Mars bricks made from bugs

Mars, the real estate boom of the 22nd century? (image source: Wikimedia Commons)

In what is a completely novel twist on overcoming the habitation problems of humans going to Mars, NASA has begun designing microbes to assist in the development of bricks, fuel and plastics, Andy Coghlan from New Scientist reports.

With weight a premium in space travel, carrying large quantities of building materials is expensive, and energetically inefficient.  But by bioengineering bugs like Anabaena, which consume CO2 and nitrogen, to excrete greater levels of sugar, resources such as fuel, oil and plastics can be, in theory at least, developed on Mars.  Similarly,  Sporosarcina pasteuri, a urea feeding bacteria, excretes ammonia that can be used to assist in the development of calcium carbonate, to cement soil particles together and construct bricks.  Experiments have already proven the validity of this particular concept.

Despite issues of unleashing micoorganisms onto another planet, the idea of using bugs to develop fuel and materials on another planet promises to help make that NASA trip to Mars that little bit lighter, and also that little bit more possible.

Read more @ New Scientist

Look @ a nice Mars vs Earth graphic from the University of Washington

NASA talks space bases at an Earth-moon lagrange point (UPDATED)

A cropped image of Earth-moon-Mars Lagrange point relationships from the NASA website.

NASA is has some ideas about developing a space base from its parts of the International Space Station when it is dismantled in the future, to act as a staging area for future moon and Mars missions.  According to PC Mag author Damon Poeter, apparently it will be positioned at a lagrange point some 61,000km from the moon, and 443,000km from Earth.

According to Wikipedia, lagrange points are:

“the five positions in an orbital configuration where a small object affected only by gravity can theoretically be part of a constant-shape pattern with two larger objects (such as a satellite with respect to the Earth and Moon). The Lagrange points mark positions where the combined gravitational pull of the two large masses provides precisely the centripetal force required to orbit with them”

This is all to go hand-in-hand with NASA’s new SLS (Space Launch System) that is in development and due for first testing in 2014.

Read more here @ PC Mag

(UPDATE)

Mark Whittington from Yahoo! News discusses the challenges of NASA’s emerging ‘beyond moon’ lagrange point plans.  Large distances for resupply and positioning outside of the Earth’s magnetic field are obvious hurdles for the space station concept.

Earth’s 5 lagrange points relative to the moon’s influence.  Lagrange point L2 is the proposed point of NASA’s spacestation (image source: Wikimedia Commons)

Unless NASA plans to use it as a space re-fueling depot, critiques suggest the space station will not serve a real purpose.

Read more @ Yahoo! News

Also a lot of great info and images here @ Space.com and @ here as well

Mars Geomorphology: Ancient stream bed found (UPDATED)

Evidence of water moving across the Mars surface from NASA’s Curiosity rover.

Evidence of an ancient stream bed has been found on Mars at Gale Crater, according to NASA.  As seen above, Curiosity has captured an image of conglomerates and stream bed gravel.  Below is a Mars/Earth comparison image of conglomerate clasts and stream bed gravel.  Conglomerates generally form via the deposition of rock materials which is cemented together by mud.

A comparison between Curiosity’s photo and a geologic stream bed on  Earth from NASA.

The gravel size, according to NASA, implies water borne transport at around 1 metre per second, which is quite significant.  The rounded shape of the gravel indicates significant transport distance.

This is a great find as it confirms weathering processes on Mars have not only been a result of wind action, but also  a result of hydrologic processes.  Below, is a topographic map showing the alluvial fan form near Curiosity’s ‘targeted’ landing site.  Alluvial fans generally form from the down-slope movement of water.  The images taken by Curiosity confirm the fan is likely a result of hydrologic processes.

A topographic map from NASA marking the landing zone for Curiosity and the alluvial fan that Curiosity sampled from.

Read more @ NASA

Update: I just corrected my description of conglomerate

Nuclear powered shuttles during the Cold War

How things may have been… (image source: NASA)

So, NASA want to go to Mars, and maybe with some of Elon Musk’s vision, they will succeed, but there is still a long way to go.

50 years ago, during the throws of the Cold War, NASA was working on plans to regularly travel to the moon and even Mars.  At Wired, Damon Poeter delves into NASA’s archives to explore their nuclear shuttle program.  What he reveals is the NERVA I and II nuclear/hydrogen engine program that was to be the heart of the USA’s low-Earth orbit shuttle service to the moon and Mars.  It’s a lovely written and well researched article examining what NASA was willing to do if there was enough money, and can’t help but make me wonder how differently things may have looked today if the Cold War had continued.

Read on @ Wired