Red Planet Radio

It never hurts to listen to another podcast while commuting or working around the house, so why not try The Planetary Society's Red Planet Radio?

Episode three covered a number of interesting topics including:

• Why SpaceX only reuses the first stage of the Falcon 9.
• What SpaceX Mars colonisation logistics may look like.
• Fuel options on Mars (Methane or Hydrogen) and tradeoffs between the two.
• Who might be the first people to go to Mars? SpaceX Engineers / NASA astronauts.
• Mars collaboration going forward with ESA, JSA, China, and others.
• Ion engines and “going the long way around” to Mars, to reach it outside of transfer windows.
• Why asteroid mining from Mars is more appealing than from Earth.
• Comparing the discovery of the Americas to Mars exploration.

Plenty to ponder. Check it out.

Great Image: Orion Nebula

The image above of the Orion Nebula was captured by Josh Borup at the picket post mountain trail head in the Arizon desert during a new moon. Mr. Burup used a Canon T3i and an 80mm Refractor on an Orion Atlas mount.  You can see more photos such as these at The Planetary Society.  You can also see more photos from Mr. Borup at this link. 

A Depressing View of Our Future in Space?

A recent article in Scientific American titled "Oh the Placed we Won't Go," had a quote from the Planetary Society's co-founder Louis Friedman's book Human Spaceflight: From Mars to the Stars:

Humans will become a multi-planet species by making it to Mars, but no farther. That is, they will never travel beyond Mars...Exploring beyond Mars will be done virtually, by processing information from other worlds while our bodies stay at home (albeit, I hope, on a multi-planet home of Earth and Mars)...To be clear: I believe that human space exploration will continue forever, but that human spaceflight will stop at Mars. This is not a contradiction—it is just a new way of thinking, a problem perhaps for an older generation but not for future ones where already ideas about connectivity, networking, exploration, and virtual reality influence the perception of “being there.”

I find this assessment to be consistent with our space missions to date, where robots have sent back amazing images from throughout the solar system, and telescopes have peered billions of years into the past, yet also a sad commentary on the future of man stuck on either the third or fourth rock from the sun.  Scientists are currently looking for evidence that distant civilizations have colonized a complete galaxy, with little luck thus far.  Are we now to believe that all past and future planetary species stay at home and can only explore remotely?  That is like saying I will never go to Paris, but I can send my iPhone.  Not a very hopeful view of vacations.

Space Exploration: Beyond the Horizon

The Planetary Society and Symphony of Science put together an inspiring video called Beyond the Horizon to highlight how we need to be bold in our dreams about our future in space.  The video contains comments from Bill Nye the Science Guy, Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, science writer Emily Lakdawalla, and Dr. Carl Sagan.  As Dr. Sagan noted, "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known."  Let's go find out.

You Can Contribute to a Lunar Mission

Lunar Mission Ltd. is looking for investors via Kickstarter for a lunar mission.  Once funded, in about 10 years time Lunar Mission One will conduct science on the surface of the Moon to learn more about this orbiting body:

The spacecraft platform will drill down to a depth of at least 20 metres – about 10 times further than drilled before – though potentially as deep as 100 metres. This will enable us to access and analyse lunar rock that is 4.5 billion years old. By studying this ancient lunar rock we hope to shine some light on the following: What are the origins of the Moon? How did the late heavy bombardment of the inner solar system shape the history of our planet? Might the Moon be suitable for a permanently manned base for space exploration?

In addition to the science, contributors can leave something behind on the moon as well.  Contributions at certain levels will provide the donor with a "Digital Memory Box" where they can upload message, photos, videos, and more.  This information will be buried into the Moon's surface.

The current Kickstarter campaign is designed to raise about £600,000 (or about $900,000) to support continued planning for the mission.  Later on the sales of memory boxes to the general public should generate additional revenues to fund the rest of the mission.

Lunar Mission One, like Mars One, is another way to stimulate public interest in space projects and give them a sense of investment.  It reminds me of The Planetary Society's efforts to put members names on as many Mars missions and other missions as possible, which have included:  OSIRIS-REx, MAVEN, Hayabusa 2, IKAROS,  Akatsuki, Glory, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Kaguya (SELENE), Phoenix, Dawn, New Horizons, Deep Impact. Cosmos 1, Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity, Hayabusa (MUSES-C), Stardust - Cassini-Huygens, Mars Pathfinder, and Mars '96. An impressive list. 

I wish the project team luck and will make my own Kickstarter contribution shortly.

Update:  Lunar Mission One's funding drive was a success. So what is the next step.  According to the mission site, now it is time to do some fine-tuning of the mission:

In January, Lunar Missions Ltd will assemble the initial project team to plan the fine details of the next six months – which will be project managed by RAL Space.  This is an incredibly complex programme involving at least four core project teams: Mission, Education, Science and Marketing.

More Reading on Mars

The Planetary Society's website has a helpful recommended reading list on Mars.  Here are some of the books recommended under fiction if you are looking for a good yarn:

• Across the Zodiac (1880)
• Melbourne and Mars: My Mysterious Life on Two Planets (1889)
• Unveiling a Parallel (1893)
• Journey to Mars (1894)
• A Prophetic Romance (1896)
• The War of the Worlds (1898)
• Edison’s Conquest of Mars (1898)
• A Honeymoon in Space (1900)
• Gullivar of Mars (1905)
• Doctor Omega (1906)
• Le prisonnier de la planète Mars [Vampires of Mars] (1908) and its sequel La guerre des vampires [War of the Vampires] (1909)
• Red Star (1908)

For instance, here is how Edison's Conquest of Mars is described on Amazon:

Following in the footsteps of one of the greatest science fiction masterpieces ever written, this long-forgotten sequel to The War of the Worlds boasts Thomas Edison as its hero. Originally published in the late 1800s, this is one of the rarest and most important cornerstones of the science fiction genre. Turning the original Wells tale on its head, this novel weaves a distinct and astonishing story of humans invading Mars, marking the invention of the space techno-thriller. Presenting a cornucopia of technical ingenuity, this edition marks a variety of firsts in the genre: the first space battle ever to appear in print, the original fictional example of alien abduction, the introduction of the theory that the pyramids were constructed by extraterrestrials, and the first truly functional spacesuits. Complete and unabridged for the first time ever—including the original illustrations—this narrative also features an introductory essay by acclaimed author Robert Godwin.

If you need a break from current events, reading one of these book may be a fun way to spend an evening.  

Space Art by David A Hardy

I have seen David A. Hardy's art in The Planetary Society's magazine The Planetary Report, so I decided to check out his webpage. I was impressed with the variety of pieces.  I recommend a visit to Mr. Hardy's site at AstroArt.org.  One of my favorites was Sagan's Moon shown to the left.  Here is how he explains this painting:

Carl Sagan commissioned this acrylic painting of a Jupiter-type exoplanet with an earthlike moon, seen from another, airless moon. There is no reason why a large satellite of a gas-giant should not have air and water, and therefore life – though it's seasons and the pattern of night, day and eclipses would be complicated!

Note Regarding the Image:  All material is Copyright ©David A. Hardy/AstroArt.org. It is NOT 'public domain', and any unauthorised use will be detected and action taken.