Space Expansion

Report Urges Timetable for Human Mission to Mars

Greg Schnippel — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 08:23:19 -0800

The Obama administration should set a concrete schedule for human Mars missions, and make sure new hardware developed for NASA's return to the Moon can be adapted for missions to other destinations, a new report says.

NASA Needs a New Direction, Says Independent Review Panel

Greg Schnippel — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:31:58 -0800

A new report released today by the Space, Policy and Society Research Group at MIT, based on a two-year independent review, offers recommendations for the future of this country's human spaceflight program. Though the review panel has some sharp criticisms of NASA's current direction, it also found cause for hope.

Obama Transition Looks at Space-Based Solar Power

Greg Schnippel — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 06:57:12 -0800

The Obama transition team is considering the idea of turning solar power generated by orbiting satellites into electricity that can be used on the ground.

Who Owns the Moon?

Greg Schnippel — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:32:05 -0800

Nearly 40 years after the U.S. flag was planted on the moon, a global rush to the final frontier has some pondering property rights out there.

Pentagon Eyes Orbiting Power Station

Greg Schnippel — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 21:16:44 -0800

Military planners responsible for finding space resources to support troops on the ground think the time may be ripe to advance the 40-year-old space solar power concept to help reduce the logistics train behind forward-deployed forces.

Space Elevator Trips could be Agonisingly Slow

Greg Schnippel — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 09:37:04 -0800

The simple act of climbing could throw space elevators off track and potentially into harm's way, a new study suggests. Fixing the problem could require agonisingly slow trips lasting nearly a month or the careful choreography of multiple climbers.

Crisis? All the More Reason to Reach for the Stars

Greg Schnippel — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 14:56:11 -0800

The author argues that the present economic crisis is all the more motivation that European Space Agency ministers should "think big" in their planning for the future of the agency and its programs.

Space Solar Power and the Khyber Pass

Greg Schnippel — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 18:06:54 -0800

Taylor Dinerman shows how space solar power can help landlocked and resource-poor countries escape the "economic chains forged by geography."

Star Trek's Deflector Shield Envisioned for Mars Mission

Greg Schnippel — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 19:27:52 -0800

A new study found that a portable magnetic shield could be the key to protecting spacefarers during long-duration missions. A spaceship could be outfitted with a mini magnetosphere that would force the harmful charged particles in space to curve around the ship, rather than hitting the people inside.

Indian Probe Lands on Moon, Sends Images

Greg Schnippel — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:02:16 -0800

An Indian probe landed on the moon on Friday, the Indian Space Research Organisation announced, in a milestone for the country's 45-year-old space programme.