The exploration of the moon is going to be a continuous activity.
Category: space travel – Page 3
A perspective on space: Preparing for 2075
Recognizing that space is now an integral component of present-day society, the Royal Society (the U.K. academy of sciences) has recently completed a report that explores the potential implications of space activities by 2075, aiming to stimulate discussion without predicting specific outcomes. It highlights the transformative impact of space exploration on industry, society and culture, comparable to the Industrial and Digital Revolutions. The goal is to prepare governments, regulators and society in general for the opportunities and risks space presents — it does not attempt to predict the future (that would indeed be unwise!) or to recommend a particular course of action, but rather to present the direction of travel and where that might lead.
Historically, humanity has progressively expanded from land to sea, air and now into outer space.
Controlling Light Emission with Photonic Time Crystals
A material whose dielectric properties vary in time could produce exotic light-emission phenomena in a nearby atom, theorists predict.
Traditional photonic technologies rely on mirrors, lenses, and diffraction gratings to shape light as it travels through a medium. Recent advances in material science have opened a strikingly different route. Instead of sculpting material properties in space, researchers can now dynamically modulate them in time [1]. Such temporal modulation transforms a passive medium into an active one, as the act of modulation itself can inject or extract energy. Adding a temporal dimension to material design confronts long-standing notions of light–matter interactions and reveals phenomena with no static counterpart. Now Bumki Min of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and his collaborators have exploited this capability to reshape the photonic density of states (DOS), which quantifies the number of available optical modes into which light can be emitted [2].
Designer Microbes Aid Space Exploration Efforts
Synthetic biology offers a toolkit to engineer microbes capable of surviving in outer space and for biomanufacturing materials to support astronauts on long missions.
The crew of Artemis II will fly on Integrity during mission to the Moon
The first astronauts set to fly to the Moon in more than 50 years will do so in Integrity.
NASA’s Artemis II crew revealed Integrity as the name of their Orion spacecraft during a news conference on Wednesday at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
“We thought, as a crew, we need to name this spacecraft. We need to have a name for the Orion spacecraft that we’re going to ride this magical mission on,” said Reid Wiseman, commander of the Artemis II mission.
Blue Alchemist Promises Rocket Fuel From Moon Dust
Usually when an alchemist shows up promising to turn rocks into gold, you should run the other way. Sure, rocket fuel isn’t gold, but on the moon it’s worth more than its weight in the yellow stuff. So there would be reason to be skeptical if this “Blue Alchemist” was actually an alchemist, and not a chemical reactor under development by the Blue Origin corporation.
The chemistry in question is quite simple, really: take moon dust, which is rich in aluminum silicate minerals, and melt the stuff. Then it’s just a matter of electrolysis to split the elements, collecting the gaseous oxygen for use in your rockets. So: moon dust to air and metals, just add power. Lots and lots of power.
Melting rock takes a lot of temperature, and the molten rock doesn’t electrolyse quite as easily as the water we’re more familiar with splitting. Still, it’s very doable; this is how aluminum is produced on Earth, though notably not from the sorts of minerals you find in moon dust. Given the image accompanying the press release, perhaps on the moon the old expression will be modified to “make oxygen while the sun shines”
Quantum Space Acquires Phase Four’s Propulsion Tech
Alabama spacecraft manufacturer Quantum Space is already putting its $40M Series A extension round to work, announcing the acquisition of Phase Four’s multi-modal propulsion tech on Monday for an undisclosed amount.
Quantum has also taken over ownership of Phase Four’s integration and test facility in Hawthorne, CA, which can churn out up to 100 engines per year.
Paying in gold: The deal opens the door for Quantum to integrate Phase Four’s unique propulsion capabilities to fuel Quantum’s Golden Dome ambitions. Phase Four’s multi-modal propulsion system uses chemical and electric propulsion to perform high thrust or high efficiency maneuvers, depending on the mission.
Are Cybernetic Organisms The Key To Exploring Space?! | NASA’s Unexplained Files
As NASA seeks to expand its exploration of the solar system, the concept of developing cybernetic organisms consists of a part human and part robot design. This idea holds the potential to enhance space exploration by overcoming various limitations.
From season 4 episode 8.
#nasasunexplainedfiles.
#DiscoveryTurbo
Chemists Create Next-Gen Rocket Fuel Compound That Packs 150% More Energy
Chemists at the University at Albany have developed a high-energy compound that could transform rocket fuel and make space travel more efficient. When ignited, this compound produces significantly more energy per unit of weight and volume than current propellants.
For rockets, this means that less fuel would be needed to achieve the same mission duration or payload capacity, leaving more space for essential equipment and supplies. The research was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
“In rocket ships, space is at a premium,” said Assistant Professor of Chemistry Michael Yeung, whose lab led the work. “Every inch must be packed efficiently, and everything onboard needs to be as light as possible. Creating more efficient fuel using our new compound would mean less space is needed for fuel storage, freeing up room for equipment, including instruments used for research. On the return voyage, this could mean more space is available to bring samples home.”
