Homesteading the Final Frontier

[Tom Ligon]

More on this from CosmicLog:

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/20 ... ument?lite

[williatw]

More on this from CosmicLog:

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/20 ... ument?lite

Thanks...don't like that provision in the 1967 treaty saying that governments are responsible for what their private citizens do in space. That could be used as an excuse to regulate/control private colonies on the moon or mars. Of course...if you were a permanent settler on mars one could argue that one is renouncing their citizenship from their mother country. Still the basic point seems to be that countries can't recognize land ownership off planet, my thought is that is fine as long as no one else can claim ownership of the land.

[williatw]

Just to show what it is ultimately all about: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/04/ ... p=features

...one of the Neptune-sized planets in the system with an orbital period of 600 days is actually in the middle of the habitable zone, which makes it an interesting target when the better detection methods enable us to observe moons orbiting exoplanets in the future."
Wasn't the system in the series Firefly some sort of a super solar system with many habitable(or terraformed) planets in it? God we need something like EHT to turn out to be true, that and some SENS so I can live to see it!

[williatw]

Space Law: Is Asteroid Mining Legal?

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/ ... id-mining/

From: ...Under any definition of ownership, the United States clearly owns the Apollo lunar samples. Any entity that can claim something as an exclusive resource, control its transport and distribution, and can exchange it for something else of value (in this case, other lunar samples), clearly owns that object. Russian lunar samples have been re-sold by private individuals, establishing that portions of a celestial body can be subject to ownership if they are removed from that celestial body — whether by governments or private parties — even if the celestial bodies themselves are not subject to appropriation.

Sounds like you can't own the moon even in part, but you can own "samples". So If the US can claim undisputed ownership of its lunar rocks than a mining company can similarly claim ownership of its "samples". Good enough thats all we need for now.

[hanelyp]

The right to own samples is hardly enough if your plans require improving the area before you can collect the samples you want.

[williatw]

NOVA


Alien Planets Revealed


http://video.pbs.org/video/2365149642/

[williatw]

Bigelow: lunar private property rights covered by Outer Space Treaty

According to a February 14, 2014 story in NASASpaceFlight.com, Mike Gold, Director of D.C. Operations at Bigelow Aerospace, revealed a concept to ensuring lunar property rights that would seem to be consistent with the Outer Space Treaty, which prohibits the establishment of national sovereignty on other worlds.

“In an effort to move forward the discussion on property rights, Bigelow is seeking clarification from the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) on whether launching a Moon habitat allows them to have a zone of operation in which other persons are prevented from entering.”

The theory is that establishing such an exclusion zone, whether it would be for a lunar base or a robotic probe, would be covered under Article IX of the Outer Space Treaty which states, “In the exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, States Parties to the Treaty shall be guided by the principle of co-operation and mutual assistance and shall conduct all their activities in outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, with due regard to the corresponding interests of all other States Parties to the Treaty. States Parties to the Treaty shall pursue studies of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, and conduct exploration of them so as to avoid their harmful contamination and also adverse changes in the environment of the Earth resulting from the introduction of extraterrestrial matter and, where necessary, shall adopt appropriate measures for this purpose.”

Of course Bigelow is contemplating a privately run lunar base, likely engaged in mining operations. But that would seem to be covered by Article VI which discusses non governmental entities (such as Bigelow) and the responsibilities of state parties to ensure they are in compliance with the treaty.

There are few if any enforcement mechanisms in the treaty if a dispute were to arise, say if China were to object to an exclusion zone being set up around a private lunar mining base. This suggests that a government presence, even in the form of NASA researchers, would be required to emphasize U.S. government sanction of an exclusion zone.

Private property rights on the moon and other celestial bodies are seen as crucial to enable commercial development in space.

http://www.examiner.com/article/bigelow ... ace-treaty

[williatw]

Muslim leaders issue a fatwa against anyone living on MARS as there is 'no righteous reason' to be there

Clerics in the UAE have deemed a colony on Mars as being un-Islamic
They argue that trying to live there would be akin to committing suicide
Killing oneself is strictly forbidden in Islam, according to the Quran
The ruling came after Mars One announced a 2025 mission to Mars
So far around 500 Saudis and Arabs have volunteered to take part in it


Colony: Mars One hopes to establish a human colony on the Red Planet by 2025

A Fatwa has been issued against living on Mars by clerics who say that trying to set up home there would be un-Islamic.


