Mars and beyond.

Quote:

A group at NASA’s Johnson Space Center has successfully tested an electromagnetic (EM) propulsion drive in a vacuum – a major breakthrough for a multi-year international effort comprising several competing research teams. Thrust measurements of the EM Drive defy classical physics’ expectations that such a closed (microwave) cavity should be unusable for space propulsion because of the law of conservation of momentum.

A lot more at the link if you're interested. If not, there's still a lot more at the link : )

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/04/evaluating-nasas-futuristic-em-drive/

Quote: rxwine

A lot more at the link if you're interested. If not, there's still a lot more at the link : )

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/04/evaluating-nasas-futuristic-em-drive/

Quote: article

Despite considerable effort within the NASASpaceflight.com forum to dismiss the reported thrust as an artifact, the EM Drive results have yet to be falsified... the question of where the thrust is coming from deserves serious inquiry.

Oh no, this is like dark matter/energy! Another scientific fact that is stumping explanation?

Quote: rxwine

A lot more at the link if you're interested. If not, there's still a lot more at the link : )

It's interesting, and something to be watched as/if it develops. But also something to be taken with a very large grain of salt.

SpaceX gopro vid

Not so fast as to make you dizzy.

That made my morning; thanks!

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The Philae space probe endured temperatures of -150C (-238F) before waking up from hibernation after being missing for months. It had been silent since landing on the comet last November, but made contact last weekend

Started to watch something on TV called "The Mars Underground". Pretty good so far, haven't finished. A couple of things have my attention:

*the original NASA manned mission to Mars they make sound insane. Building up the space station first, then going to the Moon again for a base, and assembling everything there, and elsewhere in space, and winding up with just a planting-the-flag feat. All for a price of nearly half a trillion dollars [@1989].

*the program uses an expression for the current manned goings-on sound pretty lame, "low earth orbit". Well, basically manned space flight has indeed been four and a half decades of low earth orbit.

Quote: odiousgambit

Started to watch something on TV called "The Mars Underground".

This was made in 2007; apparently it can be seen on you-tube, google it.

Going to Mars and accepting the risk of this and that using current technology at reasonable cost is being advocated by a visionary scientist, one Robert Zubrin. He makes his case in this documentary. This would mean a pretty good chance of dead astronauts - who may go insane first. He says we have to accept these risks just like explorers of previous times.

He is unable to totally kick aside NASA's idea of using better technology etc. From keeping up with this otherwise in the meantime over the next 8 years, I think NASA is prevailing. One of Zubrin's best points, however, is that the cost of NASA's plan will never be approved in full. Half a trillion in 1989 dollars? According to an online calculator, that's pretty close to a trillion dollars in today's money.

He also points out that governments don't stick with these things when they stretch out over decades, one administration discarding the plans of the previous one. Seems true too.

So I think he has sold me, but not 100% - there may be many like me. That's a problem too.

Quote:

PHYSICIST Stephen Hawking has teamed up with a Russian billionaire to launch a new quest to discover life on other planets.

THE celebrated British scientist has given his backing to Yuri Milner's Breakthrough Initiatives project, which will provide $US100 million ($A135.49 million) over the next decade to those searching for extraterrestrial intelligence.

Milner, an entrepreneur who made his fortune through investments in companies such as Facebook, said he will harness the innovation of Silicon Valley to scan the skies for signs of life, including searching the entire Milky Way and 100 nearby galaxies.

The Breakthrough Listen branch of the project will use the world's finest telescopes to carry out state-of-the-art radio and optical surveys.
Milner called it the "most comprehensive search program ever", and claimed the project would gather more information in one day than in a year of previous research.

So, I guess the difference between this and the other SETI project is the amount of resources devoted to it?

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/hawking-backs-billionaires-et-search/story-fni0xqll-1227450020113

Article about closest Earth-like planet and if we could reach it. It's always possible they will find one at a more reasonable range.

So, 1,400 light years is not a short trip.

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/could-human-beings-ever-reach-earth-2-0-n399956