Will We Build Colonies That Float Over Venus Like Buckminster Fuller's "Cloud Nine"? This idea dates back to the Russians in the 1970s. The surface of Venus is far too hot, and the atmosphere too dense, for Earth life. However, our air is a lifting gas on Venus with about half the lifting power of helium on Eath. A habitat filled with normal air will float high in the dense Venus atmosphere, The atmospheric pressure there is the same as Earth sea level (1 bar). Temperatures are perfect for Earth life too, just over 0°C. Also, just as weather balloons naturally rise to their operating level high in our atmosphere - and don't need to be engineered to hold in high pressures, so it works in the same way for our habitats on Venus. They float at a level where the pressure is equal inside and out, and can be of light construction.
Venus cloud colony habitats can draw on our experience of buildings for the Earth surface, especially Buckminster fuller type lightweight domes. I mentioned this idea in my Trouble with Terraforming Mars, but not in much detail. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Www.orionsarm.com/fm_store/TerraformingVenusQuickly.pdf. UK project brings us a step closer to ultra high-speed air travel - along with simpler satellite deployment. 10 questions about Nasa's 'impossible' space drive answered. Wired.co.uk's piece last week about Nasa's test of a new type of space drive triggered a tsunami of responses online.
Many were understandably sceptical, others were unsure how it would advance space travel. In fact, the paper produced on the day gave much more detail than the advance abstract we linked to then. The actual paper reveals details of tests in early 2014 as well as those in summer 2013 -- and the results are even more astounding. Here we answer many of your questions, quibbles and criticisms. 1. The equipment can measure forces of less than ten micronewtons, and the thrust was several times that high. The test rig is carefully designed to remove any possible sources of error. Similar consideration was given to any other possible factors that could influence the result, for example shielding everything from electromagnetic effects. 2. Lots of commenters jumped on this, assuming incorrectly that this was a control test and that thrust was measured when there was no drive. 3. 4.
How they assembled Apollo 11. For every launch you would hear a person come onto the communications link just after launch and say, "the vehicle has cleared the tower" I love that moment. What most people think is that there was a great fear the vehicle would hit the tower, and someone needed to say all clear, that is not what was being said. That moment is a critical moment at the earliest stage of a mission for many reasons, one of the most important is that clearing the tower means that all systems and communications are now controlled by Houston, the launch is over and the mission begins. You can hear the debate between the two interested parties, launch control and mission control. But when is the launch over, when do we switch over to Houston, when does the mission actually begin?
They decided when the vehicle clears the tower the mission begins, but everyone must understand this so it must be said to the astronauts over the public communication link, but what to say? "the vehicle has cleared that tower? Earth raises a plasma shield to battle solar storms - physics-math - 06 March 2014. Earth can raise shields to protect itself against solar storms. For the first time, satellites and ground-based detectors have watched as the planet sends out a tendril of plasma to fight off blasts of charged solar matter. The discovery confirms a long-standing theory about Earth's magnetic surroundings and offers us a way to keep track of the planet's defences. "It's changed our thinking about how the system operates," says Joe Borovsky at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado, who was not involved in the research.
"Earth doesn't just sit there and take whatever the solar wind gives it, it can actually fight back. " Earth is always surrounded by a bubble of magnetism called the magnetosphere, which protects us from the bulk of the solar wind, a stream of high-energy particles constantly flowing from the sun. But sometimes, the sun's magnetic field lines can directly link up with Earth's in a process called magnetic reconnection , which opens up cracks in the magnetosphere. In pictures: Best space images of 2013.
Ethiopia sets sights on stars with space programme. Ethiopia unveiled on Friday the first phase of a space exploration programme, which includes East Africa’s largest observatory designed to promote astronomy research in the region. “The optical astronomical telescope is mainly intended for astronomy and astrophysics observation research,” said observatory director Solomon Belay. The observatory, which will formally be opened on Saturday, boasts two telescopes, each on- metre wide, to see “extra planets, different types of stars, the Milky Way, and deep galaxies,” Solomon added.
The 3.4-million dollar observatory, run by the Ethiopian Space Science Society (ESSS), is funded by Ethiopian-Saudi business tycoon Mohammed Alamoudi. The observatory, 3 200 metres above sea level in the lush Entoto mountains on the outskirts of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, is an ideal location because of its minimal cloud cover, moderate winds and low humidity, experts said.
