Hang on, I think I’ve seen this before…
Oh.
Not such a great idea, then, to send them on an interstellar cruise…
Water Bears in Space! Uh. Again.
November 12, 2021
The spacecraft-killing anomaly over South America
October 6, 2021
Over the years, the SAA has been responsible for several spacecraft failures and even dictates when astronauts can and can’t perform spacewalks. As the space around Earth becomes filled with an increasing number of craft, what does the SAA mean for the future of spaceflight?
https://astronomy.com/news/2021/02/hidden-spaceflight-danger-the-south-atlantic-anomaly?utm_source=asyfb&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=asyfb&fbclid=IwAR1LeNgz7Eynvjw3_AmU232xwz9WbJpSMOmid7NTEE9qm4VxYpdcNmVDc8Q
This post is from back in February 2021, but I just stumbled across it this morning and thought it was an interesting read.
Learn something new every day!
This part caught my eye…
Radiation is a colorless, tasteless, and odorless enemy…
…and I couldn’t help thinking…
Iocaine powder?!?
It’s okay. I’m immune 😂
Anyway, the article linked above is food for thought. Whenever electronic objects pass through the SAA, which is where the loops of the Van Allen Belt dip perilously close to the Earth, the electronics get a massive amount of radiation and go haywire.
Seriously expensive to shield stuff up there — and as more and more satellites (and people) go up, so does the risk.
AstroCrete…a “blood-curdling” building technique for Mars
September 18, 2021
The blood, sweat, and tears of pioneering astronauts could literally turn Mars regolith into building materials.
First, however, they’d need to get the 3D printers there…
Light from behind a black hole
July 31, 2021
…while light cannot escape a black hole, its extreme gravity warps space around it, which allows light to “echo,” bending around the back of the object. Thanks to this strange phenomenon, astronomers have, for the first time, observed the light from behind a black hole.
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/einstein-right-researchers-see-light-echo-black-hole-rcna1553
Einstein has been proven right. Again.
Mars has a really thick skin
July 28, 2021
Well, OK, technically it’s the mantle, not the crust.
But it is thick. Super thick. And no gradations like the Earth.
Extrapolating to the known surface geology of the rest of the planet, this suggests an average thickness of between 24km and 72km. By contrast, Earth’s average crustal thickness is 15-20km.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-57935742
So what does this mean?
For one thing, it probably explains why there’s no breathable atmosphere on Mars.
Mars never developed a global magnetic field to block solar radiation. So it’s atmosphere was basically ripped right off.
And any terraforming attempts in the future would fail on a global scale. But maybe locally it might work…
Destination: Red Planet
June 27, 2021
Like other nations, China “regards Mars exploration as the preferred destination for deep space exploration,” Wang said.
https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Technology/china-unveils-ambitious-roadmap-human-mars-exploration/
China’s plan calls for setting up a permanently occupied base and a fleet of interplanetary craft. Probably it’s a good idea to first see whether it can meet its goal of landing people on Mars in 2033.
Of course, China is “willing to join hands with our counterparts and partners all over the world,” but it’s unlikely NASA, JAXA, ESA, and the UAE and other countries not named Russia will “cooperate.”
The next space race is here. Just wait until multinats actually decide asteroid mining is worth the risk and expense.
Ion engines are no longer sci-fi
June 19, 2021
The inclusion of an ion propulsion system in a long-running, Earth-orbiting space station will give researchers a chance to test out the tech while astronauts are still close to home — and if it works as hoped, it could one day ferry explorers to Mars and even more distant destinations.
https://www.freethink.com/articles/ion-propulsion
That’s a big “if.”
Another is what the price will be, since no doubt this neat new tech won’t easily be shared among nation-states.
Just yesterday Chinese astronauts entered their new space station for the first time. They weren’t allowed into the ISS. Now they don’t need the ISS.
The old rivalries will follow humanity into space…but for how long will the rivalries remain…
Warp drives, wormholes, and FTL: oh, my
May 20, 2021
This is a neat summary of the current state of faster-than-light (FTL) theories. (From April 27, 2021).
As the author concludes in the words of Captain Picard, “Things are only impossible until they are not.”
https://astronomy.com/news/2021/04/warp-drives-physicists-investigate-faster-than-light-space-travel
“Wright Brothers’ moment” – helicopters on Mars
April 19, 2021
“We together flew on Mars. We together have our Wright brothers moment.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/04/19/nasa-ingenuity-helicopter-mars/
Yeah, yeah, I know. Technically, a German immigrant in Connecticut flew a plane before Orville and Wilbur.
But PR counts. Kudos, NASA!
Warp drive is no longer science fiction
March 2, 2021
“Many people in the field of science are aware of the Alcubierre Drive and believe that warp drives are unphysical because of the need for negative energy,” said Alexey Bobrick, scientist and astrophysicist at Lund University, according to a press release. “This, however, is no longer correct.”
https://interestingengineering.com/warp-drive-not-science-fiction-faster-than-light-travel?fbclid=IwAR2v4FPzkA90L_yPIZVt3zfY3-jnA0jqvwOgJmHFNdsxlxDxcUJLF8Bg6Gg
There can be only response to this news…
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