Page 12«..11121314..2030..»

Category Archives: Moon Colonization

The Best Space Movies of All Time – Men’s Health

Posted: March 15, 2022 at 5:59 am

Various

Before we begin ranking space movies and incurring the wrath of correctional commentsbecause, invariably, we will exclude the one film you have on VHS, which is really a banger but doesnt get enough love and so, of course, is ignored from yet another list by yet another incompetent writer who has the film taste of a child, etc., etc.we should get definitional.

Were going to be strict with this list. Movies just involving beings from space, either invading or just sort of hovering therethink Arrival or District 9were excluding. So, too, are we ignoring movies set on futuristic Earths, which have technically achieved deep space travel, but where the central plot takes place only on our familiar terrestrial plane. So movies like Blade Runner or the Fifth Element are also absent.

Were talking about movies set in space. Movies where the central action involves characters who exist in space. Movies where space is the antagonist or the frontier or the battlefieldnot simply the highway between other more interesting worlds. Were talking about movies where space is so much a part of the film that without space the movie is simply incoherent nonsense. Could 2001: A Space Odyssey take place on a school bus? No. Then it's a space movie.

Sure, well probably skew a bit more modern with these picks, if only to make it easier to stream our choices (well provide links). But space may be that cinematic genre which only gets better with time.

Here are the best space movies of all time.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Alien (1979)

Ridley Scott taught us something about space we didn't learn in science class: it is terrifying. Frickin' terrifying. All the nights we spent lying awake as kids wanting to be astronautsgone. We say, leave us the hell on this planet.

STREAM IT HERE

Dune (2021)

Dune is more political fantasy (the term, we think, is "space opera") than straight space exploration. And we dig it. Predating and inspiring Star Wars (that other space opera), Dune's depiction of outerwordly hegemony and planetary colonization feels more real than any work of cinematic realism.

STREAM IT HERE

The Martian (2015)

If planetary colonization was real, The Martian may be the most accurate depiction of this future enterprise. Unlike other very serious films on this list, The Martian also maintains a welcome sense of levity, giving the film just the right ratio of botany humor to existential terror.

STREAM IT HERE

Spaceballs (1987)

Parodying just about every film that predates it on this list, Spaceballs is an absolute delight. It's also exceedingly dumb. It's perfect.

STREAM IT HERE

Solaris (1972)

Your film studies friends cannot stop talking about Andrei Tarkovsky and this is why. The Russian director's adaptation of the 1961 novel of the same name brought something new to the genre of science fiction: grounded emotionality. We take this for granted in contemporary science fiction. Tarkovsky was one of the first to really pull it off.

STREAM IT HERE

Star Trek (2009)

As early as 1968, the creators of the popular TV series were already wondering how to turn the story into a film, a prequel. And while there had already been ten films in the franchise, 2009's iteration finally found the winning formula. It's truly a blast.

STREAM IT HERE

Interstellar (2014)

One of director Christopher Nolan's more divisive films, Interstellar really goes there. The team consulted with actual astrophysicists and remains one of the few films to actually depict relativity theory in a plausible way. It's not a short movie, nor one that can be appreciated on the first viewing. But it is epic.

STREAM IT HERE

Apollo 13 (1995)

Entering historical realism are three films we think best capture actual space exploration. The first (and maybe the best) is Ron Howard's docudrama.

STREAM IT HERE

First Man (2018)

While it will be compared to others in the genre of historic space exploration, First Man finds a way to stand out from the space race competitionif only for its IMAX cinematography during one of the most awe-inspiring moments of any film on this list. You'll know it when you see it.

STREAM IT HERE

The Right Stuff (1983)

Based on the book by Tom Wolfe which chronicled NASA's first team of astronauts, The Right Stuff captures all the terrifying, inspiring, maddening moments of early space exploration. It remains a near-perfect blend of Hollywood and history.

STREAM IT HERE

Moon (2009)

Moon is perfect science fiction. Filmed on a small budget and and depicting just one character (well, kind of) in one location (kind of), the movie manages to do more, say more, and affect you more than probably any other on this list. Read nothing about it. Just watch.

STREAM IT HERE

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

We know, we know. There are many Marvel films that could be considered "space movies" insofar as they involve intergalactic wars. But Guardians of the Galaxy really is Marvel's space movie, and maybe the most fun and free-wheeling film in the entire MCUand the moment when Marvel realized they could sell us anything.

STREAM IT HERE

Sunshine (2007)

Danny Boyle's trip through space to save a dying sun by dropping a nuclear bomb on it may be one of the more outlandish plots on this this list, but the film delivers. What begins as conventional science fiction turns into something more horrifying and existential and strangely beautiful.

STREAM IT HERE

Gravity (2013)

Gravity is probably the most space movie of any space movie, in that it takes place entirely in space with its characters floating (for most of the film) entirely in space. Director Alfonso Cuarn delivers an absolute masterclass in tension, pacing, and visual language. The man deserved that Oscar.

STREAM IT HERE

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

It takes about 20 minutes of apes grunting and throwing bones before we arrive in space, but once we get there, oh boy. Is it the greatest space movie of all time? Will flying into a monolith transport you across space-time and reincarnate you as the star child? Um, yes.

STREAM IT HERE

Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)

This one's a bit of a deeper cut. We're not sure if you've heard of it, but try and give it a watch if you can. We think it had some kind of impact on space cinema. It's pretty good.

STREAM IT HERE

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

See the original post here:
The Best Space Movies of All Time - Men's Health

Posted in Moon Colonization | Comments Off on The Best Space Movies of All Time – Men’s Health

The New Space Race to the Moon Is Really About Going to Mars And Beyond – The Daily Beast

Posted: March 4, 2022 at 4:54 pm

In 1961, U.S. President John F. Kennedy declared that his nation would be the first to land a man on the moon. That ambitious goal would later be fulfilled as two NASA astronauts took wobbly steps across the lunar surface on July 20, 1969, much to the dismay of Russias own space program leaders.

More than 60 years later, a new space race to the moon has begun, albeit with much higher stakes and brand new players ready to make the 238,855-mile journey. This time, the race to the moon is about much more than just planting a flag on its dusty surface. Getting to the moon first could also mean calling dibs on its limited resources, and controlling a permanent gateway to take humans to Marsand beyond.

Whether its NASA, China, Russia, or a consortium of private companies that end up dominating the moon, laying claim to the lunar surface isnt really about the moon anywayits about who gets easier access to the rest of the solar system.

James Rice, a senior scientist at the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University, remembers growing up with the Apollo program and getting bitten by the space bug as he watched the 1969 moon landing unfold on television.

