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Technology

Evidence for Liquid Water on Saturn's Moon

By Laurie J. Schmidt Posted on 12.11.2008 6 Comments
Beneath the central Antarctic ice sheet lies Lake Vostok -- a frozen freshwater lake about the size of Lake Ontario, with depths up to 650 feet. Now, scientists believe that Saturn's icy moon Enceladus may harbor a similar underground reservoir.

12.8.2008 at 02:43pm - Comment by OOTWOguy

This is very interesting in deed, but we have through this about Europa for years. Now we may need to split the difference and look at both? I would like to see a comparison study to see which one would be the most likely to actually harbor or sustain a lifeform. Personally I am a Europa fan. We have not even been able to tap into Lake Vostok here on Earth so how in the world could we do it on Encladeus? We have however been able to sucessfully use a cryobot and have the technology to "drill" down into Europa. Who knows, we probably wont get to research wither of them, so for the time being we will dream. I like the dreams better anyway, like at www.ootwo.com/europa.asp . It is more fun to dream, but I would like to see that dream come true! Aaron COO-OOTWO www.ootwo.com
Technology

Nuclear Moon Bases

By Dawn Stover Posted on 11.21.2008 25 Comments
When lunar astronauts flick on their televisions after a long day of prospecting, they’ll have a trashcan-size nuclear reactor to thank for their nightly dose of prime time. NASA, looking past the already daunting task of simply getting humans to the moon by 2020, recently started considering proposals for ways to power lunar habitats. Batteries and fuel cells provide only short-term solutions. Solar power would be limited where a single night lasts as long as 354 hours. So space-agency officials have started making plans to go nuclear.

12.2.2008 at 12:39pm - Comment by OOTWOguy

Mmmmmmm .... a nuclear club house for a lunar golf course. Delicious! I think the folks at www.ootwo.com/moon.asp would be interested in this.
Technology

A Conversation With Robert Zubrin

By Posted on 12.2.2008 9 Comments
If you've ever fantasized about going to Mars, you've no doubt thought about how you'd get there, how long it would take, and how you'd survive the planet's frigid temperatures. But you probably never considered things like how to invest your money on Mars, how to have a social life, and where to get a job there. In his new book, How to Live on Mars, Dr. Robert Zubrin moves beyond the idea of humans taking a brief exploratory mission to Mars, and considers what it would take to actually live there. Zubrin is the founder and president of the Mars Society and president of Pioneer Astronautics, an aerospace research and development company in Colorado. Popular Science correspondent Laurie Schmidt recently sat down with Zubrin to discuss his new book and his philosophy about the prospect of humans settling Mars.

12.2.2008 at 12:36pm - Comment by OOTWOguy

I dream of going to/living on/recreating on Mars. This is a life long dream that I certainly hope will soon be a reality. Thank you POPSCI for this interesting and great article. For more on Mars recreation see www.ootwo.com and go to any of the Mars pages, I think there are 3 or four. Plus in the blog section there are some fun articles as well.
Technology

A Look Inside Virgin Galactic's Flight Training

By Posted on 11.11.2008 4 Comments
As early as next year, if you are one of a lucky few, you may find yourself strapped in a six-passenger rocket some 50,000 feet above the Earth’s surface, bracing yourself as it disengages from the specially designed jet plane mothership, and shoots cannon-like 60 miles up into suborbital space at three times the speed of sound. If all goes well, you'll then get to unbuckle and float in zero gravity for a full fifteen minutes, spying on the earth’s curvature, all of North America and the Pacific Ocean. This scenario is what Virgin Galactic is banking on. So much so that though the rocket is still unfinished they are already putting their first-picked passengers through flight training. And that is how Wilson da Silva, editor-in-chief and co-founder of Cosmos (the biggest-selling science magazine in Australia) found himself in Philly last month at the National Aerospace Training and Research (NASTAR) Center strapped into one of the most advanced centrifuge simulators on Earth shouting words that we cannot print here as 6 Gs of force pressed down upon him. But first, some background.

11.12.2008 at 04:01pm - Comment by OOTWOguy

See!!!! One step closer to realizing the dream. This Will be the future of space travel, and this will be the future of space recreation: www.ootwo.com . Aaron, COO-OOTWO @ www.ootwo.com
Technology

Web's Eulogy for the Phoenix Mars Lander

By Jeremy Hsu Posted on 11.10.2008 10 Comments
NASA has begun bidding a planned goodbye to its Phoenix Mars Lander. The lander relies on solar panels and the sun's golden touch to reawaken it each day, but a dust storm has hastened the end in the face of the oncoming Martian winter.

