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Space Exploration / Space Flight: Manned

Hang on a moment.....
That isn't the Earth....
When you zoom in......
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I was going to say this is the shot we have been waiting for for decades.

But you kind of spoiled it.
 
Every Saturday, Marcus House produces a 20 minute round-up of all the 'space exploration' activity of the past week.
This weeks episode is a cracker.
 
British astronaut Tim Peake retires.

Tim Peake retires from European astronaut corps.
UK spaceman Tim Peake is stepping down permanently from his role as a European astronaut.
He's going to take up a full-time ambassadorial position for science and space instead - work he's been doing since 2019.
The former British Army Air Corps helicopter pilot was selected as a European Space Agency (Esa) astronaut in 2009.
He flew to the space station for a six-month tour in 2015/2016.
"Being an Esa astronaut has been the most extraordinary experience," Tim Peake said.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64346185
 
I couldn't find a 'Space Nuclear Power' thread, and it's probably a bit too niche to start a thread of it's own anyway.

Rolls Royce have unveiled their plans for a Nuclear Reactor to power space missions, like the upcoming trips to Mars (if they ever actually manage to get one off the ground!)
Also, I think they should bung a Spirit of Ecstasy on top of it.

Rolls-Royce shows off new reactor to power Mars missions as UK poised to lead space race
Rolls Royce has unveiled a new image of an early-stage nuclear reactor design that could help power humanity's missions to Mars and beyond. The British technology pioneer is working with the UK Space Agency to explore the game-changing potential of nuclear-powered propulsion in spaceflight. Many experts have hailed this prospect as harnessing the energy released from splitting an atom could be used to power astronaut bases on the moon or Mars, or even decrease travel times in space. As part of their efforts with the UKSA, Rolls Royce unveiled their new micro-reactor design, which they can withstand extreme conditions.
etc

full article at link
https://www.express.co.uk/news/scie...-nuclear-reactor-design-power-mars-mission-uk
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Reconstructing The Columbia Space Shuttle Disaster - Learning Lessons From The Largest Crash Site​



 
Good news.
And bad news.

"Three months after NASA's new moonship returned to Earth, the U.S. space agency is calling the Artemis I mission a success and gearing up for the next launch as early as November 2024."

"But as engineers pore over terabytes of data from that maiden voyage, they've uncovered crucial hardware problems that will warrant further scrutiny before they can safely put humans into orbit on the next launch. Those issues include significant damage to the mobile launcher — the Space Launch System rocket's platform — and the Orion spacecraft's protective heat shield."

https://mashable.com/article/nasa-artemis-orion-moon-mission-launch
 
Spacesuit for return to the Moon unveiled
A new generation of spacesuit for humanity's return trip to the Moon has been unveiled by Nasa.
(...) Nasa hopes to have the updated suit ready for the Artemis III mission to the Moon in 2025.
The existing spacesuits worn by US space travellers have not been fully redesigned since 1981.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64965767

IMO the dark colour is a bad idea. It'll get way too hot. Also, it won't be as visible on cameras.
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All in their mid 40s.
The crew of Apollo 8 (the first manned flight around the moon) were;
Frank F. Borman II who was 40.
James A. Lovell Jr. who was 40.
William A. Anders who was 35.

So is choosing people in their mid 40s indicative of any reasoning by NASA? Is it 'youth' (compared to maybe more experienced, older options)?
Or are these people already deemed to be 'older', with experience (compared to maybe people in their late 20s, say)?

Nasa names astronauts for Artemis Moon mission.
The US space agency Nasa has named the four astronauts who will take humanity back to the Moon, after a 50 year gap.
Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen will fly a capsule around the lunar body late next year or early in 2025.
The astronauts won't land on the Moon, but their mission will pave the way for a touchdown by a subsequent crew.
(...) Artemis-3, the first landing of the new era, is not expected to occur until at least 12 months after Artemis-2.

(seeing as they don't have a 'lunar lander' created for Artemis missions that bit might be difficult, so they have Elon Musk helping with that)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-65165845
 
All in their mid 40s.
The crew of Apollo 8 (the first manned flight around the moon) were;
Frank F. Borman II who was 40.
James A. Lovell Jr. who was 40.
William A. Anders who was 35.

So is choosing people in their mid 40s indicative of any reasoning by NASA? Is it 'youth' (compared to maybe more experienced, older options)?
Or are these people already deemed to be 'older', with experience (compared to maybe people in their late 20s, say)?

Nasa names astronauts for Artemis Moon mission.
The US space agency Nasa has named the four astronauts who will take humanity back to the Moon, after a 50 year gap.
Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen will fly a capsule around the lunar body late next year or early in 2025.
The astronauts won't land on the Moon, but their mission will pave the way for a touchdown by a subsequent crew.
(...) Artemis-3, the first landing of the new era, is not expected to occur until at least 12 months after Artemis-2.

(seeing as they don't have a 'lunar lander' created for Artemis missions that bit might be difficult, so they have Elon Musk helping with that)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-65165845
I think the need for the Apollo astronauts to be a bit older was because they needed people with a wide variety of experience, the ability to keep a cool head and perhaps enough demonstrated academic ability for scientific work.
It's probably less important now that most of the hard work has already been done by the previous generation of astronauts.
 
I think the need for the Apollo astronauts to be a bit older was because they needed people with a wide variety of experience, the ability to keep a cool head and perhaps enough demonstrated academic ability for scientific work.
It's probably less important now that most of the hard work has already been done by the previous generation of astronauts.


It's the Artemis astronauts who are older, ranging from 44 to 47.
 
It's the Artemis astronauts who are older, ranging from 44 to 47.
Wow, I didn't know that.
Maybe the very important work done by John Glenn showed that older people could make it into space safely?
 
NASA has made it clear that it wants diverse crews going forward.

I think this is all wrong.

We need middle aged husband and wife teams.

I gets very lonely in space travel.

NASA has never addressed sex and companionship in space.
 
NASA has made it clear that it wants diverse crews going forward.

I think this is all wrong.

We need middle aged husband and wife teams.

I gets very lonely in space travel.

NASA has never addressed sex and companionship in space.
It's never discussed, but there may be some low-level bonding taking place in mixed crews.
Or everybody does the 5-knuckle shuffle, perhaps?
 
It's the Artemis astronauts who are older, ranging from 44 to 47.
Yes I meant to include that in my post. Now reading it back it looks like a comment on the Apollo 8 but I was just using that a reference to the ages of the Artemis 4, which as you say, are 44 - 47.
 
Deary me - the Virgin Space programme in the U.S. has filed for bankruptcy protection. After the last giant firework ... er ... rocket launch, maybe Branson's lost some credibility.
That's what comes to playing at billionaires, trying to compete with Bezos/Musk.
 
Deary me - the Virgin Space programme in the U.S. has filed for bankruptcy protection. After the last giant firework ... er ... rocket launch, maybe Branson's lost some credibility.
That's what comes to playing at billionaires, trying to compete with Bezos/Musk.
I'm sad about it really - they did come up with an innovative and relatively cheap launch system.
But it was limited, and space tourism alone is not a reliable or large market.
More money to be made with launching satellites.
 
The tourism thing is 'Virgin Galactic'.
Bit of a misnomer really cos it only goes up just into space, and then comes back down again.
I'd be both surprised and horrified if I booked onto a flight and after lift off they told me that I wouldn't be back for 500 years (or however long it would take to get to the nearest galaxy and back).
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