Moving cities, countries, and planets

Moving can be difficult, especially if we move to a different country. We have to say goodbye to friends, families, jobs, the environment, and perhaps language. Now imagine moving to an entirely new planet. Mars is perhaps our best shot at making life multi-planetary. Venus is too hot and Jupiter’s moons are too far and cold. Although Mars may not look like a 5 star resort , Mars is bearable. Its average temperature is about -81F, which although may seem chillingly cold, is a lot warmer than the emptiness of space. Temperatures in Antarctica have been recorded at -128.6F, which means that our Earth has seen these temperatures before. Mars also has a close to 24 hour day and ice at its poles that can be melted into water. All that we have to do now is get there.

Our current technology allows humans to get to Mars. The International Space Station has demonstrated that humans can survive long term in space. We have also sent various rovers and orbiters to the red planet. In fact, there are already people signed up to be the first colonists of Mars, meaning that the first Martian has already been born. The Mars One organization has selected 100 people to be the first Martians. Every 18 months starting from 2026, when the planets align, they will send people in groups of 4 at a time. They will live in small pods and have a larger structure for growing food and conducting research.

However, although the first Martian may have already been born, they may not travel through Mars One or during the year 2026. Sending a group of 4 people on a one way trip will likely have disastrous outcomes. They would be starting from nothing, have no reinforcements, and no resources, at least for 18 more months. What if famine spreads? What if people get claustrophobic? What if people anger each other? They wont even be able to step outside for some fresh air since the atmosphere isn’t breathable. And when they do step outside, they have to risk high radiation doses.

Sending a group of 4 is definitely possible, but will likely have disastrous consequences. Another company, SpaceX, also has the goal of sending humans to Mars. However, they realize that in order to create a colony, they have to send hundreds if not thousands of people. Sending people is pointless if Earth has to continuously supply everything.The only way to create a self sustaining colony is by sending more people. But even with a million people, every person would have to be incredibly productive because they have to recreate the workforce of an entire planet. 1 million people is not even 1% of the almost 8 billion we have on Earth today.

Although the launch provider is uncertain, it is safe to say that humanity will leave Earth within the next 50 years. As rocket technology and life systems become more and more advanced, the first Martians will come in groups of hundreds or more. Who knows, maybe you, your friend, or I may be one of those first Martians.

September 9, 2015September 9, 2015 by russellphd Categories: ExplorationTags: exploration, life, progress Leave a comment

The Commercialization of Space

Every method of transportation in history has had the ultimate goal of making it available for all. For example, the invention of the wheel revolutionized transportation . It was applied to wagons, carriages, locomotives, and now automobiles and aircraft. Now, all these methods of transportation are available to everyone. This was only due to commercialization. There is only so much that the government can provide for people. So now comes the question, will there ever be a commercialization of space?

Fortunately, the answer is yes. The past 15 years has seen a huge growth in aerospace startups. However, due to the complexity of space, progress is slow. Some companies are small, such as Masten Space Systems, and others are large, such as SpaceX and Blue Origin. No matter the size of the company though, every single one shares the common goal of opening space to all. Another commonality is that they all stress the importance of reusabilty. Not a single company is planning to throw away any parts. This is the only way to make space cheap and fast enough for a commercial market.

Some notable companies are SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, XCOR Aerospace, and Bigalow Aerospace. SpaceX is currently resupplying the International Space Station and will soon be ferrying astronauts to it.They have the ultimate goal of not just commercializing space, but moving life onto Mars. Other companies such Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, and XCOR Aerospace are offering sub-orbital flights with stunning views of the Earth and the zero-g experience. But once we get to space, wouldn’t it be nice to stay there? That’s exactly what Bigalow Aerospace doing. They are building expandable space habitats for both government and commercial purposes. Who knows, maybe in 20 years we’ll able to own property or vacation in space.

September 3, 2015September 3, 2015 by russellphd Categories: Exploration, TechnologyTags: exploration, future, rocket science, space Leave a comment

50 Years of no Progress

50 years of human space flight and we are still in low Earth orbit. On July 20^th 1969, Apollo astronauts made one small step for mankind on the moon. During this era, space technology matured at an unimaginable rate. Even more amazing, this moon landing occurred only 12 years after the first artificial satellite. This meant that rocket technology was sophisticated and advanced enough back then to launch objects and people into orbit and beyond. This was over 46 years ago. In fact, a 1969 report from the Space Task Group stated that “NASA has outlined plans that would include a manned Mars mission in 1981” (hq.nasa.gov). But where are we now? We are just six scientists strong orbiting 250 miles above Earth. What happened to our space program? Why is space travel still so expensive? When are we going to be able to vacation on the moon and visit Mars? The answer is never, at least if we continue approaching space travel the way we do today.

Our current rockets are expendable, meaning that once they launch, we don’t get them back. This is something most people don’t think about because rockets have always been that way. Imagine driving a car and throwing it away after one use. Imagine flying a plane and then throwing it away after one use. That would be absurd. No one would be traveling anywhere if that were the case. Unless we suddenly discover a new technology, chemical rockets are the only things that produce enough thrust to get to space. However, if rockets became reusable, space would be revolutionized. Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, states that with reusable rockets, “more than a 100-fold improvement in the cost of space flight is achievable. This ratio is comparable to that of aircraft, which are, of course, highly reusable”. Imagine a rocket launch every few minutes or hours instead of the current every few weeks/months.

This has unimaginable applications ranging from business to leisure to science. Imagine the stunning views on your space vacation. Imagine being the first life a planet has seen. Imagine all the job opportunities on literally a world. Even on Earth, everyone would benefit from cheaper rockets. Any launch involving the government would use your tax dollars more efficiently. Any satellite meant for the public such as television, weather, and communication would be cheaper too. Even if building rockets were free, building it still takes weeks or months. The engines are complex and the rocket itself is the height of a tower. Having it been over 46 years since the Apollo moon landings, us still throwing away rockets is a major concern. If we don’t change now, humans will never make it to space.

August 27, 2015August 30, 2015 by russellphd Categories: TechnologyTags: exploration, progress, rocket science Leave a comment

How Lucky are We?

Everyday we face the possibility of illness, fatigue, injury, and even death. When we drive a car, fly on a plane, or even walk, we assume the risk that nothing will happen to us. We hope that a car doesn’t hit us, a tree doesn’t fall on us, our pilot doesn’t nosedive into the ground. Yet with all these possibilities, we all still live our lives by risking it. Why? Because that is how we live.

We may be extremely lucky to make it to the next day, but we are even more lucky that we are here in the first place. Of all the planets and exoplanets we know, only Earth is known to sustain life. Even more lucky, the conditions are just right for space travel. Our current rockets can only deliver about 10% of their liftoff weight into orbit and even less to deep space. This is because our chemical rockets are just barely powerful enough to do so. The gravity on our planet is just weak enough to allow us to send small payloads to orbit and just strong enough to prevent us from launching like and X-Fighter.

This implies that we live on a borderline planet. Borderline from being stuck on the ground and borderline from being in a galaxy far far away. But hasn’t mankind always crossed borders? The ancients crossed the Siberian-Alaskan ice bridge thousands of years ago when they had the opportunity. The Mayflower left Europe to start the America we know today. Now it is our turn to cross borders. We are extremely lucky that our Earth gives us a chance at space travel. If we risk our lives living the way we do anyways, the idea of space travel isn’t that far fetched. Given that we have risked their lives for thousands of years, it would be extremely shameful if we didn’t migrate into space. Maybe it’s destiny.

August 27, 2015August 28, 2015 by russellphd Categories: ExplorationTags: exploration, life, space Leave a comment