As a kid, I saw that happening and I wanted to be a part of it, Rice told The Daily Beast. Thats basically why Im in this career today.

As Rice reflected on the current space race, he recognized some key differences. Things have really changed dramatically in terms of the technology and the players that are out there, he said. This is not the moon we thought of during the Apollo days. Scientists have learned so much more about the moon through more detailed analysis of lunar samples, as well as several missions that have probed exactly what might be sitting on the moons surface and remain hidden deep underground.

Though we have known for over a decade that the moon is probably teeming with reserves of water ice, NASA announced just last year that it had found the best evidence yet that water trapped in icy pockets were far more spread out across the lunar surface than previously believed. The discovery further fueled the idea of building a permanent base on the moon, which astronauts could then use to reach Mars and other celestial destinations.

Conceptual art for a NASA-led astronaut base involving water ice prospecting and mining.

NASA

Why is this such a big deal? Water is a precious resource for space travelersnot just for astronauts to drink, but also to turn into rocket fuel to use to blast off.

Remember your grade-school science here: Water is made of hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen is known to be the most efficient rocket propellant whereas oxygen can be combined by fuel to create combustion. The ability to break down all that water ice on the moon means you have access to both of its constituent elementsan enormous supply of rocket fuel. (And as an added bonus, you can use any excess oxygen as breathable air for astronauts.)

Finding these resources on the moon is much better than transporting them from Earth. Packing resources to space comes at a hefty priceit costs about $10,000 just to launch a payload weighing a single pound into Earths orbit, according to NASA. It could be far less costly to use what the moon has to offer to build a lunar pitstop to cosmic destinations.

I think the moon has been placed as this midpoint, or first step towards Mars, Casey Dreier, senior space policy adviser at The Planetary Society, told The Daily Beast. Its not an end destination.

In other words, going back to the moon is not really about the moon, at least not entirely. Its a gateway to truly larger space ambitions. Thats why ArtemisNASAs new lunar exploration programhas been consistently touted not as simply a redux of Apollo, but rather the initial foundation for a permanent presence on the moon.

Acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk, left, and Rick Gilbrech, director of NASA's Stennis Space Center, right, watch as the core stage for the first flight of NASAs Space Launch System rocket undergoes a second hot fire test in the B-2 Test Stand on March 18.

NASA/Robert Markowitz via Getty

Martha Hess, the director for human exploration and spaceflight at the Aerospace Corporation, a nonprofit for technical guidance on space missions, echoed those sentiments. This time, the moon is a training ground, and Mars is the destination, she told The Daily Beast.

Todays space race is also not merely between competing nations and political ideologies. It also involves private companies trying to pursue profits. We are at a unique point in time where our economy and technology are aligned, allowing for private and commercial investment in space based capabilities, said Hess. This investment takes the pressure off government agencies to sustain the industry.

Private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin are also looking beyond the moon. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has an obsessive vision of going to Mars and terraforming the planet to make it suitable for human colonization. Blue Origins Jeff Bezos is looking to be a dominating player in the field of commercial space travel, transporting (probably very wealthy) citizens to the moon or beyond.

Private companies have their own long term goals that exist outside of the national space program, Dreier said. Theyll do whatever NASA asks them to do, they dont care whether NASA is going to the moon or Mars.

Something that will define the upcoming moon race is the fact that not every region on the moon is equal in value. There are limited places to go, and its all about location, Rice said.

Just as the California gold rush of the 19th century was defined by where the gold was found, so too will the water rush to the moon be defined by where the water is stored. The U.S. is looking to build its lunar base at the moons south pole, where there is thought to be a wealth of water ice reserves.

Moreover, the south pole is a wellspring for fulfilling energy needs: Its exposed to more sunshine than anywhere else on the moon, which would fuel solar panels and supply power to the base.

Li Xianhua, China Academy of Sciences academician and Institute of Geology, speaks during a press conference in Beijing on Oct. 19.

Noel Celis/AFP via Getty

And with no clear space laws currently in place over ownership of objects in space, lunar resources may very well come down to whoever calls dibs first.

Who else wants to build a base on the moons south pole? For starters, theres China, which recently announced long-term plans to build a base on the moon with Russia. Its more distant goal, of course, is to send a crewed mission to Mars by the year 2033.

The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, or the Change Project, is relatively new to the scene but has already made great strides. In Jan. 2019, the countrys Change-4 lunar probe was the first spacecraft in history to safely land on the far side of the moon. In Dec. 2020, the Change-5 mission returned samples from the lunar surface. Those new moon rocks are already paying off in new scientific revelations. .

Chinas space agency recently approved three more missions to the moon, targetingyou guessed itthe lunar south pole. The nations space program is hoping to land astronauts on the moon by the year 2030. Down the line, we may see Chinese and American astronauts hanging out on the moon at the same time.

Nevertheless, China and Russia dont pose much competition to the U.S. as long as NASA doesnt dawdle on its way back to the moon. China is absolutely working on building up its capability, Dreier said. But Id say theyre at least a decade behind, if not more, compared to the U.S. capability.

First up on NASAs agenda is Artemis I, an uncrewed test flight to the moon that is meant to debut the brand new Space Launch System (the biggest rocket system ever built) and the Orion crew capsule that will eventually take astronauts back to the moon. Launching tentatively in April, Artemis I will simply orbit the moon and come back to Earth. It wont be until Artemis III, set to launch in 2025 (if youre an optimist), that well finally see human boots make it to the lunar surface.

China has the benefit of being able to establish a long-term plan and funding, which allows them the ability to chip away at their 30-50-100 year vision. We dont have that luxury.

Martha Hess

Hess does believe, however, that China has one advantage over the U.S. that it could exploit to make speedy progress.

China has the benefit of being able to establish a long-term plan and funding, which allows them the ability to chip away at their 30-50-100 year vision, Hess said. We dont have that luxury; our plans are good for a presidential term, and our budgets are appropriated annually so our programs start, stop and starve. Long-term exploration of the solar system isnt actually something thats crystallized in U.S. budgets for decades to come.

NASA estimates that the Artemis program will cost $86 billion by 2025. The current U.S. administration has made a $24.8 billion fiscal 2022 budget request for NASA to cover the return to the moon.

During the first space race, the agency spent $28 billion to land the first humans on the moon, which is about $280 billion when adjusted for inflation, according to The Planetary Society.

As the space program for each of the space race participants begins to take shape, policy makers are realizing that they need to update the laws at hand to better govern the new era of space exploration thats about to launch.

Regardless of who gets to plant space boots on the moon next, there is an overarching benefit to human exploration as a whole.

