Apollo 8 lifted off fifty years ago today, taking humans to orbit the Moon for the first time. This was also the first time a Saturn V carried humans. Originally scheduled as a test flight for orbital reentry, Russian successes prompted a revision of plans and 16 weeks later Apollo 8 lifted off to carry Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders around the Moon.
NASA SpaceX Falcon 9 water landing
X (formerly Twitter) The beginning of history…
Here’s the latest talk from Robert Zubrin. He discusses some of the key points from his book, The Case for Mars, and how recent advances in the space industry affect them.
“We’re living at what future ages will regard as the beginning of history, and I would suggest we get on with it.”
Video clip 06: Mars has what we need
Not to mention a 24 hour day and enough atmosphere to provide some modest protection from solar radiation and stabilize daytime temps to between -50C and 10C.
It’s not a paradise, but we can work with it.
background: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Moon Direct
We don’t need to go to the Moon in order to go to Mars. But, if we’re going to go to the Moon, then let’s go to the Moon, not an orbit around it. And let’s dig in and make it stick.
Here’s a plan for doing just that with existing tech.
The New Atlantis Video clip 03: Unmanned
Our unmanned efforts in space deserve great credit, but they aren’t enough.
background: NASA Juno Mission Collection 2 excerpt (https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/multimedia/junoanimations.html), NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center MAVEN animation (https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11024)
SciFi-Science
A short but fascinating article on way the entertainment and science communities often compliment each other.
The Atlantic Hibernation
Hibernation during space travel is a common sci-fi trope, but I wasn’t aware anyone was actively working on it. What I find particularly compelling here is that hibernation could have positive effects on bone density change as well as helping mitigate the effects of radiation exposure.
Another thought occurs to me, though it is not mentioned here. Keeping the travelers contained in a small area opens up options for radiation shielding that might otherwise be prohibitive. What about sleeving the hibernation quarters in water, for instance? If that water could be mined from the Moon, the cost of lifting it for use in the craft could be acceptable.
CNET Hopping on an asteroid
Japan’s Hayabusa2 probe is currently in orbit around the asteroid Ryugu. It has successfully deployed two rovers, MINERVA-II1a and MINERVA-II1b, designed to literally hop around on the surface of the asteroid. The pics sent back so far are rather trippy. In particular, check out the video of the sun moving across the asteroid’s sky.
The Planetary Society No ordinary spacecraft
I’m not sure there is such a thing as an “ordinary spacecraft”, but there certainly has never been a spacecraft like SpaceX’s BFR. The sheer audacity of someone trying this is balanced by the earnestness of the effort, and the whole process is fascinating to watch unfold. This article investigates some of the challenges SpaceX is facing.
“To be able to launch, refuel in orbit, endure months of flying through space, land on Mars, leave that planet, and safely return to Earth — then do all that over again — the BFR can’t be an ordinary spacecraft.”
Business Insider