Space Exploration

Sixty-Three Years Leading Us to a Star Trek Life

On 1 October 2021, NASA celebrated the agency’s 63rd anniversary of operation. On October 5th two Russians, a film director and an actress, docked with the International Space Station to do a twelve day movie shoot. Are the past sixty-three years leading us to a Star Trek Life?

Photograph of NASA's control room in 19 with eight men crowded around control panels with dials and on off switches. Definitely not close to Star Trek Life.

The Beginning

In the summer of 1950, a two-stage rocket called Bumper 2 launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It reached an altitude 250 miles higher than the International Space Station’s altitude. Under the direction of General Electric, Bumper 2 rockets were used to test rocket systems and for upper atmosphere research. It was far from even the dream of a Star Trek Life.

On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched its Sputnik I. A basketball-sized satellite, Sputnik I, orbited the earth in 98 minutes.

Caught off-guard by the launch, the United States scrambled to develop similar or superior capabilities. In December, they launched their first satellite, the Vanguard. It exploded shortly after takeoff.

The first successful satellite launch in the U.S. came at the end of January 1958. In July of that year, Congress passed legislation that created NASA.

NASA’s Years

On October 1, 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), began operating with 8,000 employees spread over four facilities. A small office in Washington DC directed operations. The agency also had three major research facilities and two test research sites. They had a 100 million dollar budget.

On October 11, NASA launched Pioneer 1.

Within six months, they unveiled the Mercury astronaut corps. It was 1961 before President John F. Kennedy issued his challenge to have a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Then, on July 20, 1969, NASA’s Apollo Mission and Neil Armstrong made history. Soaring to the moon with less technology than is in our kitchens today.

There have been near misses and tragic sacrifices along the way. NASA’s mission has shrunk and expanded. But their continuing research has given us many spinoffs.

Sixty+ Years Later

Photograph of the sleek and smaller workstations of NASA's control center in 2013. It looks like a slice of Star Trek life. — Date: 07-16-13 Location: Bldg 30 South, FCR-1 Subject: Expedition 36 ISS flight controllers on console during EVA #23 with Chris Cassidy and Luca Parmitano. Photographer: James Blair

In 2020, NASA had 17,373 employees and a budget of more than 22 billion dollars. There are ten major facilities and at least 8 smaller ones.

Besides NASA’s plans to launch projects into space, there are the NASA website. On the website you’ll find the NASA blog, NASA TV, NASA Live, NASA social media, educational sites, and tons and tons of photos and videos. There are apps and podcasts and ebooks and ringtones and so much more.

It’s not just the U.S. And the Russians. And it hasn’t been for years. More and more nations are launching rockets with human and nonhuman payloads. Celebrities and civilians are joining the ranks of the spacefaring.

The International Space Station (ISS) had been operational and continuously occupied for twenty years and 337 days. There are Mars One projects, and Mars rovers, and space telescopes to mention less than a handful of hundreds of projects from countries all over the Earth. Each project may hold discoveries that truly will launch us on our Star Trek Life.

And this has only been a portion of one lifetime of space adventures.

Conclusion

According to Wikipedia’s count, there were more than 200 successful spaceflights during 2020. We don’t have flying cars that can fold into a briefcase yet, so we aren’t ready for the Jetson life, but ISS has fresh chile peppers they’ve grown in orbit. And like a scene out of Star Trek, there’s a movie actress onboard ISS! Space hotels and voyages to Mars are in our near future. We’ve had sixty-three years leading us to a Star Trek life. Are you ready to “Boldy Go” sixty three more years?

Image Credits

Upper photo: Technicians and engineers monitor the countdown for the liftoff of Explorer 1 in the control room of the blockhouse at Space Launch Complex 26 at the Cape Canaveral Missile Annex (now Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.) Photo credit: NASA

Lower photo: (16 July 2013) — Flight directors and spacecraft communicators appear in the foreground of this scene in the space station flight control room of the Johnson Space Center’s Mission Control Center during the July 16 Expedition 36 spacewalk outside the International Space Station of astronauts Chris Cassidy of NASA and Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency. From the left are Jerry Jason and David Korth at the FD console and astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough at the CAPCOM console. Issues with Parmitano’s spacesuit brought the spacewalk to an early end. Photo credit: NASA

Is the Truth in Asteroid Dust?

Is the truth in asteroid dust? Perhaps we’ll soon learn the answer. This month, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully brought asteroid dust back to Earth for the second time in history.