There's more to it than that because there's an inspiration to it that you can't put a price tag on, Rice said. It does something to you when you walk out there and look at the moon and now there are people out there doing something, that just resonates.

Go here to see the original:
The New Space Race to the Moon Is Really About Going to Mars And Beyond - The Daily Beast

Posted in Moon Colonization | Comments Off on The New Space Race to the Moon Is Really About Going to Mars And Beyond – The Daily Beast

Science fiction: origins and history – The News International

Posted: at 4:53 pm

BOOKSHELF

Science fiction, as a literary genre, explores the impact of scientific technologies on societies. Hard science fiction uses realistic scientific arguments and extrapolates to make a logical argument based on science and its impact on the society. Soft science fiction, conversely, comprises far-fetched stories based on science and the use of futuristic technologies. For instance, Star Trek and Star Wars are interesting stories. However, the concept of time travel, space jump, and humans meeting with alien civilizations are purely fictional narratives. They are stories carved out of our imagination and by the curiosity to know if life exists across the universe and if humans can travel through vast areas in the universe.

When it comes to science fiction novels, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, and Arthur C. Clarke are considered as the Big Three of the genre. Their imaginative insights, creative sense, and storytelling have remained unparalleled. Isaac Asimovs The Foundation series is a literary classic that appeared in print as short stories during 194250. The story is about a Galactic Empire, a government set in the future. Hari Seldon is the protagonist who is a mathematician. He determines a theory of psychohistory and forecasts the future of large populations.

Robert A. Heinleins Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) is the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human who was raised by Martians. When he returned to Earth, the planet became a strange place for him as he tried to comprehend human customs. Arthur C. Clarkes 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) reveals the presence of a monolith in Africa in the year 3 million B.C. It is placed there by an unseen alien force. The subliminal psychological influence of the monolith endows the humans with the power to develop tools. The story takes the main characters from our solar system into the future and to the unknown alien worlds. While the genre of science fiction was propagated by Asimov, Heinlein, and Clarke, their predecessors laid the foundations to the genre. They were Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and Hugo Gernsback.

Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) by Jules Verne is the story of a geologist, Professor Otto Lidenbroc. He goes on a journey into the centre of the Earth to find lost worlds. In 1865, Verne published From the Earth to the Moon, where he discusses three men traveling to the Moon. In 1872, Verne explored the depths of the sea when he published Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. The story is about Professor Pierre Aronnax, who with his two colleagues, tries to hunt a sea monster that turns out to be Captain Nemos futuristic submarine. H.G. Wells in his novel The Time Machine (1895) takes his protagonist across various eras. He explores the advancements of civilizations and criticizes the social structure of his era that holds ground today. In his other novel, The War of the Worlds (1898), Wells uses alien lifeforms attacking humans on Earth as a metaphor to show how the Western nations invaded third-world states for vested interests. It was, however, the Luxembourgian-American inventor, writer, and magazine publisher Hugo Gernsback who first conceived a magazine that published science fiction-related stories. He founded Amazing Stories in 1926. Gernsback is regarded as the Father of Science Fiction.

The magazine itself facilitated the development of the genre. Through this publication, Gernsback brought to fore a concept he called, Scientifiction which was charming romance intermingled with scientific fact and prophetic vision. While regarded as the most influential writer in science fiction, it was not Gernsback but William Wilson who first used the term Science-Fiction in his 1851 book about poetry.

Science fiction as we know of today was once a primitive form of writing. Traces of it are seen as back as during the second century. A True Story written by Lucian of Samosata comprises several sci-fi elements including space travel, alien life, and interplanetary colonization. 1n 1420, an anonymous French writer explored the underwater sea travels of Alexander the Great. Perhaps the first fictional accounts of a man traveling to the moon were shared by Francis Godwin in his book The Man in the Moone published in 1638 - nearly 331 years before Neil Armstrong set his foot on the Moon. The story is about Domingo Gonsales who reaches the moon after traveling across the world. The concept of utopia in science fiction narratives was first shown by Margaret Cavendish in The Blazing World (1666). The novel is considered to be a precursor of science fiction. The satirical story explores an ideal monarch, social hierarchy, and various styles of government.

Speculative fiction a sub-genre of science fiction - was first explored in 1733 when Samuel Madden published Memoirs of the Twentieth Century. Madden explores how the world would be in the 20th century and how the domains of politics and religion would operate in this era. In 1818, Mary Shelley wrote a major work of science fiction when she published Frankenstein. With themes of ambition, family, and alienation, she brought to the fore a concept that redefined the genre. She used galvanism with creativity based on gothic horror to create Frankenstein.

A dystopian-era speculative fiction novel was The Air Battle: A Vision of the Future written by Herrmann Lang in 1859. Langs future had remarkable political implications. He showed a time when the British Empire was no more and the US was divided into smaller states. He set his story in the year 6900 when the African-Americans along with races from South America rule the world.

In 1979, Douglas Adams published a science fiction novel with elements of comedy. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy follows the misadventures of Arthur Dent, the last man who survived the Earths destruction. Dent explores the universe with a weird team including Prefect, a human-like alien who is a writer documenting his voyages across the galaxies for his electronic travel guide.

In Pakistan, science fiction is still an unexplored genre. Sidra F. Sheikhs The Light Blue Jumper (2017) is a science fiction story set in a different era than ours. Zaaro Nian is an alien who confronts the Interplanetary Forces (IPF) after a calamity hits his ship. Mohsin Hamids Exit West (2017) is a sci-fi / speculative fiction story about the refugee crisis and emigration. Seventy Four by Faraz Talat (2020) is a Pakistani science fiction novella set in a dystopian era, during a post-pandemic world. It is a commentary on how humans actions led to their demise. Usman T. Maliks Midnight Doorways: Fables from Pakistan (2021) explores various characters in diverse settings through speculative fiction. Pakistani writers including Kehkashan Khalid, Nihal Ijaz Khan, Nur Nasreen Ibrahim, and Sameem Siddiqui have ventured into the genre of speculative fiction. With time, the genre of science fiction will grow. We have creative writers; they will tell stories by creating worlds of their own and they shall take readers on wonderful adventures.

