Category Archives: Mars Colonization

This is Part 3 of a four-part series on Elon Musks companies. For an explanation of why this series is happening andhow Musk is involved, start with Part 1.

Pre-Post Note: I started working on this post ten weeks ago. When I started, I neverintended for it to become such an ordeal. But like theTesla post, I decided as I researched that this was A) a supremely important topic that will only become more important in the years to come, and B) something most people dont know nearly enough about.My weeks of research and discussions with Musk and others built me an in-depth, tree-trunk understanding of whats happening in what Im calling The Story of Humans and Spaceone that has totally reframed my mental picture of the future (yet again). And as I planned out what to include in thepost, I wanted to make sure every Wait But Why reader ended up with the same foundation moving forwardbecause with everything thats coming, were gonna need it.So like the Tesla post, this post became a full situation. Even the progress updatesleading upto its publication became a full situation.

Thanks for your patience. I know youd prefer this not to be a site that updates every two months, and I would too. The Tesla and SpaceX posts were special cases, and you can expect a return to more normal-length WBW posts now that theyre done.

About the post itself: There are three main parts. Part 1 provides the context and background, Part 2 explores the Why part of colonizing Mars, and Part 3 digs into the How. To make reading this post as accessible as possible, its broken into five pages, each about the length of a normal WBW post, and you can jump to any part of the post easily by clicking the links in the Table of Contents below.Were alsotrying two new things, both coming in the next couple days:

1) PDF and ebook options:We made a fancy PDF of this post for printing and offline viewing (see a preview here), and an ebook containing the whole four-part Elon Musk series:

There are two versions of the PDF: Normal and G-Rated. The G-Rated version is totally clean and appropriate for all ages. The PDF cost covers both versions.

2) An audio version. You can find an unabridged audio version of the post, read by me, as well as a discussion about the post between Andrew and mehere.

___________

Contents

Part 1: The Story of Humans and Space

Part 2: Musks Mission

Part 3: How to Colonize MarsPhase 1: Figure out how to put things into space Phase 2: Revolutionize the cost of space travel Phase 3: Colonize Mars

A SpaceX Future

2365 AD, Ganymede

One more day untildeparture. It was so surrealto picture actuallybeingthere that she still didnt really believe it would happen. All those things she had always heard aboutbuildings that were constructed hundreds ofyears before the first human set foot on Ganymede;animals the size ofa house; oceans the size of her whole world; tropical beaches; the famous blue sky; thegiant sun thats so close it can burn your skin; and the weirdest partno Jupiterhovering overhead. Having seen it all in so many movies, she felt like she was going tovisit a legendarymovie set. It was too much to think about all at once. For now, she just had to focus on makingsure she had everything she neededand saying goodbye to everyoneit wouldbe a long time before she wouldsee them again

___________

Part 1: The Story of Humans and Space

About six million years ago, a very important female great ape had two children. One of her children would go on to become the common ancestor of all chimpanzees. The other wouldgivebirth to a line that would one day include the entire human race.While the descendants of her first child wouldend up being pretty normal and monkey-ish, as time passed, strange things began to happenwith the lineage of the other.11 click these

Were not quite sure why, but over the next six million years, our ancestral line started to do something no creatures on Earth had ever done beforethey woke up.

It happened slowly and gradually through the thousands of generations the same wayyour brain slowly comes to inthe first few seconds after you rousefrom sleep. But as the clarity increased, our ancestors started to look around and, for the very first time,wonder.

Emerging froma 3.6-billion-year dream, life on Earth had its first questions.

What is this big room were in, and who put us here? What is that bright yellow circle on the ceiling and where does it go every night? Where does the ocean end and what happens when you get there? Where are all the dead people now that theyre not here anymore?

We had discoveredour species great mystery novelWhere Are We?and we wanted to learn how to read it.

As the light of human consciousness grew brighter and brighter, we began to arrive atanswers that seemed to make sense.Maybe we were on top of afloating disk, and maybe that disk was on top of a huge turtle. Maybe the pinpricks of light above us at night are a glimpse into what lies beyond this big roomand maybe thats where we go when we die. Maybe if we can find the place where the ceiling meets the floor, we can poke our heads through and see all the super fun stuff on the other side.2

Around 10,000 years ago,isolated tribes of humans began to merge together and form the first cities. In larger communities, people were able to talk to each other about this mystery novel we had found, comparing notes across tribes and through the generations. As the techniques for learning became more sophisticated and the clues piled up, new discoveries surfaced.

The world was apparently a ball, not a disk. Which meant that the ceiling was actually a larger sphere surrounding us. The sizes ofthe other objects floating out there in the sphere with us, and the distances between them, were vaster than we had ever imagined. And then, something upsetting:

The sun wasnt revolving around us. We were revolving around the sun.

This was asuperunwarm, unfuzzy discovery. Why the hell werent we in the center of things?What did that mean?

Where are we?

The sphere was already unpleasantlybigif we werent in the center of it, were we just on a random ballinside of it, kind of for no apparent reason? Could this really be what was happening?

Scary.

Then things got worse.

It seemed that the pinpricks of light on the edge of the sphere werent what we thought they werethey were other suns like ours. And they were out there floating just like our sunwhich meanswe werent inside of a sphere at all. Not only was our planet not the center of things, even oursunwas just a random dude out there, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothingness.

Scary.

Our sun turned out to be a little piece of something much bigger. A beautiful, vast cloud of billionsof suns. The everything of everything.

At least we had that. Until we realized that it wasnt everything, it was this:

Darkness.

Thebetterour tools and understanding became, the more we could zoom out, and the more we zoomed out, the more things sucked. We were deciphering the pages of Where Are We?at our own peril, and we had deciphered our way right into the knowledgethatwere unbelievably alone, living on a lonely island inside a lonely island inside a lonely island, buried in layers ofisolation, with no one to talk to.

