Space Travel Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Mars in unearthly, unchartered, unknown & yet attracts all of humanity. The hazards of the endeavor are overwhelmed by the hype & hope surrounding the enterprise. A variety of individuals, private companies, commercial firms and national space agencies are engrossed in efforts at landing & inhabiting Mars. However, these efforts are disjoint and there exists little or no coordination. The aspirations as also hazards are immense, the resources scarce & costly. Consequently, left ungoverned, the potential for conflict in space exploration is high. There exists a critical need to regulate and coordinate affairs in this area right now when the technologies and legislation are yet immature. This calls for a credible institutionalized governance structure. This paper proposes an expansion of the existing United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) to take on the mantle of space exploration governance and to continue with incremental progressions later.

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- Environmental Science, Space Sciences, Human Evolution, International Studies

Over the last decade, there has been a respectable level of scientific interest regarding the concept of a warp drive. This is a hypothetical propulsion device that could theoretically circumvent the traditional limitations of special relativity which restricts spacecraft to sub-light velocities. Any breakthrough in this field would revolutionize space exploration and open the doorway to interstellar travel. This article discusses a novel approach to generating the warp bubble necessary for such propulsion; the mathematical details of this theory are discussed in an article published in the Journal of the British Interpanetary Society. The theory is based on some of the exciting predictions coming out of string theory and it is the aim of this article to introduce the warp drive idea from a non-mathematical perspective that should be accessible to a wide range of readers.

- by Gerald B Cleaver
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- String Theory, Special Relativity, Warp Drive, Space Travel

Review of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

- by Sandra Piñón Gonzaga
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- Religion, Mythology And Folklore, Sociology, Mythology

Commercial human spaceflight raises numerous medical, legal and ethical considerations with regard to the health and safety of civilian spaceflight participants (SFPs) and commercial crew. New and emerging space transportation companies are proposing a range of commercial suborbital, orbital, interplanetary and point-to-point space transportation. However, the diversity in mission architecture, operation, flight purpose and duration make it difficult to establish a solitary risk assessment or approach towards spaceflight as a homogeneous activity. Even after 50 years in space, there is no denying that a great deal of scientific, technological and medical uncertainty exists with spaceflight. While some hazards have been identified (e.g. acceleration, microgravity, radiation and meteorites), physiological risks and uncertainties for spacefarers remain and are accentuated in opening space access to a wide demographic of individuals with varying levels of fitness and no standardized medical criteria for selection. In addition, the scope of physiological risks spans pre-flight, in-flight and post-flight operations and activities this in turn triggers practical mitigation measures and bioethical-legal duties, such as full disclosure and informed consent. This paper will provide an overview of the applicable laws, underlying values and duties of care intertwined with spaceflight and addresses prominent concerns of medical uncertainty and human risk factors. The aim of which is to assist in establishing a practical, prudent and sustainable framework for human expansion into space.

- by Sara Langston
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- Bioethics, Risk Management, Uncertainty, Space Law

This study extends the current knowledge of behavioral intention of space travelers based on motivation and risk antecedents of undertaking a space trip. Using cumulative prospect theory, we develop and test research models to investigate sufficient motivation and risk antecedents on behavioral intention, to explore complex combinations of above antecedents (i.e., causal recipes) leading to both high and low scores of behavioral intention, and to identify necessary motivation and risk antecedents to achieve desired behavioral outcome. The results revealed that although motivations appeared as sufficient and necessary antecedents, risk antecedents play a dominant role such that risks can diminish the effects of motivations in shaping desired behavioral intention of space travelers. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

- by Prof. Hossein Olya and +1
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- Marketing, Space Sciences, Tourism Studies, Tourism Marketing
- by Deana Weibel
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- Religion, Anthropology of Pilgrimage, Pilgrimage, Ritual

Promising a ‘new normal’ of 10-minute space vacations and orbiting space hotels, human spaceflight advancements in the last decade make the distant dream of a multi-planetary life seem closer to reality. In this exciting era of privatizing human spaceflight, it is important to take a step back to understand and acknowledge its rich historical discovery and the many nuanced concepts that populate this revolutionary opportunity. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the history of human spaceflight, the contributions of the many astronauts that made this possible, and its impact on the world today. Taking a deep dive into the science behind human spaceflight allows the appreciation of the intricate mechanics at work, coupled with its physical, psychological, philosophical and sociological implications. Human Spaceflight also explores the controversies, unanswered questions and what the future holds for this exciting opportunity.

