Important Innovations

NASA Diligently Searching Source:  NASA What's Underground on Mars? NASA scientists have a fascinating and very innovative theory.  They're exploring the possibility that some forms of life could be supported underground and inside caves on Mars.  They believe there's a chance that water may exist underground to support life on the Red Planet. 2020 Launch In July 2020 NASA will launch its Mars 2020 rover with a mission to search for life on the Red Planet.  It will touch down on the Martian surface on the targeted date of February 18, 2021 at a location called Jezero Crater.  NASA calls the area  one of the most scientifically interesting landscapes on Mars. Search for Water and Life Jezero Crater was once home to an ancient river delta that may contain signs of microbial life. The possibility exists that there is water underground on Mars.  Exploring for water and life is rover's big mission.   The rover will join lander InSight that rece

Robotic Lander InSight Discovers Red Planet Has Seismic Activity Source:  NASA - InSight Hundreds of Marsquakes in the Past Year NASA's robotic lander InSight has delivered some big discovery and innovation dividends.  InSight  just detailed, for the first time, that the Red Planet Mars experiences quakes like the Earth and the Moon.  NASA has called the shakes, rattles and rolls on Mars "Marsquakes".  Incredibly, InSight has detected 450 seismic events on Mars in the past year as it has explored Mars on the ground.  20 of the quakes were significant and in the 3 to 4 point magnitude range. NASA First According to NASA, this is the first time that they've established that Mars is a seismically active planet.  InSight's observations will help scientists better understand how rocky planets like Mars and the Earth form and evolve.  And the lander's sensors also detected significant winds swirling around Mars.  In fact, there are thousand

Aeroponically Grown Vertical Vegetables and Herbs Source:  Prague University Scientists From Prague University, Important Food Science Czech scientists from Prague University have created a new lab to experiment on growing food for very constrained and extreme conditions with a lack of water like on Mars.  But the utilization is also for back on Earth to boost agricultural output in places hard hit by urbanization and Climate Change. Marsonaut Experiment The Czech scientists call it the Marsonaut Experiment and it's being led by their top life scientists.  They're using aeroponics which grow plants in the air, without any soil and very little water.  To minimize space, they grow the plants in vertical units stacked one on top of the other. Harvest Time The team has succeeded in growing salad leaves, mint, basil, mustard plants, herbs and radishes.  They enjoyed the fruits of their harvest last week and said it tasted great. Their next big crop is strawberries.  Th

Space X Starship Super Heavy Source:  SpaceX  Starship CEO Elon Musk on to Mars SpaceX CEO Elon Musk just unveiled his silver bullet:  a spacecraft to take you to Mars and beyond.  It's the new Starship Mk1 prototype, unveiled this weekend at SpaceX's South Texas test site in Boca Chico, TX.  Starship is a massive, reusable launch system.  When finalized, the vehicle will have a 387 foot Starship Super Heavy stack and be powered by six Raptor engines.  The spacecraft has room for 37 Raptor engines, depending on the mission needs and distance. Musk, a Visionary Thinker Starship will be capable of taking up to 100 people back and forth to space, including the Moon, Mars and other space destinations.  Musk says space travel has to be done like air travel.  He believes that is the first breakthrough needed to make humans a space-faring, multi-planet civilization.  He adds making space travel like air travel is "the fastest path to a self-sustaining city on

Starhopper Spaceship Aces Test Launch Source:  SpaceX Big Victory for SpaceX Elon Musk's SpaceX is on a roll with victory after victory in the commercialization of space.  It's latest success happened yesterday with the successful launch of its spaceship Starhopper.  For more details, go to Important Innovations Collection: SpaceX on Target for Mars : Starhopper Rocket Prototype Passes Highest & Final Test Source:  Space X Next: On to Orbital Prototypes for 2021 Launch Another ...

