Category Archives: Moon Colonization

European engineers have shown that urea can serve as a suitable plasticizer for concrete mortar for the construction of the future lunar base.

Colonization of the Moon is fraught with a great many difficulties and challenges: a dangerous level of radiation, extreme temperature drops, the risk of meteorites falling, and so on. All of them are completely solvable if a reliable, protected and hermetic base is built on the satellite. But for this, the main problem remains to be solved the logistics.

Shipping every kilogram of cargo to the moon costs tens of thousands of dollars, so transporting building materials to a satellite would be too expensive. Therefore, engineers are developing technologies for building a base of lunar regolith using robotic technology and 3D printing. The find made by the team of Anna-Lena Knicksen from Estoll University College in Norway promises to further ease this task.

In an article published in the Journal of Cleaner Production, they examine the possibility of utilizing the urine of future colonists for the construction of a lunar base. According to engineers, urea isolated from it can serve as a plasticizer for cement mortar. Such an additive increases the ductility of concrete makes it easier to work with it and increases the density and resistance to deformation.

The idea is to use what can be found on the spot: regolith and water from the ice present in many areas, the authors explain. Moreover, we have shown that waste such as urine from the personnel of the lunar base is also useful for the matter. Its two main components are water and urea, whose molecules weaken hydrogen bonds and reduce the viscosity of many aqueous solutions.

For their experiments, scientists used a lunar soil simulator created in ESA and a suitable 3D printer, with which they printed out samples, and then sent them for detailed analysis. The components printed with the addition of urea as a plasticizer underwent several cycles of freezing-thawing and heating to 80C but retained their structural properties completely.

We have not yet considered the process of extracting urea, adds Anna-Lena Knicksen, since we have not yet figured out whether other urine components can be used to add to the building mixture. Perhaps water will go into it, along with the one that can be found on the moon itself.

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Urine of astronauts will simplify the construction of the lunar base - FREE NEWS

Today many aerospace industries and nations are competing in the race for Mars. Some with a plan for crew flybys, others with short term scientific missions, and some with the higher objective of colonization of Mars. Mars, as we know, is an arid planet that cannot support life. All the necessary life support systems have to come from the Earth, which would be too expensive as we rely heavily on chemical rockets.

One of the solutions would be to manufacture the necessary raw materials like fuel, organic compounds, and drugs on Mars, maximizing the available resources on the planet. Mars has abundant carbon dioxide (about 96%) and water at its poles in the form of polar ice caps and likely frozen underground reservoirs. Chemist at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has designed a hybrid system using nanowires and bacteria to harness sunlight, carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and, water to create the building blocks for organic material.

The system is made by packing Sporomusa ovata bacteria into a forest of nanowires that are one-hundredth the width of human air. The nanowires would absorb sunlight, generate electrons that the bacteria take, and converts two carbon dioxide molecules and water into Acetate and Oxygen.

Acetate is one of the building blocks for many organic compounds, including fuels, drugs, and plastics. We can manufacture other organic compounds from acetate using bioengineering. Oxygen, which is the by-product of this process, can replenish the artificial atmosphere for the colonists. The possibilities are endless.

According to the project leader Peidong Yang, when they tried to pack the bacteria into nanowires to increase efficiency, they faced a problem of elevated pH level of the surrounding water. This increase in pH level (or decrease in acidity) caused the bacteria to detach themselves from the nanowires, causing a break in the circuit. They eventually found a solution to keep the acidity slightly higher and increase efficiency. Their system has a record efficiency of 3.6%, which means 3.6% of solar energy gets converted and stored.

Professor Yang and his team continue to tweak the system to improve efficiency and to manufacture other organic compounds like acetic acid. This system can be a solution to address our global warming issue by absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide and converting them into organic compounds. Professor Yang and his team are also working on other systems to produce sugars and carbohydrates efficiently, which, one day, can provide food to the colonists.

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Bioengineering to help future Mars Colonies and Earths Global Warming - News Landed

Science fiction has often imagined what food in space would be like. In the various Star Trek series, food has evolved from colorful cubes in the original series to being synthesized by machines. It even predicted cell-based meatand, fresh vegetables grown in space.

In Star Trek: Enterprise, only certain foods can be replicated by technology. An on-board chef provides the intergalactic travelers with fruits and vegetables grown in a hydroponic greenhouse. And thanks to NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), space-grown greens are becoming a reality for astronauts.

Between 2014-2016, astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) grew leafy greens from surface-sterilized seeds using the Vegetable Production Systems, nicknamed Veggie.

According to research published in the journalFrontiers in Plant Science,space-grown lettuce is safe to eat. This unlocks new possibilities for what mealtime looks like for astronauts as well as sustainable food production in space. Theoretically, future human settlers on Mars could supplement their diets with plant-based food that they grew themselves.

