Moon Society: What About Lunar, Martian Railroads?

Probably one of the few organizations out there that may live to see their world conquered within "its lifetime," the Moon Society is proposing that future Lunar (and Martian) transportation might have revisit the same technology that helped America conquer the wild west.

(Moon Society Blog) On the Moon and Mars, we aren't going to find building materials that we can "throw together" to provide shelter from the cosmic elements. We will need pressurized structures. Pressurized modules made in a first quickly industrializing settlement can be shipped by the railroads to points along the route to provide the nucleus of new settlements. Pressurized modules have to be handled with care. Try to haul them overland on unimproved roads and the stresses of bouncing around are going to compromise seals and maybe open cracks. Rails on the other hand will provide a smooth low-friction ride to a prepared siding complex where they can be dropped off and docked with one another to provide an instant starter outpost. [...]

Why take the train when we can fly on Mars? I do believe that we can, but I also think that aviation on Mars will be uncomfortably pushing the envelop and that because of that, it may be risky for some time. [...]

Another thing I have never heard a Mars aviation fan (other than myself) concede is that the equivalent of 125,000 feet on Earth only describes the situation in spring and fall when much of the polar carbon dioxide snow over both polar caps is vaporized. As we go into either summer or winter, a significant part of the atmosphere, as much as 30%, will freeze out over one or the other poles. If Mars flight is possible only seasonally, it will not become the backbone of transportation on Mars.

Rails may provide a more "realistic solution" to conquering both the red planet (as well as the Moon), although they will probably have to be enclosed (or underground like a subway) in order to keep Martian and Lunar dust from setting on the rails via static electricity.

While there are many space organizations promoting their "topic of concern," the Moon Society is one of the few that actively promotes and/or includes ideals from other groups, even when it is not within their total best interest.

Note: Currently the Moon Society is looking for a "few good space geeks" to help them work out the nuts and bolts (no pun intended) of building these off world rails. Interested users can join their Google Group forum in order to submit their ideas.

Florida Offering $40 Million Prize To Space Industry?

(Image Credit: Earth Ethics Institute)

Despite the fact the Sunshine State has already "cornered the space market," Florida is looking to attract even more space companies in order to secure its dominance as the space titan of America.

(Spaceports Blog) Two Florida state legislators have offered identical Senate and House bills to create a "Resuable Space Industry Prize Program" funded by a proposed $40-million dollar prize "to the firm or individual in the private space sector providing the most significant advancements within the reusable space vehicle industry during the period beginning January 1, 2009 and ending January 1, 2014."

Although other states such as Virginia and New Mexico are also actively courting the space industry, few may be able to match Florida's offer.

With the space shuttle scheduled to retire in a few years, Floridian politicians are probably trying to find ways to keep their engineers, scientists and astronauts from considering migrating towards greener pastures.

Carnival Of The Space Geeks (When Mars Attacks)

Phil from Bad Astronomy hosted yesterday's Carnival of Space, which oddly had many articles mention our favorite red planet, Mars.

Several posts ranged from Martian avalanches to women on Mars (or at least driving rovers) to even whether or not water actually existed on Mars in liquid form in the past.

A few articles did catch this authors attention, such as:

• Brian Wang of Next Big Future reports on large sheets of Carbon Nanotubes being produced, which is good news for Space Elevator and Solar Sail fans.


• Nancy Atkinson writes on Universe Today about sending someone on a one way ticket to the red planet. Any volunteers?


• Ian O'Neill from AsteroEngine talks about creating an early warning system against solar storms (a priority if we are to ever colonize Mars).

While not mentioned in the Carnival, I would like to inform readers that Dan Schrimpsher of Space Pragmatism has a new domain over at SpacePragmatism.net (background story over here) so be sure to update your bookmarks and share the link love.

For those of you wishing to join in on the space based carnival fun, you can visit Universe Today for more details, as we are always looking for more writers to add to our ranks.

Radiation Safe Worlds

Of the 83 colony worlds that dance and prance around our golden star, only six worlds (excluding our home planet) hold the potential of being future homes, nine if you include Mercury, Pluto and Charon.

Despite the fact that future technology could eventually open up all of these worlds for human habitation, only a few of them may attract "the masses" after the first person sets foot upon their dusty soil due to the "evil R word"--radiation.

Contrary to the various rumors, taking heavy doses of radiation does not turn one into the Hulk, one of the members of the Fantastic Four or Spider Man via a radioactive spider bite.

Radiation, whether cosmic or solar has the potential of seriously roasting you alive, if not turning one into a vegetable.

Even though humans can tolerate "various degrees" of radiation, our bodies seem to be quite content with the level of background radiation our species receives on planet Earth, which is about 0.35 REM's (aka Roentgen Equivalent Man) a year.

Higher doses of radiation can prove to be fatal towards future colonies, and some researchers do not recommend levels above 50 REM within a year or 25 REM during a 30 day period as it can lead towards some serious side affects (as highlighted in the chart below).

While radiation can be countered by using water, lead and aluminum, parents may be hesitant to breed upon foreign planets and moons (let alone raise kids upon them) if it will result in their children acquiring serious birth defects.

In order to determine which worlds are "family friendly," one only has to look at how much radiation a world receives to determine whether or not it is suitable for large populations or should be left alone for industrial space companies.