Thats our situation.

In the most recent 1% of our species short existence, we have becomethe first life on Earth to know about the Situationand wevebeen having a collective existential crisis ever since.

You really cant blame us. Imagine not realizing that the universe is a thing andthen realizing the universe is a thing. Its alotto take in.

Most of ushandle itbylivingin a pleasantdelusion,pretending that the only place we live is in an endless land of colors and warmth. Were likethis guy, whos doing everything he possibly can to ignore the Situation:3

And our best friend for this activity? The clearblue sky. The blue sky seems like it was inventedto help humans pretend the Situation doesnt exist, serving as the perfect whimsicalbackdrop to shield us from reality.

Thennighttime happens,and theres the Situation, staring us right in the face.

Oh yeah

This la-di-da oh yeah la-di-da oh yeah merry-go-round of psychosis was, for most of recent history, the extent of our relationship with the Situation.

But in the last 60 years, that relationship has vaulted to a whole new level.DuringWorld War II, missile technology leapt forward,2 and for the first time, a new, mind-blowingconcept was possible

Space travel.

For thousands of years, The Story of Humans and Space had been the story of staring out and wondering. The possibility of peopleleaving our Earth island and venturing out into spaceburst openthe human spirit of adventure.

I imagine a similar feeling in the people of the 15th century, during the Age of Discovery, when we wereworking our way through the world map chapterofWhere Are We?and the notion of cross-ocean voyagesdazzledpeoples imaginations. If you asked a child in 1495 what they wanted to be when they grew up, an ocean explorer would probably have been a common response.

In 1970, if you asked a child the same question, the answer would be, an astronauti.e.a Situation explorer.

WWII advanced the possibility of human space travel, but it was in late 1957, when the Soviets launched the first man-made object into orbit, the adorableSputnik 1, that space travel became thedefining quest of the worlds great powers.

At the time, the Cold War was in full throttle, and the US and Soviets had their measuring sticksout for an internationally-televised penis-measuring contest. With the successful launch of Sputnik, the Soviet penis bolted outby a few centimeters, horrifying the Americans.

To the Soviets, putting a satellite into spacebefore the US was proof that Soviet technology was superior to Americantechnology, which in turn was put forward as proof, for all the world to see, that communism was a system superior to capitalism.

Eight months later,NASA was born.

The Space Race had begun, and NASAs first order of business would be to get a maninto space, and then a man into full orbit, preferably both before the Soviets. The US was not to be shown up again.

In 1959, NASA launched Project Mercury to carry out the mission. They were on the verge of successwhen in April of 1961, the Soviets launched Yuri Gagarin into a full orbit around the Earth, making the first human in space and in orbit a Soviet.

It was time for drastic measures. John F. Kennedys advisors told him that the Soviets had too big a lead for the US to beat them atany near-term achievementsbut that the prospect of a manned moon landing was far enough in the future that the US had a fighting chance to get there first. So Kennedy gave his famous we choose to go to the moon, not because it is easy, but because it is hahhd speech, and directed an outrageous amount of fundingat the mission ($20 billion, or $205 billion in todays dollars).

The result was Project Apollo. Apollos missionwas to land an American on the moonand to do itfirst. The Soviets answered with Soyuz, their own moon program, and the race was on.

As the early phases of Apollo started coming together, Project Mercury finally hit its stride.Just a month after Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space, American astronaut Alan Shepard became the second man in space, completing alittle arc that didnt put him in full orbit but allowed him to give space a high-five at the top of the arc.A few months later, in February of 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth.

The next sevenyears saw 22 US and Soviet manned launches as the superpowers honed their skills and technology. By late 1968, the furiously-sprinting US had more total launches under their belt (17) than the Soviets (10), andtogether, the two nationshad mastered what we call Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

But LEOhadnt really excitedanyonesince the early 60s. Both powers had their sights firmly set on the moon.The Apollo program was making quick leaps, and in December of 1968, the US became the first nation to soar outside of LEO. Apollo 8 made it all the way to the moons orbitandcircled around 10times before returning home safely. The crew, which includedJames Lovell (who a few months laterplayed the role of Tom Hanks on the Apollo 13 mission), shattered the human altitude record and became the first people to see the moon up close, the first to see the dark side of the moon, and the first to see the Earth as a whole planet, snapping this iconicphoto:4

Upon return, the crew became Americas most celebrated heroeswhich I hope they enjoyed for eight months. Three Apollo missions later, in July of 1969, Apollo 11 made Americans Neil Armstrong3and Buzz Aldrin the first humans on the moon, and Armstrong took this famous photo of Aldrin looking all puffy:5

Its hard to fully emphasize what a big deal thiswas. Ever since life on Earth began 3.6 billion years ago, no earthly creature had set foot on any celestialbody other than the Earth. Suddenly, there are Armstrong and Aldrin, bouncing aroundanothersphere, looking up in the sky where themoon is supposed to be and seeing the Earth instead. Insane.

Project Apollo proved to be a smashing success. Not only did Apolloget a man onthe moon before the Soviets, the program sent10 more men to the moon over the next 3.5 years on five other Apollo missions. There were six successful moon trips in seven tries, with the famous exception being Apollo 13, which was safely aborted after an explosion in the oxygen tank.4

The Soviet Soyuz programkept running into technical problems, and it never ended up putting someoneon the moon.

The final Apollo moonwalk took place in late 1972. In only one decade, we had conquered nearby space, and progress was accelerating. If at that time you had asked any American, or any other human, what the coming decadesof space travel would bring, theyd have made big, bold predictions. Many more people on the moon, a permanent moon base, people on Mars, and beyond.

