Lifeboat Foundation

As humans explore other worlds, the colonies they develop may change over time. While the first settlements may rely on individuals, as the outposts grow more self-sustaining, families will likely become the colonists of choice, a panel of experts said.

“The socioeconomic origins of colonists are going to change over time,” science fiction author Charles E. Gannon told Space.com.

Earlier this year at Dragon Con in Atlanta, Gannon was part a panel of scientists and science communicators who discussed how future space colonies might look and act, and how such developments might affect the rest of humanity on Earth. Gannon was joined by nuclear physicist Ben Davis, forensic anthropologist Emily Finke, science teacher Lali DeRosier and moderator Kishore Hari, a self-described “professional nerd.” [NASA’s Wild Space Colony Concepts in Images].

Some end of year thoughts on what we can hope to expect over the next few decades in terms of pushing the envelope of space travel.

Thoughts on a few benchmark dates for pushing humanity offworld and beyond the solar system. Here are few estimates for when we should expect future milestones in our crewed voyages beyond low-Earth orbit and to Proxima Centauri b.

Improving healthcare is actually a bigger challenge than rocket science itself in reaching humanity’s next grand goal to reach Mars in the next decades.

Asteroid mining is the new Wild West, and the resources hidden in asteroids, potentially worth trillions, are available to whomever can get there first.

By 2018, China plans to land on the dark side of the moon; within 3 years Mars. Last year, we learned that China has interests in mining raw materials from the Moon particularly from the dark side of the moon. Also, researchers have discovered some very resilient raw materials for things such as concrete on Mars. SO, could we see in the next 5 years mining by China on Mars?

“To explore the vast cosmos, develop the space industry and build China into a space power is a dream we pursue unremittingly,” read a white paper setting out the country’s space strategy for the next five years. It says China aims to use space for peaceful purposes and to guarantee national security, and to carry out cutting-edge scientific research.

The white paper, released by the information office of China’s Cabinet, points to the growing ambitions of China’s already rapidly advancing space program. China places great emphasis on the development of its space industry, seen as a symbol of national prestige that will raise the country’s standing in the world. Although the white paper doesn’t mention it, China’s eventual goal is to land an astronaut on the moon.

Continue reading “China plans to land probes on far side of moon, Mars by 2020” »

Hmmm.

Technological and human rights implications for the world

China adopted the highly controversial cyber security law on 7th November 2016. The legislation which will take effect in June 2017 was passed by its largely rubber – stamp parliament emphasizing the ‘objective need’ of China as a major internet power. The stated objective of the law is to counter the growing threats such as hacking and terrorism. Overseas critics of the law are not amused as it has already triggered concerns among foreign business and rights groups that the law threatens to shut foreign technology companies out of various sectors which China deems as ‘critical’. The legislation also incorporates contentious requirements for security reviews and for data to be stored on servers in China.

Continue reading “China’s stringent cyber security law; Technological and human rights implications for the world” »

Researchers have discovered that tantalum carbide and hafnium carbide materials can withstand scorching temperatures of nearly 4000 degrees Celsius.

Being able to withstand temperatures of nearly 4000°C could pave the way for both materials to be used in ever more extreme environments, such as in heat resistant shielding for the next generation of hypersonic space vehicles.

Tantalum carbide (TaC) and hafnium carbide (HfC) are refractory ceramics, meaning they are extraordinarily resistant to heat. Their ability to withstand extremely harsh environments means that refractory ceramics could be used in thermal protection systems on high-speed vehicles and as fuel cladding in the super-heated environments of nuclear reactors. However, there hasn’t been the technology available to test the melting point of TaC and HfC in the lab to determine how truly extreme an environment they could function in.

Continue reading “Imperial College of London makes world’s most heat resistant material at 4232 kelvin” »

The idea of colonization of Saturn’s moons is attractive and presents many benefits, even if it is a challenging and distant prospect.

If you thought that a kid’s room, a Norwegian Nobel Laureate and a laser pointer had nothing in common, two UA physicists are about to enlighten you.

It’s hard to believe, but after having unraveled many of the laws that make the universe tick, physicists still haven’t reached an agreement on whether something as seemingly simple as “hot” or “cold” can be measured in a system under certain circumstances.

“Imagine you threw an iceberg into the sun and right before it’s melted and gone, you wanted to know, ‘How hot is that iceberg at that moment?’ Would that be a meaningful question to ask?” says Charles Stafford, a professor in the Department of Physics in the UA’s College of Science. “According to traditional physics, it wouldn’t be.”