Space Travel – Lifeboat News: The Blog

Jan 4
2023

NASA Designs Near Light Speed Engine That Breaks Laws Of Physics

An engine idea that can accelerate to 99 percent of the speed of light, all without the need for propellant. That may sound like something out of a science fiction movie, but it’s not. This is exactly what one of NASA engineers is developing, and it promises to break the law of physics.

How will these engines be developed? If it is going to work without propellant, then what will be its fuel? And most importantly, will a human be able to travel in a vehicle with such an engine as its thruster? Well, we will find out in just a second.

Jan 4
2023

Playing all the angles: A high-contrast grating structure for direction-tunable lasing

Lasers find applications across several fields ranging from telecommunications and remote sensing to medicine. There are many ways in which one can generate laser emission, or lasing, from a device or material. Consequently, there are many types of lasers with different principles of operation.

One emerging and promising method to achieve lasing with high energy efficiency is by leveraging what are known as “bound states in the continuum” (BICs). In simple terms, these states describe waves that remain highly localized in space but coexist with a continuous spectrum of waves that are not localized (traveling waves). When dealing with light, an electromagnetic wave, BICs can be realized by carefully designing the geometry of a confining periodic structure.

Although scientists have already reported a few types of BIC-based lasers, most of them can only emit a beam in a perfectly or almost perfectly vertical direction away from the surface of the device. This limitation hinders the use of such BIC lasers in applications where angling the emitted beam is necessary.

Jan 4
2023

SpaceX Could Help Bring Back 3 Astronauts Stranded on the ISS

NASA may turn to its commercial partner SpaceX to transport three astronauts back to Earth after a Russian Soyuz spacecraft suffered a coolant leak in mid-December.

In a blog post published on Friday, NASA said that it “reached out to SpaceX about its capability to return additional crew members aboard Dragon if needed in an emergency.” At the moment, NASA is investigating whether or not the Soyuz spacecraft would still be capable of carrying astronauts on the trip back from the International Space Station, the space agency added.

Jan 2
2023

Watch: NASA caught a rare clip of Earth disappearing behind the Moon

NASA published a video from its Artemis I Orion spacecraft, when it saw Earth disappear behind the Moon at the halfway point of its mission.

Jan 2
2023

Dream Chaser: Hypersonic spaceplane will feature a building-sized inflatable space habitat

The spaceplane that will carry passengers to the “space business park” features its own inflatable space habitat.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ space company, Blue Origin, has been hard at work alongside Colorado-based startup Sierra Space on the Orbital Reef project.

The two companies behind the project recently blasted a module prototype for the station to pieces as part of an ongoing test campaign.

Jan 2
2023

Space race: NASA chief warns that China could claim territory on the Moon

There is growing concern over China’s Moon ambitions.

The race to the Moon between the United States and China is becoming increasingly fierce, and the next two years could determine who wins. During an interview with Politico.

Wikimedia Commons.

During an interview with Politico, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson warned that if China were to win the space race, it may establish territory on the Moon and dominate the areas rich in minerals and other resources or even block other countries from making a lunar journey.

Dec 31
2022

Solar power can offer a superior alternative to nuclear fission for generating oxygen on the moon

NASA’s unmanned Artemis mission to the moon was a small step toward the ultimate goal of sending humans to Mars and beyond.

The second goal was to figure out how to settle and exploit the resources of the moon for research teams by the middle of the following decade.

Dec 31
2022

Journey to The Edge of The Universe

Neil deGrasse Tyson explains in great detail how our universe came to be. And whether it has a center.
Neil deGrasse Tyson also explains what it would mean to be on the “edge” of the universe.

Brian Greene also chimes in on important concepts about the universe such as the ultimate speed limit which is the speed of light in a vacuum.

Michio Kaku then explains that a type 3 civilization using warp drives could travel to the “edge” of the universe.

Brian Cox also encapsulates our advancement in science for the last 500 years and what it means for humanity.

#science #universe #space

Dec 29
2022

NASA ponders SpaceX astronaut rescue as backup after Soyuz leak: report

Three crew members that may be stuck on the International Space Station could have the chance to return home on a SpaceX Dragon, if the option is required, a report suggests.

Dec 28
2022

Successful hypothermia in nonhuman primate paves the way for future application in human torpor during spaceflight

Hibernation is a state adopted by certain mammals as an adaptation to adverse winter conditions. Typical features of hibernation include greatly reduced metabolic activity and lowered body temperature.

As warm-blooded animals, primates (except lemurs) do not naturally hibernate or even experience torpor. But can we manipulate the body temperature of primates and make them fall into a hypometabolic state or even artificial hibernation?

A research team led by Dr. Wang Hong and Dr. Dai Ji from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has recently reported the first reliable hypothermia in nonhuman primates caused by activating a group of hypothalamic neurons.