Lifeboat Foundation

Project Hyperion explores the feasibility of crewed interstellar travel via generation ships, using current and near-future technologies. A generation ship is a hypothetical spacecraft designed for long-duration interstellar travel, where the journey may take centuries to complete. The objective of the competition is to design the habitat of the generation ship, including its architecture and society.

Talking to distant spacecraft and more might become a lot easier.

A warp drive for faster-than-light travel may no longer need exotic matter.

WASHINGTON — Japanese lunar lander developer ispace has confirmed that its second mission to the moon will launch on the same SpaceX Falcon 9 as Firefly Aerospace’s first lunar lander.

In an online presentation late Dec. 17 to discuss preparations for its Resilience lander, Takeshi Hakamada, founder and chief executive of ispace, said that his company’s mission would launch during a six-day window in mid-January on the same rocket launching Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost 1 mission.

Continue reading “Firefly, ispace lunar landers to share Falcon 9 launch” »

SpaceX’s next Starship megarocket now has a license to fly.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Tuesday (Dec. 17) issued a launch license for SpaceX’s upcoming Starship Flight 7 test flight, clearing the way for the company’s next launch of the world’s largest rocket from South Texas. The launch license comes on the heels of several Starship engine tests by SpaceX to check the flight readiness of its seventh Ship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket booster.

NASA briefing on lunar lander from Firefly.

NASA holds a virtual audio-only media teleconference to highlight the NASA science flying onboard Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign. Participants include:

Continue reading “Media Briefing: What’s On Board Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1” »

Researchers have developed a technique called “atomic spray painting” using molecular beam epitaxy to strain-tune potassium niobate, enhancing its ferroelectric properties.

This method allows precise manipulation of material properties, with potential applications in green technologies, quantum computing, and space exploration.

Material Strain Tuning

Human-made objects on Mars, including spacecraft, landers, and rovers, may hold significant archaeological value rather than being dismissed as space debris.

Scholars propose cataloging and preserving these artifacts to document humanity’s early interplanetary exploration and ensure future missions respect these historical markers.

Mars as a new frontier: understanding the value of space debris.

The most explosive fuel in the universe could power humanity’s first starship.