Category Archives: Mars Colonization

Dr. Lucianne Walkowicz is an astronomer at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. This October, she begins work as the new NASA/Library of Congress Chair of Astrobiology.

Lucianne Walkowicz, a researcher at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, is setting off on a year's mission with the U.S. Library of Congress to pick apart the ethics of Mars exploration.

Walkowicz, an eloquent speaker known for her TED talk "Let's not use Mars as a backup planet," has been named the Library of Congress' Baruch S. Blumberg Chair in Astrobiology the first woman to hold the yearlong position. While there, she will work on a project with the title "Fear of a Green Planet: Inclusive Systems of Thought for Human Exploration of Mars."

Space.com talked to Walkowicz about the new project, the current state of space-exploration policy and how the big questions on colonization tie into her activism with underrepresented students in science, technology, engineering and math through the nonprofit organization Urban Alliance. [Making Sense of Humanity's Impact on Earth from Outer Space]

Space.com: How do you intend to explore space policy in order to incorporate it into your research on future Mars exploration?

Lucianne Walkowicz:I think that one of the things that most excites me about being able to carry out this research, specifically at the Library of Congress, is access to not only the history of policy that's within the library's holdings, but also to be in a place where there are a lot of policymakers in other words, Washington, D.C.

What governs how we explore at the moment is theOuter Space Treaty of 1967, which is now quite an old document. It was signed on by most of the countries existing at the time, and says, for example, that you can't own a celestial body.

Back a couple of years ago,the Space Act was enacted, which said that you could actually own some of the products of a celestial body. So, for example, you might not be able to own Mars, but potentially you could own something that you had mined on Mars, and if you look at that document, it says that you can own everything that isn't biological, but you can also own water.

Space.com: Is this, then, a stumbling block of existing exploration policy, or is legislation like the Space Act sufficiently effective?

Walkowicz: So I think this is a nice example of where the policy sounds good on paper but doesn't actually fold in all of the things that we know about astrobiology today. Mars, for example, had once been a much more hospitable world than it is currently: It could have had a past history of life, and could even continue to host microbial life in some trace amount today. Mars is an example of a place that has its own history. And I think a lot of times, within historical narratives, you hear people recycle the talk about exploration. Often there's an assumption that because we don't see large-scale macroscopic life running across the surface of Mars today, that we don't have to worry about those things.

What I would like to do is look at the ways in which these ideas interact with the actual existing policy, and how what we know about Mars now interacts with the existing policy, because it remains a fact that Mars is a place unto its own that has its own history, and what respect do we owe to that history? What rights does that history have? [Luxembourg Adopts Space Resources Law]

Space.com: You mentioned that you are taking this position to research the intersection of science and policy. How would nations negotiate Mars exploration under the current laws?

Walkowicz: One of the things about this research is that we really don't know.

The Outer Space Treaty, which, as I mentioned, is a very old document, is really the closest thing we have to an idea of how internationally we see people existing in space. But the fact of the matter is that even things like the Space Act, which was intended to clear the way for asteroid mining, all have an air of hypothetical-ness about them. That is because nobody has tested them. Nobody has tried to interact with them in a practical way, and I think a large part of this issue is that it hasn't really been thought out very well. There are policies that exist, but the way it would actually go down in real life I think is still very much an open question.

Space.com: What do you think is the most important aspect of the ethics of Mars exploration?

Walkowicz: I would say that the most important aspect, what really draws me to this particular line of research, is the opportunity to closely examine our past history so that we can move forward in a way that is more inclusive for our future: I think that a lot of the ways that we currently speak about exploration draw on narratives that were very harmful in the past.

The comparisons that are so often invoked to Christopher Columbus are a good example, where we constantly recycle these narratives from history that were actually quite harmful, and were histories of exploitation. So, as we move forward to trying to explore places like Mars, I'm curious as to how we can acknowledge these harmful past events and move forward in a way that is more inclusive for everyone who might choose to explore the universe, whether by leaving Earth or by studying it here.

Space.com: In what ways is the scientific community vulnerable to perpetuating historically destructive patterns that stem from its surrounding social environment?

Walkowicz: I think we are at an interesting point in science right now, where truly, for many years I think and this is still a persistent myth people think that science sometimes exists outside of its larger societal framework, and that it is somehow purer and therefore not vulnerable to these harmful patterns that have been enacted in all aspects of society.