- by Austin A Mardon and +2
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- History of Space Travel, Human Spaceflight, Astronomy, Space Travel

Pochissimi registi hanno creato una narrazione così potente e originale da caratterizzare un’intera generazione, ancor meno quelli che si sono imposti nel mercato. Christopher Nolan è con tutta probabilità l’autore più rappresentativo del nuovo secolo. Passato nel giro di pochissimo tempo dalle produzioni indipendenti del cinema inglese ai blockbuster americani con incassi da milioni di dollari. Le sue opere hanno raccolto gli apprezzamenti trasversali di tutta la critica. L’arditezza e la forza dei suoi racconti sono stati tali da farli entrare di diritto nella Storia del cinema. La filmografia di Nolan può essere assunta ad esempio della pro- duzione del nuovo millennio con film che hanno saputo anticipare temi e reinventare generi, a partire da Memento fino ad arrivare Interstellar, passando dalla trilogia del Cavaliere oscuro, The Prestige e Inception. Leonard Shelby, il detective Dormer, Bruce Wayne, Borden e Angier, i due Cobb, Cooper, sono personaggi che hanno lasciato un segno indelebile nell’anima dello spettatore.

Elon Musk has sought to position his private aerospace company, SpaceX, as the future of space exploration, even as the feasibility of its initiatives remains to be seen. Although the level of support for public space programs has been well established by previous research, we know less about how people perceive private space travel initiatives, particularly those—like the SpaceX Mars colonization proposal—that involve civilian participation. Today's young people are the first generation who may find themselves or their children deciding whether to leave Earth for another planet. In this study, we compare the case Musk is making for the SpaceX colonization plan to young adults' perceptions of that plan, using data gathered from 81 college students who participated in interviews and focus groups on this topic. We argue that the rhetoric of private space initiatives has the potential to create new visions of our spacefaring future, but also new points of resistance for the civilians needed to support these initiatives. Our analysis revealed doubts regarding feasibility, concerns related to cost, and an individualized sense of risk that outweighed more generalized benefits. We conclude with implications for those seeking public support for private space initiatives, as well as plans for tracking public sentiment regarding private space travel as it changes over time.

- by Curtis Sullivan and +1
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- Mars, Space Policy, Nasa, Space Travel
- by Curtis Sullivan and +1
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- Mars, Space Policy, Nasa, Space Travel

With and against Carl Schmitt, the thesis of a third space revolution is developed - the space revolution through space travel and the corresponding taking of space. Based on this, the connection with globalisation is reconstructed and the significance of space travel for the constitution of world society in the sense of Niklas Luhmann's sociology is discussed.

- by Dierk Spreen
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- Political Sociology, Sociology of Space, Carl Schmitt, Niklas Luhmann

Over the last decade, there has been a respectable level of scientific interest regarding the concept of a ‘warp drive’. This is a hypothetical propulsion device that could theoretically circumvent the traditional limitations of special relativity which restricts spacecraft to sub-light velocities. Any breakthrough in this field would revolutionize space exploration and open the doorway to interstellar travel. This article discusses a novel approach to generating the ‘warp bubble’ necessary for such propulsion; the mathematical details of this theory are discussed in an article published in the Journal of the British Interpanetary Society [1]. The theory is based on some of the exciting predictions coming out of string theory and it is the aim of this article to introduce the warp drive idea from a non-mathematical perspective that should be accessible to a wide range of readers.

- by Gerald B Cleaver
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- String Theory, Warp Drive, Space Travel, Cosmological Constant