The writer is a fiction writer, columnist and author of Divided Species a sci-fi story set in Karachi

Visit link:
Science fiction: origins and history - The News International

Posted in Moon Colonization | Comments Off on Science fiction: origins and history – The News International

Black moon – Wikipedia

Posted: February 24, 2022 at 2:12 am

Second new moon in a calendar month

The term black moon is not a term used in astronomy and there is no single accepted definition of it.[1] Among the meanings ascribed to it are these: a second new moon that appears in the same month; the third new moon in an astronomical season with four new moons; the absence of a new moon in February; or the absence of a full moon in February.[1]

One use of the term is for the occurrence of a second new moon in a calendar month. This is analogous to the by-month definition of a blue moon as the second full moon in a month. February is too short for a second new moon to occur. This event occurs about every 29 months.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

The assignment of a calendar date to a new moon, and in which month a second new moon occurs, depends on the time zone. For example, the new moon of 2016-10-01T00:11UTC occurs on 1 October for Europe, Asia and Oceania, making it the first of two new moons in October. However, for the Americas the date is still 30 September, making this the second new moon of September.[1][6]

Calculated in UTC, instances of a second new moon in a calendar month between 2010 and 2020 are:[9][10]

Another use of the term is for the third new moon in a season that has four new moons. This is analogous to the Farmers' Almanac definition of a blue moon as the third full moon in a season with four full moons. A season lasts about three months and usually has three new moons. This event occurs about every 33 months.[1][3]

There is no dependency on time zones in this definition as the seasons are tied to the winter solstice. Instances of four new moons in a season are:[3][9][10]

Another use of the term is for the absence of the full moon from a calendar month. This can occur only in February; it happens about every 19 years. When February is without full moon, then the preceding January or December and the following March or April have two full moons.[1][2][8]

As with the case of two new moons in a month, whether a black moon by this definition occurs depends on the time zone. Calculated in UTC, instances of a month without full moon between 1990 and 2040 are:[9][10]

Another use of the term is for the absence of the new moon in a calendar month. This can occur only in February; it happens about every 19 years. When February is without new moon, then the preceding January or December and the following March or April have two new moons.[1][2]

As with the case of two new moons in a month, whether a black moon by this definition occurs depends on the time zone. Calculated in UTC, instances of a month without new moon between 1990 and 2040 are:[9][10]

In some aspects of paganism, particularly amongst Wiccans, the black moon is considered to be a special time when any rituals, spells, or other workings are considered to be more powerful and effective. Others believe rituals or workings should not be conducted at these times.[1][3][8][11]

Continue reading here:
Black moon - Wikipedia

Posted in Moon Colonization | Comments Off on Black moon – Wikipedia

‘Space Force’ season two is absolute perfection – Military Times

Posted: at 2:11 am

Many in the defense world were uncertain about the establishment of the final frontiers military branch, and the Netflix show by the same moniker faced similar skepticism after its first season.

After a shaky start, however, Space Force season two has seemingly won over the hearts and minds of viewers.

The story picks up three months from where it left off, with Space Force commander Gen. Mark Naird (Steve Carell) testifying at the Pentagon after saving the lives of both U.S. and Chinese space crews from starting World War III on the moon.

As Naird testifies in a meandering monologue that only Carell can do, his nemesis, Gen. Kick Grabaston (Noah Emmerich), berates, attacks, and outright lies about the events that forced the Space Force crew into the bowels of the Pentagon to share what happened at the end of the first season.

Having seen both, but not wanting to spoil anything further, the second season does deviates from the first, taking cues from The Office.

Carell, who produced both shows with creator Greg Daniels, brings a little bit of that Michael Scott charm to Naird, endearing audiences to him in a way that clamoring Office fans wanted but simply couldnt justify during the first season.

The result is pure magic that translates to the entire cast, with heavy hitters like John Malkovich as Dr. Adrian Mallory and Ben Schwartz as F. Tony picking up the comedic mantle in new and exciting ways.

Luckily, the alterations didnt impact the way the show earnestly lambasts the Defense Department and its absurdities. Two particularly hot topics tackled in the season: Space Forces budget and international relations.

In the second episode, Nairds attempt at ameliorating foreign relations between the U.S. and China as it relates to space colonization features an exchange between the general and his counterpart that rival what happens when you bring a significant other from a completely different walk of life home to meet your parents for the first time at Thanksgiving, and they try way too hard to assimilate.

The result is equally disastrous, which makes for excellent viewing. Who cant relate to attempting unsuccessfully to use chopsticks and dropping tofu in their water glass?

Though Space Forces future was shaky at the end of the first season, the second, having achieved an 88 percent on Rotten Tomatoes thus far, looks like it may have secured a follow-up to infinity and beyond, or at least until Netflix decides its no longer a moneymaker.

As Naird says after narrowly escaping a prison sentence at the end of the first episode, Space Force isnt going anywhere.

Observation Post is the Military Times one-stop shop for all things off-duty. Stories may reflect author observations.

Sarah Sicard is a Senior Editor with Military Times. She previously served as the Digital Editor of Military Times and the Army Times Editor. Other work can be found at National Defense Magazine, Task & Purpose, and Defense News.

Read the original post:
'Space Force' season two is absolute perfection - Military Times

Posted in Moon Colonization | Comments Off on ‘Space Force’ season two is absolute perfection – Military Times

Opinion | Billionaires Will Not Save Us. Here’s What Will – YES! Magazine

Posted: February 19, 2022 at 9:48 pm

As a Jamaican graduate study pursuing a degree in international affairs, I struggle to find common ground with my fellow students. We spend a lot of time discussing different approaches to tackling climate change, and one of the hardest things Ive had to explain to my classmates is the fundamental difference in how Black, Brown, and Indigenous people see the environment versus White westerners, andwhy that viewpoint matters. It doesnt help that none of them speak my native Jamaican patois, which is the only language I can use to verbally explain something so intangible yet fundamental to my existence as a Caribbean person.

This discrepancy in how people of different backgrounds view the worlds problems was especially conspicuous last year, when the never-ending shit show that was (and is) the COVID-19 pandemicincreasing global temperatures,rising wealth inequality,the breakdown of democratic norms,andescalating waves of ecological collapsecalled into serious consideration whether our currentWestern model of capitalism is sustainable.

These times have tested all of us, except maybe the worlds elite, who are havinga whale of a time. In such times, some among us call for deliverance, for the emergence of a savior with a proper mix of resources and expertise to guide humanity out of its collective undoing. While Im pretty sure no one person can save humanity from its failings, I am absolutely sure the worlds billionaires wont lend a hand to dig us out of this pit. Rather than placing our faith in a pipe dream, I argue that only through partnering with theglobal poor, theIndigenous,and othermarginalized groupscan we avoid climate catastrophe.

Billionaires arent the paragons of productivity theyre made out to be.

The wishful thinking that makes us cast our hopes on the ultrarich stinks of thecult of the founder, the misguided assumption that those with the good fortune of wealth and privilegesuch as the billionaires of the worldare the most qualified to diagnose and treat societys ills.

Billionaires arent the paragons of productivity theyre made out to be, and they certainly arent fit to run society.

