Category Archives: Space

Mars One Plans To Create A Human Settlement On Mars By 2023

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Posted by on in Anything Goes, Space
Artist impression of a Mars settlement with cu...

Artist impression of a Mars settlement with cutaway view (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The idea of humans to colonize Mars by 2023 is so extraordinary that it scares me.  It scares me that this idea will fail terribly!  It scares me that hope will be crushed and space programs will go into a withdrawal.  Nonetheless, it’s a noble idea and an idea that has no parallel so far.  Of course, there are ideas that even more absurd than to colonize Mars, but those ideas are so absurd that there little to no opportunity for such ideas to be fully realized.  Colonizing Mars though is a different story as Mars One seems to have a plan for how to colonizing Mars in 2023.

Mars One is a project which will start sending first 4 humans (astronauts) to colonize Mars in 2023.  This is one way mission or one way ticket, because whoever arrives on Mars through Mars One project will not plan to get back home (earth).  Nonetheless, should Mars One train the first 4 astronauts the basic knowledge of science in making the right equipments and spacecrafts so they might use such knowledge to improvise their way home – in the case of homesickness?  Sorry for the digression.  Every two year after the first Mars One Mars landing, a new group of humans would join the Mars One settlement on Mars.

Mars One plans to make this idea a reality in a big way.  How big?  As in very big entertainment!  It’s unclear though how Mars One will entertain the world with their missions!!!  Will Mars One allow people to see real preparations for human settlement on Mars through videos and images?  Will Mars One create a TV reality around their missions?  (The baddest reality TV show on earth, ever!!!)  Will Mars One do what to entice people about Mars One human settlement on Mars?

Set the hypes about Mars One aside, I think in the end, it matters most that humans can colonize Mars.  To colonize Mars isn’t something we just wake up and say let do it.  I think colonizing Mars is a lot more difficult than anything else we have done with space programs in the pasts.  Imagine how lonely it will be for the first few groups of humans to settle on Mars.  The Mars One settlement will grow at a slow pace, and the loneliness of living on Mars will continue to grow for the Mars One settlers.  Living on Mars might require Mars One settlers to be extra careful in their daily activities.  It’s not like they can breath without proper equipments on Mars.  Without enough knowledge to repair and remake proper equipments and tools, Mars One settlers might be stranded on Mars.  To be stranded on Mars is not the same as to live on Mars.  So on and so on…

Enough with my rant since I don’t know much about Mars One anyway.  My little knowledge of Mars One was acquired through watching the video right after the break, so you go ahead and enjoy the video!!!  I was very much enjoyed the video myself!!!

Afterthought:  I’m so glad that they are planning to colonize Mars in my lifetime.  I don’t really have to read science fiction books and dream for the coming of such a day/event.  Even if Mars One mission will fail, I think it’s one of the noblest adventures, explorations, experimentations, and ideas that humankind has ever attempted.  Mars One might be a stepping stone for even greater aspirations and achievements to come.  After all, we do not have an insurance for earth, and earthlings are too eager to destroy it — therefore we need to know how to colonize other planets in a hurry.

Source:  http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/upshot/mars-one-one-way-ticket-red-planet-192011042.html

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Mars Images App Allows You To See Latest Mars Pictures From Opportunity Rover

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Posted by on in Anything Goes, Apple, Internet, Mobile, Space

According to Wired, NASA has released a new app for iPhone and iPad, allowing iOS users to receive latest Mars images directly from NASA’s Opportunity rover.  How directly?  I’m not sure!  Nonetheless, I think this app will be able to excite science geeks.  Unfortunately, the amazing sturdy Opportunity rover (launched in 2003 and made to Mars in 2004) could not send images in color, or else I would be just excited as those science geeks.  I know, I’m asking too much, but it’s a perspective from a non-science geek anyway!  So, the next time you ponder on what is up with Mars, you can always pull out Mars Images app and check out some Mars photos.  Don’t forget to pray for Opportunity rover’s long life, OK?  For your information, Mars Images app can be found on Apple App Store for iPhone and iPad.

Source:  http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/01/mars-photos-app/

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An Alien Station On Mars?

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Posted by on in Anything Goes, Space

David Martines, a YouTube user, had used Google Mars to find a shape of something that wasn’t typically identifiable with normal things such as rocks, and he suggested that the thing he found on Google Mars could be something made by someone, whether that was made by aliens or us humans.  Google Mars is something similar to Google Earth, but it’s for Mars.  I’m quoting Wikipedia’s exact text on Google Mars:

Google Mars was at first an in-browser version of Google Maps which provides a visible imagery view, like Google Moon, as well as infrared imagery and shaded relief (elevation) of the planet Mars. Users can toggle between the elevation, visible, and infrared data, in the same manner as switching between map, satellite, and hybrid modes of Google Maps. In collaboration with NASA scientists at the Mars Space Flight Facility located at Arizona State University, Google Mars provided the public with data collected from two NASA Mars missions, Mars Global Surveyor and 2001 Mars Odyssey.

David Martines called the thing as Bio Station Alpha.  The video below shows David Martines’s discovery of a strange object on Mars through the use of Google Mars.

Update:  Unfortunately, the video had been removed by this YouTube user!

Sources:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110606/us_yblog_thelookout/armchair-astronaut-mars-video-goes-viral, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Mars

NASA’s New Toy Needs No Moving Part To Cool Massive Heat Conducive Devices

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Posted by on in Anything Goes, Space

There are good reasons why tax payers need to fund NASA generously each year.  Usually, the things NASA researches and explores with may not have immediate impact to our daily lives, but soon or later something from NASA will seep into society in a big and positive way!  One perfect example was one of those earliest versions of microchip was developed by Texas Instrument, but the the project was funded by NASA for space program — this unique circumstance was eventually gave birth to modern microchips that we’re using today.  Some people even mention that mobile phone was made possible by NASA!  So, when NASA has announced that it has a working prototype of a cooling system with no moving part that is slim and small as a human finger but yet withstanding extreme heat, some of us probably are amazed but not totally surprised by NASA’s new toy.

This new toy of NASA is known as electrohydrodynamic (EHD) pump, but it does not really relying on any moving part to pump the heat away from certain mechanical devices.  Instead, the pump relies on electric field to work its magic.  To tell the truth, it’s hard to understand how it really works, but NASA isn’t joking about their new toy’s potential.  In fact, NASA is aiming to ever improve EHD technology.  You never know NASA may one day be able to shrink the size of their new toy as small as a grain of sand, and then use variant of it to cool tons of heat from ever heat conducive, small computing devices.  Perhaps, we can use EHD technology to create portable airconditioning such as clothes that channel heat away from humans’ bodies during a super hot summer day.  I don’t know, but it seems this technology has huge potential to me.  In fact, I think everyone is seeing the same thing!  How about you?

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