11.12.2008 at 03:42pm - Comment by OOTWOguy

Oh lander, you have given us so much. What ever will we do without you. My favorite images are this: www.outofthisworldoutfitters.com/blog/post/2008/05/New-Mars-Phoenix-Lander-Photo.aspx and this: www.outofthisworldoutfitters.com/blog/post/2008/08/Montauk-Monster-and-Water-on-Mars.aspx . Sorry to see you go. be ever still your shovel. Aaron, COO-OOTWO @ www.ootwo.com
Technology

Web's Eulogy for the Phoenix Mars Lander

By Jeremy Hsu Posted on 11.10.2008 10 Comments
NASA has begun bidding a planned goodbye to its Phoenix Mars Lander. The lander relies on solar panels and the sun's golden touch to reawaken it each day, but a dust storm has hastened the end in the face of the oncoming Martian winter.

11.12.2008 at 03:39pm - Comment by OOTWOguy

Oh Mars Lander, you have showen us so much, but my favorite shot is this one: http://www.outofthisworldoutfitters.com/blog/post/2008/05/New-Mars-Phoenix-Lander-Photo.aspx and this one: http://www.outofthisworldoutfitters.com/blog/post/2008/08/Montauk-Monster-and-Water-on-Mars.aspx . What will we do without you? Aaron, COO-OOTWO @ www.ootwo.com
Technology

What Modifications Would I Need to Make to My Car So I Could Drive It On The Moon?

By Stuart Fox Posted on 11.5.2008 3 Comments
When the Apollo astronauts drove around on the moon, they had to settle for a little buggy. But if you want to tour the Sea of Tranquility in the family SUV or a Ferrari, well, you're looking at more than a few weekends under the hood.

11.6.2008 at 03:01pm - Comment by OOTWOguy

How about modifying a golf cart for use on the Moon?? All ready done. See www.ootwo.com/moon.asp . FORE!!!!!
Gadgets

A House That Walks

By John Brandon Posted on 11.6.2008 19 Comments
Houses are normally fairly stationary objects, and that's not considered a bad thing. But innovation never stands still, and a new prototype house that can walk on six legs has been built . The house is ten feet high, powered by solar panels, and is outfitted with a kitchen, toilet, bed, and wood stove. Last week, the house, a collaboration between MIT and the Danish design collective N55, took a journey through Cambridgeshire in England as part of an art project at the Wysing Art Center. Designed to move at the muscle speed of a human, the house walked at about five kilometers an hour around the 11-acre campus. (See video)

11.6.2008 at 02:56pm - Comment by OOTWOguy

Think of the application of such a device on the surface of the Moon or on Mars! This is a very cool idea in deed. A movable, portable scientific research station or a base camp for climbing Olympus Mons ( see here: http://www.ootwo.com/mountain.asp ) !!! This is a very neat idea.
Technology

Purchase a Lovely New Home On...Mars?

By Rachel Durfee Posted on 10.31.2008 17 Comments
Buzz Aldrin is fondly remembered as the second man to ever step foot on the moon, after his more famous compatriot Neil Armstrong. The former astronaut, now 78, is back in the spotlight after proclaiming that, should the United States space program send a mission to Mars, those astronauts should be prepared to stay there.

10.31.2008 at 02:22pm - Comment by OOTWOguy

A home on Mars??? Nah! A hunting lodge ( www.outofthisworldoutfitters.com/ordercert.asp?itemid=3 or www.ootwo.com/hunting.asp ) To bad I am 34 right now, I would love to go, so if the age limit changes let me know.
Technology

Rocket Racing League Enters the Space Tourism Game

By Seth Fletcher Posted on 10.26.2008 3 Comments
Global financial apocalypse be damned – the Rocket Racing League is investing in the space tourism business. Yes, the timing is a little strange, but today the RRL announced a partnership with the New Mexico state government and Armadillo Aerospace — the rocket engine company founded by Doom creator John Carmack that will also supply engines for the Rocket Racing League’s eponymous, um, racing league — to fly suborbital tourist flights from a spaceport outside Las Cruces.

10.28.2008 at 12:38pm - Comment by OOTWOguy

Well ... well ... well, we are one step closer to achieving what the folks at www.ootwo.com predicted. Soon we will be recreating not only on the edge of space just outside our own planet, but on other planets and moons. I for one cannot wait. I would gladly shell out $100K to play golf on the moon or go hunting or mountain climbing on mars. 2010 can't get here soon enough.