Setting aside for a moment the fact thatwealth begets wealth or thatseveral of your favorite billionaires were born rich, there are many real-world examples of the failures of trying to run society like a for-profit firm. The United States health care system alone isreplete with cautionary talesagainst profiting off an essential service. Even in a pandemic, the worlds richest country hasfailed to galvanize its resourcesin a meaningful way to stop the spread of disease, focusing more ongetting people back to work, which in turn is generating greater wealth for the rich.

The proposed solutions that Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos are offeringsuch as theMetaverse,Martian settlements,andspace colonizationignorethe problems facing the world today and instead divert public consciousness toward making these billionaires even more money as the world burns around us.

Aside frombeingimpractical pipe dreams, these ideas are nothing but efforts to double down on our dystopic capitalist system, designed to divert attention from the system problems that the ultra-wealthycontinue to exacerbate, made more palatable with buzzwords and dished out to us by million-dollar PR campaigns.

The real-life day-to-day carbon footprint of the ultrarich isdisproportionately highand directly fuels climate change, and these billionaires proposals are fully intended to distract us fromany real effortto disincentivize carbon emissions. Their visions for the future areidealistic,neocolonial,dystopicflights of fancy, and they often center theinsufficient abilitiesofthe free marketto respondto climate change, which runs therisk of recreating the same cycles of inequality and abuse perpetuated by our current system.

Its high time that we draw from themassive wealth of knowledgepossessed by Indigenous peoples.

Billionaire philanthropy exists toreform worsening public opinion of the ber-rich and to provide tax havens. Sinceso much power to affect changewithin philanthropic spacesrests in the hands of individual donors, bullheaded initiativeslikeBill Gates ideato focus all agriculture on synthetic fertilizersare prioritized more than they deserve. The reality is that you cannot fix systemic issues by throwingmoney at the problem. When one man holds the purse strings, the entire mission of relief agencies can bereroutedas theBill & Melinda Gates Foundationhas demonstrated with its high-profile vaccination efforts in sub-Saharan Africa.

Its high time that we draw from themassive wealth of knowledgepossessed by Indigenous peoples and learn how to work with the natural world and not against it. Throwing the power of global institutions behind front-line problem solversbe they Native American tribes reviving traditional practices torestore their environmentorIndigenous peoples solidifying land tenure rightsin the Amazoncan result in observable improvements in environmental well-being.

Rather thanhumiliating ourselves onlinebegging for crumbs, there is a massiveneed to overhaul the global tax systemso the ultra-wealthy are forced to pay into government revenues without having a say in how to spend them. Those revenues then need to be poured into thesmall-scale farmers,women,andpeasant groupsalready working on saving the world.

For example, instead of placing roadblocks in front of Indigenous access to the lands they once held, the best-case scenario for harnessing the power of unused land to combat climate change is simplyto give it backto the people we stole it from. This is a much cheaper and more viable alternative to thegeoengineeringpipe dreams floating around some circles. Returning land is already happening withthe #LandBack movementacross the U.S. and world. Its high time we realize the massive potential of harnessingIndigenous expertiseand federal wherewithal to sustainably manage the land.Such a radical yet necessary solution is unlikely to be proposed by the likes of Gates,Americas largest private farmland owner.

Billionaires are hoardingseveral trillion dollarsin ill-gotten gains that thegovernment needs to track downfrom offshore tax havens and put to good use. But if or when the hidden money is acquired, it should go to the people on the front lines already engaged in fighting for our future.Its time to rework our global food systemto feed the worlds poorest. Its time to elevateIndigenous-led biodiversityefforts andheirloom farmingto the mainstream. Its high time for us to prioritize those who operate with a sense of the shared fate of humanity at their core, not a profit margin.

Its not that the ultrarich wont intervene from time to time, its that theywont put in the effortto rework a system that suits them. Kowtowing to the whims of a few willresult in money being poured into impractical, wasteful efforts. Instead, societies and governments ought to put considerable effort into working with those directly involved in fighting climate change.

The fundamental truth is that we are part of the environment. The fact that we are inseparable from the Earth is the modus operandi of oppressed peoples. This is obvious to me, but perhaps not to my peers in graduate school.The core of my argument is perhaps best expressed by James Baldwin, who wrote inNo Name in the Street: There is a reason, after all, that some people wish to colonize the moon, and others dance before it as an ancient friend.

Sign up to receive email updates from YES!

Here is the original post:
Opinion | Billionaires Will Not Save Us. Here's What Will - YES! Magazine

Posted in Moon Colonization | Comments Off on Opinion | Billionaires Will Not Save Us. Here’s What Will – YES! Magazine

‘Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ Will Return For a Fifth and Final Season – ScreenCrush

Posted: at 9:48 pm

Good news/bad news time. The good news: With Season 4 ofThe Marvelous Mrs. Maiselabout to premiere, Amazon has announced that Season 5 is in the works. The bad news: That will be the final season of the series.

A critical hit since its inception in 2017, and already a 19-time Emmy Winner in categories ranging from Outstanding Writingto Outstanding Comedy Series, the show stars Rachel Brosnahan (herself a Emmy winner for the show) as Midge Maisel, an unhappy housewife in 1950s New York who decides to become a standup comic.

Here was the head of Amazon Studios on the news (viaTHR)

[MaiselcreatorAmy [Sherman-Palladino], Dan [Palladino], andThe Marvelous Mrs. Maiselhave blazed an unparalleled path, elevating the stories we tell about women, challenging the norms in our industry, and forever altering the entertainment landscape with their one-of-a-kind storytelling. The dozens of awards cementMaisels legacy in many ways, but whats even more enduring and poignant are the characters Amy created and the joyous, brilliant, singular world she and Dan brought to life. This series has meant so much to Prime Video and the effects of its success will be felt long after its final season. I cant wait for fans and our worldwide Prime Video audience to savor each moment as we embark on the culmination of this groundbreaking and unforgettable series.

Many ofMarvelous Mrs. Maisels contemporaries from its early days on Prime Video have already ended their runs, includingBosch,Sneaky Pete,The Man in the High Castle,Transparent, andMozart in the Jungle.Season 4 ofThe Marvelous Mrs. Maiselpremieres tomorrow on Prime Video. Two episodes will premiere each week for the next month. Heres the trailer for the new season:

See the original post:
'Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' Will Return For a Fifth and Final Season - ScreenCrush

Posted in Moon Colonization | Comments Off on ‘Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ Will Return For a Fifth and Final Season – ScreenCrush

‘The Universim’ Early Access Update Lets You Colonize The Moon – Trailer – WorthPlaying.com

Posted: February 17, 2022 at 8:01 am

Your civilization will evolve throughout the ages, with or without your guidance. You are taking control of a living simulation, not the same static world you are accustomed to. The AI will make many of its own decisions, and the world will change dynamically, throwing various challenges at your civilization at random times. You can attempt to influence your civilizations decisions, or simply watch as their decisions begin to bear fruit or lead them into ruin.

