Even as SpaceX prepares to launch astronauts for the first time , the company is sharing its dreams for human spaceflight on a much grander scale: missions to Mars .
SpaceX's desire to put humans on Mars is nothing new; the company was founded with that goal in mind. But now, the company is testing early versions of the spacecraft it envisions using on such journeys, evaluating potential landing sites and thinking through what a long-term base on the Red Planet might look like many years from now.
In case you are keeping track:
China set to launch Mars probe and rover mission in July – TechCrunch
NASA’s mission also includes an ambitious rock sample return plan , which will include the first powered spacecraft launch from the red planet to bring that back. The U.S. space agency is also sending the first atmospheric aerial vehicle to Mars on this mission , a helicopter drone that will be used for short flights to collect additional data from above the planet’s surface.
China has a number of plans to expand its space exploration efforts, including development and launch of an orbital research platform, its own space station above Earth, by 2022. The nation’s space program also recently test-launched a new crew spacecraft, which will eventually be used in its mission to land Chinese astronauts on the surface of the Moon.
MAVEN Maps Electric Currents around Mars that are Fundamental to Atmospheric Loss – NASA's Mars
Five years after NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft entered into orbit around Mars, data from the mission has led to the creation of a map of electric current systems in the Martian atmosphere.
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Earth’s magnetism comes from its core, where molten, electrically conducting iron flows beneath the crust. Its magnetic field is global, meaning it surrounds the entire planet. Since Mars is a rocky, terrestrial planet like Earth, one might assume that the same kind of magnetic paradigm functions there, too. However, Mars does not generate a magnetic field on its own, outside of relatively small patches of magnetized crust.
Assembly of Mars rover’s rocket to begin this week – Spaceflight Now
Two key pieces of hardware needed for NASA’s next Mars rover — an Atlas rocket booster and sterile components of the rover’s sample collection system — recently arrived at Cape Canaveral ahead of the mission’s scheduled launch July 17.
The first stage of United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket arrived at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Skid Strip runway May 18 aboard a Ukrainian-built Antonov An-124 transport plane. The cargo aircraft carried the 107-f0ot-long (32-meter) Atlas first stage from Huntsville, Alabama, near ULA’s rocket factory in Decatur.
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The Detective Aboard NASA's Perseverance Rover – NASA's Mars Exploration Program
SHERLOC on Perseverance's Robotic Arm : SHERLOC, one of the instruments onboard NASA's Perseverance Mars rover, sits on the end of the rover's robotic arm. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Full image and caption ›
SHERLOC was built at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which leads the Perseverance mission; WATSON was built at Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego. For the most promising rocks, the Perseverance team will command the rover to take half-inch-wide core samples, store and seal them in metal tubes, and deposit them on the surface of Mars so that a future mission can return them to Earth for more detailed study.
AIDP and Andy Khawaja Set Sights on Bringing Artificial Intelligence to Mars | Business |
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200526005086/en/
Artificial Intelligence Defense Platform and Andy Khawaja discuss Mars project. (Photo: Business Wire)
AIDP and Andy Khawaja recently announced their pioneer project, "ISABELLA," which will be an AI processing system capable of learning, retaining, and performing tasks.
They say ISABELLA will give communities the means to ensure tasks and roles are performed to create more sustainable environments and they plan to apply this to space exploration and the inhabitation of Mars.
SpaceX: Elon Musk explains one factor that could decide the Mars city
Elon Musk wants to build a city on Mars by 2050. Unfortunately, based on current cost calculations, it wouldn't be possible.
Musk's firm SpaceX is currently developing the Starship, a giant stainless steel rocket designed to send humans to Mars and beyond. The ship can carry over 150 tons or 100 people to orbit at a time, and its liquid oxygen and methane fuel means humans could refuel using Mars' natural resources and return home – or even venture out further. Musk has suggested that a city could be built in the space of 10 orbital synchronizations , sending ships every time the Earth and Mars get close enough.
Tiny Cardboard Aircraft Could Fly in the Skies of Mars - Universe Today
What would be the best method for exploring planetary atmospheres, such as at Mars, Venus or even Earth? One group of researchers are developing tiny, levitating “nanocardboard” aircraft that could hover in alien skies. They would fly like dust floating in beams of sunlight – but intelligently, and with a purpose.
"It's exciting because it's essentially a new mechanism of flight," said Igor Bargatin from the University of Pennsylvania. "We're talking about a structure half an inch in size that can fly around without any moving parts."
Happening on Twitter
SpaceX wants to send people to Mars. Here's what the trip might look like. https://t.co/pFpLyoPHH2 https://t.co/iIf1mxzlZE SPACEdotcom (from NYC) Tue May 26 12:28:33 +0000 2020
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