So you can only imagine how surprised theyd be if you told them in 1972, after just watching 12 humans walk on the moon, that 43 years later, in the impossibly futuristic-sounding year 2015, the number of people to set foot on the moonwould still be 12. Or that after leaving Low Earth Orbit in the dust years earlier and using it now as our pre-moon trip parking lot, 2015 would roll around and LEO would be the farthest out humans would ever go.

1972 peoplewould be blown away by our smart phones and our internet, but theyd be just asshocked that we gave up on pushing our boundaries in space.

So what happened? After such a wildlyexciting decade of human space adventure, why did we just stop?

Well, like we foundin the Tesla post, Why did we stop? is the wrong question. Instead, we should ask:

Why were we ever adventurousabout sending humans into space in the first place?

Space travel is unbelievably expensive.National budgets are incredibly tight. The fact is, its kind of surprising that a nation everponied up asizable chunk of itsbudgetfor the sake of adventure and inspiration and pushing our boundaries.

Andthats actually because no nationdidblow their budget for the sake of adventure and inspiration andpushing our boundariestwo nations blew their budgets because of a penislength contest. In the face of internationalembarrassment at a time when everyone was trying to figure out whose economic system was better, the US government agreed to drop the usual rules for a few years to pour whatever resources were necessary on the problem to make sure they won that argument

And once they won it, the contest was over and so were the special rules. And the USwent back to spending money like a normalperson.6

Instead of continuing to push the limitsat all costs, the US and the Soviets got a grip, put their pants back on, shook hands, and started working together like adults on far more practical projects, like setting up a joint space station in LEO.

In the four decades since then, the Story of Humans and Space has again become confined to Earth, where we find ourselves with two primary reasons to interact with space (Note: the next whole chunk of the post isa slight diversion for an overview on satellites, space probes, and space telescopes. If that doesnt excite you, I wont be hurt if you skip down to the International Space Stationsection):

1)Support for Earth Industries

The first and primary reasonhumans have interacted with space since the Apollo program isnt about human interest in space. Its about using space for practical purposes in support of industries on Earthmostly in the form of satellites. The bulk of todays rocket launches into space are simply putting things intoLEOwhose purpose is to lookback down at Earth, not to the great expanses in the other direction.

Heres a little satellite overview:

Satellites Blue Box

We dont think about them that often, but above us are hundreds offlying robots that play a large part in our lives on Earth.In 1957, lonely Sputnik circled the Earth by itself, but today, the worlds of communication, weather forecasting, television, navigation, and aerial photography all rely heavily on satellites, as do many national militaries and government intelligence agencies.

The total market for satellite manufacturing, the launches that carry them to space, and related equipment and services has balloonedfrom $60 billion in 2004 to over $200 billion in 2015.Satellite industry revenue today makes up only 4% of the global telecommunications industry but accounts forover 60% of space industry revenue.7

Heres how the worlds satellites breakdown by role (in 2013):8

Go here to see the original:
How (and Why) SpaceX Will Colonize Mars - Wait But Why

Nathan Snow, For Where It's @ 4:49 p.m. MT April 4, 2017

Highly addicting and undeniably fun, this base-builder will have you happily (or madly) clicking away for hours on end as you outwit the elements. Available on Mac or PC for $19.99.(Photo: submitted)

You could easily make the case that survival is its own genre. From literature like Jack Londons To Build a Fire, movies like The Martian, and video games like Ark, there is something special about pitting your wits against the harsh, simulated elements and coming off conqueror. That is not to say that the genre, at least as it exists in video games, is not without its flaws. Survival games have often fallen prey to hours upon hours of endless grinding or collecting copious amounts of resources to build a single survival tool. Thats why its so refreshing to see a game break the mold.

Highly addicting and undeniably fun, this base-builder will have you happily (or madly) clicking away for hours on end as you outwit the elements. Available on Mac or PC for $19.99.(Photo: submitted)

Planetbase is a combination base-building and survival game. You play as the commander/architect/city planner/interior designer of a extraterrestrial colony of people. Your colonization ship lands on the alien planet and you are faced with the extreme task of building a base and beating the odds. You are given a handful of colonists with varying specialities and a small robot to start off with. Planetbase happens in real time, so from the very first moment the game keeps you busy building oxygen generators, sleeping quarters, cafeterias, factories and other elements to not only survive, but thrive. The end goal of what you are building is a completely self-sustaining human ecosystem: one wherein food, supplies, medicine and amenities are perfectly balanced. Achieving this balance is difficult enough given the limited resources you have at the beginning of the game, and it is even further complicated by the arrival of new colonists and unexpected meteor hits that throw your system out of whack.

Highly addicting and undeniably fun, this base-builder will have you happily (or madly) clicking away for hours on end as you outwit the elements. Available on Mac or PC for $19.99.(Photo: submitted)

Admittedly it took me about four tries before I got the hang of it. On the first attempt all of my colonists asphyxiated. The second: starvation. You get the picture. But, when I finally got past those all important first ten minutes or so and had a self-sustaining colony thats when the real fun began. When you begin building bigger and better structures and upgrading your colony the games structure brings you into a wonderful situation wherein you challenge yourself to expand. Expansion brings challenges, and meeting these constitutes the bulk of the game and were most of the excitement generates. The best moments in the game happen when, after a particularly intense few minutes after you have made a major change to your colony, you start to notice your settlement reach equilibrium again, and you can move on to the next challenge and create the perfect extraterrestrial community.

Highly addicting and undeniably fun, this base-builder will have you happily (or madly) clicking away for hours on end as you outwit the elements. Available on Mac or PC for $19.99.(Photo: submitted)

There is little objectionable content, though when thieves enter your settlement your security forces quietly dispose of them.

(Photo: submitted)

Nathan Snow is a freelance writer for Where Its @. Follow him on twitter @nathanssnow.