However, when it comes to research choices, exploration, and colonization of alien planets, you have complete control. You can select their research path, and develop whatever technologies you deem important for the near future. Be warned, though. Research decisions play a crucial role in how your civilization progresses from era to era. Failure to do adequate research into the appropriate field for the time period will cause your civilization to suffer, or even perish entirely.

Developer and publisher Crytivo is pleased to announce the beginning of the Space Age for The Universim, starting with the colonization of the Moon.

The time has come for the Nuggets to move further into space. The first step is to set your Nuggets foot on the moon!

This v0.1.54 patch will finally bring plenty of new and exciting features to the game - but this is only the first step on your Nuggets path. In the future, you will have the opportunity to colonize and explore many other planets, each having its own negative and positive aspects. For now, let's concentrate on the things we can find in this patch.

First of All, MOON!

As mentioned before, the Moon is just the first planet that your Nuggets will be able to colonize. It is relatively safe and has a low difficulty curve in its colonization. This type of planet, as you all might have guessed, is considered to be a Barren Planet. The planet does have plenty of rocks and some underground resources, but it lacks oxygen. This celestial body also lacks water as well as any life on the planet; these issues are something that you will have to tackle in order to fully colonize the planet. Think carefully about what you want to bring to the Moon in terms of resources and what buildings you would like to construct there first. The first step is crucial to the survival of your civilization. If your first colonization wont be successful, you will have to utilize your interplanetary transportation system in order to deliver goods to the planet.

Cosmodrome

This is one of the first buildings that will set you on the path to colonization. The building was completely reworked from the ground up. You will be able to use the cosmodrome to build your colonization rockets. Only one rocket can be built per planet. Consider this rocket to be your epicenter; where your civilization will start anew on a planet. In this building, you can load your rocket with Nuggets and Robox (later on with drones) and resources. Loading the resources is done in two different ways: you can either load any amount of resources or you can select a tab that will display all kinds of buildings. From this tab, instead of calculating how many resources you need, you can simply select any buildings that you would like to be built on your newly colonized planet and Nuggets will deliver resources needed for those buildings.

Rockets have a limited amount of space on them. In the future, you will need to think carefully about what you would like to take with you on a planet based on the learned information about the planet and its condition.

Spaceport

This is the center of your transportation of goods. Each spaceport that is built provides you with 4 trading cargo ships on which you will be able to load different resources and help your Nuggets stay sustained. This building will allow you to set up any trading routes you would like to implement. Select both the resources you wish to deliver and the number of times you would like those resources to be delivered. You can select 1-10 or infinity. Later on, you will be allowed to constantly stream the specified amount of resources on the recipient planet.

Terraformer

This is one of the main buildings that will allow you to start terraforming the planet. The building constantly consumes resources and, in exchange, will restore flora within the radius this building can operate. Slowly and by utilizing resources, this building will be able to make any planet green as life is established.

Oxygen Generator

Since there is no oxygen on the Moon, this is one of the buildings that you will certainly need. Similar to the terraformer, this building will consume resources in order to provide oxygen to the planet, but there is one major thing to note about this building: if electricity is lost, then the generator will drop your oxygen to the previous level (the oxygen level present before the building was constructed). In other words, this building provides the planet with oxygen, as long as you have it working. In order to truly restore the oxygen on a planet, you will need to implement forests and lakes upon the planet. But, as a short term solution, oxygen generators will surely provide enough O2 for your Nuggets to prevent suffocationunless you forget to pay your electricity bill.

Hydro Collider

From the name of the building, you could probably guess the purpose of this structure. This building will create water on your planet. Place it similar to water pumps on a shoreline and let it run. Shortly thereafter, you will notice how the level of water increases, but be careful not to overwork it! The Hydro Collider does consume resources in order to craft water for your planet.

Cloud Generator

This is another solution to the water problem on a planet. Cloud generators will allow you to restore water on the planet by creating clouds! This building will produce clouds in exchange for resources, but the amount of resources is significantly less than the resources needed for the Hydro Collider. Even though this solution can be ideal for certain planets, there is one thing to note: cloud generators take time to create water. If you need to restore something quickly, consider using the Hydro Collider, otherwise a Cloud Generator will do a great job!

Robox

In unlocking space travel, your Nuggets also took some time to think about the best way to move their constructions to other planets or even across the same planet. This is how Robox was born! This little box with legs consists of highly transformable material and can inherit the functionality and shape of any building - but it does come with costs. In order to create a Robox, you can either order it for your colonization rocket or you can convert one of your buildings into this creation. Pressing the convert button on a building panel will pack the building into this little weird metallic creature that can be loaded onto the rocket and sent to another planet. You obviously can also use it to move your buildings around

Oxygen & Space Suits

Your Nuggets cant survive without oxygen. Upon landing, your Nuggets will have to constantly return to your colonization ship in order to restore the oxygen in their space suits. Once the oxygen on the planet is restored or you have enough to the point where your Nuggets wont need their suits anymore, they will perform faster and better. At the end of the day, they dont need to constantly replenish their oxygen from the rocket.

A low amount of oxygen on the planet also has a negative effect on the planet's condition and disasters. Without the oxygen restored, you wont have an atmosphere that can protect your planet from meteor strikes, therefore, frequent meteor showers are expected on a planet without oxygen. You will also be missing clouds that do provide essential water to the planet (your cloud generators do not care about oxygen due to chemicals being used to create those clouds).

Roads

The Space Age also will introduce a new type of road your Nuggets will utilize. Upon the initial landing on the Moon, your Nuggets will utilize rope roads. They will be moving along the ropes, holding it with their little hands in order to stay on track. Later on, as your civilization progresses forward, rope roads will be changed to advanced Space Age roads. Even though, at this point, roads wont be utilized as much due to flying cars, it still will provide a necessary movement boost to your Nuggets.

Flying Cars

Nuggets advanced quite far during this time. Since they learned how to fly, they also learned how to utilize all of their received knowledge in order to create flying cars! Those cars are highly effective and do not create any traffic, but they do come with upkeep costs.

Domes

Due to limited oxygen on the planets, your Nuggets will initially build houses with domes that will be a safe space for them to get oxygen. Slowly but surely, your Nuggets will build larger domes that contain more families inside of them, but this is not the best and long-term sustainable living your Nuggets will want. Once the oxygen is restored, your Nuggets will move towards rebuilding their houses and constructing new, highly advanced homes.