But, if you look at the makeup of predominantly who becomes a scientist particularly in physics and astronomy the makeup of who becomes a research-level faculty scientist is still very white and very male, and I think shows that there is still a great deal of inequality in access to STEM careers for people who have not been typically represented as scientists. And that includes people of color, broadly, and women, and especially women of color. [Women of Color in Astronomy Face Greater Degree of Discrimination, Harassment]

Space.com: You're also involved with a nonprofit organization, Urban Alliance, which serves underrepresented students in science, technology, math and engineering. Why is the organization important?

Walkowicz: My interaction with Urban Alliance started here in Chicago. They are predominantly based in the mid-Atlantic, in Virginia, D.C. and Baltimore, but their other location is actually here where I am, in Chicago. I gave a talk at Chicago Ideas Week a couple of years ago, and they had partnered with Urban Alliance, and they brought a group of their students just to hang out afterwards and talk about space. And I had a really wonderful series of questions and answers and conversations with them, and between that and the Adler Planetarium where I am, which has a very vibrant teen program, one of the things I'm always struck by is that our teens have wonderful, insightful questions about our future here on Earth and space, and I think you hear a lot of people talk in sort of the abstract about what the next generation needs or what the next generation thinks, or even people invoking, "Well, all children want to be astronauts, etc.," and you know, when you actually talk to teenagers, they have a beautiful cornucopia of opinions.

I think that working with Urban Alliance or even just more broadly with students in the D.C. area is important, because the majority of people are not asking those students what they think and are not engaging them in actually forging their own futures, and I think that their opinions are important. And I think it's particularly important to reach out to students who do come from diverse backgrounds, because you find that, when you get groups of people together who come from a variety of different places, they see things in a variety of different ways.

Our research shows that that makes for a more robust set of problem solvers, and I really think that the more people we can engage from more backgrounds to work together, the stronger we'll be and the greater our chances will be in space and on Earth. [To Get to Mars, NASA Must Convince Lawmakers]

This aerial view shows Adler Planetarium's relationship to the Chicago skyline in the background.

Space.com: How will you present your findings from the yearlong position you begin in October 2017 as Chair of Astrobiology at the Library of Congress?

Walkowicz: Well, I think it'll be a variety of things. I'll be organizing in this position [a] series of symposia, so a lot of those will be bringing together people who work at the intersection of not only astronomy and planetary science, but also anthropology, policy, and space policy, specifically, and social justice within the sciences.

I'll be hoping to have those people come together at the Library and engage in conversations, so I think there will probably be some public aspect of that to be worked out over the course of this year. But also, I'm hoping to do a lot of writing on the topic. I eventually would like to be writing about this in a longer form; I've played with the idea of writing a book. For the moment, I'd like to spend the year digging into these subjects and writing about them whenever possible, because I think it's important to engage as many people in thinking about this stuff as you can, so I'd love to use this year to have some of these questions reach a wider audience and get people thinking about them more.

I think it's the beginning of a much larger, bigger conversation! [Large laugh] So I'm excited to delve into this in a deeper way.

Follow Doris Elin Salazar on Twitter @salazar_elin.Follow us@Spacedotcom,FacebookandGoogle+. Original article onSpace.com.

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The Ethics of Mars Exploration: Q&A with Lucianne Walkowicz - Space.com

NEWS: NunavutAugust 02, 2017 - 8:00 am JANE GEORGE

You dont have to travel through the solar system to get to Mars.

Thats because you can find a bit of the Red Planet on Devon Island in Nunavuts High Arctic, about 200 kilometres south of Grise Fiord on Ellesmere Island.

Many consider Devons Haughton Crater, a 20-kilometre-wide hole punched out by a meteor collision 23 million years ago, and its surrounding red rock formationsseemingly plucked from a Star Wars filmto be similar to what youd find on a warmer Mars.

So much so, there are many who believe NASAs Rover shots from Mars are indeed shot on Devon Island and they have produced many Youtube videos documenting the alleged hoax, prompting many semi-serious news stories with headlines like The Wild Conspiracy Theory That NASA Is Faking Its Mars Rover Missions In Canada.

On these, you can see photos of rocks from a NASA Mars Rover shots which some say show a walrus bone or a lemming, as in this NASA photo.

Right now, an international crew of six has started a stay (three weeks late due to fog in Resolute Bay) at the edge of the Haughton Crater in a hab (short for habitat,) which looks like a large tin can, as part of a four-month Mars 160 Mission promoted by the Mars Society, which wants to see the colonization of Mars.

The white fibreglass habitat, called the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station, was erected in July 21, 2000, around the same time as the 32nd anniversary of the first moon walk, and when this Nunatsiaq News reporter also managed to hop off a flight heading from Eureka to Resolute Bay to visit the site for a few days.

