NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phase I Award
Funding: up to $125,000
Study Period: 9 months

Making Soil for Space Habitats by Seeding Asteroids with Fungi
Jane Shevtsov
Trans Astronautica Corporation
Lake View Terrace, Calif.

Synopsis

Background and Objectives: Any large, long-term human space habitat will need to grow most of its own food and recycle nutrients. For easily resupplied missions, growing crops hydroponically makes sense, but soil-based systems possess important advantages in the context of a large settlement that cannot be affordably resupplied from Earth.

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

The contrast was jarring. In one browser window, two NASA astronauts were making their way to the International Space Station (ISS) after the first orbital launch of a crew from U.S. soil in nearly 9 years.

In another window, scenes of chaos played out as protests over the death of George Floyd after his arrest by Minneapolis police erupted into violent clashes across the country.

I really don’t know what to make of this story about NASA cooperating with Bigelow Aerospace to put a habitat on the moon: Business deals don’t get much bigger than this one. Have you ever read a contract that gives a governmental green light to a program to “place a base on the surface of the moon?” Ever see an agreement signed by the U.S. government that declares a specific […]

Asteroid Ida

The question of where humanity should go next in space will be the topic of a round table on Friday, Oct. 29 at the Sheraton Sunnyvale Hotel.

“Moon, Mars, Asteroids: Where to Go First for Resources?” will bring together some of the world’s top experts to debate our next step in the settlement of space. The round table, sponsored by the Space Studies Institute, will be held from 7:00 to 10 p.m., including a post-debate reception. Admission is free to registered conference attendees and the general public.

(more…)

Apollo 17 moon walker Harrison “Jack” Schmitt was in Vienna addressing the Austrian Academy of Sciences on Wednesday, saying that many challenges remain despite NASA’s discovery of water on the moon. The Chinese Xinhua news agency reports:

However, he pointed out that that was not enough to promote the establishment of lunar manned station. In his view, the key issue about water on the moon was not its scarcity but rather how to use it.

(more…)

The Space Review looks at the Augustine Commission, RLVs, space colonies and Saddam Hussein’s space program.

Space exploration volunteers wanted (The catch? It’s a one-way ticket)
The Guardian

The next generation of astronauts may hurtle through the cosmos for years or decades on a mission to explore distant planets and stars – and never return.

A senior Nasa official has told the Guardian that the world’s space agencies, or the commercial firms that may eventually succeed them, could issue one-way tickets to space, with the travellers accepting that they would not come back.

(more…)

A One-way Ticket to Mars
Paul Davies
Astrobiology Magazine

What I’d like to talk about today is how to cut the cost of going to Mars. And there’s one very obvious way, which is a one-way mission.

(more…)

Averting Armageddon via asteroid
Commentary – Douglas MacKinnon
Baltimore Sun

Make no mistake: We had no clue that 2009 DD45 was out there or that it was basically on a years-in-the-making possible collision course with our planet. None. While this close shave raises many questions, two immediate ones come to mind.

(more…)

Over at The Space Review this week, there are some interesting pieces on why, 50 years after NASA was created, there are no colonies at the moon, Mars or L-5. In addition to Nader Elhefnawy’s essay on overpopulation and space exploration (see separate post, below), there are three other articles loosely grouped around this common theme.

(more…)