Diversifying our planetary portfolio

http://www.thespacereview.com/article/927/1
by Nader Elhefnawy
Monday, August 6, 2007

If you subscribe to Jeff Foust's "The Space Review" you probably read the
article at the link and some of those I posted below.
- LRK -


http://www.thespacereview.com/archive/317a.jpg

Whether on the surface of a planetary body or in free space,
a self-sufficient space colony will need a different set of
industrial technologies and systems than in common terrestrial
use today. (credit: NASA/Ames)
-----------------------------------------
Nader Elhefnawy's first paragraph mentions an article that predicts we
only have 46 years left to colonize Mars if we are toensure long term
survival.
- LRK -

-----------------------------------
A rather provocative headline appeared in the July 17, 2007 edition of
the /New York Times/: "A Survival Imperative For Space Colonization."

The claim, which could not but concentrate the mind, was that "To ensure
our long-term survival, we need to get a colony up and running on Mars
within 46 years."
-----------------------------------

I don't think the rest of the World read the Times article as I don't
see a stampede to launch a Mars Direct mission.

Both the Times article and Nader Elhefnawy's commentary are worth
reading and considering as we see ourselves plodding along while we wait
for an asteroid to hit or the climate to change or the oil to run out,
or someone blows a chunk of this Blue Marble into space in the name of .....

How do you sell a set of encyclopedias to someone that doesn't read?
Do you teach him to read or just go next door and hope there is someone
there that knows how to read?

How do you interest investors in going to the Moon, Mars, and Beyond if
they don't know how to look up?
Do you tell them to wait until some foreign government goes and hope
they will open a way for you?
Phobos in 2009
<http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/Russia_Hopes_To_Launch_Craft_To_Mission_Mars_M
oon_Phobos_In_2009_999.html>

How do you get the cost of launch down when the launch companies are
happy with government cost plus arrangements?
Do you launch from a ship at sea if you can get contracts that don't
conflict with one of you parent companies?
http://www.boeing.com/special/sea-launch/

On an earlier post I said == One would like to just be able to propose a
mission and see it happen within your lifetime.

And from deepest, darkest SE GA came this assurance, "Fear not,
Larry!...keep taking your vitamins, drink 2 ounces of red wine a day,
and hang in just little while longer...just don't be surprised when it
happens, the logos won't say "NASA" or "USA", it'll be "Virgin",
"Bigelow", "Scaled Composites", et al....
J"

Sooooh, maybe some of you know of some other logos that might make it
happen.
Maybe you have an idea for a logo of your own and will just go yourself
as you are tired of waiting.
If you do, let me know so I can share.

It is one thing to launch personnel to the ISS or even to the Moon for
brief periods.
It is more complicated to say you will become self sufficient and won't
need care packages from mother Earth.

How self sufficient are you at home here on Earth?

What if garbage strike?
What if power out?
What if water shut off?
What if grocery store closed?
What if an airline strike?
What if the trucks stop?
What if a cold snap?
What if a heat wave?
What if a flood?
What if the sirens sound?

And that is just where you don't have your neighbors shooting at you or
setting booby traps or blowing themselves up.

Can you live on a small island, in the jungle, under a bridge, or in a
ghetto?
http://www.solarhaven.org/AchievingSelfSufficiency.htm
http://www.backwoodshome.com/
http://www.mcn.org/ed/cur/cw/Habitats/Habitats.html

Do you have the necessary medical supplies?

Could you make alcohol from your cardboard boxes?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanol
http://www.physorg.com/news100838926.html

Can you drive your car on several types of fuel, whichever is cheaper?
http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/transportation/alcohols.html

Well, sometimes thinking outside the box is learning to think, how would
I live in a box. :-)

Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
==============================================================
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-05/17/content_593317.htm
China to launch moon probe next April
By Liu Dan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2006-05-17 16:37

China's first lunar satellite may be launched during a fly-by mission in
April in 2007, said Luan Enjie, director of the China National Space
Administration on Tuesday, May 16.

[Ooops - didn't happen, did it. - LRK -]
Snip
--------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/library/news/2007/space-070520-voa01.htm
China to Launch Moon Probe This Year

By VOA News
/20 May 2007/

China's media say Beijing plans to launch a lunar orbiter later this year.

The Xinhua news agency quotes China's space agency chief, Sun Laiyan, as
saying the launch is the first step towards a lunar probe. Sun said the
lunar exploration program has been divided into three steps: orbiting
the moon, landing on the lunar surface and coming back to Earth with
moon samples.

Xinhua says a moon rover mission is scheduled for around 2012.

Sun, who spoke at Beijing Jiaotong University, says China will also
continue research on manned space missions, including a space walk and
experiments tp link passing spacecraft.

In 2003, China became the third country - after the former Soviet Union
and the United States - to launch a man into space.

/Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters./

[Would August be later in the year? Maybe later, later.- LRK -]
------------------------------------------------------------------
Next manned launch slips some too. - LRK -
http://www.china.org.cn/english/2006/Mar/160186.htm
China to Postpone Launch of Shenzhou VII to 2008

China will postpone the launch of its third manned space mission
Shenzhou VII spacecraft for about half a year to 2008, a senior
consultant to the country's space program said yesterday.

"There is nothing wrong. We just need more time to prepare for the
mission," Huang Chunping, chief consultant for China's manned launching
vehicle system, said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency.
snip


==============================================================
As noted in ---

Welcome to this week's issue of The Space Review:

Diversifying our planetary portfolio
---
A recent article suggests that humanity has less than a half-century
to establish a permanent presence beyond Earth.  Nader Elhefnawy
argues that a truly self-sufficient space colony will require
revisiting the industrial technologies and techniques in common use
today.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/927/1

From Russians to Berserkers
---
Not every idea in the space field is grand enough to be worthy of its
own full-length article.  Dwayne Day combines several of these,
including updates on past reports on Russia and famous helicopters,
into a single report.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/926/1

The state of the RLV industry, 2007 (part two)
---
Last month's accident at Scaled Composites will have an effect on the
entrepreneurial space industry, although how significant remains to
be seen.  Taylor Dinerman examines the evolution of this industry and
the need for openness by some of its participants.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/925/1

The fragility and resilience of NASA
---
Recent problems have illustrated both the technical challenges facing
NASA projects as well as the agency's public perception.  Eric Hedman
discusses why this makes NASA's new strategic communications efforts
all the more important.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/924/1

Review: the voice of von Braun
---
Wernher von Braun had the rare combination of technical expertise and
the ability to communicate effectively with the public at large.
Jeff Foust reviews a book that compiles a number of von Braun's
speeches over the years where he described his visions of spaceflight.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/923/1

Snip
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK
==============================================================