There, we learned that the loss of habitats key components in an airlift mishap, which included the crane that was to pull up the walls as well as the floors which were to hold these together, had caused problems for the Mars Society, its president and founder, Robert Zubrin, and his construction team:

They were under pressure to get the habitat up because Zubrin had pre-sold the rights to film the construction to the Discovery Channel for US $200,000.

Zubrin, the author of The Case for Mars: the plan to settle the Red Planet and Why We Must, has made the case that manned expeditions to Mars are possible and desirable. His message is that mankind thrives on adversity and that the exploration of Mars will start a new, positive era of human development.

Some of his Mars Societys members want Mars to become a utopian environment, with a new and better society where theres no government intervention, while others want to develop new commercial opportunities, such as the sale of viewing rights to Mars, raising rabbits on Mars (One giant leap, say its proponents) or even burying the deceased on Mars.

For the past eight years, the Flashline station has been uninhabited. In 2005, major problems encountered by the station dwellers included the weather (bad,) mud (sticky,) spaghetti (too much) and the lack of email.

Then, after 2009, due to conflicts between Zubrin and scientists in the neighbouring Haughton-Mars Mars on Earth Project, who have, on and off since 1997, actually tested out some space-age tools at the same site, no one has returned to the station.

Since 2013, the Mars Society has been fundraising to revive the station which it says will serve as a testing ground for Mars exploration, become a useful field research facility and generate public support for sending people to Mars.

According to logs on the Mars Society website, the crew, whose biographies you can read here have undertaken a scouting mission to the south to test trafficability to the Gemini Hills in an EVA or Extra-Vehicular Activity, with protective suits and oxygen tanks, because when youre pretending youre an astronaut on Mars, rather than in Nunavuts back yard, you cant breathe the air.

A member of the crew also made a dish of rice with a number of different sauces containing lentils, beans, tomatoes, chocolate, coffee, maple syrup, honey, coconut milk, milk powder, soy sauce, raisins and many different spices: These are just a few of the ingredients. We are hoping for better weather tomorrow, but the forecast is not good. We have plans for all contingencies.

Their Flashline project does not appear on the list of High Arctic research groups supported by the Polar Continental Shelf Program, which provides logistical support to scientific projects, but its project description, sent to the Nunavut Research Institute, shows those in the station plan to look at lichens and various aspects of the geology of the crater during their stay.

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Mars crew sets up shop again on Nunavut's Devon Island - Nunatsiaq News

In "Mars 2030," players get to land on the Red Planet, explore a realistic future habitat on the surface and dig into the history of the planet's landmarks in immersive 3D. The game is available today (July 31) for the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Steam PC platforms, and will soon be available for PlayStation VR.

Space.com had the chance to strap on the HTC Vive and explore the Mars simulation, which provided a fascinating and realistic if sometimes dizzying excursion across the planet.

"The experience itself covers about 40 square kilometers [15 square miles] of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter data from the HiRISE imagery device, and we read through the manual to convert the raw data from the MRO to function in a real-time game engine environment," Julian Reyes, director of virtual reality/augmented reality at Fusion Media Group, told Space.com. [Red Planet VR: 'Mars 2030' in Pictures]

In "Mars 2030," players can explore 15 square miles (40 square km) of Mars in virtual reality drawn from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Data, as well as a futuristic habitat on the Red Planet's surface.

The members of the production company were inspired by an MIT study that looked into the feasibility of Mars One, a Netherlands-based private colonization effort. The MIT study concluded that the company's setup would be deadly and unsustainable, and the company reached out to the MIT students to get their take on what exactly would work for a stay on Mars.

"They started to provide to us several technical papers, from habitation, spacesuits, rovers, food growth and ISRU [in-situ resource utilization] capabilities," Reyes said. Then, Fusion Media brought its concept to NASA for a partnership and built a team to reconstruct Mars' surface and a habitat, based on one developed by NASA's Langley Research Center, to reconstruct in the game-developer tool Unreal Engine.

The result is an immersive experience that is as scientifically precise as possible.

Space.com's Sarah Lewin gets her Red Planet legs in "Mars 2030."

After landing on Mars flanked by two other astronauts, the player is able to move around using the Vive headset and two hand controllers the astronaut's hands follow the player's, and can be outstretched to pick up samples or plant a flag. (Or at least try to plant a flag it's harder than it looks at first.)

Jumping up, the player floats down more slowly than would be expected the move is calibrated to Mars' gravity, and it's handy for getting around in leaps and bounds.