Undergoing intense physical training, floating weightlessly, and witnesses the Earth from the expanse of space, astronauts have unique experiences. The food, not so much. According to NASA, astronauts can choose from a variety of foods that they would eat at home. Macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and jelly, and meat and seafood dishes are all options.

Fresh fruit, nuts, candy, brownies, and ice cream are also available. But, you wont get the freeze-dried astronaut ice cream you can find in science museums. In a zero-gravity environment, crumbs from freeze-dried ice cream or bread could easily fly into the ships controls. Its for that very reason that astronauts use tortillas instead of bread for their sandwiches. Instead of salt and pepper shakers, they have liquid seasoning in packets.

All food comes in disposable packaging and is nonperishable to survive long missions in space.

Although Veggie is a recent innovation, the concept of gardening in space has been in development for more than 30 years. The innovative technology would add variety to astronauts diets and give them access to nutritious, leafy greens.

NASA plant physiologist Ray Wheeler explained to Space.com last November that NASA has been interested in growing plants as a bioregenerative approach for life support, and the plants would provide food and oxygen and could remove carbon dioxide.

In 2015, 44 astronauts aboard the ISS sampled a harvest of Outredgeous red romaine lettuce grown under LED lights. Four years later, in late 2019, astronauts successfully grew mizuna, or Japanese mustard greens. The remainder was stowed in a freezer for later analysis on Earth.

Despite being grown under lower gravity and more intense radiation, research revealed that space greens are free from disease-causing microbes. According to NASA, the Veggie-grown produce is richer in potassium, sodium, phosphorus, sulfur, and zinc. It is also rich in phenolics, molecules with proven antiviral, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory activity. It has about the same antioxidant content as Earth-grown produce.

There is evidence that supports fresh foods, such as tomatoes, blueberries, and red lettuce are a good source of antioxidants. Having fresh food like these available in space could have a positive impact on peoples moods and also could provide some protection against radiation in space, Wheeler said.

Veggie comes with other benefits as well. Gardening provides crew members with a much-valued recreational activity on longer-duration missions.

Besides having the ability to grow and eat fresh food in space, there also may be a psychological benefit, said Dr. Gioia Massa, NASA Veggie project lead. For example, future habitat-related modifications could include plant life. A 2015 study published in the Journal of Physiological Anthropologyfound that active time with indoor plants can reduce physiological and psychological stress.

Veggie is growing only greens at the moment. But, Massa explained that future tests will involve other varieties of lettuce as well as peppers and tomatoes. The International Space Station is serving as a testbed for future long-duration missions, and these types of crop growth tests are helping to expand the suite of candidates that can be effectively grown in microgravity, she told SpaceRef.

The team at Kennedy Space Center hopes that space gardening will become a valuable part of space travel.

The ability to grow food in a sustainable system that is safe for crew consumption will become critical as NASA moves toward longer missions. Salad-type, leafy greens can be grown and consumed fresh with few resources, said Dr. Christina Khodadad, a researcher at the Kennedy Space Center.

It may also be an integral part of travel to and life on Mars. Massa explained: The farther and longer humans go away from Earth, the greater the need to be able to grow plants for food, atmosphere recycling and psychological benefits. I think that plant systems will become important components of any long-duration exploration scenario.

Will space colonies be vegan? According to a NASA factsheet, the surface diet on the moon and on Mars will be similar to a vegetarian diet one would cook on Earthminus the dairy products.

The organization predicts that residents could grow crops. This includes multiple varieties of potatoes, wheat, rice, soybeans, peanuts, dried beans, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, and herbs. Researchers involved in NASAs Advanced Food Technology (AFT) Project are actively exploring bioregenerative solutions to create sustainable food systems in space.

NASA is expected to kick off the Mars 2020 mission this July. The Perseverance rover will be launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. On Mars, it will seek signs of ancient life and collect soil samples for a possible return to Earth.

Billionaire tech entrepreneur and SpaceX founder Elon Musk believes that Mars colonization is possible as well. Using SpaceXs Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket, Musk hopes to facilitate a colony of one million Martians within the next 50-100 years.

A report titled Feeding One Million People on Mars by Kevin Cannon and Daniel Britt at the University of Central Florida, Orlando predicted how such a colony would sustain itself. It ruled out animal agriculture and, in contrast to NASA, plant-based agriculture. Instead, the report predicted that Mars colonists would thrive on produce, insects, and cell-based meat, aka clean meatreal meat grown from animal cells.

The possibility of growing cell-based meat in space was successfully tested by Aleph Farms, an Israeli food tech company, last November. It grew small-scale muscle tissue from cow cells on the ISS using equipment supplied by Russian company, 3D Bioprinting Solutions.