RATING

4 out of 5 Stars

Highly addicting and undeniably fun, this base-builder will have you happily (or madly) clicking away for hours on end as you outwit the elements. Available on Mac or PC for $19.99.

Read or Share this story: http://www.thespectrum.com/story/entertainment/2017/04/04/planetbase-possibly-experiencing-colonizing-mars/100034422/

Follow this link:
'Planetbase': Possibly experiencing colonizing Mars - St. George Daily Spectrum

Neil deGrasse Tyson, the ever-witty astrophysicist who delivers the truth about space and science to the masses, held a Reddit AMA on Sunday, and it included a playful challenge to SpaceX founder Elon Musk.

SEE ALSO: Sorry, y'all. SpaceX isn't going to Mars in 2018

When asked about SpaceX's recent Falcon 9 mission and whether he'd ever consider making a trip to Mars via SpaceX, Tyson kept it far realer than many might have expected.

"I really like Earth. So any space trip I take, I'm double checking that there's sufficient funds for me to return," said Tyson.

But then came the zinger, "Also, I'm not taking that trip until Elon Musk send[s] his Mother and brings her back alive. Then I'm good for it."

25 PHOTOS

Neil deGrasse Tyson through the years

See Gallery

Neil deGrasse Tyson (Photo by Deborah Feingold/Corbis via Getty Images)

NEW YORK CITY, NY - MAY 8: Neil deGrasse Tyson attends TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People 2007 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on May 8, 2007 in New York City. (Photo by PATRICK MCMULLAN/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 28: Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson poses for a portrait at The Rose Center for Earth and Space Hayden Planetarium on February 28, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Myrna Suarez/Getty Images)

COSMOS: A SPACETIME ODYSSEY: Host Neil deGrasse Tyson travels to the Earth of the Carboniferous in the 'The Lost Worlds of Planet Earth' episode airing Sunday, May 4, 2014 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX and Monday, May 5, 2014 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on Nat Geo. (Photo by FOX via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 12: Neil deGrasse Tyson makes a few remarks at a Celebration Of Carl Sagan at The Library of Congress on November 12, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images)

PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 13: Neil DeGrasse Tyson (L) and executive producer Seth MacFarlane speak during the FOX portion of the 2014 Television Critics Association Press Tour at the Langham Hotel on January 13, 2014 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

COSMOS: A SPACETIME ODYSSEY: More than three decades after Carl Sagan's groundbreaking and iconic series, 'Cosmos: A Personal Voyage,' it's time once again to set sail for the stars. Host and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson sets off on the Ship of the Imagination to discover Earth's Cosmic Address and its coordinates in space and time in the 'Standing Up in the Milky Way' Series Premiere episode of COSMOS: A SPACETIME ODYSSEY airing Sunday, March 9, 2014 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (Photo by FOX via Getty Images)

COSMOS: A SPACETIME ODYSSEY: Host Neil deGrasse Tyson travels to northern Italy to learn how Albert Einstein developed his famous theories of relativity in the 'A Sky Full of Ghosts' episode of airing Sunday, March 30, 2014 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX and Monday, March 31, 2014 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on Nat Geo. (Photo by FOX via Getty Images)

AUSTIN, TX - MARCH 08: Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson speaks onstage at the Neil DeGrasse Tyson Keynote during the 2014 SXSW Music, Film + Interactive Festival at Austin Convention Center on March 8, 2014 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Earl Mcgehee/Getty Images for SXSW)

COSMOS: A SPACETIME ODYSSEY: Neil deGrasse Tyson in the the 'A Sky Full of Ghosts' episode of COSMOS: A SPACETIME ODYSSEY airing Sunday, March 30, 2014 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX and Monday, March 31, 2014 (10:00-11:00 PM ET/PT) on Nat Geo. (Photo by FOX via Getty Images)

LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS -- Episode 0015 -- Pictured: (l-r) Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and Seth Reiss as Pluto during an interview with host Seth Meyers on March 14, 2014 -- (Photo by: Peter Kramer/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

COSMOS: A SPACETIME ODYSSEY: Host Neil deGrasse Tyson explores the ideas of death and immortality in the cosmos in the all-new 'The Immortals' episode airing Sunday, May 18, 2014 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX and Monday, May 19, 2014 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on Nat Geo. (Photo by FOX via Getty Images)

COSMOS: A SPACETIME ODYSSEY: Host Neil deGrasse Tyson in the 'Unafraid of The Dark' Season Finale episode airing Sunday, June 8, 2014 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX and Monday, June 9, 2014 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on Nat Geo. (Photo by FOX via Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 04: Neil deGrasse Tyson and Ann Druyan attend the Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey: 'Unafraid Of The Dark' Final Episode Screening at The Paley Center for Media on June 4, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Jenny Anderson/WireImage)

PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 07: Neil deGrasse Tyson, author, astrophysicist, lecturer and director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History, speaks onstage during the National Geographic Channel Special Programming Announcement at the 2015 Winter Television Critics Association press tour at the Langham Huntington Hotel & Spa on January 7, 2015 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 31: Astrophysicist and host of 'COSMOS', Neil deGrasse Tyson poses with award during The 74th Annual Peabody Awards Ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street on May 31, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Peabody Awards)

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 31: (L-R): Ann Druyan, Peabody Award Recipient, and Neil deGrasse Tyson speak onstage at The 74th Annual Peabody Awards Ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street on May 31, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Peabody Awards)

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 28: Astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson speaks during the 2015 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting on September 28, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)

