Carnival of Space 581

The Carnival of Space 581 is up at Photon Fishing.

Universe Today – Musk Gives an Update on When a Mars Colony Could be Built

On Monday, Sept. 17th), Elon Musk revealed new information about the Big Falcon Rocket (BFR) and who its first passenger would be when it conducts its first lunar mission (which is planned for 2023). And on Friday, Sept. 21st, Elon Musk tweeted SpaceX could build a base on Mars (Mars Base Alpha) as early as 2028.

Universe Today – Astronomers are Tracking the Interstellar Asteroid ‘Oumuamua to its Home System

Universe Today – Astronauts Could Use the ScanMars Device to Search for Water on Mars

A ground-penetrating radar called ScanMars may help find water on Mars.

Italian scientists at the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) Planetologia Spaziali and the University of Perugia are developing the device. In February 2018 they tested ScanMars at the Dhofar region in Oman. The test was part of the AMADEE-18 Mission led by the Austrian Space Forum. Alessandro Frigeri of INAF presented the results of that test at the European Planetary Science Congress (EPSC) in Berlin. The abstract of that presentation is here.

Universe Today – Here are the First Pictures From the Parker Solar Probe. Wait… That’s Not the Sun

The Hill – Israel sets sights on moon landing

The SpaceIL lunar lander is a go for launch as a secondary payload on a SpaceX Falcon 9 toward the end of the year. If all goes well, the robotic lander, dubbed the Sparrow, will fly to the moon on a slow course that will gradually raise its orbit around the Earth before being captured by the moon’s gravity and hence to a landing on the lunar surface in the middle of February 2019.

Nextbigfuture – images and video from Ryugu asteroid

Nextbigfuture – Will the US waste over $100 billion on the SLS, Orion and LOP-G from now to 2030?

Nextbigfuture – Giant one kilometer Space Bubble telescopes

Nextbigfuture – Net power from Princeton Satellite systems nuclear fusion as early as 2025

Nextbigfuture – Positron catalyzed fusion propulsion progress

Nextbigfuture – Mach Effect Propulsion at 60 millinewtons per kilowatt which is matches Hall ion thruster

Nextbigfuture – Ten times faster lithium ion thrusters will be tested at JPL within 6 months

18 thoughts on “Carnival of Space 581”

  1. Unless they are actively cooled, those Italian astronauts must be soaking in sweat, frolicking in hermetic simulated spacesuits in the desert of Oman.

  2. Unless they are actively cooled those Italian astronauts must be soaking in sweat frolicking in hermetic simulated spacesuits in the desert of Oman.

  3. It occurs to me that this might be one reason why the NASA budget is so small now, as a percentage of the federal budget. On some maybe subconscious level, Congress knows that NASA is just a money sink these days, so they only give it the minimum budget necessary to exist and appear to be working on stuff. After all, they can’t just cancel NASA without political blowback. So in that sense, it’s a good solution. And if NASA complains, as they always do, they man up and admit that SLS and the Lunar Gateway are useless pork and will never make sense, and just say it openly.

  4. It occurs to me that this might be one reason why the NASA budget is so small now, as a percentage of the federal budget. On some maybe subconscious level, Congress knows that NASA is just a money sink these days, so they only give it the minimum budget necessary to exist and appear to be working on stuff. After all, they can’t just cancel NASA without political blowback.

    So in that sense, it’s a good solution. And if NASA complains, as they always do, they man up and admit that SLS and the Lunar Gateway are useless pork and will never make sense, and just say it openly.

  5. Will the US waste over 100 billion dollars? Oh yes it will. When the SLS was being devised ULA and others all came out with generally good launcher concepts. The Senate ignored them and in an amazingly stupid moment LITERALLY BUILT A ROCKET BY COMITY. Now if anyone remembers the old joke about a camel and a horse… Of course horses don’t cost 100mil take 20 yrs to be built and don’t explode like a bomb.

  6. Will the US waste over 100 billion dollars? Oh yes it will. When the SLS was being devised ULA and others all came out with generally good launcher concepts. The Senate ignored them and in an amazingly stupid moment LITERALLY BUILT A ROCKET BY COMITY. Now if anyone remembers the old joke about a camel and a horse…Of course horses don’t cost 100mil take 20 yrs to be built and don’t explode like a bomb.

  7. Will the US waste over 100 billion dollars? Oh yes it will. When the SLS was being devised ULA and others all came out with generally good launcher concepts. The Senate ignored them and in an amazingly stupid moment LITERALLY BUILT A ROCKET BY COMITY. Now if anyone remembers the old joke about a camel and a horse…

    Of course horses don’t cost 100mil take 20 yrs to be built and don’t explode like a bomb.

  8. Unless they are actively cooled, those Italian astronauts must be soaking in sweat, frolicking in hermetic simulated spacesuits in the desert of Oman.

  9. Unless they are actively cooled those Italian astronauts must be soaking in sweat frolicking in hermetic simulated spacesuits in the desert of Oman.

  10. It occurs to me that this might be one reason why the NASA budget is so small now, as a percentage of the federal budget. On some maybe subconscious level, Congress knows that NASA is just a money sink these days, so they only give it the minimum budget necessary to exist and appear to be working on stuff. After all, they can’t just cancel NASA without political blowback. So in that sense, it’s a good solution. And if NASA complains, as they always do, they man up and admit that SLS and the Lunar Gateway are useless pork and will never make sense, and just say it openly.

  11. Will the US waste over 100 billion dollars? Oh yes it will. When the SLS was being devised ULA and others all came out with generally good launcher concepts. The Senate ignored them and in an amazingly stupid moment LITERALLY BUILT A ROCKET BY COMITY. Now if anyone remembers the old joke about a camel and a horse… Of course horses don’t cost 100mil take 20 yrs to be built and don’t explode like a bomb.

  12. Will the US waste over 100 billion dollars? Oh yes it will. When the SLS was being devised ULA and others all came out with generally good launcher concepts. The Senate ignored them and in an amazingly stupid moment LITERALLY BUILT A ROCKET BY COMITY. Now if anyone remembers the old joke about a camel and a horse…Of course horses don’t cost 100mil take 20 yrs to be built and don’t explode like a bomb.

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