Well, it’s high time – a special committee of MPs has recommended that the UK government reverse its ban on manned spaceflight, lest we fall so far behind everyone else that we can’t catch up. So we’ll be needing some sexy-looking space suits … either Louise
Riofrio’s design, or this oh-so-retro space leisure-wear from MIT perhaps. While we’re at it, we could probably find any number of uses for rocket engines with a variable throttle. But then again, maybe we should go the other way, and abandon subtlety in favour of an
updated version of the Orion Project – space vehicles propelled by dropping nuclear bombs beneath themselves.
Tag Archives: space
Astronomers spot a wet ‘hot Jupiter’
This story is everywhere today, but my preferred source for the real unsensationalised science behind astronomy headlines is Centauri Dreams, which explains that, while there is indeed water in the atmosphere of exoplanet HD 189733b, it’s almost certainly not in the liquid form that we are used to finding it in. The good news is that it suggests water-abundant star systems are not a rarity – so maybe one day we’ll find a planet more like our own.
The hazards for life on Mars
It’s a tautology to say that Mars isn’t the most friendly environment for human explorers. In addition to the lack of atmosphere, fluctuating temperatures and high levels of cosmic radiation, fierce storms of super-fine Martian dust could present a serious problem for bold pioneers on the Red Planet’s surface. In fact, Mars’ surface is inimical to local lifeforms, too – which is why NASA’s forthcoming Phoenix Lander will be digging beneath the surface in its hunt for indigenous microbial critters.
Could Bigelow’s inflatables replace the International Space Station?
Bigelow Aerospace is certainly on a roll with their inflatable orbital module projects, demonstrating that you don’t need a vast Federal budget to get functional capsules into space. Colony Worlds suggests that such low-tech success stories will erode political support for the ISS, which will become increasingly hard to maintain once the Space Shuttle is retired. Will this be the tipping point for the commercial space industry?
Spacesuits designed for comfort
Via the latest Carnival of the Space Geeks hosted at Colony Worlds comes word of a new design of space suit, created by Louise Riofrio. Although, as Ms. Riofrio admits, it’s actually quite an old design, at least in principle; the suits given to the X-1 test pilots were based on the same theory of using mechanical counter-pressure as opposed to inflating the suit with air. Riofrio’s suits are allegedly lighter, safer and more comfortable than the ‘bubble suits’ currently in use … and they look a bit more stylish, too.