Image of the sun and planets in a row with an illustration of the asteroid belt-is there truth in asteroid dust

A small asteroid doesn’t have a heated interior. Scientists believe that means that since the materials on an asteroid have never experienced that intense heat and altered, they have the “initial characteristics of the solar system.” Studying this material could lead to a new understanding of the history and development of our solar system.

What Is an Asteroid

It’s an irregularly shaped celestial body usually found between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. (See the illustration above.) They can be as small as pebbles or hundreds of miles in diameter. Most asteroids are rocks, but some have clays or metals in them. There are currently 1,038,96 known asteroids.

Scientists believe that during the formation of our solar system some rocks and materials were “left overs.” These left overs are what we call asteroids.

How Do Scientists Study Asteroids?

Astronomers have spent years observing celestial bodies like asteroids with powerful telescopes. Some scientists have been fortunate enough to work with meteorites, tiny bits of asteroids that survived the fiery plunge through earth’s atmosphere and landed on the surface.

First Asteroid Dust Collected

In 2005, the Japanese probe Hayabusa (Japanese for falcon), touched down on the asteroid Itokawa. On June 13, 2010, Hayabusa returned to Earth. Before the main body of the probe disintegrated in Earth’s atmosphere, it released a heat-resistant capsule that landed in the Australian outback.

The capsule contained about 1,500 particles from the surface of Itokawa. The pieces included low-iron, low-metal chondrite, a material found in Earth’s super-heated interior but not on its surface.

Lincoln Laboratory Near-Earth Asteroid Research Team at Socorro, New Mexico discovered 25143 Itokawa on Sept. 26, 1998. It is about 1,755 feet long and orbits 186 million miles from Earth.

A Second Successful Collection

a view of the asteroid Ryugu --the asteroid appears to be a rounded cube with lots of rocks and pebbles on it--is the truth in asteroid dust? — A colored view of the C-type asteroid 162173 Ryugu, taken from
Hayabusa2
By ISAS/JAXA, CC BY 4.0

On December 14, 2020 JAXA confirmed that a capsule from Hayabusa2 landed in an Australian desert during the previous week. It contained black grains from asteroid Ryugu. They believe they got at least 0.1 grams of material. They reported a plan to open the capsule this week, but news sources have reported no further information.

The Future of Asteroid Dust

By the end of 2021, JAXA promised some dust to NASA, some to international researchers, and plans to save about 40 percent of the sample for future researchers.

NASA’s spacecraft OSIRIS-REx launched in 2016 and traveled 334 million kilometers from Earth to asteroid Bennu. It scooped up samples from Bennu on October 2o, 2020. The sample will return to Earth in 2023. NASA promised some of the samples to JAXA in exchange for the sample from Ryugu. They also promised samples to other researchers.

Is the Truth in Asteroid Dust?

Asteroid dust is kind of like housekeeping dust, right? There are some truths in the asteroid dust samples. Is it the truth about the origins of the solar system? Maybe. The problem with discovering the truth is that we can only see and understand with the knowledge and history we have now. That clouds our judgment and understanding to where we may be blind to the truth, even if it’s really out there. Does that mean these very expensive trips aren’t worth it? Is our search for the truth worth any cost? What future discoveries do you hope will result from studying asteroid dust? I wonder if the asteroids have dust bunnies?

Beyond the Imagination of the Earthbound

Did you watch Launch America? This weekend’s successful launch and docking of the Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon is the culmination of a lot of dreams-come-true. We’ve got a long way to go before commercial space travel will be available to everyone. But we will get there. What we will discover in space travel and exploration is beyond the imagination of the Earthbound.

We cannot predict the new forces, powers, and discoveries that will be disclosed to us when we reach the other planets and set up new laboratories in space. They are as much beyond our vision today as fire or electricity would be beyond the imagination of a fish.
–Arthur C. Clarke, “Space and the Spirit of Man”

Or is it?

Imagination Kindled

The first known story about flying in space may have been the Hindu epic Ramayana (5^th to 4^th century BC). But most likely humans have dreamed of space travel since they first saw the moon and stars.

There was a lot of dreaming before Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin launched into space on April 12, 1961.

To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit.
–Stephen Hawking

And even more dreaming before the first human stepped onto the moon.

