the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Melbourne, Australia, warns that these weapons "threaten to become the third revolution in warfare."

"Once developed," the letter continues, "they will permit armed conflict to be fought at a scale greater than ever, and at timescales faster than humans can comprehend."

The letter was signed by more than 116 founders of robotics and artificial intelligence companies from 26 countries, according to the Faculty of Engineering at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Toby Walsh, a professor on artificial intelligence at UNSW, unveiled the letter. It is also signed by Mustafa Suleyman, who is co-founder of Google's DeepMind AI project.

Musk, a billionare whose other business ventures include SpaceX and Mars colonization, has repeatedly warned about the dangers of AI. In July, he told America's governors that people "should be really concerned" about artificial intelligence, which "is a fundamental risk for human civilization." Earlier this month he tweeted that AI is more dangerous than North Korea.

In December 2016, 123 nations that are part of the U.N. Convention on Conventional Weapons agreed to set up formal talks on the dangers of autonomous weapons. At the time, 19 countries called for a complete ban, and Human Rights Watch cheered the move towards formal talks as "a major step toward negotiations for a ban" on "killer robots."

The new letter warns that autonomous weapons could be used by despots and terrorists alike against "innocent populations," and even weapons held by more responsible powers could be hacked.

"We do not have long to act. Once this Pandora's box is opened, it will be hard to close," the letter says. It beseaches the U.N. "to find a way to protect us all from these dangers."

IJCAI previously sent a letter in 2015 about dangers of autonomous weapons, signed by thousands of researchers in AI and robotics from around the world, which included the endorsements of Musk, British physicist Stephen Hawking and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

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Elon Musk signs letter urging UN to protect world from 'Pandora's box' of deadly autonomous weapons - Washington Examiner

Nextbigfuture wrote about the designs for an improved nuclear thermal rocket by John Bucknell. John has worked as a senior engineer on the Spacex Raptor rocket. John provides high quality qualified work to his rocket designs and to his proposed space habitat.

Nextbigfuture comments had some technical observations about Project Timberwind and a comment from John himself that his design improves on flaws in the last major nuclear thermal rocket experiments. There were also comments and discussion about Star Trek and communism and ONeill space stations.

Reddit futurology had two comments. One positive comment by the submitter and a negative comment complaining that the factual title was hype.Instapundit has mainly positive commentary with acknowledgement that nuclear thermal rockets that accepts the technically feasible and proven nature of the technology. There were technical comments about the Von Braun wheel and the radius and rotation rates for the simulated gravity.

The Instapundit audience bemoans the wasted government spending and the comments related to this article also complained about NASA as a jobs program and not trying to achieve real space development.

The top article on Reddit Futurology on the same day with over 14000 upvotes and nearly 3000 comments was about a United Nations group discussing universal basic income.

This youtube video deeply researched and analyzed 2001 a Space Odyssey. Fred Ordway explained how Kubrick and Clarke expected continued development of the Nerva nuclear thermal rocket to achieve a manned Mars mission by 1985-1987. They then expect more advanced nuclear thermal, nuclear gaseous core or a nuclear Orion to be used for the Jupiter mission in 2001. Kubrick had NASA advisors for the technical aspects of the film.

Filming began on 2001 in 1965 and the film was released in 1968. An child of 3 at the start of filming 2001 would be retiring at age 65 today.

We have known what the technology would be that could enable exploration and colonization of the solar system for 60 years and it would only take about 5 years of a focused program to bring it about at any point in the last 50 years. During that time the NASA budget has been nearly $20 billion per year in inflation adjusted dollars and the US Military and soy agency space budgets have been nearly and inflation adjusted $40 billion per year. $3.6 trillion inflation adjusted dollars have been spent on space.

Until Spacex and other than Apollo we have become accepting and expecting very little to be accomplished in space. Even with Spacex showing that ten times more can be accomplished from the few percent of budgets actually spent on rocket development and space missions, there is still the sense that little can and should be done in space.

It is as if Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile of Spain and their descendants accepted 60-80 years of annual ship voyages around the Mediterranean instead of a vigorous colonization and development of North America despite funding at a level that could easily colonize the Americas.

Many people today hope for new undeveloped technology breakthroughs to superconductors, fusion and metallic hydrogen to some how make things so easy that the bureaucracy and waste would not piss it away and still accomplish nothing.

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Comparing Reactions of different Groups to Nuclear Thermal Rocket enabled space colonization - Next Big Future

Elon Musks plan to send 100 people to Mars in a gargantuan reusable rocket that looked like something out of Star Wars always seemed like science fiction to many, but it appears theSpaceX founder himself is now realizing he was a little too ambitious.

Musk will soon reveal a revised plan for his Interplanetary Transport System, which was originally supposed to have a massive 12-meter diameter and host 42 Raptor engines and he has given the first clue to how he will do it.

After a fan representing the SpaceX Reddit board begged the founder on Twitter to throw a bone and give a hint as to how much smaller the rocket will be, Muskreplied,A 9-meter-diameter vehicle fits in our existing factories

If he scales back the diameter by three meters 25 percent of the original rockets size hell have to cut the number of engines in half, from 42 down to 21.