On the website, Eat Like a Martian, Cannon and Britt acknowledge that further research is needed before humans begin colonizing Mars. But, the Martian diet will have several benefits: no mass suffering of caged animals, and sharp cuts in land, water, energy use, and carbon emissions.

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Growing Vegetables In Space Is Easier Than It Sounds

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What do astronauts eat? Mostly packaged meals, but according to NASA, its Veggie project can provide vegetables, variety, and a recreational gardening.

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Kat Smith

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Growing Vegetables In Space Is Easier Than It Sounds - LIVEKINDLY

The colonization of the Moon is the proposed establishment of permanent human communities on the Moon. Science fiction writers and advocates of space exploration have seen settlement of the Moon as a logical step in the expansion of humanity beyond the Earth.

Permanent human habitation on a planetary body other than the Earth is one of science fiction's central themes. As technology has advanced, and concerns about the future of humanity on Earth have increased, the argument that space colonization is an achievable and worthwhile goal has gained momentum. Because of its proximity to Earth, the Moon has been seen as a prime candidate for the location of humanity's first permanently occupied extraterrestrial base.

Should attempts at colonization go ahead, economic concerns are likely to lead to settlements being created near mines and processing centers, or near the poles where a continuous source of solar energy can be harnessed. While it would be relatively easy to resupply a lunar base from Earth, in comparison to a Martian base, the Moon is likely to play a large role in the development of long-duration closed-loop life support systems. Duplicating the ecology of Earth so that wastes can be recycled is essential to any long term effort of space exploration. The wealth of knowledge gained by extracting and refining resources on the Moon would positively affect efforts to build colonies elsewhere in the Solar System.

There has been various habitat ideas to settle in the Moon. Some consider staying in the surface using inflatable modulus or the spacecraft itself. Taking in account factors like the risk of meteorites falling into the surface or the radiation from the Sun, another suggestion is to build habitats underneath the surface.

Putting aside the general questions of whether a human colony beyond the Earth is feasible or scientifically desirable in light of cost-efficiency, proponents of space colonization point out that the Moon offers both advantages and disadvantages as a site for such a colony.

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Colonization of the Moon | Space Colonization Wiki | Fandom

Everyone wants to create a moon base

News of February 14, 2019

The possibility of colonizing the Moon is studied in detail by NASA, ESA and CNSA, and also Roscosmos. Many private companies also have this goal, like Blue Origin, SpaceX, Moon Express and many other companies. Space agencies and private companies are working to bring men or freighters to the Moon as quickly as possible.

The 2020 decade should be devoted to robotic exploration. Human exploration could start in the late 2020s or early 2030s. The first and last human adventure on the surface of the Moon is now half a century old. This resulted in short stays of a few days maximum. But this time, NASA and other space agencies seem to want to go to the Moon to stay there.

Concretely, we talk about a permanent or semi-permanent base on the Moon, like an international space station but on the surface of the Moon. This is the positioning of Europe with the Moon Village project. But building a Moon base faces many challenges.

The Moon is not the most welcoming place in the solar system. We still need to find a solution to face many challenges : radiation, dust, micro-meteorites, temperatures, energy, oxygen, water, food or even isolation.

The International Space Station is preparing to tackle some of these challenges. But it will be quite different on the Moon. The remoteness of the Earth makes supply missions more expensive. On the other hand, we can find on the spot many resources which could be exploited directly by the inhabitants of a Moon base. The European Space Agency is particularly active in research related to these problems.

At best, a first Moon base will be created in the early 2030s. But that does not mean that we can not already solve some of the challenges identified. On Earth, ESA is currently creating a simulation center. Its surface will be 1000 square meters, completely covered with a material imitating the lunar regolith and a habitat called Flex Hab. The goal is to be able to test the technologies and processes that human explorers can use on the Moon.

What to study first when talking about a Moon base is the place to install it. The equatorial region is the easiest of access, moon landing and takeoff. On the visible side of the Moon, the lunar base would allow for uninterrupted communications with the Earth. Lunar nights are however very long, 14 days.

The polar regions are more and more interesting. It is more difficult to land on a pole of the Moon but there is water ice and reliefs that remain illuminated 80% or 90% of the time, which is ideal for solar panels. The South Pole region is currently the area that seems most interesting. We can imagine that installing a Moon base at the South Pole would be a good idea.

However, there are still many decisions to make : should we install the Moon base on the surface or dig deep ? We know that the Moon has many lava tubes. These are natural tunnels that provide effective protection against radiation, meteorites and extreme temperatures. But lava tubes have to be located near the interesting resources.

Perhaps it would be more simple to build the Moon base in a crater and then cover it with regolith. This solution would bring a lot of benefits. The lower levels of such a Moon base would be located under several tens of meters of material, safe from any threat. The lunar craters are so numerous that they can be found at the same time near a deposit of water ice and a peak of eternal light. Using the lunar regolith to do radiation shielding is a very simple first example of using local resources.