That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.
—Neil Armstrong

The sight of Armstrong’s bounding steps inspired many to go into the sciences, to aspire to be an astronaut. Each space flight and astronaut inspired others. Inspired Elon Musk and his team to create a commercial spacecraft.

Are you paying attention? There’s a lesson here.

Be an Astronaut

A big dream like going to the moon can feel daunting. Hard. Too much to learn. Too expensive. And overwhelming. But big dreams—the one that’s beyond the imagination of the Earthbound—can become a reality.

What everyone in the astronaut corps shares in common is not gender or ethnic background, but motivation, perseverance, and desire — the desire to participate in a voyage of discovery.
—Ellen Ochoa

Ochoa’s ingredients, motivation, perseverance, and a desire to take part in a voyage of discovery, aren’t only for astronauts. These are the things you need for your dream. It won’t be easy. But it will be a voyage of discovery. There are so many things for you to discover in pursuit of a dream.

Worth Doing

Space travel is life-enhancing, and anything that’s life-enhancing is worth doing. It makes you want to live forever.
–Ray Bradbury, Playboy, 1996

Anything that’s life-enhancing is worth doing. Is your dream life-enhancing? It doesn’t have to be as big as going to the moon or Mars. If it is life-enhancing for you—that’s enough. Go for it!

Beyond the Imagination of the Earthbound

I know the sky is not the limit because there are footprints on the Moon — and I made some of them!
– Buzz Aldrin

Your dream may be beyond the imagination of the Earthbound, but don’t let their lack of imagination limit you. Elon Musk and his team worked for nine years to make this launch happen. You will work hard, too. But follow your dream anyway. The proof that it’s possible is in the footprints on the moon.

Your Out-of-This-World Vacation

It’s possible that in 2025 there will be a hotel orbiting the Earth. You can plan your out-of-this-world vacation today, but would you? Would you be willing to be one of the first to stay in the orbiting hotel?

Who Will Build it?

In 2018 National Geographic published an article about, Orion Span, a Houston-based space tech startup. Orion announced plans to launch the first-ever luxury space hotel into Earth’s orbit.

The Gateway Foundation, a private company is developing plans for the orbiting Von Braun Rotating Space Station.

Axiom Space is another company planning a space hotel. Their plan includes building their first module or two attached to the International Space Station. When ISS retires in 2025, the Axiom modules will separate from ISS to become independent orbiting objects.

Who Will Stay There?

The Von Braun station will accommodate both scientific research and visiting tourists. Designed to be the largest human-made structure in space, it will house up to 450 people.

Orion says intend to offer short- and long-term leases to governments, to lease for government and private manufacturing and research, and up to four space tourists can visit for twelve days.

Axiom offers trips to space tourists who want to take part in experiments on ISS. They will help you decide on an experiment.

Special Training

According to Orion’s website, they’ve streamlined the pre-launch training down to a three-month period. The final training would occur in orbit.

Axiom’s website says to expect several weeks of training “just like the astronauts” do for NASA.

When Can You Go?

The Gateway Foundation intends for the main structures and basic functions to be operational in 2025. They will complete it in 2027.

Orion expects to host their first guest on the Aurora Station in 2022.

Axiom aims to launch their first two modules to ISS in 2022.

What Will the Station Look Like?

See the video projection of what the Aurora will look like on CNN.

Gateway’s Von Braun Station will look like this:

Axiom’s vision looks like this:

The Risk of Going to Space

The first and most obvious one is a catastrophic failure during launch, during your stay, or during your trip back to Earth.

In space there’s radiation, confined spaces, isolation.

The distance to the Earth is also a hazard. First aid is available and so are more advanced medical treatments but a serious illness or injury may pose extra hazards.

Health Risks

“Without gravity working on your body, your bones lose minerals, with density dropping at over 1% per month. By comparison, the rate of bone loss for elderly men and women on Earth is from 1% to 1.5% per year.” Even after returning to Earth, you could be at greater risk of osteoporosis-related fractures later in life.

The fluids in your body will shift upwards to your head. This will give you a “moon face” and nasal congestion. But it can also put pressure on your eyes causing vision problems. They have developed compression cuffs for your thighs to help keep body fluids in your lower extremities.

Some people experience balance disorders, nausea, and sleep disturbances.

Microbes can change characteristics in space, and microorganisms that naturally live on your body transfer more easily from person to person in closed habitats like a space station. Being in space elevates your stress hormone levels and alters your immune system. That could lead to increased susceptibility to allergies or other illnesses, and disease.

