[dissident]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('EnergyUnlimited', '
')Lets say that you are making fission powered craft.
So what are you going to throw away to satisfy equation:
m1v1 = m2v2 ???
Fragments of reactor core???

[EnergyUnlimited]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dissident', '
')The point is the energy density. A small amount of hydrogen (m1) at a very large velocity (v1) will give you more than simple inertial flight such as what is planned for the Mars missions.

[dissident]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('EnergyUnlimited', '
')You will not get much higher (if higher at all...) temperature of the gas flowing around reactor comparing with gas produced in chemical process. After all you need to maintain integrity of the reactor.

Hence there wont be "very large" velocity.

[Lore]

Now really, if you guys just bothered to read Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise where he states that shields on post-refit Constitution-class vessels were generated by the subatomic scan and replication of an alloy known as diburnium-osmium, and then projected as a force field beyond a ship's hull along the shield grid.

Ok... Don't bother to thank me, but I hope that clears up the argument.

[Graeme]

Star Trek-style shields could become reality

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'S')cientists believe they have found a way of shielding astronauts from a dangerous source of space radiation, thus lifting a major doubt clouding the dream to send humans to Mars.

Their breakthrough is reported this week in the journal Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion – it takes forward ideas born in the golden age of science fiction, including a proton shield used in the TV show Star Trek, say the researchers.


According to these calculations, the spacecraft would have to generate a magnetic field hundreds of kilometres across. But such equipment would be huge and drain the ship's energy supply and its powerful field could well harm the crew.

Now, however, British and Portuguese scientists have taken a fresh look at the old concept and say the magnetic field does not, in fact, have to be huge – a "bubble" just a few hundred metres across would suffice.

"The idea is really like in Star Trek, when Scottie turns on a shield to protect the starship Enterprise from proton beams – it's almost identical really," said Bob Bingham of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory near Oxford in the United Kingdom.

[SeaGypsy]

Hi IQ masturbators getting paid for dud sperm IMO.
Must be great, turning Star Trek into reality, drinking bottles of Grange, hanging out with the stars... mmm

[Graeme]

Are you suggesting that space exploration is a waste of time? Is landing a man on the moon (or Mars for that matter) so uninspiring? Couldn't our energy problems be solved by beaming solar energy from satellites?

[SeaGypsy]

I don't begrudge these theorists their 15 minutes or their stipends.
I do begrudge the distraction of fantastical thinking at the crucial juncture we find ourselves right here on earth, when we need to collectively re-evaluate our entire approach as a species/ buggerizing around about nicking off to Mars is really just juvenile.
I also recognize the fact is the bulk of space funding goes through and to the military machine, something I have had enough of, for one.

[Graeme]

It is refreshing to see that you are thinking about solutions: "we need to collectively re-evaluate our entire approach as a species". And not saying our predicament is hopeless. The problem for the global community is then what those solutions are and how to prioritise them.

For the US, the budget for space exploration was a mere 1% of federal expenditure (about 10 billion per year on average)! And the returns:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')n 2002, the aerospace industry accounted for $95 billion of economic activity in the United States, including $23.5 billion in employee earnings dispersed among some 576,000 employees (source: Federal Aviation Administration, March 2004).

[rangerone314]

Might be fun, should include China and India too. And if and when World War III breaks out on Earth, the moonbasers could put friendly wagers on the winner (the country that glows the least from radiation).

Maybe in the year 2054, when oil production is about 1/2 of present production, and the Earth's population is 10 bilion (give or take a few billion from die off), they can mine unobtanium on the moon and send it back to Earth.

I wonder if the moonbase would be a shining success like Biosphere 2?

[SeaGypsy]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Graeme', 'I')t is refreshing to see that you are thinking about solutions: "we need to collectively re-evaluate our entire approach as a species". And not saying our predicament is hopeless. The problem for the global community is then what those solutions are and how to prioritise them. Yes, we do need solutions in so many areas, and yes, every century will present new problems for us to solve. So let’s do something about it.
?

[EnergyUnlimited]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dissident', '
')Look up the term "specific impulse". You haven't done the calculations and are spouting off against those that have. Nobody would have spent a cent developing nuclear propulsion if it was no better than chemical propulsion. Make an effort, look it up.

[Graeme]

SwRI-led RAD measures radiation from solar storm

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he largest solar particle event since 2005 hit the Earth, Mars and the Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft travelling in-between, allowing the onboard Radiation Assessment Detector to measure the radiation a human astronaut could be exposed to en route to the Red Planet.

On Sunday, a huge coronal mass ejection erupted from the surface of the sun, spewing a cloud of charged particles in our direction, causing a strong "S3" solar storm. A NASA Goddard Space Weather Lab animation of the CME illustrates how the disturbance impacts Earth, Mars and several spacecraft. Solar storms can affect the Earth's aurorae, satellites, air travel and GPS systems; no harmful effects to the Mars Science Laboratory have been detected from this solar event.

"We only have a few hours of data downloaded from the RAD so far, but we clearly see the event, said RAD Principal Investigator Don Hassler, science program director in the Space Studies Department at Southwest Research Institute. The Mars Science Laboratory, launched Nov. 26, will land a sophisticated car-sized rover called Curiosity on the surface of the planet in August. Loaded with 10 instruments including RAD, Curiosity will traverse the landing site looking for the building blocks of life and characterizing factors that may influence life, such as the harsh radiation environment expected on Mars. "This SPE encounter is particularly exciting in light of the alignment between the Earth, MSL and Mars right now and for the next few months. It will be very interesting to compare the RAD data, collected from inside the capsule, with the data from other spacecraft."

