People May One Day Live
on Mars in These NASA-Approved, 3D-Printed Homes—Take a Look Inside
(Source: CNBC)
Humans have yet to even step foot on Mars, but architects are already
designing homes people can live in on the distant planet for NASA. AI
SpaceFactory, a “multi-planetary architectural and technology design
agency” in New York City, designed a habitat called “Marsha,” which can
be 3D-printed using materials available on the Red Planet. The design
won NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge this month. Take a look inside
the Mars habitat, via renderings from AI SpaceFactory. Click here.
(5/24)
How Much of Our Solar
System Should be Protected Wilderness? (Source: CNET)
Our unsustainable way of life has brought us to a climatological
tipping point here on Earth. Do we want to bring the same unsustainable
practices with us as we step out into the solar system? Click here.
(5/24)
Scientists Have Observed
Eerie Sand Movements on Mars That Never Happen on Earth
(Source: Science Alert)
Mars and Earth may have a lot of things in common, but the processes
that sculpt their sand dunes are not among them. Exactly how Martian
sand moves around crevasses and impact craters has been something of a
mystery - but we might finally have a better idea. Planetary scientists
have comprehensively revealed how the wild winds, thin atmosphere,
temperature, and topography work together to shape the alien landscape
- and how it differs from sand movement on Earth. This research could
help in our plans for humanity's eventual trip to Mars.
In spite of the occasional planet-wide dust storm (RIP Opportunity),
Martian winds in general don't tend to shift as much sand as you might
expect. That's because the planet's atmosphere is thin and weak; in
fact, the average surface atmospheric pressure is just 0.6 percent of
Earth's sea-level atmospheric pressure. In turn, this makes the Red
Planet's winds rather weak, too. "On Mars, there simply is not enough
wind energy to move a substantial amount of material around on the
surface," said planetary scientist Matthew Chojnacki of the University
of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Lab. (5/24)
Space Travel Causes Joint
Problems in Mice. But, What About Humans? (Source:
Space.com)
After spending a month in space, a small group of mice returned to
Earth with joint problems. Now scientists are wondering what that means
for humans who go to space. Researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in
Detroit studied cartilage samples collected from six mice that spent a
month in space on Russia's Bion-M1 spacecraft in 2013 to see how
microgravity affected their joints.
Compared with mice that stayed on Earth — which the authors refer to as
the "ground control mice" — the animals that went to space had degraded
joint tissue by the end of their space mission. In humans, this type of
tissue damage over time can lead to osteoarthritis, or degenerative
joint disease. The researchers collected two different kinds of
cartilage samples from the mice: articular cartilage, which cushions
bone joints, and sternal cartilage, which connects the ribs to the
breastbone. They found that the articular cartilage in the space-flown
mice had degraded significantly, whereas the sternal cartilage had not.
(5/24)
Comet Inspires Chemistry
for Making Breathable Oxygen on Mars (Source: Phys.org)
Science fiction stories are chock full of terraforming schemes and
oxygen generators for a very good reason—we humans need molecular
oxygen (O2) to breathe, and space is essentially devoid of it. Even on
other planets with thick atmospheres, O2 is hard to come by. So, when
we explore space, we need to bring our own oxygen supply. That is not
ideal because a lot of energy is needed to hoist things into space atop
a rocket, and once the supply runs out, it is gone.
One place molecular oxygen does appear outside of Earth is in the wisps
of gas streaming off comets. The source of that oxygen remained a
mystery until two years ago when Konstantinos P. Giapis, a professor of
chemical engineering at Caltech, and his postdoctoral fellow Yunxi Yao,
proposed the existence of a new chemical process that could account for
its production. Giapis, along with Tom Miller, professor of chemistry,
have now demonstrated a new reaction for generating oxygen that Giapis
says could help humans explore the universe and perhaps even fight
climate change at home. More fundamentally though, he says the reaction
represents a new kind of chemistry discovered by studying comets.
Most chemical reactions require energy, which is typically provided as
heat. Giapis's research shows that some unusual reactions can occur by
providing kinetic energy. When water molecules are shot like extremely
tiny bullets onto surfaces containing oxygen, such as sand or rust, the
water molecule can rip off that oxygen to produce molecular oxygen.
This reaction occurs on comets when water molecules vaporize from the
surface and are then accelerated by the solar wind until they crash
back into the comet at high speed. (5/24)
SpaceX Reveals More
Starlink Info (Source: Tech Crunch)
Elon Musk has been extremely tight-lipped about the Starlink
satellites, only dropping a few hints here and there before the launch.