Starting out with Mars, one often dreams about metropolises dotting the surface of that crimson sphere. While Mars may hold much promise for future colonies, its annual dose of 15-20 REM may give some settlers second thoughts.

While future Martians may be able to combat the threat of radiation by building cities within its lumpy magnetic field, the red planet as a whole may not spawn dense cities until a globe sized artificial magnetic field can be constructed.

Moving outward to the Jovian system future space settlers may find more fortune living on Jupiter's moon Callisto. Orbiting just outside of its angry parents radiation belt, Callisto receives approximately 0.01 REM a day (or about 3.65 REM a year).

Coupled with its prime location in the outer solar system, Callisto may outpace its Martian rivals population wise, and may be second only to Earth as far as future inhabitants go.

Unfortunately Jupiter's other lunar daughters do not fare as well as Callisto, with all three of these worlds (Ganymede, Europe, Io) bathed in Jupiter's harsh radiation belt, putting them at a disadvantage compared to their much colder, "uglier" sister.





Traveling further outward towards Saturn, one may find it strange that humans may call the smog world of Titan home sweet home. While its surface may be hidden from the human eye, its atmosphere may be thick enough to protect residents from both solar rays as well as Saturn's radiation belts.

Even though there are other worlds such as Luna (aka Earth's moon), Ceres, and even Ganymede that may eventually be civilized by our ever growing race, these worlds may not conquered right away due to the "invisible killer" lurking in the shadows.

While it would not be surprising to see scientists and industrial corporations setting up shop on these hostile worlds, the bulk of humanity may choose to remain on these radiation safe worlds until over population forces them to conquer these overlooked spheres roaming silently among the stars.

Video: Why Romania May Win The Google Lunar X-Prize

With almost a dozen teams competing for Google's Lunar X-Prize, one would probably expect a team located within a major space power to dominate this international space race.

While a few teams are presenting innovative ways of landing on the Moon, most have yet to figure out how to leave their home planet without going broke.

Ironically their seems to be only one team that has created an inexpensive way of sending their "little rover" beyond our sky--and the fact that this team is located in Romania may humble competing teams in both the US and Canada.

(Arca Space) HAAS is an innovative air-launched, 3 stages orbital rocket, preliminary designed in 2006 using the technology developed at ARCA during The Ansari X Prize Competition and The European Private Manned Space Program. The rocket was named after Conrad Haas* (1509-1579) Austrian-Romanian medieval rocket pioneer, the first creator of multiple stages rockets. [...]

The HAAS rocket will be lifted at 18.000m altitude with the help of a 2.000.000 m3 Solar Montgolfier balloon.

While this "balloon rocket launch" may not be fit for humans, it may enable colonists to cheaply send supplies to the surface of the Moon, ensuring that our future lunar citizens do not starve to death.

Note: Even though the "solar volley ball" may not be suitable for lunar colonists in the future, it will probably have enough fuel to win the $30 million prize from Google, not to mention securing Romania's place in the history books.

Senate Uneasy About NASA Outsourcing To Russians

With the space shuttle retirement on the horizon, NASA has shifted its focus on not only returning to the Moon, but also on delegating transportation to and from the International Space Station (or ISS) to the Russians.

Unfortunately it seems that many Senators are not as comfortable with working with their former foe, especially with tensions heating up between the US and the former Soviet Union.

(Government Executive) Senate Commerce Space Subcommittee Chairman Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Sen. David Vitter, R-La., trained their sights on what they portrayed as a high-risk reliance on a partner whose ambitions might run counter to U.S. foreign policy goals. [...]

In the meantime, Nelson said, "there is a realistic political monkey wrench" that could complicate any deal. He said current law forbids any U.S. contract payments to Russia if it continues to support the Iranian nuclear development program, unless the White House requests a waiver and Congress grants it.

Even though NASA is confident in its relationship with the Russians, they need to develop a "plan B" just in case America chooses not to issue future waivers (which would hurt NASA, or at least cripple the ISS).

While NASA has made serious attempts at courting the private sector (especially SpaceX), they may need to take more aggressive measures if they want to convince congress of their future relevance.

Carnival Of The Space Geeks (43rd Edition)

Ethan Siegel hosted the 43^rd carnival of space over at Starts With A Bang! which featured over 20 excellent posts with an Oscar theme twist.

Entertaining articles included solar flares, finding exo-solar rocky worlds, a man who wants to fund his own lunar trip and a play about Galileo and his daughter?

A few interesting articles that stood out were:

• Brian Wang of Next Big Future highlights lunar trucks and mining rovers that NASA may be considering (note: I guess gold is the new black).


• The Fool over at New Frontiers has an update about Spaceport America, which will probably attract thousands just from the look alone.


• Shrubber (the NewSpace's favorite skeptic) is painting another scary image of NASA. Hopefully the problem is not as serious as it seems, as it could easily result in the death of human space flight, especially if Obama becomes president.


• Pamela and Fraser discuss over at Astronomy Cast where the center of the Universe is located, which may disappoint some politicians (in both parties).

Next weeks Carnival of Space is quickly coming up, and if would like to see your article highlighted across the blogosphere (or at least within the space community) then you might want to check out Universe Today for details on how you can join in on the fun.