Thanks to this, it is not necessary to print structures in 3D or to use a complex process. A simple backhoe can do this job. It is thus possible to use light inflatable modules to build the lunar base and thus reduce the logistic footprint of the Moon base. This solution solves the problem of radiation, meteorites and provides thermal insulation. By colonizing in this way several adjacent craters, we could build a real village.

The final choice of the location of the Moon base will probably be conditioned by the discovery of a large ice-water deposit. For a Moon base, water will be the most important local resource because it is necessary to drink but also because we can extract rocket propellants by electrolysis. Electrolysis is a process that separates water into dioxygen and dihydrogen. Thanks to an electric current, this process can also be a way of storing energy during long lunar nights. Dihydrogen and oxygen can indeed be used in a fuel cell. Water becomes a way to hydrate, to power rockets and to conserve energy produced by solar panels.

The problem is that water ice is located at the bottom of craters that daylight never reaches. Extraction of water ice could be very complicated. The easiest way to do this would probably be to redirect sunlight to the bottom of these craters using mirrors. The water vapor produced would then be transported to the electrolysis cells. In any case, the extraction of water ice will be one of the most important challenges of a Moon base. It will not be easy to get industrial machinery down the steep slopes in complete darkness.

By using fuel cells, solar energy can be used in two ways. Photovoltaic panels exposed to eternal light spikes would power the Moon base with electricity and provide the energy needed to trigger the electrolysis process. The suns heat could also be used for many other applications. It could be used to extract water ice and cook the lunar regolith in solar ovens.

There is a lot of oxygen in the regolith, in the form of a metal oxide. From 900 degrees Celcius, we can break the chemical bonds that unite these molecules to capture extra oxygen and iron, aluminum or magnesium. These are useful resources for a Moon base, even though this process is much more energy intensive than the melting of water ice.

From 1100 degrees Celsius, it becomes possible to melt the lunar regolith. We can then give it the desired shape to manufacture for example bricks. The obtained material has a similar resistance to plaster and can therefore be used for construction. Some specific shapes such as arches and domes would be particularly suitable for this type of material.

Thanks to these different techniques, a Moon base could be independent in terms of energy, water and the production of propellants and oxygen. It could even build new structures on the Moon without needing much supply from the planet Earth. It is a level of independence superior to that of the International Space Station.

We can also try to grow on the Moon part of the food consumed by the inhabitants of the Moon base. With water and electricity, there is everything we need to grow edible plants and vegetables. This experiment has already been successfully completed aboard the International Space Station. Several species of plants seem particularly interesting. Vitamin C1, vitamin K and potassium are essential for the body but degrade very quickly. To absorb enough, you must consume fresh products. On the Moon, astronauts will only have cans and freeze-dried dishes.

Kale cultivation could solve this type of problem because it is very rich in vitamin and easy to grow in small spaces. Potato is another interesting element thanks to its caloric intake. In addition, such a plant mass would recycle some of the CO2 generated by the breathing of the inhabitants of the Moon base. The biosphere experiment carried out by the Chinese mission Change 4 was interesting to observe the cultivation of plants. But we do not know yet if it is possible to make an adequate soil thanks to the lunar regolith. Some of the nutrients needed by plants should probably come from Earth.

There are many ways to get around the difficulties of living on the Moon. Dozens of Moon base concepts have been considered. NASA has made estimates for more than twenty different ways to extract oxygen from the lunar regolith. To create a permanent inhabited Moon base is possible if humanity wants to. From a scientific point of view the Moon certainly deserves some expeditions.

We can imagine Moon bases similar to Antarctic bases that welcome carefully selected experts for long or short periods. A more massive installation would require the presence on the spot of private companies and the creation of a real economy centered on lunar resources. The reconnaissance work carried out by the Chinese, Indian, European, Russian or American missions goes in this direction.

News of October 24, 2017

The lunar probe Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), launched by NASA in 2009, made an interesting discovery : the moon has hundreds of natural cavities formed by lava tubes. Some of these cavities could be up to 900 meters in diameter and 50 kilometers long. Some think that these cavities could welcome a base on the Moon. Indeed, the conditions on the surface of the Moon are not very welcoming : no atmosphere, no magnetic field, extreme temperatures, micro-meteorites and radiation At the time of the Apollo program, nobody spent more than three days on the Moon.

The lava tubes, whose existence has just been confirmed, could therefore offer a protection to a permanent human presence on the Moon. The lava tubes are formed when a lava flow created tunnels whose walls have hardened at high temperatures, creating hollow tubes. This phenomenon is known on Earth but the lava tubes present on the Moon seem much larger than those of our planet. Lava tubes solve the problem of radiation and micro-meteorites for explorers. The temperature in the lava tubes would be constant, from -30 degrees to -40 degrees, while on the moons surface temperatures range from -175 degrees to 125 degrees depending on whether it is day or night.

