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Category: space travel – Page 28

The Medusa Spaceship Drive

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Credits:
The Medusa Spaceship Drive.
Episode 476; December 5, 2024
Produced, Narrated \& Written: Isaac Arthur.
Graphics: Bryan Vertseeg, Ken York YD Visual, Rapid Thrash.
Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images.
Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound http://epidemicsound.com/creator.
Brandon Liew, \

NASA will never be the same with new administrator, Jared Isaacman

🚀 Q: How will Jared Isaacman’s background influence NASA’s future direction? A: Isaacman’s experience as a business leader, philanthropist, pilot, and astronaut will drive NASA towards a bold era of space economy development, focusing on groundbreaking achievements in space science, technology, and exploration.

🌠 Q: What is Isaacman’s vision for NASA’s mission? A: He aims to pursue a thriving space economy, transforming humanity into a space-faring civilization with breakthroughs in manufacturing, biotechnology, mining, and potentially new energy sources.

NASA Is Seeking Ideas for Rescuing an Astronaut from the Moon

Space exploration is a dangerous business, especially when squishy living organisms, such as humans, are involved. NASA has always prided itself on how seriously it takes the safety of its astronauts, so as it gears up for the next big push in crewed space exploration, the Artemis program, it is looking for solutions to potentially catastrophic situations that might arise. One such catastrophe would be if one of the Artemis astronauts was incapacitated and couldn’t return to the lander. The only person who could potentially be able to save them would be their fellow astronaut, but carrying a fully suited human back to their base of operations would be a challenge for an astronaut similarly kitted out in their own bulky suit. So, NASA decided to address it as precisely that – a challenge – and ask for input from the general public, offering up to $20,000 for the best solution to the problem.

The challenge, “South Pole Safety: Designing the NASA Lunar Rescue System,” was announced on November 14th and accepts entries until January 23rd, 2025. It awards $45,000 to at least three winners, including $20,000 to the first-place winner. So, what does the challenge actually involve?

The work product is a design document for a system capable of moving fully suited astronauts at least two kilometers up a 20-degree slope without being attached to a rover. Oh, and it has to be able to operate in the harsh conditions of the lunar south pole.

SECTION 1: Genetic Engineering for The Future of Space Travel

As we explore space outside our solar system, genetic engineering offers hope for overcoming challenges like radiation exposure and the effects of microgravity. By understanding and modifying our genes, we could make astronauts more resilient and improve their health in space. However, these advancements raise important ethical questions about safety, fairness, and long-term impacts, which must be carefully considered as we develop new space travel technologies.

We are on the edge of exploring space outside our solar system. This is not just a major advancement in technology, but a transformation for all of mankind. As we aim for the stars, we also try to understand more about ourselves. Our exploration into space will determine the future of our history. However, this thrilling adventure comes with many challenges. We need to build faster spacecraft, develop ways to live sustainably in space and deal with the physical and mental difficulties of long space missions. Genetics may help us solve some of these problems. As we travel further into space, it will be important to understand how genetics affects our ability to adapt to the space environment. This knowledge will be crucial for the success of space missions and the well-being of astronauts.

Genetics offers a hopeful path to overcoming many challenges in space exploration. As we venture further into space, it becomes essential to understand how our genes affect the way we adapt to the space environment. Genetics affects many aspects of an astronaut’s ability to survive and do well in space. It influences how the body handles exposure to radiation, deals with microgravity, and copes with isolation. Some genetic differences, like changes in the Methylene-TetraHydrofolate-Reductase (MTHR) gene, can make certain people more vulnerable to the harmful effects of radiation in space. With tools like genetic testing and personalized medicine, space agencies can now choose the best-suited astronauts and develop health strategies to improve their safety and performance in harsh space conditions.

An AI Chemist Made A Catalyst to Make Oxygen On Mars Using Local Materials

Breaking oxygen out of a water molecule is a relatively simple process, at least chemically. Even so, it does require components, one of the most important of which is a catalyst. Catalysts enable reactions and are linearly scalable, so if you want more reactions quickly, you need a bigger catalyst. In space exploration, bigger means heavier, which translates into more expensive. So, when humanity is looking for a catalyst to split water into oxygen and hydrogen on Mars, creating one from local Martian materials would be worthwhile. That is precisely what a team from Hefei, China, did by using what they called an “AI Chemist.”

Unfortunately, the name “AIChemist” didn’t stick, though that joke might vary depending on the font you read it in. Whatever its name, the team’s work was some serious science. It specifically applied machine learning algorithms that have become all the rage lately to selecting an effective catalyst for an “oxygen evolution reaction” by utilizing materials native to Mars.

To say it only chose the catalyst isn’t giving the system the full credit it’s due, though. It accomplished a series of steps, including developing a catalyst formula, pretreating the ore to create the catalyst, synthesizing it, and testing it once it was complete. The authors estimate that the automated process saved over 2,000 years of human labor by completing all of these tasks and point to the exceptional results of the testing to prove it.