Tourism, seen as a complex social and economic phenomenon, emerges to an unseen level of progress and advancement worldwide. It is known that tourism represents a complicated occurrence that has a great impact on the international economy – of course in a positive sense. It represents a so called “tourism industry” because of the large number of implications that arise from it and is at the same time one of the largest economy activities in the world.
Over the past few years, the travel and tourism industry has had to contend with a series of unprecedented challenges. Political uncertainty, terrorism, consumer wariness and economic turbulence have all placed enormous pressure on this industry. These events have left their mark – not only on the balance sheets of industry players and on global employment, but also in terms of changes in consumer demand and behaviour. In an effort to adapt to the shifting marketplace, the travel and tourism industry has had to restructure and refocus its efforts. While business plans have become increasingly short term, more and more governments are realizing that they can not leave travel and tourism growth to chance. This emerging global consciousness represents a great opportunity for this industry.
Mass and specialised tourism have boomed, and new destinations, themes and adventures are being added continuously at a frantic pace. Similarly, space activities, and especially human spaceflight, have also developed dramatically over the past two decades. Thus, new types of tourism offer emerge from this situation such as space tourism. Public space travel—better known as space tourism—has evolved from a fringe market struggling to be taken seriously to an emerging, competitive market in which a large number of companies are seeking to gain a foothold. It is important to determine the demand for passenger space travel. This requires information ranging from the world population of people wealthy enough to afford such flights to their fitness and interest levels

- by Michael Risteski
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- Tourism Studies, Futurism, Travel & Tourism, Tourism Product Development

In the future, when men realizes that the Earth is limited in keeping life safe, humanity will slowly but steadily venture beyond the gravitational pull of our planet and ultimately our solar system. With this in mind, the question arises if it is technically possible to preserve human life and our way of living in Outer Space for a long period of time? By assuming that it is possible to preserve life inside a structure until it reaches a potential exoplanet that can sustain human life, it becomes interesting to think about the design of such a structure.
In order to answer the research question – “How would a habitat that preserves human life in Outer Space look like and how would it function spatially?” - and the two sub-questions – “a. What are the conditions of Outer Space that have a significant influence on the habitat and its inhabitants, and what are the requirements needed to preserve human life?”; “b. Which human factors (psychological, physiological and cultural) can affect the inhabitant in Outer Space and how can architecture influence and support the inhabitant?” an exploratory research has been concluded on various topics.
The main research is realized through an extensive study of different fields connected with Space Architecture and Space Travel. Knowledge that is gained from documentaries, literature and other sources on topics like architecture, astronomy, society, psychology, physiology, physics, politics, technology and more is used to create different design principles which are used as a guideline for the design of an interstellar habitat.
The personal design uses these principles to establish a plausible and feasible habitat for people to live in. The habitat will be divided into different design regions in order to target the most important and impactful design principles.

- by Sebastiaan van Alebeek
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- Physiology, Psychology, Physics, Architecture

Time is actually an abstract entity which became part of Special Relativity. There has in fact been postulation that time is unreal but just an invention of the intellect. Whether time is an invention or
actually real, it cannot be denied that it plays a very important role in our lives, e.g., without a watch to tell us the time practically all of us would be lost in time. This paper takes a look at the philosophical ramifications and difficulties of time, as well as time-travel, and clarifies things.

- by Bertrand Wong
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- Physics, Theoretical Physics, Space Sciences, Philosophy of Science

Appunti per una fantascienza del cielo vuoto Introduzione La fantascienza cinematografica contemporanea costituisce un soggetto estremamente complesso: grazie ad una duttilità intrinseca, la sua iconografia ha finito per pollinare un gran numero di narrazioni, a volte difficilmente riconducibili alla matrice originale. Al caos classificatorio si aggiunge una sovrapposizione di differenti estetiche provenienti dal passato del genere, che finiscono per convivere in produzioni appartenenti al medesimo momento storico: la serie TV Altered Carbon (Netflix, 2018) o il sequel tardivo di Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982) ad opera di Dennis Villeneuve ripropongono un immaginario cyberpunk, mentre Valerian e la città dei mille pianeti (Valérian et la Cité des mille planètes, Luc Besson, 2017) e l'ennesima trilogia di Guerre stellari portano avanti il vetusto filone della space opera. Questa sovrapposizione di futuri rende difficile la delineazione di una corrente precisa con cui identificare la fantascienza contemporanea. La maggior parte delle produzioni audiovisive legate al sci-fi, che si tratti di space opera, hard sci-fi o cyberpunk, propone un'idea di avvenire non più credibile, frutto di paure e suggestioni di cui oggi restano solo echi lontani. Negativi di presenti sbiaditi, oggi le estetiche sopra citate reclamano la propria teca nello smisurato museo dei generi filmici, di fianco a fantasy, western, horror e tutti gli altri idioletti dei racconti contemporanei. La loro ipostatizzazione in linguaggi ben definiti sottolinea come abbiano esaurito la loro funzione di futuro possibile, capace di conversare attivamente con il presente che lo ha originato senza scadere nel becero escapismo. Ad un primo sguardo, pare che il sci-fi contemporaneo abbia perso la sua capacità di immaginare il domani, una prospettiva che innerva l'intera cultura contemporanea come intuito da Mark Fisher: mentre la cultura sperimentale del ventesimo secolo era preda di un delirio ricombinatorio che dava l'impressione che la novità fosse disponibile all'infinito, il ventunesimo secolo è oppresso da un soffocante senso di finitezza e sfinimento. Non si ha affatto l'impressione di trovarsi nel futuro. O in alternativa, non si ha l'impressione che il ventunesimo secolo sia già cominciato. 1 Un tentativo di sviluppare una fantascienza radicata nel presente proviene dalle pellicole che propongono l'immagine di una tecnologia smart, facile da usare, perfettamente integrata all'interno della quotidianità e dotata di un design accattivante. Pellicole come Lei (Her, Spike Jonze, 2013) 1 M. Fisher, Spettri della mia vita: scritti su depressione, hauntologia e futuri perduti, Roma, Minimum Fax, 2019, p.19.

