Lifeboat Foundation

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BUSAN, South Korea — A NASA smallsat mission to Mars remains on track to launch this fall, although without a specific launch date yet.

In a presentation at the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) 45^th Scientific Assembly here July 15, Rob Lillis of the University of California Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory said the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission was still scheduled to launch within a few months on the inaugural flight of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket.

ESCAPADE features two identical smallsats, called Blue and Gold, that will go into orbit around Mars. The spacecraft carry instruments to study the planet’s magnetosphere and its interaction with the solar wind.

Joe Engle, who had the distinction of being the only astronaut to pilot an X-15 aircraft and a space shuttle, died in Houston on Wednesday, July 10. He was 91 years old.

NASA announced the death of Engle, a retired U.S. Air Force major general. The space agency said in its news release that Engle was the last surviving X-15 pilot.

The Kansas native graduated in 1955 from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, with an aeronautical engineering degree. According to his NASA biography, he “received his commission through the Air Force ROTC program at the University of Kansas and entered USAF flying school in March 1956.”

Room temperature mag levitation for hoverboards that is tunable also cars or spacecraft.

Polycrystalline thin films of elemental bismuth exhibit a room-temperature nonlinear transverse voltage due to geometric effects of surface electrons that is tunable and can be extended to efficient high-harmonic generation at terahertz frequencies.

Furthermore, the synergy between educational programs, cultural influences and the tangible benefits derived from space exploration not only enriches our present-day society but also ensures a legacy of continuous innovation and exploration. This ongoing engagement with space inspires future generations to look beyond our planetary boundaries and consider what might be possible in the broader cosmos.

Space exploration presents significant challenges, including costs, astronaut health risks and technological hurdles for interstellar travel. Ethical and legal considerations regarding space colonization, resource utilization and celestial environmental impact require careful consideration and international cooperation.

While Silicon Valley visionaries envision a future among the stars, other voices remind us of our responsibilities to Earth. These are not mutually exclusive goals. By leveraging advancements and opportunities from space exploration, we can better protect and enhance life on Earth. Through economic benefits, scientific advancement and social inspiration, space exploration remains a crucial endeavor for humanity, not as an escape from our problems, but as a way to expand our horizons and solve them on our home planet.

Over the last year, he has also ramped up work on what will happen if he gets there.

Mr. Musk, 53, has directed SpaceX employees to drill into the design and details of a Martian city, according to five people with knowledge of the efforts and documents viewed by The New York Times. One team is drawing up plans for small dome habitats, including the materials that could be used to build them. Another is working on spacesuits to combat Mars’s hostile environment, while a medical team is researching whether humans can have children there. Mr. Musk has volunteered his sperm to help seed a colony, two people familiar with his comments said.

NASA has invested $725,000 in a new rocket system that could solve one of the major obstacles standing in our way of sending humans to Mars: travel time.

With current technology, a round-trip to the red planet would take almost two years. For astronauts, spending that much time in spaceflight comes with big health risks.

They’d be exposed to high levels of solar and cosmic radiation, the harmful effects of zero-gravity, and a long period of isolation.

This propulsion system may speed up the future of interstellar travel.

Make it so.