It would thus be possible to install inflatable modules to create shelters in these lava tubes, thus providing spaces of several square kilometers to welcome humans. These spaces would have the advantage of allowing the occupants of the lunar base to live in a non-artificial space. In addition, the Moon is probably not completely dry : if we are able to find or exploit lunar water sources then it would be very interesting to consider a colonization of the Moon, which could precede the colonization of Mars or Venus. Indeed, the Moon offers real industrial perspectives : on the one hand the Moon has large reserves of titanium and helium 3, and on the other hand the Moon is close to the Earth. If the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway materializes as well as the lunar ambitions of China, a human exploration of one of these lava tubes will probably take place, and perhaps even the installation of a base on the Moon.

Image by ESA/Foster + Partners

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Moon base and Moon colonization : all you need to know and ...

Moon Cave Colonization

In October 2017,Japans Selenological and Engineering Explorer probe discovered a massive underground cave on the Moon. The space, which is 100 meters (328 feet) wide and 50 kilometers (31 miles) long, is being touted as a potential location for a lunar station. In fact, some experts are asserting that the best way to live on the Moon is in caves just like the one recently discovered.

Radio waves were used to investigate the cave, after an opening measuring 50 meters by 50 meters(164 feet) was found by the probe. Its thought to be structurally sound, and could contain deposits of ice and water inside rocks that might be used to produce fuel.

The cave is thought to be a lava tube spawned by volcanic activity dating back 3.5 billion years. Its situated just meters underneath volcanic domes called the Marius Hills.

Junichi Haruyama, a senior researcher with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa), stated that lava tubes might be the best candidate sites for future lunar bases, because of their stable thermal conditions and potential to protect people and instruments from micrometeorites and cosmic ray radiation, according to a report from The Guardian.

This cave raises hopes that a lunar station could come to fruition in the near future, using the natural landscape of the moon to solve some practical problems. However, its not the only indication that such a project might be a reality sooner rather than later.

There was a time when the prospect of establishing a permanent human presence on the moon was pure science fiction. Even more recently, the general consensus has agreed that such a project would be prohibitively expensive for an organization to pursue. Recent technological developments might suggest that this is no longer the case.

Everything from self-driving cars to toilets capable of recycling waste efficiently could help drive down the costs of a lunar station, which papers released last year suggested could be in place as soon as 2022. This kind of penny pinching is essential if such an endeavor is going to be a success.

NASA simply doesnt have the funding that it once had access to. The Apollo program that put humans on the lunar surface in 1969 cost $150 billion (adjusting for todays standards). The agency will only receive $19.65 billion over the course of 2017, up from $19.3 billion in 2016.

However, the prospective moon base might not be completely reliant on NASA. Private companies like SpaceX and other organizations like the ESA could pursue their own initiatives and that might end up spurring on American efforts. In fact, some experts assert that humanity will only be able to establish a viable Moon colony through an effort that unites private companies with national space agencies.

The US is unlikely to have a large activity on the moon or Mars if it is the only actor involved, senior NASA scientist Chris McKay told Futurism. Why play king of the mountain if youre the only one on the mountain[?] However if private groups or other nations are [planning] to go to the moon and/or Mars then the US will want to be involved and in fact to be in the lead.

According to McKay, the ISS has already demonstrated that our life support systems are advanced enough to support a lunar station; we just need to get the tech deployed on the Moon. Fortunately, it seems that partnerships are already forming to do this. In May 2017, there were signs that NASA was pursuing a lunar mining initiative, which would likely be facilitated by the commercial opportunities afforded by a partnership with a private company.

To McKay, the moon is little more than a stepping stone albeit an important one. If we ever have a human base on another world I would bet it would be the Moon first, he explained. Being so close, and constantly so close, is really a killer advantage over Mars, or asteroids, or anywhere else. Like Vasco de Gama we will stay in sight of shore as we venture out.

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New Discovery Raises Hope for Human Colonization of the Moon

After the successful Apollo missions that put humans on the Moon starting 1969, the ongoing dream was that there would soon be a permanent human settlement on our only natural satellite. Best captured in science fiction works like the classic 2001: A Space Odyssey, colonization of the Moon was seen as somewhat inevitable. But as it turned out, the last time humans went beyond low-earth orbit (LEO) was the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. Sad times we live in.

The Soviet space program had some serious proposals for a permanent moon base, one of which was Zvezda. The plan was to use the super heavy-lift launch vehicle N1-L3 (the Soviet Unions competitor to Americas Saturn V) to deliver tons of material for use in habitable modules on the lunar surface. Each of the modules were to be launched separately. The habitable modules were to be docked on a movable train-like platform, to allow exploration or repositioning of the moon base. The concept unfortunately died with the failed Soviet human lunar programs.