The fatwa – or ruling – was issued by the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowment (GAIAE) in the UAE after the Mars One organisation announced that it would try and establish a permanent human settlement on Mars.

The committee argued that an attempt to dwell on the planet would be so hazardous as to be suicidal and killing oneself is not permitted by Islam.


According to Khaleejtimes.com it said: ‘Such a one-way journey poses a real risk to life, and that can never be justified in Islam. There is a possibility that an individual who travels to planet Mars may not be able to remain alive there, and is more vulnerable to death.’


The astronauts, the committee said, would end up dying for no ‘righteous reason’ and would face the same punishment in the afterlife as someone who’d committed suicide.

The committee, led by Professor Dr Farooq Hamada, said: ‘Protecting life against all possible dangers and keeping it safe is an issue agreed upon by all religions and is clearly stipulated in verse 4/29 of the Holy Quran: Do not kill yourselves or one another. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful.’

The GAIAE has issued around two million Fatwas through its Official Fatwa Centre since its inception in 2008.


The multi-billion pound Mars One mission hopes to establish a human colony on Mars in 2025.

Its website says: ‘The Mars One mission plan consists of cargo missions and unmanned preparation of a habitable settlement, followed by human landings.


‘In the coming years, a demonstration mission, communication satellites, two rovers and several cargo missions will be sent to Mars. These missions will set up the outpost where the human crew will live and work.’

Over 200,000 people, including 500 Saudis and Arabs, have applied to take part in the missions so far.

In December Mars One short-listed 1,058 people to take part in trials for the ambitious project.

Co-founder Bas Lansdorp said: ‘We’re extremely appreciative and impressed with the sheer number of people who submitted their applications.


'However, the challenge with 200,000 applicants is separating those who we feel are physically and mentally adept to become human ambassadors on Mars from those who are obviously taking the mission much less seriously. We even had a couple of applicants submit their videos in the nude!’


Mars lies on average 141.6million miles from the Sun and has an average temperature of -85F (-65C). Its atmosphere is desperately thin - one per cent of Earth's pressure - and is 95 per cent carbon dioxide.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... there.html

[ladajo]

The committee, led by Professor Dr Farooq Hamada, said: ‘Protecting life against all possible dangers and keeping it safe is an issue agreed upon by all religions and is clearly stipulated in verse 4/29 of the Holy Quran: Do not kill yourselves or one another. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful.’

Apparently a bunch of folks didn't get the memo.

[Skipjack]

The committee, led by Professor Dr Farooq Hamada, said: ‘Protecting life against all possible dangers and keeping it safe is an issue agreed upon by all religions and is clearly stipulated in verse 4/29 of the Holy Quran: Do not kill yourselves or one another. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful.’

Apparently a bunch of folks didn't get the memo.

I heard Al Qaeda has been hiring people for "temporary positions" a lot lately

[ladajo]

The contracts are COD.

[kurt9]

So, they don't want Muslims to live on Mars (once it becomes possible to do so) meaning that only non-Muslims can go to Mars. Sounds fine to me. What is the problem with this?

[paperburn1]

http://www.speed-light.info/islam_life_ ... lanets.htm
even they have their wackos

[williatw]

NASA astronomer Finds first Earth-sized planet in a habitable zone

The search for a new Earth outside the solar system seems to be nearing its end. NASA's Ames Research Center astronomer Thomas Barclay has found a planet nearly the size of Earth in the habitable zone of a star in the Milky Way.