We know, for instance, that each satellite weighs about 500 pounds, and
are a flat-panel design that maximized the amount that can fit in each
payload. The launch media kit also described a “Startracker” navigation
system that would allow the satellites to locate themselves and orbital
debris with precision. At the fresh new Starlink website, however, a
few new details have appeared.
Thousands of satellites will move along their orbits simultaneously,
each beaming internet to and from the surface in a given area. It’s
still not clear exactly how big an area each satellite will cover, or
how much redundancy will be required. The signal comes from and goes to
a set of four “phased array” radio antennas. This compact, flat type of
antenna can transmit in multiple directions and frequencies without
moving like you see big radar dishes do. There are costs as well, but
it’s a no-brainer for satellites that need to be small and only need to
transmit in one general direction — down.
There’s only a single solar array, which unfolds upwards like a map.
The merits of having only one are mainly related to simplicity and cost
— having two gives you more power and redundancy if one fails. But if
you’re going to make a few thousand of these things and replace them
every couple of years, it probably doesn’t matter too much. Solar
arrays are reliable standard parts now. (5/24)
There’s Something Strange
Going On Amid the Satellite Internet Rush (Source: Ars
Technica)
There is a controversy quietly simmering at the Federal Communications
Commission. In a somewhat bizarre situation, the founder and chairman
of OneWeb has founded a second company to compete with himself. In
response, other companies proposing satellite constellations have
objected, which has added considerable spice to an already heated
battle for valuable spectrum. Greg Wyler is the founder and executive
chairman of OneWeb. He retains about 12 percent ownership in the
company and remains its public face.
However, Wyler has now founded yet another company, SOM1101, that seeks
to launch and operate a satellite Internet service. Wyler owns 100
percent of this new company. The existence of Wyler's new company came
to light after Boeing filed an application in December 2017 to the FCC.
Boeing had previously indicated its own interest in building satellites
for a constellation, and it was among the companies petitioning the FCC
for access to V-band and Ka-band frequencies in the microwave portion
of the electromagnetic spectrum. With the new request to the FCC,
Boeing sought to transfer its applications for spectrum access to
SOM1101.
This petition has been met by opposition from other companies seeking
to provide satellite Internet service, including O3b, Iridium, Telesat
Canada, SpaceX, and others. The primary objection these companies
raised is that, under FCC rules, a party may not apply for more than
one satellite system license in a particular frequency band—a
prohibition against multiple ownership. In this case, Wyler is seeking
to access the Ka- and V-bands both through OneWeb, where he remains
executive chairman, and his new company, SOM1101. (5/23)
A NASA Architect Designed
a Camper (Source: Popular Mechanics)
Taxa Outdoors’ campers and trailers all have a similar look. They’re
alien and angular, like a Lego Bionicle action figure. There’s more
than a little Chinese-takeout-container influence there, too. And
then, on the inside: pure spaceship. That last one makes sense when you
consider that the company’s founder and designer, Garrett Finney, used
to be the senior architect at the NASA Habitability Design Center. He
focused on making astronauts comfortable and productive in the cramped
confines of the International Space Station.
That meant addressing questions such as where would I put a picture of
my family? or how do I change my clothes? without upsetting the tight
balance of energy, efficiency, and resource needs that the ISS already
had. And it worked. Finney’s insights helped astronauts limit stress,
deal with unforeseen issues, and, ultimately, stay more productive—all
things that, sure, to a slightly less life-or-death extent, also apply
to camping. (5/25)
Almost A
Billion-Years-Old New Fungus Discovered Which Might Redefine
Evolutionary Timeline (Source: Truth Theory)
Researchers have come across the fossils of fungus which has been dated
to be almost a billion-years-old! This makes it practically two times
older than any fungi specimen ever found. The specimen called the
Ourasphaira giraldae was discovered in a place called the Grassy Bay
Formation situated in the Canadian Arctic. The team was headed by
Corentin Loron, who is a student pursuing his Ph.D. at Université de
Liège. The team recognized the main fungal properties in tiny
micrometer-scale fossils gathered from uncharted shale.
This major scientific finding was declared in the scientific daily
Nature on Wednesday. It also suggests that other organism of eukaryotic
variety might have also co-existed at the same period of time. As per
Loron, fungi happen to be the most nearby kin to other animals. This
discovery can truly change the perception of our planet today. Because
the two species, in addition to other eukaryotic sets, still exist
today. (5/24)
Astronomer Believes
Planet 9 Was Ejected From the Solar System (Source:
Express)
Planet nine was forcibly ejected out of the solar system by Saturn or
Jupiter, an astronomer has shockingly revealed about the theoretical
Planet 9. Planet Nine is a theoretical world lurking in the darkness of
space in the far fringes of the solar system, beyond the so-called
Kuiper Belt – an asteroid belt past the orbit of Neptune. Astronomers
are certain an object 10 times the mass of Earth exists beyond the
Kuiper belt because of the way certain asteroids appear to clump
together.