To get around even faster, though, the player rides in the Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicle rover, based on an actual NASA design. According to Reyes, the team drove a Mars rover over NASA's Mars Yard at Johnson Space Center in Houston to record the precise sound it would make, using eight different microphones. The game itself is scored by the London Symphony Orchestra.

After exploring the habitat featuring a waste-processing area, a Veggie unit with rows of greenery and a research lab, among other modules it's time for the player to explore Mars.

The MRO data sets the game across 15 square miles (40 square km) of Mars' Mawrth Vallis, one of two finalist landing sites for the upcoming ExoMars 2020 rover. The area has a wide variety of clay and varying terrain, making it a promising spot to search for signs of past water and life.

The player can turn and pick things up at any time, and can also smoothly slide forward and backward, but the easiest way to move without nausea, for inexperienced VR players, is to use the controller to teleport forward to any visible area.

Inside the "Mars 2030" habitat, players can explore the waste processing area, Veggie unit (complete with rows of planted greenery) and a research lab.

Players unlock different Discovery Zones across Mars as they collect rock samples. Space.com got a special glimpse of two: A long, cavernous lava tube and a tall, jagged mountain. Picking up a rock in the lava tube prompted a glimpse of the torrential flow that carved it out, and the Space.com player was overtaken by a dust storm that blotted out the sun after a nighttime climb up the mountain's side.

"It's a full day-night cycle, so you get to see Mars during the day and at night, and the transition, and there are dynamic weather systems so every so often you'll get hit by a dust stormor you'll see some dust devils passing by," Reyes said.

In the end, the player builds up an understanding of how the Red Planet has changed over time, plus the splendor of its current terrain, and a vision of how a realistic Mars habitat might function.

In "Mars 2030," the planet goes through day and night cycles over time, and even experiences dust storms which can blot out the sun.

"The general concept for the whole experience is to explore, and make discoveries that either unlock a piece of Mars history or take you back in time and let you see what this planet might have been like," Reyes said.

Players can also bring rocks back to the lab to put under the microscope and search for markers or signs of life. But whether the player finds any the "Mars 2030" creators aren't saying.

Email Sarah Lewin at slewin@space.com or follow her @SarahExplains. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

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Mars 2030: What It Was Like to Explore the Red Planet in Virtual Reality - Space.com

Whats the Schwarzenegger line from that action movie? Get to the choppa! No, wait. Hasta la vista, babee. No, wrong again. Oh yeah! Get your [self] to Mars! Thats it! Its now been 27 years (yikes!) since Total Recall thrilled audiences with hints of virtual realities and Mars colonization and rebellion. Now, you can play a part in a dream of Mars with Total Recall: The Official Tabletop Game, launching on Kickstarter today.

A game of bluffing and deduction for 4-8 players for players ages 12 and up. Total Recall is from Brian Henk and Clayton Skancke, who have also paired up to bring you New Salem, Good Cop, Bad Cop, and Leaders of Euphoria: Choose a Better Oppressor. Total Recall plays in 20-40 minutes and pits rebels against feds against Rekall scientists.

I played with a pre-launch print & play version of the game. Im told that, while the art is pretty close, it will change a bit so that the rebels and feds are easier to tall apart. Additionally, I had some spiffy player mats, which might not be part of the standard game. Additionally, there will likely be some upgrades that backers can pony up for: plastic minis instead of the cardboard gun standees, metal bars for Turbinium instead of the plastic gems, and more. Finally, like all pre-launch projects, components and art are subject to change!

That said, heres what youll find inside the box:

The artwork is original. That is, it doesnt feature the likenesses of any of the actors in either the Arnold Schwarzenegger or Colin Farrell versions. Im not going to try to understand the licensing that goes on with something like this, but Im sure its complicated and expensive, so I understand the reasons for original art.

While the standees and plastic gems do the job just fine, Ive seen renders of what the plastic minis and metal bars might look like and they are impressive and fun. In line with that, theres certainly no need for the play mats; the game will play the same without them, but adding them to the table definitely helps with the theme and are worth considering.

Each player gets a gun, a piece of Turbinium, and a Plot card. Character cards are sorted, depending on the number of players in the game, to create a deck. For instance, if playing with 5 players, remove the cards marked 6+, 7+, and 8+. The cards for Cohaagen and Kuato are removed, along enough cards from the deck to equal the total number of players. These are shuffled and dealt out, guaranteeing that no single player might be dealt both leaders. Next, the remaining deck is dealt until all players have exactly three face-down Character cards.

