... taken place. They include securing a dedicated, operational solar-wind monitoring spacecraft stationed between Sun and Earth, at a distance of 1.5 million km. This was achieved with the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) spacecraft. NOAA has...
... exploitation of a natural environment containing a rich biosphere and concentrated fuels is not possible, because it does not exist. Earth’s polar regions are vastly more hospitable than anywhere on Mars, yet they do not attract immigrants Therefore...
...roughly constant as we spiral out, we would need 5.8 x1014 m2 of solar cells. That is 1.1 times the total surface area of Earth. Parasol shades Let’s take a look at a project that is of similar scale, easier (by far) for a primitive civilisation like...
... transit, they must survive another entry, descent and landing, bringing them safely back to the surface of Earth. Each challenge requires us to develop systems or capabilities we do not currently have. In order to reach the goal of footsteps on Mars...