According to NASA, Planet Nine checks out mathematically but to date,
there have been no physical observations of the mystery planet. And
yet, researchers at Caltech are positive it is only a matter of time
before we hunt down Planet Nine. One of these optimistic scientists is
Dr Michael Brown, who originally prosed the Planet Nine theory in 2016.
He is fairly certain of the planet’s origin, stating it formed
alongside the icy world of Neptune. However, unlike Neptune, Planet
Nine was not afforded the luxury of staying within the boundaries of
the solar system.
“We think it formed at the same time alongside Uranus and Neptune but
then got a little bit too close to Saturn or a little too close to
Jupiter and got ejected out to the outskirts of the solar system. We
think it formed there and we think it’s like Neptune.” Dr Brown went on
to explain how Planet Nine follows an elliptic orbit of the Sun, coming
at times close to the Kuiper Belt. The scientist estimates the rogue
planet orbits the Sun from a distance between 100,000au and 200,000au,
where just one au or astronomical unit measures 93 million miles.
(5/22)
Eighteen Earth-Sized
Exoplanets Discovered (Source: Phys.org)
Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS),
the Georg August University of Göttingen, and the Sonneberg Observatory
have discovered 18 Earth-sized planets beyond the solar system. The
worlds are so small that previous surveys had overlooked them. One of
them is one of the smallest known so far; another one could offer
conditions friendly to life. The researchers re-analyzed a part of the
data from NASA's Kepler Space Telescope with a new and more sensitive
method that they developed. The team estimates that their new method
has the potential of finding more than 100 additional exoplanets in the
Kepler mission's entire data set. (5/22)
Lunar Gold Rush is About
to Start – and We Could Exhaust the Solar System in Less Than 500 Year
(Source: The Conversation)
A new study suggests that, to avoid material exhaustion of the solar
system, humans ought to limit ourselves to developing just one-eighth
of the available resources. As we may be witnessing the start of a new
lunar gold rush of sorts, this new proposal may be put to the test
sooner than we think – and the moon will serve as an early test bed.
Click here.
(5/23)
Elon Musk Was Paid More
in 2018 Than the Next 65 Highest-Paid CEOs Combined
(Source: Business Insider)
CEOs make a lot of money, but Elon Musk blew his competition out of the
water in 2018, according to a new study by The New York Times. The
study, done with the executive compensation consultancy Equilar, looked
at compensation for CEOs at 200 large publicly-traded companies last
year. According to the report, Tesla CEO Elon Musk was awarded nearly
$2.3 billion last year, largely in the form of stock options. The
next-highest CEO on the list, Discovery's David M. Zaslav, made $129
million. (5/24)
The Fight for the First
Footprint on the Moon (Source: The Guardian)
It is clear that for the first few months of 1969 Aldrin believed that
he would be first. He said he had never given it much thought and that
he had naturally presumed it would be him. He was perhaps right to
believe it: NASA’s associate administrator had told several people,
including some members of the press, that he would make the first
footprint. But word began to filter out that it would be Armstrong.
Aldrin was angry: Armstrong was a civilian. It would be an insult to
the service. Aldrin was technically still a member of the Air Force,
though he had not served for 10 years, except to maintain his flying
hours. So he approached Armstrong, who responded that he "didn’t want
to rule out the possibility of going first.”
Aldrin talked to colleagues; for some it was seen as lobbying behind
the scenes. Gene Cernan (the last person to walk on the moon) said: “He
came flapping into my office at the Manned Spaceflight Center one day
like an angry stork, laden with charts and graphs and statistics,
arguing what he considered to be obvious – that he, the lunar module
pilot, and not Neil Armstrong, should be the first down the ladder on
Apollo 11. Since I shared an office with Neil Armstrong, who was away
training that day, I found Aldrin’s arguments both offensive and
ridiculous.”
flight director Chris Kraft explained NASA’s thinking. He said they
knew damn well that the first guy on the moon was going to be a
modern-day Charles Lindbergh. Armstrong was calm, quiet and had
absolute confidence. He knew he was the Lindbergh type. He had no ego.
On the other hand, Aldrin desperately wanted the honor and wasn’t
quiet in letting it be known. Kraft added that nobody criticized Aldrin
but that they did not want him to be humanity’s ambassador. (5/25)
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