Russia Helping South Korea Gain It's Space Legs

In a sign of international cooperation, it seems as if Russia is helping the Korean democracy launch its first astronaut into space. Since South Korea lacks the technology to successfully put a man into space, they are hiring out the Russians to do it for them, all the while taking their first baby step towards the stars.

(Space Travel) Russia will sign a contract with South Korea December 7 to launch the East Asian country's first astronaut on board a Russian carrier rocket in 2008, the Federal Space Agency said Wednesday. The number of hopefuls to become South Korea's first ever astronaut has dropped from 36,000 to 30. The final candidate and one reserve will be selected soon. [...]

"The project has the South Korean president's special support, and will serve to strengthen relations between Russia and South Korea," Panarin said, adding the project was 100% financed by Seoul.

Although science fiction writers often portray space as dominated by western ideals, with South Korea's entry space may become more Asian in appearance. The Korean democracy probably does not want to get left behind as the major space powers grab their share of resources above, and probably wants to slice out a pie for themselves.

Putting their first astronaut into orbit should help fuel the space passion for that little penisula, and perhaps help ease the tension between the two Korea's (as they are virtually brothers).

Note: With both China and South Korea sending up humans in space, where is Japan in all of this?

China Prepares First Phase For Lunar Encounter

The red dragon of the east is preparing to launch Chang'e I lunar orbiter in 2007, which will study the moon's surface and help Earth's citizens understand a little more about their lunar neighbor.

(MSNBC) Among several tasks, the orbiter will provide 3D images of the moon’s surface, chart elements on the moon, measure the thickness of the lunar soil, as well as monitor the space environment between the moon and Earth. [...]

The moon orbiter is to be followed in later years by a remote-controlled lunar rover that would perform experiments and send data back to Earth. In the third phase, an automated probe will be dispatched to the Moon that carries drilling gear to dig up lunar samples for return to Earth.

Although they have not clearly specified, China is probably preparing to establish colonies on the lunar surface, in order to take advantage of the resources within the soil.

Despite have a budget that is puny compared to NASA's, China seems to be a lot more aggressive when it comes to space. What gives?

Video: LiftPort Ballon Test (Via LiftPort Energy?)

Apparently it seems that LiftPort conducted a balloon test earlier this month and one of their employee's from LiftPort Energy has posted a video of the test on YouTube (which you can view below).

There is not much information about the test, although the user who posted the video is promising a follow up (hopefully with more explanation of what is going on).

Note: Perhaps Karl might be able to shed some light on this video.

Should We Build Lunar Telescopes?

With NASA committing to return back to the moon, some scientists and engineers are considering building telescopes on the lunar surface for a clearer view of the universe.

(MSNBC) This week at a workshop entitled "Astrophysics Enabled by the Return to the Moon" at the Space Telescope Science Institute here, astrophysicists are discussing such moon plans, including the idea of setting up telescopes on the lunar surface.

"The main purpose is to really for the first time in many years have a very diverse group of astrophysicists come together and talk about whether it makes sense to do astrophysics from the moon now that we've got NASA committed to sending people there and putting up infrastructure there," said Laurie Leshin, Director of Sciences and Exploration at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

A lunar telescope would have several advantages over its Earthen brethren, mainly being able to view the cosmos without the filter of an atmosphere. Larger telescopes could also be built due the moon's gravity being one-sixth's of Earth.

Unfortunately the lack of an atmosphere can be dangerous, as virtually anything falling from space can easily destroy these telescopes without proper shielding. Dust will also be a major problem if humans are operating the telescope, although NASA (or a private space company) is probably working on resolving both of these issues.

Road Map To Mars: Buzz Aldrin To The Rescue

(Hat Tip: What on Mars?)

Proverbs 29:18a- Where there is no vision, the people perish...

The president and founder of the Mars Society, Robert Zubrin, has recently released a DVD detailing how humanity can send the first astronaut towards Mars by 2018.

Despite the plan being very ambitious, there was no detailed road map explaining the needed steps on visiting Mars, an important detail if one desires to attract investors. The plan also seemed a little "accelerated," something Brian from LiftPort made note of previously.

Although Dr. Zubrin does not provide a road map for exploring Mars, Buzz Aldrin seems to have filled in the gap. Despite presenting this blueprint last year, his approach makes more sense logically, although he does push back the Mars time frame to 2030.

(Popular Mechanics) My blueprint for manned travel to Mars, based on reusable spacecraft that continuously cycle between Earth and Mars in permanent orbits, requires much less energy over the long term. Once in place, a system of cycling spacecraft, with its dependable schedule and low sustaining cost, would open the door for routine travel to Mars and a permanent human presence on the red planet. Its long-term economic advantages make it less susceptible to cancellation by congressional or presidential whim. In effect, this system would go a long way toward politician-proofing the Mars program.

The key advantage of a permanently orbiting spacecraft, or Cycler, is that it must be accelerated only once. After its initial boost into a solar orbit swinging by both Mars and Earth, the Cycler coasts along through space on its own momentum, with only occasional nudges of thrust needed to stay on track. This dramatically reduces the total energy required for a Mars mission. Because conventional chemical rockets are so thirsty--the mass of the Apollo 11 craft that carried us to the moon was more than 90 percent fuel on takeoff--every pound saved pays a huge dividend in the form of less propellant and smaller, cheaper boosters.

What makes Buzz's plan realistic is the fact that it incorporates returning to the moon first by 2018, something humanity can easily muster within the next decade. He also promotes the idea of building factories on the lunar surface, and using the moon to help assemble the next generation of space ships, making it easier to launch towards Mars.

For those who lack the time to read all six pages of his explanation, he does provide a quick visual road map (pdf) which helps envision the whole project while putting everything in perspective.

Video: The Case For Mars

(Hat Tip: The Mars Society)

Robert Zubrin, founder of the Mars Society has produced a DVD highlighting the case for Mars and envisions the first settlement being established by 2018 (note: is it me or is that date somehow familiar?).

You can watch the video below, although you can also check it out over on The Mars Underground web site.

Although he makes an interesting case for settlement of Mars within the next ten years, his organization does not seem to be brave enough to produce a road map highlighting the journey towards the red planet.

Many people have debated whether we should skip the Moon and heads towards Mars, or to colonize our lunar neighbor first. Although settling on Mars (within our lifetime) would be a step forward for our species, simply going without "beta testing" on the moon would be disastrous.

It would only take one serious problem on Mars to end human exploration beyond Earth's orbit, as the public would probably lose heart watching their own die on a world millions of miles away.

The Moon, however would provide a more fitting choice, as it would prepare for the eventual leap towards Mars, allowing us to colonize the planet for the long term.

India Seeking Life On Mars

India is considering launching an unmanned probe on the Martian surface to see whether or not life really does exist on the red planet.

(Mars Daily) Indian space scientists plan to send an unmanned mission to Mars by 2013 to look for evidence of life, a news report said on Sunday. The six-to-eight-month mission, likely to be launched in the next seven years, would cost three billion rupees (67 million dollars), the Hindustan Times reported.

"Mars is emerging on our horizon. The geo-stationary launch vehicle can take a payload to Mars and our Deep Space Network can track it all the way," G. Madhavan Nair, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), told the newspaper.

India is already becoming very active within the space field, as they are already preparing to visit the Moon (although they only intend to do this via robots). Searching for life on Mars will probably raise India's global status as a major space player, although such a search may be futile as Martian soil is not friendly towards life.