Players review their cards and determine if they are on the Fed team or the Rebel team, whether by simple majority of cards or possession of either leader. Next, players place the cards face-down in front of them. Players may look at their own cards at any time, but not move their positions after they have been placed. Bluffing then begins, trying to convince, persuade, or dissuade others of your true or false alliance. Rebels try to root out the Feds and kill their leader, Feds try to get the Rebels in the same way.

On a players turnplayers have four options for actionsthey may take one of the following:

If youre shot, you must reveal any face-down Character cards and return your gun to your side. If you have a leader, apply a Wounded token on that card. If the leader was already wounded, the game ends immediately. If you dont have a leader, you have woken from your dream about Mars and are now part of the Rekall team. Set all of your Character cards aside. Turn your reference card/player mat to the Rekall side. You get to keep the Turbinium you had, but you must give your Plot cards to the character who shot you. You have a new objective: to take all the Turbinium from the Fed and Rebel players.

Rekall Scientists, on their turns, may:

Play continues until one of four endgame conditions presents itself. If Kuato or Cohaagen receive two wounds, the game ends and the opposite team wins. If all the Turbinium is either in the Supply or in the hands of the Rekall Scientists, Rekall players win. Finally, if a player possesses both Cohaagen and Kuato at the same time, that player wins.

Total Recall was a movie that really captured a lot of imaginations back in the early 90s. It was great for geeks toohere was the worlds biggest action star in a sci-fi movie. What a great time! Total Recall: The Official Tabletop Game goes a long way toward capturing those feelings (without putting an oversized probe up your nose). The theme of unsuspected rebels walking among the devious feds is perfect for designers Henk & Skanckes brand of bluffing and deduction.

We liked Total Recall a lot; its wonderful. The tension at the table is often thick enough that you couldnt cut it with a Sharon Stone scissor kick. As long as cards are hidden, players are overly cautious and deceitful in revealing any information about their affiliations. However, with just three hidden characters, allegiances are soon revealed. One might think this would lead to a quick end game, however, plot cards and the role of the Rekall Scientists can lead to chaos; joyous, exciting, and wonderful chaos.

By swapping out cards of the dreamers (Rebels and Feds), Rekall Scientists can cause players to switch sides multiple times in a round and tip the balance of the majority. It is insane. Plot cards can also cause players to swap cards, divert shots, protect hidden cards, and more. (Note: This project will also include some NSFW cards, which are marked NSFW for language, specifically, lines from the film. The language, in my opinion, isnt overly objectionableno f-bombsbut if you want to play without these cards, it wont affect gameplay.) Having the Rekall Scientists is a great touch because if you get shot early, you are still in the game to the end (a nice improvement over Good Cop, Bad Cop).

However, the game is not without faults. Twice, during an afternoon of play, a leader was exposed on a very early turn and the game was over before the third round ended. Maybe that was just bad luck on our part, but it did feel weird. Another complaint is that the Turbinium is limited and, while the Plot deck is rich with great effects and adds greatly to the theme, I felt like we didnt get to experience enough of them in the game because players need to have Turbinium to play a Plot card. Maybe that was due to the play style of some of our players, a bit more aggressive than the others, but it was within the rules.

Still, Total Recall: The Official Tabletop Game is a really good time. Games move quickly enough that even if you have bad luck, like we did, were on the losing side, or just didnt get to shoot anyone, the next game is just around the corner. Like most bluffing/deduction games, Total Recall works best when played with a larger group. It can be played with a smaller group, but isnt as much fun, in my opinion. In a bigger crowd, theres more interaction, more deceit, more chance that the Rekall Scientists get involved, and its just better.

So get to Mars, jump in a Johnny Cab, start the reactor, back the game, and start having a blast!

I work. I play games. Sometimes I work at playing games.

Originally posted here:
Kickstarter Alert: Get to Mars With 'Total Recall: The Official Tabletop Game' - GeekDad (blog)

Inspired from FutureTimeline.net and the Integrated Space Plan we have created a speculated timeline of human exploration and colonization of Mars. Predictions are based on a reasonably optimistic evaluation of technological and social progress of humanity. Only the most important and innovative events are mentioned. Timeline is regularly updated taking into account latest developments. Last update was made on 30th July, 2017.

The timeline will get a major update when SpaceX will reveal its updated plan for Mars later this year.