- by Gregorio Zanacchi Nuti
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- Cultural Studies, Technology, Genre, Film Analysis

The plot of the film, Stowaway, Netflix, 2021, concerns a mission to Mars at an unspecified future date. The film covers the first few days of the mission, starting from launch of the vehicle that carries the crew of three to a docking with, and for incorporation as part of, a much larger pre-assembled vehicle, to form the complete vehicle that will travel to Mars. Things go badly wrong from the outset, ultimately compromising the mission’s primary goals; but the immediate crisis is resolved, in part, such that the vehicle can continue its journey to Mars. The technical features of the as-planned mission, and the steps taken by the crew to resolve the immediate crisis (inadequate oxygen supply to get the crew to Mars alive), raise a number of questions and issues. An examination of these questions and issues illustrates the challenges of creating a practical solution to generating artificial gravity and dealing with in-flight issues with a vehicle that features such a solution. It also highlights the need for more-thoughtful prioritization of mission success assurance versus crew comfort and the need for better pre-launch checklists.

- by Malcolm Hamer
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- Astronautics, Science Fiction Film, Space Travel, Space and Rocketry

Within the framework of brane-world models it is possible to account for the cosmological constant by assuming supersymmetry is broken on the 3-brane but preserved in the bulk. An effective Casimir energy is induced on the brane due to the boundary conditions imposed on the compactified extra dimensions. It will be demonstrated that modification of these boundary conditions allows a spacecraft to travel at any desired speed due to a local adjustment of the cosmological constant which effectively contracts/expands space-time in the front/rear of the ship resulting in motion potentially faster than the speed of light as seen by observers outside the disturbance.

- by Gerald B Cleaver
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- String Theory, Space Travel, Cosmological Constant, Alcubierre warp drive
- by Marshall Eubanks
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- Quantum Chromodynamics, Dark Matter, Antimatter, Space Travel
- by Deana Weibel
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- Tourism, Space Tourism, Space Travel

The main benefit of an interstellar mission is to carry out in-situ measurements within a target star system. To allow for extended in-situ measurements, the spacecraft needs to be decelerated. One of the currently most promising technologies for deceleration is the magnetic sail which uses the deflection of interstellar matter via a magnetic field to decelerate the spacecraft. However, while the magnetic sail is very efficient at high velocities, its performance decreases with lower speeds. This leads to deceleration durations of several decades depending on the spacecraft mass. Within the context of Project Dragonfly, initiated by the Initiative of Interstellar Studies (i4is), this paper proposes a novel concept for decelerating a spacecraft on an interstellar mission by combining a magnetic sail with an electric sail. Combining the sails compensates for each technologys shortcomings: A magnetic sail is more effective at higher velocities than the electric sail and vice versa. It is demonstrated that using both sails sequentially outperforms using only the magnetic or electric sail for various mission scenarios and velocity ranges, at a constant total spacecraft mass. For example, for decelerating from 5% c, to interplanetary velocities, a spacecraft with both sails needs about 29 years, whereas the electric sail alone would take 35 years and the magnetic sail about 40 years with a total spacecraft mass of 8250 kg. Furthermore, it is assessed how the combined deceleration system affects the optimal overall mission architecture for different spacecraft masses and cruising speeds. Future work would investigate how operating both systems in parallel instead of sequentially would affect its performance. Moreover, uncertainties in the density of interstellar matter and sail properties need to be explored.

