Space News November 3, 2020 Every once in a while, you hear something about space junk. Most of the time it doesn’t leave much of an impression on us. One of the reasons is it seems not to interfere with all the launches going on all over the world. We might not even think it is really a problem, but the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station had learned better. The station had to make an avoidance maneuver because a piece of debris was headed its way. NASA was so worried it would be hit they ordered all the people aboard the station to get into the Soyuz spacecraft so they could evacuate if it was necessary. This time the maneuver was successful. This is not the first time the station had to move to avoid being hit, according to some sources it has happened at least two more times in the past. The station gets hit by micrometeors but has a system installed to protect it. In case you are wondering how much space junk is in orbit around us, the estimate is as much as 129 million pieces and increasing. It is good to see scientists and most of the general public are taking the potential finding of alien life seriously. A study was released from Harvard and it said we shouldn’t rule out underground life on the moon and Mars. A couple of decades ago the academics who made the report would have been laughed out of the university. It just goes to show you how times are changing. I think it is safe to say most of us have accepted the possibility alien life might exist and be as intelligent as us or far more intelligent. We are now ready to meet with extraterrestrials as opposed to the past when we didn’t believe they existed and also believed if one was seen we would shoot it. NASA is always looking to make things better and safer. Maybe I should say they are more devoted to this now than they were in the past. Why would I say that? It is a statement which would have to be made after watching space shuttle launches and flights. The shuttle was a dangerous machine, but that never stopped NASA from crewing it. The most dangerous part of the system were those external tanks with the outside insulation running a close second. The seals on those tanks were subject to changes in weather such has when it got too cold. The engineers at Thiokol, the manufactures of the external rockets begged NASA not to launch the Challenger Space Shuttle because it was too cold. They called several times and finally Lawrence Mulloy of NASA was said to have replied “When do you want me to launch? Next April?” He launched and the rest is history. NASA has figured out a safer way of landing on bodies in space such as the Moon and Mars. The idea of eliminating drivers in cars has now caught on with NASA. They have determined the safest way to land a craft is by using laser sensors, cameras, a very fast computer and software they developed containing algorithms. Finally, they have eliminated the pilot performing the landing maneuver. I can’t help but wonder if a pilot will be at a set of controls so if something goes wrong, he can take over, after all that is the way most driverless vehicles are handled. The system is known as SPLICE which stands for Safe and Precise Landing Integrated Capabilities Evolution. NASA claims this will allow a lander to land in an area half the size of a football field. Previously, the area had to be 11 miles by 3 miles. Over the years there has been many suggestions for different materials to be used to construct shelters and buildings on other planets and moons. The one I thought was the best was using native materials and 3D printers to print structures made from them. It is being suggested now we use chitin, one of the most abundant materials on Earth. It is the material responsible for fungi cell walls, fish scales and insect exoskeletons. A team from the Singapore University of Technology used the main ingredient in the Martin soil and it worked. Will we be using this for construction on Mars or by the time we are ready for this will something better come along? It seems we are getting ready for manned space travel in a big way. By now most interested people have heard about and probably read about NASA’s Space Launch System known as SLS. This is based on a huge rocket and NASA has just ordered an additional 12 giant boosters from Northrop Grumman for 6 more missions. I can’t help but remember when the Apollo Program was at its height NASA ordered too many Saturn 5 rockets and when the program was stopped, they were wasted at a huge cost to the taxpayer. I hope this doesn’t happen again. When the Apollo Program stopped there were three huge Saturn 5 rockets left that we know about. SpaceX seems to be outdoing the other companies and because of this has become a target and I can’t help but feel that was the reason for the headline which stated “SpaceX’s Moon Loop Will Affect Passengers’ Health.” When you see a headline like this you think the worst will happen, passengers may die or at the very least get life threatening conditions, but that really doesn’t seem to be the case. The article says there will probably be friction among the passengers. Well no one knows this so I have to eliminate that as a health effect. Next, they talk about the small dose of radiation the passengers will receive. It didn’t seem to harm the Apollo astronauts who were in space longer than the tourists will be. Not to mention the fact there are ways of cutting it down even further. Throwing up is listed and while this is very disconcerting, it is not life threatening, therefore I have to say this article was mostly false news and far too sensationalized. Planet 9 or Planet X as it is sometimes referred to has been at the forefront of controversy for hundreds of years. Most scientists today think it does not exist, but there are some who believe it could, but its orbit is so elliptical and huge it could be at the far end and we would never know it. There are those who think they have found the proof of its existence and it is sewn into a medieval tapestry among other records. Two scientists believe they can comb medieval records, find comets and use a computer to determine when the comets appeared and then search the sky on that date using a computer simulation and hopefully find planet 9.
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