Richard Branson, chairman and founder of Virgin Group Ltd., right, speaks as Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History, listens during the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) in New York, U.S., on Monday, Sept. 28, 2015. The annual CGI meetings bring together heads of state, leading CEOs, philanthropists, and members of the media to facilitate discussion and forward-thinking initiatives that challenge the way we impact the future. Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 03: Neil deGrasse Tyson visits 'Sway in the Morning' with Sway Calloway on Eminem's Shade 45 at SiriusXM Studios on February 3, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Matthew Eisman/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 18: Neil deGrasse Tyson visits at SiriusXM Studio on April 18, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Robin Marchant/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 11: Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson attend the 2016 Creative Arts Emmy Awards Day 2 at the Microsoft Theater on September 11, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 23: Neil deGrasse Tyson visits at SiriusXM Studio on September 23, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Robin Marchant/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 25: Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and educator Bill Nye attend the screening of 'The Space Between Us' hosted by STX Entertainment with The Cinema Society at Landmark's Sunshine Cinema on January 25, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Jim Spellman/WireImage)

HIDE CAPTION

SHOW CAPTION

That challenge to Musk would not only ask the SpaceX founder to put his own family on the line in the name of space colonization, it would also put the mogul's mother in the spotlight, something she's actually quite used to.

At around 68 years old, Maye Musk has already lived a more interesting life than most, having worked as an internationally renowned model and even appearing in a Beyonc video.

However, when it comes to the topic of Mars, Maye Musk has already made her decision: It's not gonna happen.

"I'm not moving to Mars," she told us last year. "Frankly, it's because they need the younger people there like engineers to create a future. They don't need me."

For the record, Elon has indicated in recent talks that even he isn't planning on traveling to Mars (mainly to ensure that SpaceX continues in the event something goes wrong during his space flight). Therefore, it looks like the two of the biggest names in space, Tyson and Musk, will mostly be sitting on the sidelines when the real space colonization begins.

More from Mashable: Elon Musk's SpaceX is betting big on its rocket launch this week There and back again: SpaceX launches and lands the same rocket for the 2nd time SpaceX's launch today could revolutionize the industry: Watch it live

Excerpt from:
Neil deGrasse Tyson isn't riding SpaceX to Mars until Elon Musk answers this challenge - AOL

Google should have been the cloud industry pioneer, but Amazon pulled the rug from right under them and raced to the top position, leaving all the tech giants breathless as they try and catch up. But now, Google Cloud Platform has suddenly been resurrected in a big way (not that it died, but it was fairly dormant) and plans are afoot to expand their data center footprint to new regions. And by regions, we mean planets. Of course.

By 2018, Google wants to have a data center operational on Mars, the Red Planet voted in high school as most likely to succeed in providing a home to earthlings. And its not an April Fools Day joke either.

Essentially, Alphabet wants to expand its compute, network and storage power to Mars, first for the purpose of data processing and storage for Mars rovers, and then in preparation of the colonization of Mars. Over time, they intend to move massive amounts of data and make it redundant with data stored in more earthly locations.

Theyve already got a nickname for the worlds first interplanetary data center Ziggy Stardust This region will also serve as an important node in an extensive network throughout the solar system, says Google on it cloud blog.

Theyre really serious about it. I think. This is what theyre saying:

In order to ease the transition for our Earthling customers, Google Cloud Storage (GCS) is launching a new Earth-Mars Multi-Regional location. Users can store planet-redundant data across Earth and Mars, which means even if Earth experiences another asteroid strike like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs, your cat videos, selfies and other data will still be safe.

Huh? Whos actually going to watch those videos if my and my cat are both wiped out? Thats what Id like to know, Larry.

Google also quotes one of its early access customers:

This will be a game changer for us. With GCS, we can store all the data collected from our rovers right on Mars and run big data analytics to query exabyte-scale datasets all in a matter of seconds. Our dream of colonizing Mars by 2020 can now become a reality.

I wonder who that customer is. Musk be somebody we know, probably.

The Google Planets team has already identified a site for the data center Gale Crater, near the landing site of NASAs Curiosity rover.

Why just Mars, you ask? Google has the answer to that:

But why stop at Mars? Were taking a moonshot at N+42 redundancy with galaxy-scale computing. While GCP is optimized for faster-than-light data coordination for databases, the Google Planets team is already hard at work mapping the rest of our solar system for future data center locations.

This could possibly be the moonshot-est moonshot that Google has ever come up with, but colonizing Mars is becoming a high priority item in several board rooms across the United States. If we succeed in getting even a small colony set up on Mars by 2020, at least they wont have to worry about not having access to cat videos.

Thanks for reading our work!If you enjoyed it and found value, please share it using the social media share buttons on this page. If you have something to tell us, theres a comments section right below, or you can contact@1redDrop.com us.

More:
Forget Google Moonshots, Alphabet to Open Data Center in Mars Next Year - 1redDrop (blog)

But for now, the research being done in the Aquaponics Lab at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Universitys Daytona Beach Campus is focused on creating a more sustainable food supply here on Earth.

Aquaponics combines fish farming, known as aquaculture, with hydroponics, which involves growing plants without soil, into one integrated, mutually beneficial system.

Heres how it works: The fish waste provides an organic, nutrient-rich fertilizer for the growing plants, and the plants act as a natural filter for the water in which the fish live. Beneficial bacteria in the aquaponics system convert the ammonia from the fish waste into nitrite and then nitrate, which fertilizes the plants. Water is cycled through the system to collect the fish waste, pump it to the plant beds, and then return it to the fish tank (see illustration on Page 23).

Aquaponics consumes minimal space and uses waste water to produce fresh, healthy food close to where people live. Indoor or enclosed aquaponics systems are inherently pesticide- and herbicide-free, and the fish waste is a natural alternative to chemical fertilizers.

I think about the triple bottom line environmentally sustainable, socially beneficial and economically viable, Merkle says. Whatever youre doing with engineering, youve got to think about the triple bottom line.

