NASA I just read an article about the ISS, the International Space Station. You can imagine how many germs must be on that place by now, after all it is basically an enclosed capsule. Anyway, the article pointed out that some of the bacteria on the station are mutating into something unknown. Sounds like the script for a space horror movie, doesn’t it? I have to wonder how they could effectively sanitize the space station. I would think they might be able to do it the same way a newer invention for hospitals would work. That is a special bulb that puts out infrared light that kills all the germs. There is a hitch however and that is the space station would have to be unoccupied since it is very dangerous to humans. It is said a dog is man’s best friend, but what about a robot dog? There is one named Spirit which is now learning how to explore and is currently working on Mount Hood in Oregon. It is hoped the robot dog will learn enough to be sent into space so it can do some exploring of planets and moons. Get this, the name of the project is Legged Autonomous Surface Science in Analogue Environments. Can you see what it is being called for short? It is LASSIE. It never ceases to amaze me the names scientists and engineers come up with. It is being said there is a problem to be solved with SpaceX’s Starship and that is, it is only able to lift half the stated cargo weight. The problem is being worked on, but if it isn’t solved it could affect the moon landing. The weight lifting abilities which were stated originally were used in different calculations for taking astronauts to the South Pole of the moon. Elon Musk has a lot riding on this, pardon the pun. Since AI, artificial intelligence, is being introduced into ever facet of science, it just might mean we have to change some of the plans we have made as to how we will do things such as exploring space. The AI might be able to find more efficient ways in at least some instances. It could also find errors we were not aware of. I am thinking of the time we launched a probe which missed its destination and the reason was the calculations were for the metric system and the course calculations were made in miles, feet and inches. I have to assume an AI would have caught this. NASA is said to be working on a plane to fly on Mars. I am not talking about another plane which can fly only short distances. This plane is said to have the capability to explore the entire planet. The project has been named MAGGIE. This stands for Mars Aerial and Ground Intelligent Explorer. It will take off vertically and then switch to horizontal flight but also land vertically. If this works out, look for these types of planes to be included on trips to explore other moons and planets which have enough of an atmosphere to make this type of flight possible. A NASA astronaut is said to have claimed extraterrestrials prevented nuclear war between the United States and Russia. The astronaut was Edgar Mitchell who was one of the people who walked on the moon. He went on to say one of the things going on is aliens have made it sort of a duty to prevent nuclear war. This is said to be based on mostly on what Mitchell has been told by others. It has been said NASA made a fantastic discovery and it was bacteria which would not die. It is said all the ways to kill bacteria were tried including ultraviolet light, peroxide and many different cleaning solutions used to sanitize objects going into space. The bacteria were then sent to the ISS for testing and hung outside in space for 18 months, which only resulted in many of the spores still being alive. NASA is currently using different telescopes for different projects. Some have bit the dust, but Hubble and Chandra are still operating. The president wants us to discontinue Chandra which is an X-ray telescope. Some scientists are up in arms against this and have said the reasons for discontinuing use of the telescope are just not true. I have to wonder how the government operates some times. NASA went to the authorities and asked for permission to apply to China to get some of their moon samples. Did they really think if the Chinese found anything really important, they would share it with them? It also makes me wonder what we would do for them in return. This was being done when NASA has some strong restrictions on collaboration. There is a provision in the NASA appropriations bill called the Wolf Amendment which is said prior written request to Congress must be made in advance and permission given and they must get a certification from the FBI that this does not pose a national security risk. It is being said NASA feels it urgently needs to get to Mars. This feeling is being brought on by the rapid progress China is making in space. This has led to a new space race of sorts and with budget restraints being what they are at NASA, maybe they do have something to worry about. This is also pushing research into nuclear propulsion. The faster our space vehicles can travel the less chance of them being exposed to dangers of all different sorts. It also means they can carry less supplies, and be exposed to less radiation. While NASA says it will put people back on the moon in 2025, many people and agencies think this is pie in the sky. It has been said by many they think the earliest that could happen is 2027 and even that might be too optimistic. NASA has stuck to their schedule so far and the U.S. Government Accountability Office said they are making some progress but still face a lot of challenges. The NASA telescopes have been discovering things which have changed some theories and ideas. The Webb telescope was a real game changer. One find, had to do with finding a galaxy without stars. Another didn’t seem to have a black hole. These finds have wet the appetite of astronomers who now want even bigger space telescopes to be built which might be able to actually see features on some exoplanets. This at a time when the government is spending money on less valuable projects.
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