Space Age Houses

Space Age houses will take the place of domes and be built instead of the domes once the oxygen levels are restored. They can contain many families inside them at night thoughthis is something spectacular. We are really proud of our Nuggets and how advanced they have become 🙂

Background Planet Simulation System

A highly advanced simulation system was built for the Space Age. Since many planets will eventually be introduced, we wanted to allow players to explore those planets without worrying too much about other planets, as well as allowing interplanetary trading. The system that we built will do its best to simulate the current state of your planet based on how much time has passed. In order words, it will use all the reproduction rates that your planet has and create new Nuggets, age existing Nuggets, calculate produced resources, consumed resources by your civilization, etc. Creating a self-sustainable planet and leaving that planet will allow our simulation system to keep up with everything and continue simulating life on that planet. Who knows what you will find once you come back

Unfortunately, if you left your planet in distress, our simulation system will continue to simulate what would happen to it based on the time passed.

Bloom Effect

One of the exciting improvements weve made was changing our visuals, especially during night time. At night, youll see something called the bloom effect. This effect will make your city play with colorful colors during night time when all the lights are on, creating a magnificent effect across your planet.

Space Age and Modern Music

It is time to introduce some new tracks to the game! We worked with our composers in order to produce 10 new awesome tracks for this era, keeping you pumped and excited to play the game in the Modern Age and Space Era.

Space Age Construction Sites

Through the ages, Nuggets have advanced their technology and techniques. Thousands of construction sites were created and used to build gorgeous constructs, and the Space Age is no exception. We worked on new visual effects for the construction sites for the Space Age buildings.

Modern Age and Space Era Building Upgrades

Besides introducing tons of new content, we did not forget about the building upgrades to make your cities in space look stunning. As usual, each building upgrade will provide certain benefits, so make sure to build them all!

Space Age Cemetery

Welp, it's time to send your Nuggets to space. Literally. Instead of burning your Nuggets, Space Age cemetery workers will put your Nuggets in capsules and send them deeper into space.

Space Age Expedition Camp

Space Age Garage

Upgrade your garage to receive flying cars! Create your own futuristic cities and resolve all the issues of traffic. Your Nuggets will convert to flying cars in order to reach their destinations. The roads beneath them will still produce a boost to their movement speed, but make sure to have enough fuel for your cars to remain up in the air.

Space Age Bridge

Modern bridges got their upgrade to Space Age bridges. Even though the functionality of the bridges did not change, they definitely received an awesome new look!

Space Age Water Pump

Issue with the water? Dont worry, the Space Age water pumps will pump the water in no time. The increased amount of water that is being pumped will definitely resolve problems when expanding your city.

Space Age Reservoir

Increase the drinkable water generation speed and capacity by upgrading your reservoirs to the Space Age!

Modern Age Battery

Batteries didnt progress too much throughout this time, but they did indeed see an upgrade. Upgrade your medieval batteries into new and shiny modern batteries and increase their capacity along with it.

Space Age Eatery

Advanced technology allowed us to place plenty of machinery in the kitchen, which in return yielded faster cooking speeds.

Modern Age Warehouse

Wooden shacks were no longer suitable for Nuggets and their needs. Due to an increased output in resources, a bigger storage space was needed. Modern Age warehouses surely can help with the double output and provide enough storage space for any resources.

Space Age Farm

Farming is easy now! Experience completely automated factories with maximum production by upgrading your farms. This will drastically increase the output of food for your civilization.

Space Age Hospital

Even though the amount of beds did not increase, the efficiency with which Nuggets learned how to manipulate robotic arms allowed Nuggets to increase the speed of treating their patients.

Improvements and Balance Changes

Bug Fixes

This is so far one of our biggest patches that we released and it is our first step towards full space expansion! There are still more things coming in the future and we cant wait to present them to you. We hope you will enjoy this patch and we would love to hear your thoughts and feedback, since this will help us to shape the game further.

The Universim is currently available through Steam Early Access for $29.99.

With the use of an ambitious in-game engine called Prometheus, which is currently in development, we aim to simulate planets accurately by implementing important natural processes and events. Prometheus will simulate the various environmental biomes on the planet, and the changing of seasons within these regions. Winter will be the most challenging of seasons, as it hinders development and progress. It will also place strain upon your civilization if they failed to prepare adequately for the winter beforehand. Storing food and developing ways to keep warm are excellent examples of effective preparation. It will also be responsible for the generation of unique new planets for you to explore.

For example, a planet could be generated with very little oxygen. The colonization team would then need to be equipped with atmosphere generators to ensure a habitable environment. However, these generators cost resources to develop and run. The same effect can be achieved with a more cost-effective method. Planting trees! But alas, they will do so far more slowly. It all comes down to what kind of strategy the player wishes to employ.

There is an element of natural progression and evolution in the game. Beginning in the Stone Age, and advancing all the way to the era of intergalactic exploration is something players can look forward to. The ability to colonize planets and explore the vast expanse of the universe is then unlocked. This is when players can begin forging their galactic empires in the stars. Every planet will have unique and interesting characteristics that will challenge the player to properly evaluate the dangers and rewards before initiating the colonization process. As with everything, preparation and strategy is crucial!

Original post:
'The Universim' Early Access Update Lets You Colonize The Moon - Trailer - WorthPlaying.com

Posted in Moon Colonization | Comments Off on ‘The Universim’ Early Access Update Lets You Colonize The Moon – Trailer – WorthPlaying.com

Opinion | The Slave Trade Didn’t Come Out of Nowhere – The New York Times

Posted: at 8:01 am

The features of the man, his hair, color and dentifrice, his subhuman characteristics so widely pleaded, were only the later rationalizations to justify a simple economic fact that the colonies needed labor and resorted to Negro labor because it was cheapest and best, Williams writes. The planter, he continues, would have gone to the moon, if necessary, for labor. Africa was nearer than the moon, nearer too than the more populous countries of India and China. But their turn was to come.

One thing Id like you to consider, and this is something I will return to in the future, is the extent to which racial distinctions and racial divisions are rooted in relationships of class, labor and property, even when they take on a life and logic of their own. And if thats true, I would like you to think about what that means for unraveling those divisions and distinctions, and consigning the ideology of race to the ash heap of history.

My Tuesday column was on a supposedly pro-worker proposal from Senator Marco Rubio that does little more than give employers another avenue for union busting.

If an employee involvement organization cannot bargain and cannot negotiate and can be dissolved at any point by the employer, then what purpose does it serve other than to subvert union organizers and channel worker unrest into a front organization for management? The same goes for the nonvoting board representative. Without power to act, what does it matter that someone is permitted to watch and listen?