Taking Aquaponics Into the Classroom

After 17 years of conducting research at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico, Merkle decided to make a career change. Hired as an associate professor of civil engineering at Embry-Riddles Daytona Beach Campus in 2012, he built the Aquaponics Lab in 2013 with the help of his students.

Im interested in environmental systems, and I was struck by aquaponics as a way for students to understand an enclosed system, says Merkle, who created one of the first aquaponics courses in the country.

The lab is also a hands-on way to help students learn about environmental processes and sustainability. In the lab, fish, such as tilapia or koi, are kept in tanks, and plants are cultivated without soil in a rigid foam raft, called a grow raft, that floats in a pool of nutrient-rich water fertilized by the fish waste. One of the plants cultivated in the lab is a species of tree, Moringa oleifera, whose leaves are highly nutritious. Merkle is exploring the plant as a possible food source for space colonists.

I think we were the first place to grow Moringa in aquaponics back in 2013, Merkle says.

Aquaponics systems are versatile and efficient food-growing systems. They can be built anywhere, including indoors or on top of a building. They can also be used with a variety of plants, and the fish can be harvested as a protein food source.

Food production is very inefficient, and moving the production of food to a more accessible method is important, Merkle says. Indoor agriculture and agriculture on the rooftops of buildings bring the food production closer to people.

Food for Mars

Merkle and his students are also researching the possibility of using aquaponics to produce food for future Earth colonists on Mars. Whether we are on the moon or on Mars, the cost of bringing food would be extremely prohibitive, Merkle says.

However, one issue with operating an aquaponics system on Mars is electricity. The challenge is to develop a system that consumes less energy and is more sustainable, Merkle says.

Bjorg Olafs, who graduated from Embry-Riddle in 2014, has made progress on that front. Through research she discovered a way to reduce energy consumption in an aquaponics system by 75 percent with no significant negative effect on crop or fish growth. Such a dramatic reduction in electricity demand would enable an aquaponics system to operate more economically and efficiently using solar power, a distinct advantage on Earth and a necessity on Mars, Merkle says.

Aquaponics can be placed virtually anywhere since it does not require soil, explains Olafs, who designed a commercial- scale aquaponics unit for a geothermally heated greenhouse during an internship in Iceland. The possibilities are endless, even in space colonization.

In 2015, Merkle and students Matthew Maccarrone and Connie Cuneo designed and constructed an aquaponics system at the Mars Societys Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, an outpost where teams hold mock missions simulating the conditions on Mars. Merkle is involved in the station as a principal investigator for the GreenHab facility.

With the increasing population, there is a higher demand for food but less and less space to grow it, Maccarrone says. With controlled environments like an aquaponics system, the space could be used most efficiently. This is especially true for Mars colonization.

Growing Commercial Success

Merkles aquaponics course is growing more than plants; its helping sprout new ventures in unexpected places. Civil engineering student Mohammed Qahwaji didnt plan to study aquaponics, but he was hooked after taking Merkles course. He sees aquaponics as a solution to increasing food production in his home country of Saudi Arabia.

Aquaponics is so important to Saudi Arabia, due to its lack of rivers, rain and suitable agriculture land in many areas, he says.

In 2015, Qahwaji created a business proposal as an assignment in Merkles class to start an aquaponics business in Saudi Arabia. He then entered it in the U.S. National Saudi Student Entrepreneur competition. With a minor in business administration, he placed fourth out of 200 and was promised $1.5 million in startup funding from the Saudi government.

After graduation, Qahwaji enrolled in a hands-on aquaponics course at Morningstar Fisherman in Florida, and then interned at Olomana Gardens Farms in Hawaii. In Hawaii, he visited more than 60 different aquaponics facilities, ranging from backyard setups to commercial systems, and completed a course on water chemistry in aquaponics systems at the University of Hawaii.

Wanting to start his business off small, he declined the Saudi government loan, and in 2016, he self-funded his company, which offers design, installation, maintenance, operation and consultation for home and commercial aquaponics systems. My life has now become dedicated to aquaponics, Qahwaji says. All of this started with Dr. Merkle and Embry-Riddle. All my success is credited to them.

Written byMelanie Stawicki Azam

View original post here:
Aquaponics Lab Explores Food Production for Earth And Possibly Mars - ERAU News

Those who can afford the $200,000 relocation joy ride may have some extra cash laying around to make their move to Mars a reality.

Elon Musk has hit back at claims that President Donald Trumps new NASA bill will be good for his space exploration business, saying it does nothing to get SpaceXs mission to Mars off the ground. Musk also claims the new funding will not provide a boost to his aims of making commercial travel to Mars a reality for the public.

The S.442 funding bill, signed by President Trump, is the first of its kind to pass through Congress in six years and will help facilitate NASAs deep space exploration projects and promote private-public partnerships, job creation, achieving human exploration of Mars and beyond, and legally commits NASA to draft plans that could get a crewed mission to Mars in the 2030s.

The subsidized, serial entrepreneur took to Twitter to respond to Kara Swisher, co-founder of technology news website Recode, who said the presidents decision to grant NASA $19.5 billion in funding would leave Musk smiling.

I am not, wrote Musk, chief executive of SpaceX. This bill changes almost nothing about what NASA is doing. Existing programs stay in place and there is no added funding for Marsperhaps there will be some future bill that makes a difference for Mars, but this is not it, Musk added.

Musk has big plans for Mars. His goal is to send 1 million people to Mars and establish a permanent colony. He has laid out a strategy to build giant spaceships to take 100 settlers at a time to Red Planet outposts within 10 years. The cost for a one-way ticket per passenger is $200,000with hopes to reduce the cost to less than $100,000 per passenger. Musk expects to spend the bulk of his personal fortune, currently valued at $13.4 billion, on this effort. He envisions other organizations eventually aiding SpaceX in Mars colonization as well, saying the effort will be a huge public-private partnership.

