Lifeboat Foundation

NASA is focusing increasingly on interplanetary missions to faraway places like Mars, and such highly ambitious voyages will require robotic equipment to assist astronauts with a range of tasks.

With that in mind, a team of researchers at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland is developing a remarkable robot called Mori3 that’s capable of changing its size, shape, and function, morphing from 2D triangles into almost any 3D object. You can see it in action in the video above.

It is June 2022, and a flying machine that looks like a cross between a prehistoric beast and a spaceship is about to take off. Named the Zephyr S, it has long spindly wings the length of an airliner’s. Together with its small, thin body and head, these make it resemble a pterodactyl. Its shimmering tinfoil-like solar panels and lightweight skeletal frame are more like something you’d see on a craft meant for space.

Its mission for the US Army is a secret, but clearly on its manufacturer’s mind is the desire to shatter a few records, particularly that for the longest flight duration for any type of airplane, which has stood for 63 years. In 1959 two men flew a four-seat Cessna light aircraft for 64 days, 22 hours and 19 minutes, refuelling in-flight from a truck.

British aviation pioneer Chris Kelleher designed the first Zephyr in 2002. His vision was of an uncrewed aircraft capable of “eternal flight” in the stratosphere. He foresaw that solar power and lightweight materials would lead to aircraft capable of staying aloft for months, or even years. The Zephyr S is the first production model.

Continue reading “Stratoplanes: The aircraft that will fly at the edge of space” »

So you want to be a Martian colonist with SpaceX? Here’s Part 1 in an exclusive series about the life of a Martian colonist. How do you get to Mars? What is your job? What are he everyday dangers of living on the Red Planet?
#space #spacex #mars.

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Continue reading “So you want to be a Martian? How to be a SpaceX colonist!” »

He hasn’t even made it to Mars yet, and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s wandering eye is already on a new planet — this one completely outside our star system.

Over the weekend, Musk seemed to ideate on the prospect of visiting the relatively nearby Promixa Centauri B, an exoplanet that sits a little over four light-years away in Alpha Centauri, the star system that James Cameron’s “Avatar” franchise is based on. First discovered back in 2016, Proxima B is believed to be particularly viable as a potentially life-supporting world, and it looks like Musk is paying attention.

“Practically next door,” the Twitter owner tweeted on Sunday, in response to a tweet featuring a Space Academy blog post about the tantalizing planet.

The June 12 launch of the Transporter-8 rideshare mission marked a significant milestone for SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, and the company captured it on video.

Kairan Quazi announced the news in an impressive LinkedIn post, during which he explained how he’d begun his software engineering career at an early age.

While he kept post pretty professional, Quazi couldn’t help but gush about working for the ‘coolest company on the planet’.

Kairan Quazi is only in his teens, but has already graduated with a computer science degree before accepting a job with SpaceX.

Continue reading “Child prodigy accepts job offer from SpaceX after graduating at just 14” »

Airbnb investors are flocking to South Texas, where they see a chance to capitalize on relatively cheap homes and proximity to Musk’s SpaceX.

Traveling to space may be the stuff of dreams for most folks, but sending your name instead is a distinct possibility.

It’s not quite the same as donning a spacesuit and being blasted to orbit, though it could be a fun way to associate yourself with an upcoming and highly ambitious mission heading toward Jupiter next year.

A discussion of the fascinating concept of space folding as it is presented in the Dune legendarium. In order to fill the needs of the vast interstellar empire of Frank Herbert’s universe the mechanism of space-folding is heavily relied upon. This form of faster-than-light travel enables spaceships to traverse astronomical distances instantaneously, and has proven crucial in shaping its social, economic, and political dynamics. Spoiler warning if you are unfamiliar with Frank Herbert’s Dune.

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Continue reading “Space Folding Explained | Spacing Guild Navigation | Dune Lore” »