NASA's Curiosity Rover Find Source:  NASA Martian Rock With Evidence of Water and Wind NASA's Curiosity rover has discovered a rock on the planet Mars that shows evidence of wind and water.  The discovery is so important that the rock has been given a nickname "Strathdon."  For a great news blog on this, go to Important Innovations Collection: Martian Rock Tells Big Story : Curiosity Rover Find Source:  NASA Shows Presence of Water, Raises Questions of Life on Mars NASA's Curiosity rover has been expl...

NASA Leases the Start-Up Space Source:  Relativity Space Odyssey to Mars Relativity is a Los Angeles based, venture capital backed rocket maker.  It just leased 220,000 sq. feet of space at a NASA facility in Mississippi to 3D print low cost rockets to launch small payload satellites into orbit. Money for Mars One of the company's big goals is to manufacture rockets on Mars.  CEO Tim Ellis, who was an executive at Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin, says that is the first priority for space colonization. The company hopes to generate cash by using the Terran 1 rockets that it will 3D print in Mississippi to launch small satellites.  It will use the cash to develop a team of machine learning robots that can manufacture and assemble its Terran 1 rockets on Mars with no human help. Rocket Maker in Orbit The giant 3D printers on the ground in Mississippi can produce a rocket in under 60 days.  The Terran 1 is expected to launch in 2020 and will cost satellite maker

Earth to Mars Distance:  100 Million Mile Space Journey Source NASA: InSight Enters Mars Innovator Elon Musk 70% Sure He'll Move to Mars NASA's InSight spacecraft just landed successfully on Mars.  It took a six month journey across 300 million miles.  The lander carries breakthrough equipment that will burrow deep into the Red Planet's surface.  This has never been done before.  Space X's Elon Musk believes in upcoming years he will have a 70% chance of moving to Mars. Mars a Difficult Landing InSight's landing was perfect.  But Mars isn't the best place to land.  The 3-legged spacecraft had to decelerate from 12,300 mph to zero in 6 minutes as it pierced the Martian atmosphere.  The 600 pound stationary lander has a 6 foot robotic arm that will place a mechanical mole and seismometer on the ground.  The mole hammers down to 16 feet to measure the planet's heat and the seismometer listens for any quakes.  Nothing like this has been done before on

Space X CEO Elon Musk Unveils His Base on Mars Source:  Space X Rendering of Mars Base Alpha Space X CEO Elon Musk provided this artist's rendering of his planned Mars Base Alpha.  He plans to settle people on Mars in 2024.  In 2023 he'll send a manned mission to explore Mars.  In 2022, he plans on cargo missions to Mars.  And in order to keep on schedule, he started test launches of his Big  Falcon Rocket (BFR) space ship in 2019. Powerful Space Launch Vehicle Space X Artist Rendering of BFR Interplanetary Travel Musk provided an updated version of the BFR.  When it's finished he claims it's going to be the largest, most capable and most powerful launch vehicle ever built.  Musk says it's an interplanetary transport system capable of going from Earth to anywhere in the solar system. Lunar Mission with Tourists on Board Musk is planning Space X trips to the moon.  BFR will take off, have booster separation, go into orbit, fly around the moon and

Mars' Dusty Skies and a "Selfie" Courtesy:  NASA   Panoramic View of the Red Planet NASA's Curiosity rover has captured a new and stunning view of its current location on Mars.  It's a 360 perspective at its location on Vera Rubin Ridge.  As you can see, the picture shows reddish brown dusty skies.  The skies are darkened by a fading global dust storm that has draped the planet for weeks.  Also there's a very rare "selfie" of Curiosity.   And you can see Curiosity's most recent drill target in the foreground. Exploring Mars Curiosity has been exploring Mars since 2012.  The rover has found evidence of an ancient lake on the planet.  It's currently being used to investigate how Mars transformed from a warm, wetter planet that could have sustained life to a dry, icy place.  Curiosity drills into Mars' surface because sedimentary rocks hold clues about environmental conditions going back deep into the past.