The Ethiopian government is set to launch a space policy in coming years. A tribute to GALEX: Amazing photos of the universe captured by NASA’s galaxy finder - Slideshow. In just 10 Earth years of operation, NASA’s Galactic Evolution Explorer, or GALEX, looked into more than 10 billion years of cosmic time. It saw hundreds of millions of galaxies, and it greatly expanded our understanding of the evolution of the universe. Thanks to this incredible breadth of work, it managed to give us some of the most stunning and important pictures of the cosmos despite being designed to see into areas of the spectrum that normally keep photos from being pleasing to the human eye. GALEX’s ultraviolet camera produced images and datasets that are striking all on their own, and others that could be combined with visible-spectrum images to show the shape of our universe in unprecedented detail, an accuracy no one observer could capture. GALEX showed us galaxies in their infant, adolescent, adult, and elderly stages.
It showed us some galaxies in mid-collision, and others on the brink of a natural death. GALEX herself Mira’s unbelievable tail. UK pledges fresh support for revolutionary space engine. Sen— A revolutionary engine that can turn an aircraft into an orbiting spaceplane has won fresh backing from the British Government. The UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, singled out the SABRE project that will power Skylon into space in his 2013 spending review delivered to Parliament.
The hybrid engine - its name stands for Synergistic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine - is currently being developed by Reaction Engines, based at Abingdon, near Oxford. Last year, the engineers developing it, led by Alan Bond, mastered a key factor in its design that was described as the biggest breakthrough in flight technology since the invention of the jet engine. Praising UK inventiveness and historic successes, Mr Osborne said: “Britain was once the place where the future was invented.
The Chancellor’s report pledged to commit to funding high-priority projects, including SABRE, though further details of the investments were not given. It works like this. Mars Had Oxygen-Rich Atmosphere 4 Billion Years Ago, Shows New Study | Space Exploration. According to a new study reported in the journal Nature, the atmosphere of Mars could have been rich in oxygen almost 4 billion years ago. An artist’s impression of ancient Mars (Ittiz / CC BY-SA 3.0) Scientists from Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford analyzed the compositions of Martian meteorites found on Earth and data from NASA’s rovers.
The fact that the surface rocks are five times richer in nickel than the meteorites was puzzling and had cast doubt on whether the meteorites are typical volcanic products. “What we have shown is that both meteorites and surface volcanic rocks are consistent with similar origins in the deep interior of Mars but that the surface rocks come from a more oxygen-rich environment, probably caused by recycling of oxygen-rich materials into the interior,” explained study senior author Prof Bernard Wood. Bibliographic information: J. Scientists produce Star Trek-like deflector device for cancer-free interplanetary travel. Scientists at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the UK are working on a Star Trek-like deflector shield to enable the transport of humans between planets and stars without subjecting them to lethal doses of cosmic radiation.
This research comes at a vital time, as numerous groups, including NASA, look to send humans to Mars — but without adequate shielding from the Sun’s harsh cosmic rays, it could be a one-way trip full of vomiting, diarrhea, and more serious symptoms of radiation poisoning, such as death. Other than time and money, one of the biggest barriers to sending humans to other planets is Solar radiation (from flares and coronal ejections) and galactic cosmic rays.
The exact origin of GCRs is unknown, but it’s theorized that they originate in supernovae and the dense nuclei of other galaxies. In any case, both forms of radiation consist of high-energy protons that bombard every square inch of the Solar System, including Earth. XKCD’s radiation dose chart. Click to zoom in. Search for alien life about to step up a gear. The step change comes as the most powerful telescopes ever built are about to enter into service and as ideas about where life could exist are being turned on their head. At the same time, scientific discussion about the possible existence of alien life is becoming more mainstream. “I think scientists are very happy having a rational conversation about the likelihood of life out there,” said Bob Nichol, an astronomer at Portsmouth University in Britain. Nichol said this was partly driven by the discovery of new planets such as one identified this week in the Alpha Centauri star system, the closest yet outside our solar system.
Over 800 of these so-called exoplanets have been discovered since the early 1990s. “An explosion in the number of planets makes it so much more likely,” said Nichol, adding that the many formats in which life appears on Earth is indirect evidence, though not proof, that life is out there. New eyes and ears New theory Share. "My God, it's full of planets! They should have sent a poet." NASA Kepler hints at over 250 new potentially habitable worlds NASA Kepler released last month 18,406 planet-like detection events from its last three year mission to search for exoplanets (Kepler Q1-Q12 TCE). Further analysis is required by the NASA Kepler Team and the scientific community to extract and identify true planets, including those potentially habitable. The Planetary Habitability Laboratory @ UPR Arecibo (PHL) performed a preliminary analysis and identified 262 candidates for potentially habitable worlds in this dataset.
These candidates become top priority for further analysis, additional observations, and confirmation. The Kepler Threshold Crossing Event (TCE) dataset consists of a list of stars with 18,406 transit-like features that resemble the signatures of transiting planets to a sufficient degree that they are passed on for further analysis. It is estimated that there are millions of Earth-like planets in our Galaxy. Further Information. Www.buckingham.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Polonnaruwa-meteorite.pdf. Astronomers Discover a Planet Almost Identical to Earth.