- by Andreas M. Hein
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- Exoplanets, Spaceflight, Space Travel, Interstellar Flight

Seit dem 20. Jahrhundert hat sich die Gesellschaft in den Weltraum ausgedehnt. Einerseits hängen Kommunikation, Sicherheit und Wissen von weltraumgestützten Systemen ab, andererseits bricht durch die bemannte Raumfahrt die Gesellschaft faktisch in den Kosmos auf.
Dieser Band startet eine Sonde in einen soziologisch ziemlich unbekannten Gesellschaftsraum. Er erklärt die conditio humana der Weltraumfahrt und sichtet Weltraumkonzepte und Astronautik in der modernen Diskursordnung, für die globale Sicherheit, in der Architektur und in der Massenkultur.
Mit Gastbeiträgen von Heike Delitz und Helmuth Plessner (1892-1985), der schon früh die Bedeutung der Kosmonautik antizipierte.

- by Dierk Spreen and +1
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- Cultural Sociology, Cyborg Theory, Philosophical Anthropology, History of Space Travel
- by Warren Platts
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- Space Travel, Lunar Exploration

In the nearly 60 years of spaceflight we have accomplished wonderful feats of exploration and shown the incredible spirit of the human drive to explore and understand our universe. Yet in those 60 years we have barely left our solar system with the Voyager 1 spacecraft launched in 1977 finally leaving the solar system after 37 years of flight at a speed of 17 km/s or less than 0.006% the speed of light. As remarkable as this is, we will never reach even the nearest stars with our current propulsion technology in even 10 millennium. We have to radically rethink our strategy or give up our dreams of reaching the stars, or wait for technology that does not exist. While we all dream of human spaceflight to the stars in a way romanticized in books and movies, it is not within our power to do so, nor it is clear that this is the path we should choose. We posit a technological path forward, that while not simple; it is within our technological reach. We propose a roadmap to a program that will lead to sending relativistic probes to the nearest stars and will open up a vast array of possibilities of flight both within our solar system and far beyond. Spacecraft from gram level complete spacecraft on a wafer (" wafer sats ") that reach more than ¼ c and reach the nearest star in 15 years to spacecraft with masses more than 10 5 kg (100 tons) that can reach speeds of near 1000 km/s such systems can be propelled to speeds currently unimaginable with our existing propulsion technologies. To do so requires a fundamental change in our thinking of both propulsion and in many cases what a spacecraft is. In addition to larger spacecraft, some capable of transporting humans, we consider functional spacecraft on a wafer, including integrated optical communications, optical systems and sensors combined with directed energy propulsion. Since " at home " the costs can be amortized over a very large number of missions. The human factor of exploring the nearest stars and exo-planets would be a profound voyage for humanity, one whose non-scientific implications would be enormous. It is time to begin this inevitable journey beyond our home. Introduction We propose a system that will allow us to take the step to interstellar exploration using directed energy propulsion combined with miniature probes including some where we would put an entire spacecraft on a wafer to achieve relativistic flight and allow us to reach nearby stars in a human lifetime. With recent work on wafer scale photonics and directed energy, we can now envision combining these technologies to allow for a realistic approach of sending probes far outside our solar system and to nearby stars. By leaving the main propulsion system back in Earth orbit (or nearby) and propelling wafer scale highly integrated spacecraft that include cameras, bi-directional optical communications, power and other sensors we can achieve gram scale systems coupled with small laser driven sails to

- by Travis Brashears and +1
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- Space Travel, Interstellar Travel, Wafersat

“Dark Matter” theory - https://rb.gy/cfr720 is the basis. ”Time Travel” presentation deals with outlook of what is past and what is present and the fact that our past changes and so is the future – at each “Bang” there is a new past and a new present which are different from the previous. This is the first part/presentation on this subject and is creating the lay of the land and serves as the basis to develop the subject. The universe is composed of one particle only the “Dark Matter” (I define it in a totally different way than presently) - https://rb.gy/cfr720. Propagation (as a result of a “Big Bang”) through the “Dark matter”, 4th dimension through 3 dimension universe, creates all we know including basic particles, forces, energy etc. & resolve issues like entanglement – no need for the endless number of overcomplicated elementary particles. Since the sea of “Dark matter” is infinitely large then any place in the universe is the point of inception. Also there is a continues number of “Bangs”, one after the other, each one is a new creation. This opens up a whole realm where issues of time and its definition can be well understood. Protons, Electrons & Neutrons are vortices in a 3 dimensional universe (propagation in the “Dark Matter”) spinning around the time axis – 4th dimension.