My Friday column was, yet again, on how the Supreme Court cannot be trusted to defend the civil and voting rights of all Americans.

It is Congress, and not the Supreme Court, that has, over time, done more to defend the civil and voting rights of all Americans. To do the same, the court has had to reverse its own work. As Nikolas Bowie, an assistant professor of law at Harvard, has written, As a matter of historical practice, the Court has wielded an antidemocratic influence on American law, one that has undermined federal attempts to eliminate hierarchies of race, wealth, and status.

Brian Highsmith and Kathleen Thelen on the role of the courts in American political economy for the Law and Political Economy Project.

Michael Hobbes on cancel culture in a video essay for YouTube.

Musab Younis on whiteness for The London Review of Books.

Teresa M. Bejan on equality and egalitarianism for the Boston Review.

Natasha Lennard on liberal immigration policies in BookForum.

See the article here:
Opinion | The Slave Trade Didn't Come Out of Nowhere - The New York Times

Posted in Moon Colonization | Comments Off on Opinion | The Slave Trade Didn’t Come Out of Nowhere – The New York Times

SpaceX’s Starship will reach orbit this year on road to Mars, Elon Musk says – Space.com

Posted: February 11, 2022 at 6:45 am

SpaceX will hit a big milestone this year on its road to Mars, if all goes according to plan.

The company is developing a giant rocket known as Starship to help make Mars colonization and a variety of other ambitious exploration feats possible. Starship prototypes have taken just a handful of low-altitude hops off Earth's surface to date, but the vehicle is on target to earn its orbital wings in the relatively near future, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said.

"I feel, at this point, highly confident that we'll get to orbit this year," Musk said Thursday night (Feb. 10) during a livestreamed Starship update from Starbase, SpaceX's facility in South Texas, near the Gulf Coast hamlet of Boca Chica Village.

Photos: SpaceX lifts huge Super Heavy rocket onto launch stand

SpaceX is developing Starship to take people and cargo to the moon, Mars and other deep-space destinations. The system consists of two elements: a huge first-stage booster known as Super Heavy and an upper-stage spacecraft called Starship.

When fully stacked, a Starship vehicle towers about 390 feet (119 meters) above the ground. That's taller than any other rocket ever built; the previous record holder, NASA's Saturn V moon rocket, stood 363 feet (111 m) tall. And Starship's thrust will be more than twice that of the iconic Saturn V, Musk said.

Both Super Heavy and Starship are designed to be fully and rapidly reusable, a cost-saving breakthrough that Musk and SpaceX believe will revolutionize spaceflight and exploration. If everything goes well, for example, each Starship vehicle will be capable of launching from Earth's surface every six to eight hours, and every Super Heavy will be able to do so roughly every hour, on missions that deliver up to 150 tons of payload to orbit, Musk said.

Such incredibly high flight rates would bring per-mission costs down dramatically.

"It may be as little as a few million dollars per flight maybe even as low as a million dollars per flight," Musk said. "These are crazy low numbers by space standards."

If Starship even gets close to those cost and cadence numbers, Mars colonization a long-held goal of both Musk and SpaceX becomes a real possibility. The billionaire entrepreneur estimated that humanity will need to transport about 1 million tons of material to the Red Planet to establish a self-sustaining city there.

"Starship is capable of doing that," Musk said. "And I think we should try to do that as soon as we can. The window of opportunity may be open for a long time and I hope it is but it may also be open for a short time."

Super Heavy and Starship are powered by SpaceX's new Raptor engine. SpaceX designed Raptor with Mars in mind; the engine burns liquid oxygen and liquid methane, propellants that can be sourced on the Red Planet, Musk has said.

But Starship will go to the moon before it reaches Mars, if all goes according to plan. In 2018, SpaceX announced that Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa had booked a round-the-moon flight on Starship, a mission that could launch as early as next year. (It won't be Maezawa's first spaceflight; he lived on the International Space Station for nearly 12 days in December 2021.)

And in April 2021, NASA selected Starship as the first crewed lander for its Artemis moon-exploration program. The SpaceX vehicle will put NASA astronauts down on the moon on the Artemis 3 mission, which is targeted to lift off in 2025 or thereabouts.

Video: Watch SpaceX's Starship SN20 test-fire 6 Raptor engines

Thursday's presentation was Musk's first in-depth Starship update in more than two years; he last gave such a talk in September 2019. So he had some new details to share.

For example, Musk said that Super Heavy will sport 33 Raptors going forward an increase over the previous number, which was 29. The final Starship vehicle will likely get a power boost as well, from its current six Raptors to nine, Musk added.

He spoke in front of the fully stacked Starship that will perform the program's first orbital test flight, a duo known as Booster 4 and Ship 20. SpaceX aims to have the vehicle ready to fly around the time that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) wraps up its environmental assessment of Starbase, a milestone that's expected by the end of the month.

Musk expressed optimism that the review will end up going SpaceX's way that the FAA won't recommend drafting a lengthy and time-consuming environmental impact statement (EIS).

But if the agency does decide an EIS is necessary, SpaceX has some flight options. The company already has the necessary approvals to launch Starship from its facilities at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, Musk said, though it still needs to build a launch-and-catch tower for the vehicle there. (SpaceX aims to boost Starship flight rates by bringing recently launched Super Heavy boosters down directly on the launch mount.)

"So I guess our worst-case scenario is that we would, I don't know, be delayed for six to eight months to build up the Cape launch tower and launch from there," he said, referring to Florida's Cape Canaveral.

And Starbase and KSC won't be the only Starship launch sites. SpaceX is turning two former deepwater oil rigs into offshore launch platforms known as Phobos and Deimos, named after the two moons of Mars. The company aims to have a full launch capability on one of the platforms, as well as at Starbase and KSC, by the end of the year, Musk said.

Starship's first few orbital flights may not go entirely according to plan; a crash here and there in the program's early test campaign are to be expected, Musk said.

"We'll probably lose a few vehicles along the way. With Falcon 9, I think it took us 14 or 15 attempts to successfully land the first booster," he said, referring to SpaceX's workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, which has aced nearly 100 booster landings to date.

"I don't think it'll take us that many with Starship, because we have that experience," he said. "But it's certainly not a sure thing that it'll work the first time."

Mike Wall is the author of "Out There" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or on Facebook.

Go here to read the rest:
SpaceX's Starship will reach orbit this year on road to Mars, Elon Musk says - Space.com

Posted in Moon Colonization | Comments Off on SpaceX’s Starship will reach orbit this year on road to Mars, Elon Musk says – Space.com

Page 12«..11121314..2030..»