Eyes on the Solar System. Voyager 1 Detects Weirdness at Solar System Edge. Voyager 1 is the most distant man-made object and is thought to have recently escaped the sun’s sphere of influence. The probe, launched 35 years ago, is therefore mankind’s first interstellar vehicle careening into the vast expanse of space between the stars. Needless to say, as one of two deep space probes launched in 1977, Voyager 1 has explored previously unknown regions of the solar system, making groundbreaking discoveries as it went.
Now, in a new paper published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, scientists analyzing data streaming from the spacecraft have uncovered a small mystery right at the solar system’s magnetic boundary with the interstellar medium. She may be old, but you can’t keep a good probe down. ANALYSIS: Voyager 1 About to Become Interstellar Emissary? As the sun travels through the galaxy, it carries its magnetic field with it, creating a magnetic “bubble” — the heliosphere — that all planets, spacecraft and people live inside. Image credit: NASA. Voyager 1 Spacecraft Detects Particles at Solar System's Edge.
NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft has discovered a new layer of the solar system that scientists hadn't known was there, researchers announced today (Dec. 3). Voyager 1 and its sister probe Voyager 2 have been traveling through space since 1977, and are close to becoming the first manmade objects to leave the solar system. Scientists haven't been sure exactly when that exit would occur, and now say the spacecraft are likely in the outermost region of the solar system, which is defined by the extent of the heliosphere, the large bubble of charged particles the sun puffs out around itself. Voyager 1, in particular, has entered a new region of the heliosphere that scientists are calling a "magnetic highway," which allows charged particles from inside the heliosphere to flow outward, and particles from the galaxy outside to come in.
This artist's concept shows how NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft is bathed in solar wind from the southern hemisphere flowing northward. 1241 - Planet Found in Nearest Star System to Earth. Eso1241 — Science Release ESO’s HARPS instrument finds Earth-mass exoplanet orbiting Alpha Centauri B 16 October 2012 European astronomers have discovered a planet with about the mass of the Earth orbiting a star in the Alpha Centauri system — the nearest to Earth. It is also the lightest exoplanet ever discovered around a star like the Sun.
Alpha Centauri is one of the brightest stars in the southern skies and is the nearest stellar system to our Solar System — only 4.3 light-years away. “Our observations extended over more than four years using the HARPS instrument and have revealed a tiny, but real, signal from a planet orbiting Alpha Centauri B every 3.2 days,” says Xavier Dumusque (Geneva Observatory, Switzerland and Centro de Astrofisica da Universidade do Porto, Portugal), lead author of the paper. The European team detected the planet by picking up the tiny wobbles in the motion of the star Alpha Centauri B created by the gravitational pull of the orbiting planet [2]. Notes Links. Nasa's Dawn moves on from Vesta to study Ceres. The voyage will take nearly three years Firing its ion propulsion thrusters, Dawn had been slowly spiraling away from Vesta for more than a month until it was to pop free from its gravitational grip.
Since its antenna was pointed away from Earth during this last maneuver, engineers would not know until Wednesday how it went. The departure was considered ho-hum compared with other recent missions - think Curiosity's white-knuckle "seven minutes of terror" dive into Mars' atmosphere. "It's not a sudden event. There's no whiplash-inducing maneuver. There's no tension, no anxiety," said chief engineer Marc Rayman of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which manages the $466 million (? 370 million) mission. Launched in 2007, Dawn is on track to become the first spacecraft to rendezvous with two celestial bodies in a bid to learn about the solar system's evolution. Dawn uncovered a few surprises. The collisions spewed chunks of debris into space; some fell to Earth as meteorites. Wonderful colors and shapes from deep space. Hubble's Hidden Treasures 2012. VISTA gigapixel mosaic of the central parts of the Milky Way.
NOAA Satellite Reveals New Views of Earth at Night. New comet might blaze brighter than the full Moon. In Space, Flames Behave in Ways Nobody Thought Possible. Curiosity rover: Martian solar day 2. Can't Wait for First Images from Curiosity? Let's Make Our Own! Let's Not Wait for Utopia Before We Send Humans to Mars. Nasa Plans To Send New Rover To Red Planet. Photography of Curiosity Rover Moves and Leaves Tracks on Mars - photoJPL.com .:: Home - Mars One.
X PRIZE Foundation: Launching the Next Era in Space Travel and Exploration. Reaction Engines Ltd - Space Access: SKYLON. SKYLON Technical Movie V1. NASA's Orion: From Factory to Flight. Warp Drive May Be More Feasible Than Thought, Scientists Say. How NASA might build its very first warp drive. New Plan Takes Shape to Fashion Space Junk Into Satellites.