- by Ofer Moshe
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- Mathematical Physics, Theoretical Physics, Quantum Physics, Relativity

Continuing with my reviews from 15-25 years ago of little-known science fiction from that time, here's my 1990 review, published in the Journal of Social and Evolutionary Systems, of The Quiet Pools by Michael P. Kube-McDowell (Ace, 1990), not yet available on Kindle but it should be. It explores a question that has long vexed me: why are some people, like me, so excited about humans going out into space, while others view our excursions beyond our planet as a waste of time and money?

- by Paul Levinson
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- Science Fiction, Science Fiction Studies, Space Travel

Space plays a role in modernity and in modern society. It is by no means an external space that is merely "there" and simply "surrounds" earthly events. Rather, it proves to be, firstly, a model for social self-reference free from the intervention of the state sovereign, which goes hand in hand with anti-dualistic body-soul concepts. Secondly, it is conceived as a free space that challenges the construction of fully technical spheres and thus enables an astronautical way of life for humans. At the same time, astronautical existence also makes the form of a space-optimised technical reconstruction of the human body conceivable. This optimisation is addressed by the term "cybernetic organism" or "cyborg". And thirdly, the "spaceship" and the "cyborg" become reflexive figures that can be used to problematise the interactions between nature, life, society and technology.

- by Dierk Spreen
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- Cyborg Theory, History of Space Travel, Optimization techniques, Sociology of Space

A brief commentary on how the fast journey times of nano probes to Alpha Centauri generated by high power lasers relate to the optimum interstellar travel time predicted by the wait calculation and growth rates. The wait calculation describes an optimum velocity of departure to a given destination whereas specialised peak velocities achievable outside coordinated economic growth fall in utility as examples from history indicate. The purpose of the Breakthrough Starshot proposal appears to be as a stimulus rather than a genuine end. _______________________________________________________________________________ By aiming for a trip to Alpha Centuri lasting 20 years within a generation, it does seem that the Breakthrough Starshot plan just announced (www.breakthroughinitiatives.org) contradicts the wait calculation. In the way perhaps that punctuated equilibrium of evolution contradicts the slow steady accumulation of alleles and rate of speciation of classical Darwinism. Well, on some level it certainly looks like it. I calculated in 2006 that with an average rate of growth in power production of 1.4% we are unlikely to get to Barnard's star (6c), once thought to have a couple of planets but now no longer, before ≈1000 years. If we take the destination of Alpha Centauri at around 4c distance then with an average growth rate of 2% the wait calculation suggests humans would get there in 775 years with a journey time of 100 years. The Breakthrough Starshot seems to have completely shot that calculation out of the water. Well, has it? The point about the wait calculation was to show the total time to fnish a task given exponential rates of growth in a process that takes a given time at a given rate of growth has a minimum. This is true of similar growth processes like that referenced by Moore's Law, by which we can show there is an optimum wait time to buy a computer of a given processing power to do a set task you want done. If you wait too long for a faster computer then total time to fnish the task is longer than if you had bought a slower computer earlier. I based the rates of growth of interstellar travel on the rate of growth of power production on Earth and assumed a velocity growth parameter independent of mass, but more than this, the idea in mind was to predict what velocity the Earth economy as a whole would produce that is to say, what market forces could develop and sustain. Peak velocity has always been with us, but producing it does not always provide the optimum conditions for a journey. A person may well be able to run a great deal faster than a person walking, but his or her utility falls after a short time; his or her ability to carry stuf and to remain capable in the environment all reduce as peak velocity rises. The sustainability of a peak velocity to move humans about not produced by market forces will always have less utility than that produced by the market in the long run. Examples of this in history are instructive, even though Earth's history may not provide

- by Andrew N Kennedy
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- Space Sciences, Space, Economics of Space, Space Travel
- by Janelle Griswold
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- Engineering, Physics, Space Travel, Interstellar Travel

