Space – Lifeboat News: The Blog

Mar 3
2022

Earthworms can reproduce in Mars soil simulant

Space worms.

Two young worms are the first offspring in a Mars soil experiment at Wageningen University & Research. Biologist Wieger Wamelink found them in a Mars soil simulant that he obtained from NASA. At the start he only added adult worms. The experiments are crucial in the study that aims to determine whether people can keep themselves alive at the red planet by growing their own crops on Mars soils.

To feed future humans on Mars a sustainable closed agricultural ecosystem is a necessity. Worms will play a crucial role in this system as they break down and recycle dead organic matter. The poop and pee of the (human) Martian will also have to be used to fertilise the soil, but for practical and safety reasons we are presently using pig slurry. We have since been observing the growth of rucola (rocket) in Mars soil simulant provided by NASA to which worms and slurry have been added. ‘Clearly the manure stimulated growth, especially in the Mars soil simulant, and we saw that the worms were active. However, the best surprise came at the end of the experiment when we found two young worms in the Mars soil simulant’, said Wieger Wamelink of Wageningen University & Research.

‘The positive effect of adding manure was not unexpected’, added Wamelink, ‘but we were surprised that it makes Mars soil simulant outperform Earth silver sand’. We added organic matter from earlier experiments to both sands. We added the manure to a sample of the pots and then, after germination of the rucola, we added the worms. We therefore ended up with pots with all possible combinations with the exception of organic matter which was added to all of the pots.

Mar 3
2022

Life on the Early Moon?

Earth´s Moon may have been habitable and hosted life billions of years ago: a hypothesis re-evaluated.

An Outrageous Hypothesis Re-Evaluated.

Mar 3
2022

Super Heavy will be 2x more powerful than the Saturn V!! 😱

Mar 3
2022

The Rogue Planets I Read About in Science Fiction When I Was Younger Are Real

It turns out that free-floating planets are more common in our galaxy than previously thought.

Mar 3
2022

Here’s why NASA plans to let the International Space Station disintegrate into the atmosphere

One of the greatest achievements of mankind is the International Space Station, which brings together astronauts from across the globe to cooperate on groundbreaking research. The International Space Station (ISS) will be decommissioned in 2024, following which a new generation of space stations will take its place. When more people are able to travel space, new political and economic conflicts will be inevitable.

Low-Earth orbit is becoming less important as NASA shifts its attention to transporting people to the moon and ultimately Mars. During this transition, the space agency plans to lease out space stations operated by private corporations for its astronauts to use. ISS will burn up and disintegrate in the atmosphere when the new stations are ready.

Anyone who wants to work in space at some time in the future will be forced to pick among a number of different locations. That implies that governments will not only be employing these new stations to improve their national space programs but also as lucrative economic endeavors, too.

Mar 3
2022

Egypt’s President al-Sisi has opened the 4th Largest Solar Plant in the world and the largest in Africa in the desert of Aswan

It was constructed at a cost of $4 Billion and will provide the electricity needs of 14 million Egyptians.

NASA has asked the private sector to design new spacesuits that can be used on the Moon.

Mar 3
2022

Lowering solar module temperatures with radiative cooling, heat pipes

He said that three main requirements should be fulfilled to improve the cooling effect. The radiative coolers should not replace the existing PV glass covers, so the natural RC ability of glass can be harnessed to add to the overall cooling gain. There should also be an efficient and quick heat transfer mechanism between the PV module, which is also the heat source, and the RC heat sink. In addition, the RC module should directly face the sky to radiate maximum waste heat into outer space.

The proposed system consists of a PV module and a separate RC module, integrated with a flat plate heat pipe in between. A separate RC module is used along with the existing glass cover on the solar cells and the heat pipe is integrated between the PV and RC modules, providing quick heat transfer. The RC module is then placed on the condensing section of the heat pipe facing the sky.

Mar 3
2022

NASA’s most iconic space launches and landings take years of preparation, but they all come down to a few tense final moments in the control room

Here’s a supercut of our favorite celebrations as NASA’s teams cheer on mission success.a

Mar 3
2022

Tesla Said It Was Possible, Now Wireless Electricity Is Finally Becoming Reality

Nikola Tesla’s vision of the world is about to become reality.

#engineering

Wireless electricity is a 100-year-old dream that just might turn into reality in the coming years. The advent of wireless charging, electric vehicles, 5G, and the need for greater sustainability have led to a push for the development of fully operational wireless transmission technology in different parts of the world.

From America’s Wave Inc. to Japan-based Space Power Technologies and New Zealand’s energy startup Emrod, there are a number of companies that are currently working on wireless power transmission technology. Field tests have also begun for some systems, and it will be interesting to see who comes first in this race to offer an efficient, economical, and viable wireless electricity solution.

Before we get into the different revolutionary initiatives concerning wireless electricity, it is important to understand its origin and the underlying concept behind this technology that makes it a reliable choice for future power needs.

Continue reading “Tesla Said It Was Possible, Now Wireless Electricity Is Finally Becoming Reality” | >

Mar 3
2022

Existence of Earth Trojan Asteroid Confirmed — Could Become “Ideal Bases” for Advanced Exploration of the Solar System

I have often mentioned how useful it would be to relocate an asteroid to lunar orbit to serve as a counterweight for a rotovator / skyhook.

Data from NSF’s NOIRLab Show Earth Trojan Asteroid Is the Largest Found The SOAR Telescope, part of NOIRLab’s Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, has helped astronomers refine the size and orbit of the largest known Earth Trojan companion. By scanning the sky very close to the horizon at sunrise, the SOAR Telescope in Chile, part of Cerro-Tololo Inter-American Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab, has helped astronomers confirm the existence of only the second-known Earth Trojan asteroid and reveals that it is over a kilometer wide — about three times larger than the first.