Space Discussion Thread

[TomaJo]

A group of scientists mapped out a plan to clean up the orbit.
Huge deposits of space debris can create problems for earthlings - especially when large objects collide, which can cause an "avalanche". As a result, the Internet can be disrupted on Earth. Also, under certain circumstances, debris can become a threat to navigation, climatic, geographic and other satellite systems.

A group of international scientists, which includes a professor at the Samara National Research University named after academician S.P. Koroleva Vladimir Aslanov, compiled a list of the most dangerous objects of space debris in Earth's orbit.
Huge deposits of space debris can create problems for earthlings - especially when large objects collide, which can cause an "avalanche". As a result, the Internet can be disrupted on Earth. Also, under certain circumstances, debris can become a threat to navigation, climatic, geographic and other satellite systems.

According to experts, today in orbit there are about 25 thousand previously launched large objects and millions of small particles - they fly at a tremendous speed, up to 15 kilometres per second. However, the participants in the scientific study have reduced the list of objects to the 50 most dangerous, which must be eliminated first. The point is to "tow" them to safe orbits using special equipment. Almost all of these heavy objects are old missile bodies. From the list of hazards, 37 have a weight of more than two tons.

Scientists note that it is necessary to start a global cleaning in space now. Moreover, this technique and technologies are actively developing in this direction.

 

[RDTech]

Its a shame i picked this thread to comment on after all this time, but I couldn't resist.

I consider myself relatively intelligent and somewhat educated. My Father, who did in 1993 after working for the US Air Force on programs like MOLE, DSP and many other surveillance programs always smiled when I was watching alien movies or some of the first documentaries. I wonder what he "really" did.

What I do know is that the single best way to scare away any and all EBT's or Aliens is simply a HD Camera. That's it. LOL

They are frightened of clear video or photos. Maybe they pick up near field "optics". the US Military has fun items that search out OPTICS / lenses in the field, that would include eyes, scopes and other passive detection devices

 

[TomaJo]

From the latest important news. NASA has selected a contractor to deliver 2 modules of the lunar complex into orbit. The contractor was SpaceX.
The modules will be delivered assembled.
The mission will take place no earlier than May 2024.

 

[RedCowboy]

Its a shame i picked this thread to comment on after all this time, but I couldn't resist.

I consider myself relatively intelligent and somewhat educated. My Father, who did in 1993 after working for the US Air Force on programs like MOLE, DSP and many other surveillance programs always smiled when I was watching alien movies or some of the first documentaries. I wonder what he "really" did.

What I do know is that the single best way to scare away any and all EBT's or Aliens is simply a HD Camera. That's it. LOL

They are frightened of clear video or photos. Maybe they pick up near field "optics". the US Military has fun items that search out OPTICS / lenses in the field, that would include eyes, scopes and other passive detection devices

You can sweep with an IR source ( modulated for electronic detectors ) and pinpoint the small amount any lens will reflect, like the way you can see a snipers scope when the sun is behind your position, but for finding humans you don't need to risk giving away your position by emitting anything, just peep out their heat signature with a FLIR device.....Now when robotic infantry is afoot I expect robotic battelfeild optics will have wide band AR coating and a sunguard to limit the angle you can detect an optic.

As for any ET visitors....they would have to be able to travel faster than the speed of light, so I hope we have really seen some ET's because that would mean it's possible.

 

[Ears and Eggs]

The problem with faster than light (FTL) being possible is that you'd expect that if even one alien civilization was capable of FTL travel that the whole galaxy would already be colonized. Don't know how we could miss something like that. Even with today's technology, you'd think a galaxy spanning civilization would leave something we could detect.


Even without FTL travel though, you can imagine robotic probes launched by a civilization only slightly more advance than us. Could hide way out in the Kuiper Belt or Oort cloud if they didn't want us to see them and we'd have no idea they are there. Would look no different to us than any piece of ice or rock debris out there. Then they could be sending small micro drones off the main craft to come into the inner solar system and observe earth.

 

[RedCowboy]

I don't know, there's an unimaginable amount of space, to colonize even a fraction of it could take a very long time......maybe the Earth all alone on our arm of a spiral galaxy is a remote colonization point, maybe we are a science project and your FTL automated probe concept is correct only the mother ship hiding at distance could also be automated, our creator is checking on our progress and with time dilation we could be moving at a blur compared to where out creator lives letting them conduct experiments here and get fast results by the creators standard.

 

[Ears and Eggs]

Interesting thought, could be that the patch of galaxy that we occupy just isn't that interesting resource wise to some super advanced FTL travelling civilization. Who knows what might be valuable to them. Like if black holes are some super advanced energy source. Everyone could naturally migrate to the galactic core like animals gathering at a watering hole and try to get as close to Sagittarius A* as possible. Time would be greatly distorted if they were in that close to Sagittarius A* and it's very hard for us to see into the galactic core so we could just be missing all the action.