NASA also had a lunar base concept in the 1980s which went nowhere due to fading interest in the idea and focus on other areas such as the Space Shuttle program.

The Moon has no atmosphere and is basically a dead land. Mars definitely is a less hostile place better suited to colonization. Elon Musks SpaceX has its sights set on it too. But the Moons big advantages arise out of its proximity:

On the other hand, it takes months to reach Mars, which also has a round-trip communications delay of 8 to 40 minutes and doesnt allow remote control of machines.

The Moons proximity makes it a stepping stone on our journey to becoming an interplanetary species. The question is, how? In such hostile conditions, how are we ever going to make a permanent home?

The daytime temperatures on the lunar surface exceed 100 Celsius and nighttime temperatures can dip as far as -180 Celsius. Solar panels can be used to power moon colonies during lunar day; however powering the colonies during a lunar night equivalent to 14 Earth days is an issue that needs to be solved.

Enter the peaks of eternal light. The Moons equator is tilted only slightly by ~1.5 degrees to the orbit of the Earth around the Sun. Its orbital motion is such that some peaks near its poles are constantly facing the Sun, thereby making them peaks of eternal light.

Well, eternal here means as long as the Sun shines or gobbles up the Moon when it becomes a red giant. The Japanese spacecraft SELENE identified four peaks near the lunar south pole which receive sunlight more than 80% of the time.

NASAs Clementine orbiter also discovered the nearby Malapert mountain was illuminated by sunlight nearly 90% of the time. Similar peaks are found at the lunar north pole. These areas will thus have near constant sunlight to power the moon colonies.

Similar to the regions of eternal light, there are regions near the poles which are permanently in the dark. This is usually due to the peaks shadowing those regions from sunlight or deep craters where the sunlight simply does not reach. These permashadow regions in the south pole have been observed by NASAs Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).

Having not received any sunlight for nearly 2 billion years, these permashadow regions are an excellent trap for volatiles (chemicals which would vaporize in space if exposed to sunlight), including water. Indias Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, using NASAs Mini-SAR radar, found more than 40 craters containing water ice on the lunar north pole. It is estimated that there could be 100 billion kg of water ice in these regions. NASAs LCROSS spacecraft detached the Centaur upper stage to deliberately impact one of the permashadow regions on the lunar south pole.

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How to colonize the Moon? - TeamIndus Blog - Medium

A reported new entry on PlayStation Networks European database may be hinting at something Star Wars-related. The entry in question concerns Star Wars Project Maverick, a title that as of yet remains foreign to the public. Apart from a striking piece of key art, nothing else about Project Maverick appears on the database.

The news comes courtesy of the PSN releases Twitter page (via Wccftech), a recently created bot account from Software Engineer Luciano Ciccariello that tracks PSN updates. Check out PSN releasess post below:

A quick Google search cross referencing the word Maverick with Star Wars pulls up a couple of interesting results. One in particular concerns trailer mashups for The Force Awakens and the Tom Cruise-starring Top Gun: Maverick film. Obviously, this is unrelated to the topic at hand. However, another Maverick and Star Wars connection links back to The Maverick Moon, a childrens storybook from 1979 whose writer, Eleanor Ehrhardt, reportedly went uncredited within the text itself.

Random House published the storybook, which is set during an undisclosed period of time after the events ofStar Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. Its plot centers on Luke Skywalkers enrollment in the New Academy for Space Pilots, where he trains to become a pilot for transport ships that are headed to uninhabited planets for colonization purposes. In some respects, this aligns with Wccftechs theory that Project Maverick may be a flight simulator of some sort.

As always, fans shouldnt get their hopes up. For now, this is merely rumor and speculation based on reported PSN database entries. It is worth noting, however, that similar PSN listings via Gamstat correctly leakedResident Evil 3remake one week ahead of Capcoms official announcement.

[Source: PSN releases on Twitter via Wccftech]

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Rumor: Something Called Star Wars Project Maverick Appears on PSNs European Database - PlayStation LifeStyle

A pristine white rocket stirs up the dusty terracotta surface of Mars, coming in for a smooth landing. A hatch opens, and two rovers make their way across the rugged orange-red terrain. There are no humans -- at least, not yet. But this is one small step -- or a short wheel roll -- to a new world that could be our future home.

I'm playingSurviving Mars, a 2018 survival strategy game from Tropico developers Haemimont Games and Paradox Interactive. The goal? Build the infrastructure to sustain human life on the red planet.

"Humanity is in a weird situation right now -- my smartphone has more computing power than NASA had when they sent people to the moon, but we're using that to exchange pictures of cats and argue on Twitter," said Bisser Dyankov, producer of Surviving Mars.