2036 The ISRU capabilities of Mars Base Alphaare extended not only to produce air, water and rocket fuel, but also steel, bricks, cement and basic fertilizers, plastics and silica products (as glass). Some industrial size 3D printers are also assembled, as well as equipment to make Martian soil usable in the greenhouse. First reality show on Mars is transmitted to Earth and called "Mars One" 🙂 2037 First child is born on Mars atMars Base Alpha. His voyage to Earth later in his life would be dangerous because of his bones and organs not being fit for Earth's gravity. 2037 NASA's 1st crew leaves Mars. 2037 Blue Origin's 1st crew leaves Mars. 2037 Second full-crew ITS spaceship with 100 human colonists and workers lands at Mars Base Alpha, which now has a population of more than 200. Among them is SpaceX's founder Elon Musk.

2040 Two moreITSspaceships with 200 human colonists, workers and somewealthy tourists landatMars Base Alpha.

2040 3rd Blue Origin's crew lands at Blue Mars base, which now has a population of ~50.

Mars becomes practically self-sufficient, having to import only the most complex goods and intellectual property.

The self-sufficiency results in Mars becoming an independent nation-state. The Martian government has to buy up the non-Martian governmental assets located on Mars.

As a technologically advanced frontier society Mars and orbital stations around it become the primary source of specialists and workers needed for human bases and missions further in Main asteroid belt and outer Solar system.

Air pressure and temperature on Mars is increased to the level where there is flowing water on the surface and simple plants can be introduced into newly created biosphere of the planet.

As one of the lower regions on Mars close to the equator Valles Marineris is seeing the most benefits from terraformation activities and Phobos space elevator; cities and farming communities are spreading throughout the valleys and at the end of the 22nd century there are nearly 5 million people living in Valles Marineris. It's the most populous urban area on Mars.

In the 22nd century the total human population on Mars increases 30-fold - to more than 30 million.

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human Mars: Mars Colonization Timeline

Android Marvel (blog)

Mars colonization Android Marvel (blog) Mars would be a boring place to live according to Physicist Brian Cox · July 29, 2017 Abhin Mahipal 0 Comments Brian Cox, Mars, Mars colonization. According to popular physicist Brian Cox, humans will live in cities on Mars within the next 50 to 100 years. and more »

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Mars colonization - Android Marvel (blog)

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced via Twitter on Thursday that the company will aim for a November launch for the Falcon Heavy, the huge rocket capable of taking crewed missions to Mars.

As Musk recently emphasized , though, that launch will be just the beginning of flight testing, and theres a good chance that the vehicle does not make it into orbit on the first try.

Its also worth noting, as The Verge has, that the Falcon Heavy has already had tentative launch targets that didnt come to fruition. In 2011, for instance, Musk said the Falcon Heavy would launch in 2013 or 2014.

Get Data Sheet , Fortunes technology newsletter.

Joining a tradition of Muskian optimism, the Heavy turned out to be a much bigger engineering challenge than anticipated. It has 27 engines, three times as many as SpaceXs Falcon 9, and all of those engines have to be carefully synchronized for a successful launch. But the firmer target date, and recent milestones including a test-fire of a booster on the ground, suggest things are on track this time around.

The Heavy needs all those engines to deliver its 54-ton payloads, potentially including human crew and infrastructure for crewed bases, as far as Mars. Earlier this year, SpaceX pushed back its target date for the first Mars missions from 2018 to 2020.

(Musks colonization road map also includes an even bigger rocket, with 550 metric tons of orbital lift, but its still in early development .)

Most importantly for SpaceXs plans, the Falcon Heavy, like the Falcon 9, will have reusable components that land intact on Earth after launch. Re-use is projected to drastically reduce launch costs, but even after success with the Falcon 9, that trick could be several years coming for Falcon Heavy.

See more here:
SpaceX's First Mars Rocket Will Launch This November - Fortune

Researchers are using Devon Island in Canadas High Arctic as a stand-in for Mars to help better understand how astronauts could survive the red planets hostileenvironment.

Members of the Mars 160 expedition stand in front of the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station on Devon Island in Nunavut, Canada.

Perched on the edge of a 39-million-year-old crater is a white circular hut. It sticks out on the rocky, lichen-dotted landscape of Devon Island in Nunavut,Canada.

Known as the Hab, this 8m (26ft) diameter structure is home to six scientists and researchers who just moved in for a 12-week mission to simulate life onMars.

The Arctic has long been a frontier for exploration, and now its being used to open horizons on other planets. Last week, theMars 160 missionlaunched phase two of its program, sending an international team to theFlashline Mars Arctic Research Station. Initially, the mission was set for three months of immersive study, but poor weather conditions may cause the mission to be cut to half its original length. While at the station, the team will test equipment and undertake a suite of geological, microbiological and paleontological experiments to prepare future astronauts for exploration on the redplanet.