 

[RedCowboy]

With our ability to render high quality CGI and even near perfect if not perfect deep fake images/video any " visitor " images wouldn't be guaranteed to prove anything, however I doubt our visitors care if we photograph them anyway, after all what the hell can we do about it ?
Unless our creator/owner has rights to us and a no interference policy then I can't see why they would care unless for some ethical reasoning ? Maybe there's a rule against interfering with developing worlds ?

Chances are we already know that off world visitors/probes have been here but can't do anything about it, we can't get a response from anyone as they know we are a long way away from reaching out, maybe one day when we have the ability to travel faster than light or simply stop being here and start being somewhere else, then we may be worth an introduction and be informed of their rules and cautions.

Being an advanced civilization I am dubious that any mineral or element would be worth coming here for, no I expect an advanced civilization would look in on us just like we look in on an ant farm, now if the ants got loose in the house and didn't listen to instructions such as stay in the farm or stay outside then......bye bye ants.

 

[paul1598419]

Faster than light travel is just a scheme for scifi producers to have a way of getting around in their stories. It is highly improbable that it could ever be done at all.

 

[TomaJo]

Faster than light travel is just a scheme for scifi producers to have a way of getting around in their stories. It is highly improbable that it could ever be done at all.

I think you are right. At the moment, rockets can travel at a speed of about 20 thousand miles per hour.
At the Princeton Laboratory, plasma physicists have received a version of the engine that can theoretically increase the speed of the rocket to 200 thousand miles per hour.
And it would be a fantastic achievement if this engine could be turned into reality.
Nevertheless, to reach the speed of light, this figure will need to be increased by more than 3000 times.
Travelling faster than the speed of light is physically impossible.

 

[RedCowboy]

That's the point, in order for the Earth to be visited by living beings from anywhere else FTL travel would have to be possible or those beings would have to come from somewhere close by or they would need to have a much longer lifespan than us and basically live on their vessel which would be extremely unlikely, never mind the insane logistics, much more likely would be sending a long range probe system.
Alpha Centuri is the closest star system to Earth @ 4.37 light-years, so at 25% light speed ( Xenon gases used by an ion drive system exit at 1/3 the speed of light ) it would mean somewhere on the order of a 35 year round trip ( estimate ) depending on accell/decel times for a probe to travel from Alpha Centuri to Earth and then back, never mind the energy needed or the mechanics or logistics, lets just look at the time involved, without the ability to send even a probe at FTL speeds we are separated from almost all of everything by time in excess of our individual lifespans, however if quantum communications can exceed light speed then once an entangled transceiver is placed at each end we could in theory communicate at FTL speed, but as for what we have seen in the way of visitors, without FTL travel I don't expect we would see anything alive........now we could have found a vessel crashed to Earth that contained the remnants of alien life, something that could have been adrift in space for centuries or longer, but I expect without FTL we will see no living LGM.

 

[TomaJo]

It would probably be great to have a universal way of communicating at the speed of light. But, even this would not guarantee us the opportunity to communicate with extraterrestrial civilizations. Since they really can be at such distances (if they, of course, exist) that are inaccessible for our lifetime.
Now we cannot even instantly communicate with each other on our planet. Although many companies are trying very hard.
I wonder how much satellites could help in achieving fast interplanetary (at least) communication?

 

[TomaJo]

A new report from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine indicated that NASA would need to implement an aggressive and urgent nuclear technology program for a human flight to Mars in 2039.

In this regard, the agency will have to commit itself to carry out an extensive and objective assessment of the merits and problems of using various types of space nuclear propulsion systems and make significant investments in related technologies within a year. The report also outlines the need for subsystems, system prototypes, ground testing and cargo missions as a means of flight qualifications to transition to manned operation. The report refers to the need to create more powerful propulsion and power plants to the main fundamental problem of deep space flights.

It can also be noted that, according to the report, quite traditional systems are now being considered in the United States, which are associated with the use of either thermal or power propulsion systems.

 

[ArcticDude]

NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover gonna land in few days (18th Feb)

Landing Toolkit: Perseverance Rover - NASA

One-stop shopping for everything you need to know about the upcoming landing of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover.

mars.nasa.gov

Watch the Feb. 18 Landing Broadcast
Show starts at 11:15 a.m. PST / 2:15 p.m. EST / 19:15 UTC

Watch Online: TV Schedule - NASA

TV schedule, upcoming program information about NASA's Mars Perseverance rover.

mars.nasa.gov

 

[TomaJo]

Also recently, two more probes have entered Mars orbit.
The United Arab Emirates launched the Hope probe. It will stay in orbit and study its atmosphere for one complete Martian year (687 Earth days).
China's Tianwen-1 mission also entered orbit this month and will begin scouting the potential landing site for its Mars rover, due to be deployed in May.

If successful, China will become the second country to land a rover on Mars.

 

[ArcticDude]

Perseverance rover in 3D +(infos)

Learn About the Rover - NASA

Zoom in, rotate or mouse over a 3D interactive of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover science tools.

mars.nasa.gov