This event has also been seen by the Solar Dynamics Observatory, Geostationary Operational Environment Satellites, the Advanced Composition Explorer, and the twin Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory spacecraft in Earth orbit as well as the Solar Heliospheric Observatory flying between Earth and the sun.

"RAD was designed to characterize radiation levels on the surface of Mars, but an important secondary objective is measuring the radiation during the almost nine-month journey through interplanetary space to prepare for future human exploration," said Hassler. "RAD is an important bridge between the science and exploration sides of NASA.

[Graeme]

Backing up the biosphere

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')fter ten years in the business, private-spaceflight pioneer Elon Musk sets his sights on Mars.

The Californian space-technology company SpaceX, based in Hawthorne, celebrates its tenth birthday this year. The company's re-usable, unmanned Dragon spacecraft is due to make its second demonstration flight at the end of April, when it will visit the International Space Station. A version of Dragon that could carry seven astronauts is under development.

Elon Musk, SpaceX's chief executive and chief technology officer, talked to Nature about his plans for the company and his personal ambitions for space flight.

What motivated you to found SpaceX?
The next important step in the evolution of life is that mankind develops a space-based civilization, ultimately becoming a multi-planet species. I think that is incredibly important that humanity is out there exploring the Solar System, and that we have a self-sustaining base on Mars.

But we weren't really making progress in rocket technology, and the United States has no ability to send astronauts into Earth orbit, at least until our spacecraft comes online in a few years. That's a pretty negative trajectory, so I started SpaceX to try to reverse that trend.

It's important that we reinvigorate interest in space. The interest of the public has been lost in recent years, because we haven't been pushing the frontier of space flight, particularly human space flight. We need to do things that are exciting and push the boundaries of technology, and then we will get public interest again.

[Graeme]

The 100-year Starship project that plans to transport humans beyond the solar system

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A') dramatic plan to transport humans beyond the solar system within 100 years today received the backing of former President Bill Clinton.
The 100-year Starship project, which was set up with US military seed funding, plans to develop huge 'starships' to send humans far into space.
Next week it will meet to discuss the plans and begin the huge task.

It has already received large amounts of funding, and former President Bill Clinton has even stepped in to serve as the symposium's Honorary Chair.
In a statement, Clinton said: 'This important effort helps advance the knowledge and technologies required to explore space, all while generating the necessary tools that enhance our quality of life on earth.'

The astronuat who became the first black woman in space in 1992 has been chosen to skipper the '100 Year Starship' project.
Mae Jemison will lead the project to explore what it would take for a multigenerational mission beyond the solar system.

'The 100 Year Starship will make the capability of human travel beyond our solar system to another star a reality over the next 100 years,' she said.

[sparky]

All this space talk is rubbish , the only tech available is the chemical rocketry
for human crewed spaceships , that would get us in orbit around Mars at the most
no landing and take off , that's way too hard

Any space exploration need a fundamental breaktrough in basic physic then some severe design work on a suitable vehicle for faster than light (n) travel

No breakthrough , no space program , generationnal vehicle would cost a motza to assemble and the human on board would murder each other or /and go mad within a few years

[Keith_McClary]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Graeme', '[')url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2199247/The-100-year-Starship-project-plans-transport-humans-solar-system.html?ito=feeds-newsxml]dailymail[/url]

[Lore]

You'd be surprised what a few trillion dollars of muchly needed earth bound capital could buy.

[vision-master]

The Myth (Heliocentrism, or heliocentricism).



Heliocentrism, or heliocentricism,[1] is the astronomical model in which the Earth and planets revolve around a relatively stationary Sun at the center of the Solar System.

It was not until the 16th century that a fully predictive mathematical model of a heliocentric system was presented, by the Renaissance mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic cleric Nicolaus Copernicus of Poland, leading to the Copernican Revolution. In the following century, Johannes Kepler elaborated upon and expanded this model to include elliptical orbits, and supporting observations made using a telescope were presented by Galileo Galilei.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliocentrism

Helical solar system.......


As of 2010 the concept that the entire Solar System moves in a vortex trajectory like a snake moving in 3 dimensions (the 'Solar Snake') instead of a flat plane is not the way it is being taught in our schools. (In fact, in some schools they are still arguing Creationism v Evolution, as if this is even an argument).

As the "Solar Snake" moves either above or below the Galactic Ecliptic (about 26,000 years), it produces the illusion of the 'precession of the equinoxes' or what is described as a wobble in the Earth's polar axis. (At least this is how it appears from the 'Accessible' perspective of Earth's inhabitants, or 'Lower Dimension', than when viewed from outside the Solar System, or the 'Remote' viewpoint from a 'Higher Dimension').

The 'Solar Snake' is creating the so-called wobble due to it's vortical trajectory above and below the Galactic Ecliptic. The Ancients, including but not limited to the Maya, Inca, Egyptians, Indians, Indonesians and Native Americans, knew this and represented the Solar Force as Serpents or twin opposing serpents (twin opposing vortices).

[AgentR11]

I think you are simply getting frames of reference confused with something wild and mystical. If one sets a frame of reference at the sun, then the sun is in fact stationary in that frame of reference. If you set the frame at some arbitrary point outside of the motion of the bodies of the Milky Way; then in fact, the planets will trace a "vortex"'ish trajectory. There's nothing magical or mystical going on there; the sun is simply not a fixed in place object, nor is any celestial body fixed in place; its only when we apply a frame of reference to one body, that that one body becomes "stationary"; and from that point, all the observable motion of the other bodies can be characterized.

Place it at the sun, planets orbit the sun on elliptical paths; place it outside the general motion of our arm of the Milky Way; the planets will trace a vortex'ish path through space.