Video games and virtual reality simulations are bringing the average person closer than ever to experiencing life on Mars. For many, these pop culture tours make the actual missions to colonize the planet proposed both by NASA and private companies like Elon Musk's SpaceX feel more achievable.

These games, along with other pop culture representations of Mars, have vastly increased interest in human missions to Mars, said James Burk, IT director of the space advocacy nonprofit the Mars Society. In particular, the 2015 movie adaptation of the novel The Martian was a major turning point in piquing public curiosity in colonizing the planet. And now, SpaceX's plan to send an unmanned mission to Mars as soon as 2022 "is throwing gasoline on it all," he added.

"It's getting easier all the time to tell the story of sending people to Mars because now we have all these tools," Burk said. "People are more accepting of that reality now."

Strategize how to build a Mars colony and keep everyone alive in the game Surviving Mars.

Just hours after Surviving Mars was announced in May 2017, people took to the internet to argue (as they do) about how much of the game was factual and how much was science fiction. They went so far as to exchange formulas determining whether wind turbines would really be a plausible way to generate electricity on Mars, as they are in the game, Dyankov said.

"We know that whatever we do, there will always be smarter people who are willing to go way deeper and test our ideas," Dyankov said. "You know you're touching something and motivating people to go do the math and ask questions and look for the answers."

Surviving Mars gameplay is incredibly detailed: Set up a mission by choosing a sponsor, who will influence how you spend your money. Choose your rocket, your colonists and your commander by their profession and the benefits they can offer. (For example, choosing the inventor will get you faster drones, the politician will increase your funding, and the rocket scientist will give you an extra rocket at the start.)

Bisser Dyankov

Several more decisions go into launching your first rocket full of drones to build infrastructure, including what to bring and where to land, while balancing your funding and resources. Allocate resources for construction, including water, oxygen and power. Select a research area such as physics, robotics and biotech, each of which could offer a different benefit down the line.

Bottom line? It's a lot. The developers relied heavily on NASA resources, including topological maps and research concepts.

"It's a game, but we wanted to make it plausible fiction and ground it in existing science," Dyankov said. The team consulted with a NASA worker on the core elements of the game during early builds, but chose to forgo some elements of realism for the sake of fun gameplay, he added.

Occupy Mars gives you a first-person experience of exploring the Martian landscape.

Occupy Mars seeks to replicate the Mars experience from a different perspective.

While Surviving Mars is a colony-building strategy game, Occupy Mars is an open world sandbox game due out in the next few months that will give you the first-person experience of life on the planet. As a player, you build and update your base, discover new regions and generally try to survive, said Jacek Wyszyski, CEO and CTO of development studio Pyramid Games, based in Poland.

In college, Wyszyski dreamed of building rockets for SpaceX, until he learned that certain US laws, for national security reasons, prohibit international applicants from applying for roles at companies that work with rockets. Instead, he turned to building rockets in video games.

Occupy Mars developers consulted with the Mars Society and researched NASA resources to build the game so that the basic elements are similar to what you'd really find on Mars.

The game takes place about 50 years in the future, so the technology involved is more advanced than what we currently have, like supercharged 3D printing. But basic requirements for a working Martian base -- water, power, oxygen, heating, pressure regulation and radiation shields -- are all present, though simplified.

Like with Surviving Mars, the key was to balance realism with playability, Wyszyski said. "Initially, we wanted it to be as realistic as possible, but over the years of development we learned that the most important thing for the player is cool gameplay -- if it's too realistic, it's going to be boring," he added. For example, early feedback was that players didn't want to spend six hours building a corridor -- they wanted to get it done fast, and go exploring.

Of course, humans have not set foot on Mars, and games can only take us so far. But several research stations set up by NASA and other organizations in deserts and remote locations on Earth attempt to mimic some of the harsh conditions we would find on the planet, including extreme temperatures.

The Mars Society's Mars Desert Research Station in southern Utah has hosted more than 200 crews of six-person teams of researchers and students, who live for a week or two on the station, simulating life on the Martian surface. They explore the desert in full spacesuits, maintain the station's water systems, grow plants, and recycle their waste water. (Hey, no one said desert space travel was glamorous.)

To make these missions more accessible, the organization is developing MarsVR -- an open-source VR platform that brings viewers to the desert base to explore the landscape.

The platform, releasing later this year, will be both an educational tool that anyone with a VR headset can download, and a training tool for crews before they arrive at the Mars Desert Research Station. MarsVR will allow crew members to virtually practice living on the station -- learning how to put on a spacesuit, operate the air lock and rovers, and cook freeze-dried food, all before stepping foot on the base, Burk said. You'll also be able to explore a square mile of the terrain around the base. From an engineering perspective, it's what it would actually be like to build a Mars colony and walk around, he added.

