1188 replies to this topic

[Logically Irrational]

Scientists take aim at rocket trip to Mars

http://www.montgomer...ocket-trip-Mars

Huntsville scientists will be firing atoms into atoms on Redstone Arsenal this summer as they try to develop a small, lightweight pulsed nuclear fusion power system.

“If this works,” said Dr. Jason Cassibry, an associate professor of engineering at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, “we could reach Mars in six-to-eight weeks instead of six-to-eight months.”

Cassibry is talking about the project's ultimate goal. Building a fusion engine will take much longer than a summer. But cutting the travel time to the Red Planet would solve many of the journey's problems. It would reduce the strain of weightlessness on astronaut's bodies — they're only allowed to spend about six months on the International Space Station now — and it would reduce the food and water they need to take on the trip, just to name a few.

And if Cassibry and his team are right, the fuel needed for a Mars journey could be measured in pounds, not tons. The team working on the fusion power system includes UAH, Boeing and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. They are set up at the Astrophysics Laboratory on Redstone Arsenal.

[Raklian]

I hope this experiment works. That would instantly change NASA's priorities when it sees it is possible to travel to Mars at 1/10th of the time as with current propulsion methods. I wonder how this will affect the SLS project which NASA is spending so much of its resources on?

[Logically Irrational]

Commercial space race gets crowded behind SpaceX

http://phys.org/news...ded-spacex.html

The capsule called Dragon was due to arrive near the space station for tests early Thursday and dock on Friday with its load of supplies. Space Exploration Technologies Corp. - run by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk - was hired by NASA to deliver cargo and eventually astronauts to the orbital outpost.

And the space agency is hiring others, too.

Several firms think they can make money in space and are close enough to Musk's company to practically surf in his spaceship's rocket-fueled wake. There are now more companies looking to make money in orbit - at least eight - than major U.S. airlines still flying.

Private space companies have talked for years about ferrying goods and astronauts for NASA, but this is the first time one is actually in orbit and about to make a delivery for the space agency.

"Dragon is not the only entrant in commercial cargo," said Jeff Greason, president of XCOR Aerospace, which specializes in the also busy suborbital marketplace. "They have competitors nipping at their heels."

[Logically Irrational]

I hope this experiment works. That would instantly change NASA's priorities when it sees it is possible to travel to Mars at 1/10th of the time as with current propulsion methods. I wonder how this will affect the SLS project which NASA is spending so much of its resources on?

Probably it won't affect it too badly. I imagine that the effort it would take to develop this entirely new type of propulsion would require a time frame into the 2030s. The SLS has planned missions up until then I believe. It really depends on how much money this saves.

[Logically Irrational]

How the UK led mankind's mission to the stars

http://www.wired.co....ship-initiative

[wjfox]

NASA aims for human rendezvous at Mars in 2033

23 May 2012

It would be the most precious cargo since the Apollo astronauts returned Moon rocks to Earth. In 2033, humans would arrive in Mars orbit in order to pick up and return to Earth a canister containing the hopes and dreams of Mars scientists: a small collection of Mars rocks that would have been previously collected and put into orbit.

An internal NASA study group, tasked with replanning the agency’s beleaguered Mars programme, revealed on Tuesday that it was using this working scenario and date as a goal. The group has been tasked with finding ways of getting the human and robotic sides of NASA to work together more. In return for supplemental funds from the human programme and the technology office, the robotic science missions might, for instance, include experiments useful for the human programme, such as radiation detectors or optical communication demonstrations.

While the administration of President Barack Obama has said before that it would like to put humans in the vicinity of Mars by the early 2030s, this is the first articulation I’ve seen of a specific, shared date for the key goal of both the human and robotic sides.

http://blogs.nature....rs-in-2033.html

[Raklian]

Commercial space race gets crowded behind SpaceX http://phys.org/news...ded-spacex.html

The capsule called Dragon was due to arrive near the space station for tests early Thursday and dock on Friday with its load of supplies. Space Exploration Technologies Corp. - run by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk - was hired by NASA to deliver cargo and eventually astronauts to the orbital outpost. And the space agency is hiring others, too. Several firms think they can make money in space and are close enough to Musk's company to practically surf in his spaceship's rocket-fueled wake. There are now more companies looking to make money in orbit - at least eight - than major U.S. airlines still flying. Private space companies have talked for years about ferrying goods and astronauts for NASA, but this is the first time one is actually in orbit and about to make a delivery for the space agency. "Dragon is not the only entrant in commercial cargo," said Jeff Greason, president of XCOR Aerospace, which specializes in the also busy suborbital marketplace. "They have competitors nipping at their heels."