SpaceX is currently working in collaboration with NASA under a $1.6 billion contract, which has so far flown 10 cargo missions to the International Space Station. Additionally, SpaceX and NASA think they have found a suitable landing site for the companys first mission to Mars in 2020.

According to the LA Times, Elon Musks portfolio of companies has benefited in $4.9 billion in government subsidies. The figure compiled by The Los Angeles Times, explains reporter Jerry Hirsch, comprises a variety of government incentives, including grants, tax breaks, factory construction, discounted loans and environmental credits that Tesla can sell. It also includes tax credits and rebates to buyers of solar panels and electric cars. Musk and his companies investors enjoy most of the financial upside of the government support, while taxpayers shoulder the cost, Hirsch adds.

Musk definitely goes where there is government money, said Dan Dolev, an analyst at Jefferies Equity Research. Thats a great strategy, but the government will cut you off one day.

It doesnt look as thought the Trump administration has cut Musk off, but perhaps his goals of Mars colonization may just have to wait or rely more on private partnerships and less on tax payer subsidies. Those who can afford the $200,000 relocation joy ride may have some extra cash laying around to make their move to Mars a reality.

Articles with Katy Grimes

Megan Barth is the founder and proprietor of Reaganbabe.com, a nationally recognized political commentator and womans advocate. She has appeared on NewsMax TV, One America News Network, America Trends with Dr. Gina, The Blaze Radio, and has regular weekly appearances on a variety of nationally syndicated radio shows.

See more here:
Musk misses the earmark on Mars Colonization - Canada Free Press - Canada Free Press

First Posted: Mar 21, 2017 06:59 AM EDT

Can humans survive in the hostile conditions of Mars? (Photo : Mars One/YouTube screenshot)

A human mission to Mars is not a far-fetched dream with various nations and private organizations planning their own itineraries. However, living on the Red Planet and colonizing it is hugely different from just stepping on its soil. The planet -- its atmosphere, environment and ambience -- is not only completely hostile for human habitation, but living there would also mean a tremendous psychological and physical toll on humans.

In a study published in the journal Space Policy, Polish cognitive scientist Konard Szocik from Rzeszows University of Information Technology and Management has raised an argument that just training the astronauts in the International Space Station (ISS) is inadequate for humans to survive on Mars. Moreover, according to the scientist, human bodies need to be changed drastically to endure life on the Red Planet.

According to Szocik, the first group of astronauts on Mars can suffer from a severe psychological damage even after undergoing a training that sets them through an utmost psychological examination and conditioning -- such as the one NASA is currently conducting. At present, the American Space Agencys promising experiment HI-SEAS has a small crew sealed inside a dome near Hawaiis Mauna Loa volcano, to simulate the Red Planets conditions.

Other experiments that have been proposed to prepare humans for Mars mission include putting the astronauts into coma before their journey to Mars. According to researchers, such a step will help in decreasing energy lack, protect muscle disintegration in astronauts and save their body from extreme space radiation. The Marshalltown reported that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has suggested removing the gall bladder and appendix of astronauts on Mars mission, to maintain their safety because surgery can not only be unpleasant but also impossible in the event of bursts.

Szocik has argued that no amount of preparation can make humans ready to survive on the Red Planet for a long term. I think that medicine can be insufficient and that there will be necessary some permanent solutions like genetical and/or surgical modifications, Szociksaid. The scientist has also added that mankind should use the idea of transhumanism to survive in environments vastly different from Earth.

In addition, since mankind still does not know how the human reproduction will be affected by reduced gravity and radiation, nor can humans maintain a human colony on Mars without inbreeding unless tons of people are sent to Mars. Thus, Szocik has suggested this, thinking about an opportunity of human cloning.

TagsMars, Red Planet, Mars colonization, Mars mission, HI-SEAS, Cloning, transhumanism

Go here to see the original:
Mars Colonization: Will Humans Have To Upgrade Their Bodies, Resort To Human Cloning? - Science World Report

NASA's Space Robotics Challenge awarded Northeastern University with a $2-million Valkyrie Robonaut 5 (R5) robot, which is now undergoing tests in a Massachusetts warehouse to prepare for the finalist round this June in a virtual simulation of a red-planet landing.

The robot arrived at Northeastern in 2015 as part of a proposal that Engineering Professor Taskin Padir sent to NASA for the Space Robotics Challenge software testing, reports Tech Crunch.

"They've done all of the hardware and we're developing these high-level capabilities so Valkyrie does more than just move limbs," Northeastern PhD student, Murphy Wonsick told Tech Crunch. "She can autonomously make decisions, move around, and accomplish tasks."

Researchers moved the R5 to "NERVE (New England Robotics Validation and Experimentation) Center, a large warehouse space operated by UMass Lowell that houses large obstacle courses designed to put test robots and drones through their paces," just outside of Boston.

On-board vision systems, bipedal locomotion, and navigation in tight spaces are some the criteria being tested at the NERVE research site, according to the same report.

NASA reportedly produced three other R5 models. One was held in-house, and NASA "awarded two as research loans to Northeastern University and nearby MIT, while a fourth was acquired by Scotland's University of Edinburgh."

According to NASA, in the finalist round, "each team's R5 will be challenged with resolving the aftermath of a dust storm that has damaged a Martian habitat. This involves three objectives: aligning a communications dish, repairing a solar array, and fixing a habitat leak."

The Space Robotics Challenge is part of NASA's Centennial Challenges program set to award $1 million to the team that can "develop capabilities of humanoid robot dexterity to better enable them to work alongside and independent of astronauts in preparation for future space exploration."

NASA announced the 20 finalists in February.