"Every second there is precious," Burk said. "So if they know where everything is ahead of time, it makes it better."

The exploration portion of MarsVR will be free to download on Steam for VR headsets. The training portion will be provided to crews, and sold separately to the general public to support the missions.

Scientists training for Mars missions can use the Mars 2030 VR experience to explore the red planet.

VR is beneficial for training purposes in high-risk, high-cost situations, including space and Mars exploration, said Tuong Nguyen, an analyst with global research firm Gartner. For more than 20 years, NASA has used virtual reality to replicate the harsh conditions of space as a means of training astronauts.

In 2015, Julian Reyes was director of AR/VR at the now-defunct Fusion Media Group when he came across a white paper from MIT's AeroAstro Lab. It was about the feasibility of the Mars One project, a privately funded effort to colonize Mars, which has also since gone bankrupt.

Reyes began exploring research on what a successful mission would actually look like. This led to a partnership between Fusion, MIT and NASA to develop a VR experience based on NASA's research. Reyes visited the Johnson Space Center to create virtual scans of spacesuits, and the Langley Research Center to learn about space architecture and concepts for habitations on Mars. Data from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter HiRise camera was used to create a 40 square kilometer (15 square mile) virtual representation of the planet.

Julian Reyes

The result was Mars 2030 VR, a 2017 game that brought all of NASA's available data on Mars into a visual experience for both a general audience and scientists training for Mars missions. It's available for VR headsets, and is open-source on Epic Games.

Mars 2030 VR takes place in -- you guessed it -- 2030, around when NASA aims to make it to the red planet. It opens with what NASA calls "the seven minutes of terror" -- an extremely difficult maneuver when you descend to the Martian surface from space. Exit your rocket via rover and check out your habitation. After that, all you need to do is explore: Walk around to see some of the planet's geological features, either in real time or by teleporting to different places. Pick up different elements like rocks to learn about Mars' history, like when the planet might have been geologically active.

The team has since moved on to creating an internal project called Lunar 2024, to help astronauts run missions to the moon from beginning to end in VR, practicing arrival procedures, moving around a habitation and uncovering rock samples. It will also include a multiplayer feature so astronauts can perform tasks together on the virtual moon.

NASA is also testing these VR programs with the Assistant Response Gravity Offload System, or ARGOS, a cranelike tool that holds astronauts while simulating the gravity of the moon or Mars.

"VR has the capacity of mirroring the real world, and it's only getting better," Reyes said. "There's no closer analog to training astronauts for these missions than using these simulation tools, because they provide the closest experience possible to achieving that."

Games and VR may not yet be advanced enough to fully simulate life on Mars alone. But they do have the power to spark the interest of young people who will grow up to be the astronauts who do step foot on the red planet, according to Dyankov of the Surviving Mars game.

"The best result of our game would definitely not be how many copies it sells," Dyankov said. "It's if we can imagine 30 or 50 years from now, somebody on Mars says, 'For me it all started with this game when I was a kid.'"

Continued here:
The future of Mars colonization begins with VR and video games - CNET

Who is Michelle Kunimoto?

As the first step to achieve the ultimate goal of Mars colonization, NASA, the United States space agency will launch its Artemis lunar landing program in the coming years. The space agency has now invited applications for astronauts who will be embarked for manned missions as a part of the Artemis program.

IANS

A milestone mission awaiting astronauts

Jim Bridenstine, the NASA administrator, in a statement, confirmed this news, and he revealed that the new astronauts will be part of the upcoming manned lunar and Red Planet missions. Applicants interested in escaping in going beyond the earth to explore the deepness of the cosmos can apply via NASA's official application link before March 31, 2020.

The newly selected people will join the elite league of present-day NASA astronauts comprised of 48 members, and 350 astronauts in NASA's history. As per the space agency, the selected astronauts will visit multiple destinations that include the International Space Station (ISS), Mars and the moon.

"America is closer than any other time in history since the Apollo program to returning astronauts to the Moon. We will send the first woman and next man to the lunar South Pole by 2024, and we need more astronauts to follow suit on the Moon, and then Mars. We're looking for talented men and women from diverse backgrounds and every walk of life to join us in this new era of human exploration that begins with the Artemis program to the Moon. If you have always dreamed of being an astronaut, apply now," said Jim Bridenstine in the statement.

Conditions apply for NASA's astronaut program

In order to apply for this astronaut candidature program, the applicant should be a citizen of the United States. The applicant should also hold a master's degree in science, technology, engineering or mathematics.

"Candidates also must have at least two years of related, progressively responsible professional experience, or at least 1,000 hours of pilot-in-command time in jet aircraft. Astronaut candidates must pass the NASA long-duration spaceflight physical," said NASA.

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Wish to land on moon? NASA invites applications to Artemis program; the final date is here - International Business Times, India Edition