There are many areas of change that seem to affect each individual differently. Taste is one of those changes. Some people think food tastes bland in space. Strong tastes aren’t as enjoyable as on Earth to others. And some aren’t bothered at all.

For a discussion of how long-term space travel affects the human body, see NASA’s Human Body in Space article.

Or read about former astronaut, Scott Kelly, who spent a year in space and is dealing with the changes his body endured.

Space tourists should know the changes and how to counteract them. But each individual will have to decide what level of risk they will tolerate.

Would You Plan Your Out-of-this-world Vacation?

When I first wrote The Repairmen, I did not include hotels in orbit. I will be rewriting that story in the near future. The rewrite will include space stations and hotels and who knows what else. Unfortunately, that will be as close as I get to taking an out-of-this-world vacation. Would I plan one if I met the criteria? You betcha!

Assuming you had the spare cash and fit the health profile, would you plan your out-of-this-world vacation? Can you imagine what it would be like to play zero-g basketball or ping pong? Is there any more exotic location for a first or second honeymoon? So tell me readers, would you go?

Glorious Mistakes or Wave of the Future?

Yikes! This week’s Mashup demonstrates to me that I’d better write faster. Some of my stories are about become reality – well, sort of. . . . I hope you enjoy these links. What do you think they are Glorious Mistakes or Wave of the Future?

Buck Gordon illustration by Robert Burrows

If you’re ‘into’ space exploration, you already know about the success of Dragon, the privately funded and created space vehicle that successfully delivered supplies to the International Space Station a few weeks ago. This editorial I came across suggestions that Elon Musk may be the Howard Hughes of Space Exploration.
What a story idea!

In our lifetime! Tourists can take XCOR suborbital flights from Mojave, California beginning June 2014. If you could easily afford to buy a ticket on this rocket-plane, would you?

SCIENCE

Sometimes reality is stranger than fiction. Read about the Robot Fish! Do you think this might be a sign that humanoid robots interacting with humans is in our new future?

Did you know that there was a Registry of Eugenics in America? Learn more at the eugenics archive. Kind of creepy, huh? Eugenics is one of the subjects I explore in the novel I am revising, My Soul To Keep. But, you know what would be creepier? Eugenics in the future. This NY Times article talks about testing parents to map the genes of a fetus. What do you think? Is gene mapping of a fetus the eugenics of the future? Or will gene mapping lead to less suffering due to genetic mistakes?

WRITING

I am saddened by the passing of Ray Bradbury. His books scared me, delighted me, painted pictures in my head, and inspired me. Here is an inspired tribute by William Orem, Farwell, Rocket Summer, one of the many, many tributes to this Grand Master of Science Fiction. What was your favorite book or story by Ray Bradbury?

This video of Neil Gaiman’s commencement speech is long at 19 minutes, but it is full of wonderful advice and inspiration about more than just writing, it’s advice on how to live a glorious life: Make Glorious Mistakes, Make Good Art. I encourage you to make time to listen to this.

Do you aspire to make Glorious Mistakes?

INSPIRATIONS offered by my WANA friends

Debra Eve‘s website, Later Bloomer is always full of inspiring stories of people who, later in life, followed their dream to success. This book review and introduction to later bloomer, Angela Artemis of Powered by Intuition, is no exception. Be sure to read the comments as well for more inspiration.

Colin Falconer delves into history and finds a real-life disease that explains . . . vampires and Why Vampires Will Never Die. What reality do you think is behind the myth of the vampire?

On A Personal Note:

Since I launched this blog I have had more health and personal issues to deal with than stars in the sky. Okay, not really billions of problems, but a lot of things have come up and made blogging on a regular schedule difficult. But the mistake would be to give up, for then I’d have to give up connecting with each of you. And connecting with you is something I treasure.

Because of all the ‘lost’ time, not only am I behind on blogging but I am way behind on the revisions of my book, My Soul To Keep. With issues slowly resolving, I am focusing on getting that book done, which is why you’ve seen so few posts from me.

I am anticipating a change in day-job responsibilities at the end of the summer. It is my hope and prayer that this change will give me more time to write fiction and blog.

I hope you find inspiration in these links, that you will make Glorious Mistakes and Great Art. Please leave a comment and feel free to share a link where you’ve found inspiration or fascination. I love hearing from you! Just remember, only one link or you’re likely to end up in the spam can.