Barclay's announcement at the Search for Life Beyond the Solar System conference hasn't been officially published yet, so the details are scarce. We know that:

1. It's an M1 red dwarf star (maybe we should call it Krypton.)

2. It's a goldilocks planet, orbiting within the zone where liquid water (and life) can exist.

3. It's radius is only 1.1 times the size of Earth. Until now the minimum size for a new Earth candidate was 1.4 times—Kepler-62f, which orbits a star about 1,200 light years away from us.

4. At least five other planets are orbiting this red dwarf.

I can't wait for that new telescope starshade that will let us take actual photos of these new worlds

http://sploid.gizmodo.com/nasa-astronom ... 1550139905

[williatw]

Astronomers spot Kepler-186f, the most Earth-like planet yet




This artist's rendering provided by NASA on Thursday, April 17, 2014 shows an Earth-sized planet dubbed Kepler-186f orbiting a star 500 light-years from Earth. Astronomers say the planet may hold water on its surface and is the best candidate yet of a habitable planet in the ongoing search for an Earth twin. (AP Photo/NASA Ames, SETI Institute, JPL-Caltech, T. Pyle)

By ALICIA CHANG
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Astronomers have discovered what they say is the most Earth-like planet yet detected - a distant, rocky world that's similar in size to our own and exists in the Goldilocks zone where it's not too hot and not too cold for life.

The find, announced Thursday, excited planet hunters who have been scouring the Milky Way galaxy for years for potentially habitable places outside our solar system.

"This is the best case for a habitable planet yet found. The results are absolutely rock solid," University of California, Berkeley astronomer Geoff Marcy, who had no role in the discovery, said in an email.

The planet was detected by NASA's orbiting Kepler telescope, which examines the heavens for subtle changes in brightness that indicate an orbiting planet is crossing in front of a star. From those changes, scientists can calculate a planet's size and make certain inferences about its makeup.

The newfound object, dubbed Kepler-186f, circles a red dwarf star 500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cygnus. A light-year is almost 6 trillion miles.

The planet is about 10 percent larger than Earth and may very well have liquid water - a key ingredient for life - on its surface, scientists said. That is because it resides at the outer edge of the habitable temperature zone around its star - the sweet spot where lakes, rivers or oceans can exist without freezing solid or boiling away.

The planet probably basks in an orange-red glow from its star and is most likely cooler than Earth, with an average temperature slightly above freezing, "similar to dawn or dusk on a spring day," Marcy said.

The discovery was detailed in Friday's issue of the journal Science.

Lead researcher Elisa Quintana at NASA's Ames Research Center said she considers the planet to be more of an "Earth cousin" than a twin because it circles a star that is smaller and dimmer than our sun. While Earth revolves around the sun in 365 days, this planet completes an orbit of its star every 130 days.

"You have a birthday every 130 days on this planet," she said.

Scientists cannot say for certain whether it has an atmosphere, but if it does, it probably contains a lot of carbon dioxide, outside experts said.

"Don't take off your breathing mask if you ever land there," said Lisa Kaltenegger, a Harvard and Max Planck Institute astronomer who had no connection to the research.

Despite the differences, "now we can point to a star and know that there really is a planet very similar to the Earth, at least in size and temperature," Harvard scientist David Charbonneau, who was not part of the team, said in an email.

Since its launch in 2009, Kepler has confirmed 961 planets, but only a few dozen are in the habitable zone. Most are giant gas balls like Jupiter and Saturn, and not ideal places for life. Scientists in recent years have also found planets slightly larger than Earth in the Goldilocks zone called "super Earths," but it is unclear if they are rocky.

The latest discovery is the closest in size to Earth than any other known world in the habitable region.

Kepler-186f is part of a system of five planets, all of which are roughly Earth's size. However, the other planets are too close to their star to support life.

Astronomers may never know for certain whether Kepler-186f can sustain life. The planet is too far away even for next-generation space telescopes like NASA's overbudget James Webb, set for launch in 2018, to study in detail.

Kepler completed its prime mission and was in overtime when one of the wheels that keep its gaze steady failed last year. NASA has not yet decided whether to keep using the telescope to hunt for planets on a scaled-back basis.

http://www.aol.com/article/2014/04/17/a ... d%3D466096