A vehicle like that would reportedlyhave 50 percent less mass and cost significantly less, possibly alleviating a major concern that fiscally, this rocket would not be possible to develop.

Musks original interplanetary transport system to take man to Mars in 80 days and build a sustainable human colony of a million people there.

The Interplanetary Transport System would use a giant shuttle capable of carrying 100 passenger to the Red Planet at a time, and Musk hopes to take a million people to set up a sustainable city there.

It would launch from Earth on a giant version of SpaceXs reusable rocket booster, unfurling solar sails to power its journey to the red planet.

The nine-meter rocket would not also save money by being smaller, but it could be built in SpaceXs existing facilities, also cutting costs.

Musk is expected to reveal his new plan for the Interplanetary Transport System during the 2017 International Astronautical Conference in Adelaide, Australia on September 29.

The Raptor engine is supposed to be three times stronger than the engines that power the famed SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Its still in development, so halving the number needed could be a big cost-saver.

The other key to making the Mars colonization fiscally possible is making the rocket reusable.

You could use any form of transport as an example of the difference between reusability and expendability in aircraft, he writes.

A car, bicycle, horse, if they were single-usealmost no one would use them; it would be too expensive.

However, with frequent flights, you can take an aircraft that costs $90 million (71m) and buy a ticket on Southwest right now from Los Angeles to Vegas for $43, including taxes.

If it were single use, it would cost $500,000 (392,000) per flight.

Right there, you can see an improvement of four orders of magnitude.

He added that key to building an all-powerful reusable rocket is establishing a way to produce fuel on Mars.

Producing propellant on Mars is obviously also very important.

Again, if we did not do this, it would have at least a half order of magnitude increase in the cost of a trip, he writes.

It would be pretty absurd to try to build a city on Mars if your spaceships just stayed on Mars and did not go back to Earth.

You would have a massive graveyard of ships; you have to do something with them.

The giant rockets will launch from Cape Canaveral, then release the capsule once in orbit, where it will park while waiting for a refuel for the trip to Mars.

It will then return to Earth to pick up a fuel tank for the shuttle, saving money on the launch and launch again to rendezvous with the shuttle again.

It will repeat this process 3-5 times to refill the fuel tanks and take cargo.

Once on Mars, the shuttle will make methane for its return journey.

On the way to Mars, solar panels will deploy to create energy for the shuttle, taking it to the red planet at a speed of just over 100,000km/h.

It will glide to the red planets surface, landing horizontally allowing for an easy relaunch once enough fuel has been made.

Musk has shared ideas for how to finance the mission, including a potential plan to use satellites to provide low-cost internet to rural customers and another business opportunity to do Earth observation for crops, climate, and natural disasters.

In June, he published a scientific paper in which he said the only way of attracting enough people to build a settlement on the red planet would be to cut the cost of a one-way ticket.

The entrepreneur aims to get the price down of the ticket down to the cost of an average house in the US or around $200,000 (157,000).

I want to make Mars seem possible make it seem as though it is something that we can do in our lifetime, Musk wrote in thefreely available paper published in New Space.

In the past, the usually optimistic Musk hassaidthe the maiden flight to colonize Mars stands a real good chance of failure.

He added that the first passengers will need to be brave and that going to Mars is not for the faint of heart.

If safety is your top goal, I wouldnt go to Mars, he said.

He also said he wouldnt be vying to be the first man on Mars.

The risk of death would be quite high, and Id like to watch my kids grow up.

He admitted he would take the trip one day.

Id definitely like to go to orbit, visit the space station and ultimately go to Mars, he said.

Id need to make sure if something goes wrong theres a succession plan in place investors taking over the company would be my biggest fear.

This is less about who goes there first.

The thing that really matters is making a self-sustaining civilization on Mars as fast as possible. This is different than Apollo.

This is really about minimizing existential risk and having a tremendous sense of adventure, he said.

NASAs spaceflight boss have admitted the space agency does not have the budget for manned mission to Mars.

During a meeting of the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics on Wednesday, NASAs chief of human spaceflightWilliam H. Gerstenmaier revealed the agency was unable to put a date on missions due to the lack of funding.

The embarrassing admission comes days after Vice President Mike Pence vowed to usher in a new era of American leadership in space, with a return to the Moon and explorers on Mars.

I cant put a date on humans on Mars, and the reason really is that at the budget levels we described, this roughly 2 percent increase, we dont have the surface systems available for Mars, said NASAs William H. Gerstenmaier, responding to a question about when NASA will send humans to the surface of Mars.

The entry, descent and landing is a huge challenge for us for Mars, he said.

We think an unfuelled mars asset vehicle would weigh around 20 tons, thats a 20 fold increase on a rover.

Gerstenmaier also hinted the agency may instead look at returning to the moon instead, and spoke of fiscal realism.

If we find out theres water on the Moon, and we want to do more extensive operations on the Moon to go explore that, we have the ability with Deep Space Gateway to support an extensive Moon surface program, he said, according to ars.

If we want to stay focused more toward Mars we can keep that.

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Elon Musk hints at cutting half the engines from Mars ship - Gears Of Biz