All the companies mentioned in this article are American. What about companies in Russia or other countries, for that matter? I doubt the US is the only country that has an interest in a commerical space industry. I am not talking about companies servicing space agencies with delivery of cargoes and satellites for other companies - I'm talking about making those flights on the scale of orbital hotels or even lunar trips.

[NightWolf235]

Man, all these news reports are getting me pumped for whats coming!

[Logically Irrational]

How Insect-Inspired Legs Could Help Robots Walk on Asteroids

http://techland.time...k-on-asteroids/

“Crawling around on an asteroid or comet is more like climbing than it is walking because if you flip over, you fall off the asteroid and float away,” says Aaron Parness of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The idea is to equip a robot with four pairs of legs, each equipped with an “omni-directional anchoring mechanism.” Think of it as a robotic version of an insect leg. Each one is equipped with 750 microspines, all with their own suspension structure so they can be dragged across surfaces until their hooks snag tiny irregularities in a rocky surface.

The robot would walk by moving one leg at a time while the other three are firmly set. The anchor is so strong that it can withstand the force exerted by an attached drill, making the technology perfect for obtaining core samples — both for NASA research purposes and to search asteroids for valuable minerals that a company like Planetary Resources might be interested in.

The technology could also help scientists study Mars.

[Craven]

1. I hope that nuclear fusion drive is possible.
2. I hope there won't be a problem regarding nuclear in space laws
3. I don't know how NASA wants to put Mars rocks on it's orbit. But leaving Mars may be as big problem as sending craft there. There's no cosmodrome or other infrastructure there. And we know how troublesome it is to escape Earth's gravity.
4. If mission would be just to intercept rocks - why send humans?

[wjfox]

Decision due on Square Kilometre Array

http://www.bbc.co.uk...onment-18194984

[tornado64]

I don't see why we need a human presence on mars right now. Robots are just as fine and a lot cheaper. I think they should concentrate on things like asteroid mining, bringing the costs down and build a space infrastructure. The time, costs are maybe 1/10th from now to bring things to LEO and we have a fuel depot in space, space exploration would immediately speed up a lot. In the long term I think thats the better way. To go to Mars only for the reason to say, we've been there changes nothing.

Edited by tornado64, 25 May 2012 - 11:00 AM.

[Raklian]

See the Dragon berth with the ISS. www.nasa.gov/ntv

Edit:

Dragon is officially captured!

Edited by Raklian, 25 May 2012 - 01:56 PM.

[Craven]

Yeah I'm watching it too history live

[Raklian]

It was beautifully done - just perfect.

[Craven]

Yeah there was lot more tension during launch. And much more cheering people outside windows

[eacao]

wow. Good thing I came to the forum when I did, just catching the dragon as it is hooked to the station.

[wjfox]

Africa and Australasia to share Square Kilometre Array

South Africa, Australia and New Zealand will host the biggest radio telescope ever built.

http://www.bbc.co.uk...onment-18194984

[wjfox]

There’s more water on Jupiter’s moon Europa than there is on Earth

Remember that image from a few weeks back that showed Earth with all its water gathered up in a sphere beside it? Well here's that image again, only this time, it also features Jupiter's moon Europa, along with all of its water. Notice anything interesting?

http://io9.com/59131...th?popular=true

[Raklian]

There’s more water on Jupiter’s moon Europa than there is on Earth

Remember that image from a few weeks back that showed Earth with all its water gathered up in a sphere beside it? Well here's that image again, only this time, it also features Jupiter's moon Europa, along with all of its water. Notice anything interesting?

http://io9.com/59131...th?popular=true

Just incredible. We will have a lot of uses for it in the future. It could be an excellent fuel station for trips between inner planets and the outer ones.