Starship Stories: We Have Heard This Before

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The Starship rocket launching on its fourth flight test in Boca Chica, TX. (SpaceX)

The other week, Elon Musk said he was planning to send five uncrewed Starship rockets to Mars in two years, followed by manned flights after that. Why the sudden announcement? It was not clear, but he does have money to burn and also a desire for attention.

In his Twitter/X posting, he said:

SpaceX plans to launch about five uncrewed Starships to Mars in two years.

If those all land safely, then crewed missions are possible in four years. If we encounter challenges, then the crewed missions will be postponed another two years.

Of course, he has yet to prove that the Starship is ready for assist NASA with the Artemis mission to place astronauts on the Moon. The rocket is getting better with every test, but the Starship problems are likely to delay the entire lunar mission. Yet he is already eyeing Mars?

If you read the full post, it appears he is using the Starship announcement to poke at California and Kamala Harris. He also seems to be ready to blame everyone but himself if he cannot meet his self-imposed Mars timetable.

One might ask if Mr. Musk has any idea where his Starship astronauts will be staying under this timetable. I have not heard of any great plans to build the necessary infrastructure to host a colony on the surface of Mars. Does he have a plan?

Mr. Musk had enormous problems meeting his proposed deadline for a Tesla pickup truck here on Earth, and the truck he eventually rolled out has has been less than a stellar vehicle given the hype. So any timetable on a Mars mission seems like mere fantasy at this point.

By the way, if Mr. Musk is so interested in protecting Earthlings from a dangerous future, he already has the ability to tamp down the rage and hate on Twitter/X and cease his calls for civil wars.

It is already in his power to make the Earth a better place to live while we plan for Mars. He just doesn’t seem to be all that interested.

Space Stories: Mars MAVEN Hits 10 Years, a Martian Algorithm Helps Earth, and Enormous Black Hole Jets

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Artist’s rendering of the MAVEN spacecraft above Mars. (NASA)

Here are some recent stories of interest.

—NASA: “Celebrating 10 Years at Mars with NASA’s MAVEN Mission“

A decade ago, on Sept. 21, 2014, NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmospheric and Volatile EvolutioN) spacecraft entered orbit around Mars, beginning its ongoing exploration of the Red Planet’s upper atmosphere. The mission has produced a wealth of data about how Mars’ atmosphere responds to the Sun and solar wind, and how these interactions can explain the loss of the Martian atmosphere to space. Today, MAVEN continues to make exciting new discoveries about the Red Planet that increase our understanding of how atmospheric evolution affected Mars’ climate and the previous presence of liquid water on its surface, potentially determining its prior habitability.

—Georgia Tech: “Award-Winning Algorithm Used on Mars Rover Helps Scientists on Earth See Data in a New Way“

A new algorithm tested on NASA’s Perseverance Rover on Mars may lead to better forecasting of hurricanes, wildfires, and other extreme weather events that impact millions globally. Georgia Tech Ph.D. student Austin P. Wright is first author of a paper that introduces Nested Fusion. The new algorithm improves scientists’ ability to search for past signs of life on the Martian surface. This innovation supports NASA’s Mars 2020 mission. In addition, scientists from other fields working with large, overlapping datasets can use Nested Fusion’s methods for their studies. Wright presented Nested Fusion at the 2024 International Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (KDD 2024) where it was a runner-up for the best paper award. KDD is widely considered the most prestigious conference for knowledge discovery and data mining research.

—Times of India: “23 Million Light-Years-Wide Black Hole Jets Discovered“

Astronomers have made a breathtaking revelation: The most massive discovered black hole jets, extending on to incredibly 23 million light-years. To look at it through that lens, that’s approximately the length of 140 Milky Way galaxies positioned in a straight line. The immense jets, named ‘Porphyrion’ after a  Greek giant, emerge from a supermassive black hole at the center of a faraway galaxy that was in existence when the universe was only 6.3 billion years old – – close to half its existing age of 13.8 billion years.

Do You Have Some Ideas for Lunar or Martian Art?

Posted on by onespaceman2000
mage (Credit): AI image of a Martian colony. (Yol Gezer from Pixabay)

Do you have some time on your hands? If so, you may want to toss in a submission to the Moon to Mars contest being held by NASA.

Starting this week through October 31, you can submit your artistic interpretation of two topics: “Sustained Lunar Evolution” and “Humans to Mars.” The artist with the best image can win $10,000.

In terms of two categories, more definition from NASA is provided below.

Sustained Lunar Evolution Segment: This segment is an open canvas for exploration of the Moon, embracing new ideas, systems, and partners to grow to a long-term presence on the lunar surface. Sustained lunar evolution means more astronauts on the Moon for longer periods of time, increased opportunities for science, and even the large-scale production of goods and services derived from lunar resources. It also means increased cooperation and collaboration with international partners and the aerospace industry to build a robust lunar economy.

Humans to Mars Segment: This segment will see the first human missions to Mars, building on the lessons we learn from exploring the Moon. These early missions will focus on Martian exploration and establishing the foundation for a sustained Mars presence. NASA architects are examining a wide variety of options for transportation, habitation, power generation, in-situ resource utilization, scientific investigations, and more. How many missions would it take? How many astronauts? What sorts of technologies?

You can learn more about the contest here.

Just in case you were wondering, AI art cannot be submitted. So don’t try to submit something like the image above, nice as it is.

Study Findings: Feasibility of Keeping Mars Warm with Nanoparticles

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Frost on Olympus Mons (,shaded in blue). (ESA/DLR/FU Berlin)

Science Advances abstract of the study findings:

One-third of Mars’ surface has shallow-buried H2O, but it is currently too cold for use by life. Proposals to warm Mars using greenhouse gases require a large mass of ingredients that are rare on Mars’ surface. However, we show here that artificial aerosols made from materials that are readily available at Mars—for example, conductive nanorods that are ~9 micrometers long—could warm Mars >5 × 103 time smore effectively than the best gases. Such nanoparticles forward-scatter sunlight and efficiently block upwelling thermal infrared. Like the natural dust of Mars, they are swept high into Mars’ atmosphere, allowing delivery from the near-surface. For a 10-year particle lifetime, two climate models indicate that sustained release at 30 liters per second would globally warm Mars by ≳30 kelvin and start to melt the ice. Therefore, if nanoparticles can be made at scale on (or delivered to) Mars, then the barrier to warming of Mars appears to be less high than previously thought.

Citation: Ansari S, Kite ES, Ramirez R, Steele LJ, Mohseni H, Feasibility of keeping Mars warm with nanoparticles, Science Advances, (2024).
10.1126/sciadv.adn4650

Study-related stories:

Space.com

Universe Today

Northwestern University

Space Quote: Vast Water Reserves May Exist Within Martian Crust

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Martian surface as captured by NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover (NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS)

“These new results demonstrate that liquid water does exist in the Martian subsurface today, not in the form of discrete and isolated lakes, but as liquid water-saturated sediments, or aquifers…On Earth, the subsurface biosphere is truly vast, containing most of the prokaryotic diversity and biomass on our planet. Some investigations even point to an origin of life on Earth precisely deep in the subsurface. Therefore, the astrobiological implications of finally confirming the existence of liquid water habitats kilometers beneath the surface of Mars are truly exciting.”

–Statement by Alberto Fairén, a visiting interdisciplinary planetary scientist and astrobiologist within the department of astronomy at Cornell University, regarding a recent study reporting vast quantities of water may reside between 7 and 12 miles beneath the Martian surface. The study utilized data from NASA’s InSight lander.