Go here to read the rest:
This Valkyrie R5 humanoid robot is put to the test with Mars colonization on the horizon - Fox News

Published time: 19 Mar, 2017 02:42

NASAs Robonauts are being put to the test in Mars-like obstacle courses in order to pave the way for future humanoid space exploration and help bridge the expansive gap between Earth and human colonization of the red planet.

NASAbuilt four six-foot, 290-pound, Iron man-like pieces of machinery named Valkyrie, at the cost of about $2 million each, and then outsourced three of them to universities to test the robots capabilities in various hostile environments.

In 2015 Northeastern University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Scotlands University of Edinburgh were all chosen in open competition and assigned the task of challenging and refining the robotic technology in the hope of creating a future robot capable of withstanding the Martian planet.

READ MORE: R&D boot camp: NASAs humanoid robots go to universities for special space training

Northeastern tested their model at the New England Robotics Validation and Experimentation (NERVE) Center a warehouse filled with large and challenging obstacle courses designed to test robots and drones alike.

Its in this kind of environment that robotics and engineering students put Valkyries skills to the test and have further developed its high-level capabilities.

She can autonomously make decisions, move around and accomplish tasks, said Northeastern PhD student, Murphy Wonsick to TechCrunch.

In theory, the successors to these Robonauts would help facilitate the colonization of Mars by building the necessities humans need before their arrival and further assisting the astronauts with tasks while on the red planet.

READ MORE: The power of glove: GM & NASA create robotic helping hand to fight fatigue (VIDEO)

The robots ultimate Mars test will take place this summer when 20 teams will compete for a $1 million prize in NASAs Space Robotics Challenge, designed to place Valkyrie in a Martian-like scenario.

In the not too distant future, R5 has arrived on Mars along with supplies ahead of a human mission. Overnight a dust storm damaged the habitat and solar array, and caused the primary communication antenna to become misaligned, the agencys simulated event suggests.

The robot must repair the damage, deploy a new solar panel and align the communication antenna to complete the challenge.

The rest is here:
NASA's humanoid robot put to the test for ultimate Mars challenge ... - RT

The US, Russia, China, India, the EU, and even private companies are in a race to colonize Mars. There are lots of technical things to work out, from food supply to protection from solar radiation. Though few smaller countries have jumped into the Mars race thus far, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is looking far beyond planting a flag or a few threadbare shelters. Their motto seems to be, go big or go home. The country recently released its plan to build a futuristic city on the Red Planet by 2117. The proposal and accompanying images look like something ripped from the pages of a sci-fi novel.

The UAE is a collective, an oil rich federation of seven smaller states. They are late coming to the space race. But the country developed extremely quickly, from a Gulf backwater to one of the richest and most developed countries in the region, in less than half a century.

A rustic, pearl diving village a little over 40 years ago, Dubai today is a glittering metropolis full of modern skyscrapers. It even boasts the worlds tallest. This financial hub of the region hosts impressive sites including an archipelago of manmade, palm islands, The World islands, and the planets largest indoor ski resort, among others. Read into this, maybe they can pull it off.

The UAE launched its space program in 2014. Though a newcomer, if the countrys development is any indication, it could become a major player in the next great space race. The Emerati agency plans to work with their British and French counterparts, beginning next year, in order to send up an unmanned Mars probe named Hope, by 2021, reaching the Red Planet two years later. The Martian city announcement was made recently at the World Government Summit in Dubai. Visitors were able to gaze at a 3D model of the proposed city.

Model of the city. HH Sheikh Mohammed via Twitter.

Entering into the space race adds cache to a country. It telegraphs that youve come a long way, in terms of wealth and technological development. Theres no way theyll be the first to put people on Mars, starting their own space agency so late. Instead, the UAE found a different way to distinguish itself. No newcomer to city design in and of itself, officials are planning to establish the first urban living community, based on human happiness, in oncoming years. So placing the first metropolis on Mars may not be out of its wheelhouse.

The City of Wisdom as its being called, will be about the size of Chicago, according to the announcement. Vice president of the UAE and sovereign of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, announced the project. Human ambitions have no limits, and whoever looks into the scientific breakthroughs in the current century believes that human abilities can realize the most important human dream, he said.

The first step he said, was building up science programs in schools and universities. Just as Sputnik triggered advanced science and math education programs in the US, so too will this spur such learning in the UAE. Besides that, the Sheikh plans to build an Emirate scientific group, which will include international experts. These will be broken up into teams.

Another conceptualization. HH Sheikh Mohammed via Twitter.

Each will investigate a certain aspect, such as the faster transportation to Mars, as it now takes 150-300 days, depending on where each planet is in their journey around the sun. Thats way too slow, considering that the first toehold colony will be supplied with dried food from Earth, at least at first, and will depend on such shipments. Other teams will look at growing food, creating energy, methods of transportation across the planets surface, and more.

Scientific and research committee manager Saaed Al Gergawi, told CNBC that the city is expected to house 600,000 people. He said, We came up with that number because it's like someone going to an exotic island, not everyone can go first, then we get advancement of rocket tech, which makes people move there easily, then the advancement of oxygen tech to make it more earth like, which would incentivize people.

A lot of questions remain. For instance, will substantial radiation shielding be needed? If so, how do they plan on doing it? Solar radiation bombards the Red Planet, which will put human health at serious risk. One theoretical NASA plan is to build a magnetic shield which protects the planet. But if it doesnt work, buildings will have to have special shielding in order to protect colonists.

Other questions include, How will the city be built, and where on the surface will it reside? This is a long-term project, but the expansive timeline could give the UAE space agency the time it needs, to make sure this considerable feat becomes a reality. As the earliest colonies take shape in the next few decades, UAE scientists will be able to adjust their plans to fit conditions on the ground.

To learn more about the UAE project, click here:

The rest is here:
Forget Colonization. The UAE Plans to Build a City on Mars by 2117 - Big Think