The mission is run by theMars Society, a space advocacy organization preparing for human exploration and settlement on the red planet. The first phase of the mission was conducted from a research base in the desert of southern Utah in the fall of 2016. The conditions of the barren, Mars-like landscape of the Arctic North will serve to test the conclusions of the desert-based research and see if the more costly Arctic simulations can provide equally valuablepayoffs.

The advantage of our simulations is theyre done in real Mars analogs where you can do real field science that you cant do in a building, said Shannon Rupert, principal investigator of the mission and director of the Mars Desert Research Station. Whats unique about this mission is its comparing one analog to another analog. A twin study like this has never been done where the same people do the same investigations in two separate Marsanalogs.

Mars 160 expedition members explore Devon Islands lichen-covered landscape in spacesuits. (Photo Courtesy the MarsSociety)

The Arctic also offers unusual landscapes similar to ones seen on Mars. One team member, Paul Knightly, is studying Arctic polygons honeycombed soil structures formed by the freeze and thaw of thepermafrost.

We know Mars has Arctic-like polygons in permafrost, Rupert said. So we know theres a process in the Arctic that were seeing on Mars, and we can conduct tests about it from ourstation.

The inhospitable conditions of the Arctic have long held interest to scientists studying life on other planets, and indeed the Hab isnt the first outpost on Devon Island theHaughton Mars Projectrun by the Mars Institute has been conducting studies from the crater annually for two decades. Other teams of astrobiologists have also tested experiments in Arctic lakes that could some day be used for looking for cellular life on water worlds like Europa, and geologists have scoured northern ice fields in search of meteorites that hold clues to how our solar systemformed.

Out in the crater, two team members wander the desolate landscape in white spacesuits, simulating the atmospheric conditions of Mars and simultaneously testing the suits design. However, unlike on the distant planet, the explorers of the alien Arctic landscape are required to have one member carry a shotgun, in case of curious polar bears. The Mars 160 team scouts the environment around the Hab, just as the first Martian explorers will investigate Mars. So far they have taken soil samples and studied collected biological specimens, such as lichen andinsects.

The six crew members come from four continents, and their expertise spans a range of disciplines from geology to biology to engineering. The diversity is intentional, as part of the mission goal is to better understand team dynamics in isolatedenvironments.

Not only do they come from different backgrounds and speak different languages, their perceptions of things based on their experiences are very different, Rupert said. Whenever we do go to Mars, were going to have to look at how you take the best people from diverse backgrounds and throw them into a mission and make them successful at that mission. This team has really proven that, regardless of where youre from and what your background is, its possible come together and pull as ateam.

Though the team keeps busy with lab work and writing, in their spare time they relax like any Earth-bound human reading books, baking, exercising on a stationary bike and watching movies (the team is currently working their way through season two of the television show The Expanse, a sci-fi show depicting future colonization of Mars). Power is supplied to the Hab by generators, and all food supplies were brought in on arrival. For the duration of the mission, the team works in isolation, connected to the rest of the planet only through emails sent over a satellitephone.

With initiatives like the Mars Society,Breakthrough StarshotandSpaceX, space colonization is no longer confined to the dreams of science-fiction authors, and it seems the Arctic will continue to play a role in providing a test bed for scientists andengineers.

Continue reading here:
Portals to New Worlds: Martian Exploration Near the North Pole - News Deeply

I have heard the same theme over and over from the media, both locally and in Washington: Bipartisanship is dead. The truth is bipartisanship and partisanship occur daily in Washington, but the prior acts rarely get covered.

Case in point: We in Congress passed our last budget bill (omnibus) several months ago with vast bipartisan support, and with the usual horse-trading compromises made. Yet it made little difference to the partisanship narrative. We passed a reauthorization bill for NASA, including futuristic goals of going to Mars and even potential Mars colonization. This will inspire millions of Americans and be a major boost to Central Florida's economy. But only Florida Today in Brevard County covered it extensively.

Kristie Boyd,U.S. House Office of Photography /

U.S. Rep. Darren Soto is a Democrat from Orlando.

U.S. Rep. Darren Soto is a Democrat from Orlando. (Kristie Boyd,U.S. House Office of Photography /)

We also made America safer without major local coverage. We passed the National Defense Authorization Act out of the House with Democrats and Republicans from Florida passing several bipartisan amendments. The measure is now before the Senate. As a freshman Democrat in a GOP-majority Congress, I sponsored five amendments that passed. Among them were amendments relating to World War II and Korean veterans; assisting military doctors transition to employment for the VA Hospital; reporting on global nuclear threats through space-based detection; and focusing our federal simulation-and-training policy and increasing readiness.