The proposed space conveyor is a mass transit system for launching vehicles into space that uses the energy of Earth’s rotation to do the heavy lifting. In some respects, the space conveyor is similar to a space elevator in that they both consist of a ground station connected to a top station located some distance above the height of geostationary orbit. However, instead of being joined by a tether, the two stations are connected by a conveyor belt moving along rollers on both stations. Whereas with a space elevator, the climber must make a round trip from the ground to the top station and back before it can carry a second load, the space conveyor allows loads to be continuously attached to the moving conveyor belt, resulting in a vast increase in carrying capacity compared to the space elevator. Furthermore, if the height of the space conveyor is chosen so that the gravitational force acting on the conveyor belt and the attached conveyor cars is exactly balanced by the centrifugal force due to Earth’s rotation, the only energy required to operate the space conveyor would be that which is necessary to offset the small losses due to friction on the bearings supporting the rollers as well as air resistance on the tiny fraction of the conveyor belt lying within Earth’s atmosphere. This balance between the gravitational force and the centrifugal force will continue to hold even in the presence of a net upward flow of mass, as is expected to occur for some time after the space conveyor becomes operational, as humanity leaves Earth to explore and colonize the rest of the solar system, that energy difference being provided by the energy of Earth’s rotation. It turns out that the minimum tensile strength required for the conveyor belt of the space conveyor is the same as that for the tether of the space elevator, so it follows that if the technology exists for constructing a space elevator, it likewise exists for constructing a space conveyor. Therefore, given the substantial advantages of the space conveyor as compared to the space elevator, namely, vastly increased carrying capacity as well as greatly reduced energy required per unit payload carried aloft, it makes sense to devote our resources to designing and building a space conveyor rather than a space elevator.

- by Stanley Korn
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- Space Travel

Space travel is one of humanity's most fantastic aspirations. However, space is the most dangerous environment due to extreme conditions. Reduced-gravity generates disuse muscle atrophy and impaired blood circulation in lower limbs. Therefore, this paper proposes a new biomedical soft robotic system to improve muscle development and promote blood circulation by applying energetically efficient mechanical stimulation to the soft tissues of the astronaut's lower limb and, additionally, to monitor their performance by cottonbased carbon nanotubes biosensors. The computational mechanical simulations performed show a maximum increase in energy optimisation of 89% and a maximum safety factor of 2.75. These preliminary results suggest an increase in the efficiency and safety of the soft robotic device.

- by Katherine Vanesa Hinostroza Quispe and +1
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- Biosensors, Biomechatronics, Medical Robotics, Space Travel

A perfectly geometric cuboid floats on the backdrop of an impression- istic landscape of stormy clouds that nestle around the clear form of the alien object which may launch into space momentarily. The con- trast between expressive... more

- by Rebekka Ladewig
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- History of Science and Technology, Space Travel, Cosmism, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

Looking at the sky and observing it has been a hobby of mine. The progress our civilization has been making towards making space travel faster, easier and better is extraordinary and exciting. Studies and workings on space travel have led to many technological developments such as GPS, which we use in cars, mobiles, and many other navigational systems (Whitwam, 2018). While a future where humans can be a spacefaring and multi-planet species is exciting and inspiring, the cost of spaceflight currently makes it really difficult. The distances and time involved in space travel are bizarre and not efficient. We will go in-depth about space travel with this project, explore revolutionary technologies and see what all science sectors are involved for space travel to be a reality.

- by Shray Shrotriya
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- Planetary Science, History of Space Travel, Space, Universe

A number of points are brought up below for pondering and possible discussion. We should not regard our physics as the one and only reality. What is described below may seem like science fiction, but should not be brushed off as... more

- by Bertrand Wong
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- Intellectual History, Evolutionary Biology, Psychology, Clinical Psychology
- by Marshall Eubanks
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- Quantum Chromodynamics, Dark Matter, Antimatter, Space Travel

Review of The Unreasoning Mask by Philip J. Farmer

- by Michael O'Brien
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- Religion, Mythology And Folklore, Mythology, Philosophy

Is globalisation expanding into "transglobalisation" through the new space travel?

- by Dierk Spreen
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- Globalization, History of Space Travel, Outer Space Law, Astroculture

Brief thoughts on the cover of the December 2016 issue of "postmedieval"

- by Sebastian Sobecki
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- History, English Literature, Medieval History, British History