Another victory for bipartisan majorities included thwarting anti-climate-change and anti-LGBT amendments to this defense package. Again, this major bill was supported by the majority of both parties.

In addition, we in Congress just passed our Department of Homeland Security reauthorization with overwhelming bipartisan support. And, we will likely pass an upcoming debt-ceiling bill with the help of a bipartisan majority.

Daily, we pass basic bills to keep the federal government running. Of course, major issues are fiercely debated, like how to boost our economy, the push to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the Trump-Russia investigation, President Trumps accountability, environmental policy, constitutional rights, immigration and tax reform. However, intense debate is a sign of a robust democracy at work, not the end of one.

This bipartisanship is especially significant considering that the Congresses of yore we're compared to were populated almost exclusively by rich white men with strong common backgrounds, regardless of party. It was easier for them to identify with and understand each other. This bipartisan history may have worked for them, but not so much for women, minorities and our LGBT community prior to the 1960s. Our diversity gives historic context to this partisanship debate; yet we still work together often.

So, for everyone from undying optimists to constant naysayers in the media, please continue your critiques. The Fourth Estate is critical to a thriving democracy. I understand that sensationalizing conflict attracts internet clicks and readers interests and pays the bills. I only ask the media to consider covering bipartisan efforts with even a margin of the vigor that these partisan conflicts are covered.

Who knows? People may actually read them and be inspired.

See the original post:
Tell the media bipartisanship's alive and well in DC - Orlando Sentinel

Enlarge / SpaceX may be dumping the outer ring of 21 engines for its new Mars vehicle.

SpaceX

Last year, SpaceX founder Elon Musk shared plans for his transportation system to send humans to Mars in the 2020s. But the fantastically huge rocket, with 42 Raptor engines and enormous technical challenges, seemed more like science fiction than reality. Then there was the small matter of who would pay the tens of billions of dollars to develop a rocket that had fewif anycommercial prospects beyond sending 100 people to Mars at a time.

Musk seems to have realized that his ambitions were a tad too ambitious in recent months, and has said he will release a "revised" plan for Mars colonization that addresses some of these technical and fiscal questions. Now, we know this discussion will come duringthe 2017 International Astronautical Conference in Adelaide, Australia, on September 29. And this weekend, Musk dropped a big hint about the change.

In response to a question on Twitter, Musk wrote, "A 9m diameter vehicle fits in our existing factories ..." And this is actually quite a substantial hint, because the original "Interplanetary Transport System" had a massive 12-meter diameter. By scaling back to 9 meters, this suggests that Musk plans to remove the outer ring of 21 Raptor engines, leaving a vehicle with 21 engines instead of the original 42. While still complicated to manage during launch and flight, 21 engines seems more reasonable. Such a vehicle would also have about 50 percent less mass.

At 9 meters the revised Mars rocket would still be considerably larger than SpaceX's current booster, the 3.7-meter Falcon 9 rocket. But it would be smaller than the most powerful rocket ever flown, the 10-meter Saturn V booster that launched the Apollo crews to the Moon.

Downscaling the Mars booster suggests that Musk may be bending toward reality. A 9-meter rocket means that it could be produced in SpaceX's existing facilities, saving the company the expense of building a much larger factory. (Pragmatically, it could also be produced in NASA's rocket factory in Michoud, La., without major renovations). A smaller, but still powerful rocket also opens the door to commercial opportunities and military contracts.

Most notably, the US Air Force is in the midst of soliciting bids for the second phase of a $2 billion competition to develop new launch vehicles that can meet the government's space mission needs. This is part of the Air Force's efforts to end US reliance on the Russian-made RD-180 engine, and this competition is for development contracts to build launch systems capable of flying missions by the early- to mid-2020s. It is possible, then, that SpaceX may bid for some of these funds to help develop the Mars rocket, perhaps for the Raptor engine, or the entire vehicle.

A successful Air Force bid would answer one important question Musk faceshow to pay for the Mars rocket. An answer to another key question could come later this year, whether SpaceX can really manage to control dozens of rocket engines during flight. Although the Falcon Heavy rocket has a different configuration from the Mars rocket, it requires the coordination of 27 Merlin engines during launch. If SpaceX can do that during the Falcon Heavy's maiden launchpossibly later this yearthen controlling 21 engines on the Mars rocket doesn't seem to be that great of a stretch.

Read more from the original source:
Elon Musk's Mars rocket may be about to lose half of its engines - Ars Technica