NASA's New Help

NASA recently just appointed 3 new flight directors for the Space Station; Greg Whitney, Tomas Gonzolez-Torres, and Judd Frieling.  These guys will lead a team of flight controllers, support personal and engineering experts from around the world.  They also help control what goes in the ship’s cargo and the future plans for space exploration.  After these flight directors finish their upcoming training, NASA will have 25 active flight directors supporting their space station and their upcoming explorations.  These new directors have a lot of experience on past flights and have helped NASA in the past.  That is great to have people who have some experience and know what they are doing.  I believe hiring these new brains will help lead NASA to an even better future.  New people are always a good way to help spring new ideas to life.  I hope in the future they keep hiring more and more NASA directors to help coordinate what goes on for the program.  We need people who are self-determined to better this world and learn more about what is going on in space.  There are so many planets out there and the only way to find out more information about them is to explore them ourselves.  We need to keep NASA alive and keep developing an even better staff.  Hiring these new employees will shape the future of NASA forever and hopefully in the years to come these new brains help develop some new extraordinary ideas for space exploration. 

Space Station

Do you know what one of NASA’s biggest achievements is?  Building the International Space Station!  The ISS is the largest, most complex worldwide scientific project in history and our biggest adventure into space.  In 2005, the ISS was labeled a National Lab.  The station is where scientists can test future equipment, technologies, medicine, and other space related activities.  Boeing is the major contractor to NASA for the ISS.  Boeing also builds and designs all the major elements of the station; and to an extent responsible for successfully integrating new hardware and software.  A recent mission included the installation of the Starboard 6, which was building the final set of solar arrays.  The solar arrays gave almost twice the power to the ISS, which allowed for further advancements for key science projects.  The solar arrays wingspan is around 240 feet, which the last one was 212.  The ISS also has more livable room then a five bedroom house.  This is such a huge advancement for NASA, building such a unique place for scientists to conduct their research.  I think this is amazing and we need to build more things like this in space.  Scientists can study so much in space and this is the perfect way to achieve this.  From the pictures I have seen, this thing was constructed by some serious technologically advanced mechanics.  They need to build more things like this in space and advocate better technology worldwide.  I honestly in five years the technology for NASA will be unbelievable and we can explore space in a whole new way.  Overall, I believe this space station is overall one of the best achievements of mankind and I hope in the future we can build maybe more space stations in space.  The technologies of NASA are the future for mankind.    

NASA Telescope

                I recently read in an article that NASA was designing an advanced telescope that could look into far away solar systems and even into other galaxies.  Imagine the possibilities with such a telescope.  We could look into other galaxies and maybe even discover other planets out there.  I recently also heard that they found a planet that is just like earth, named Kepler 22-b.  I wonder if NASA used this telescope to find this planet.  With advanced technology that keeps coming in from NASA why would we ever think about shutting down the space program?  Since we found this other planet wouldn’t it be wise of us to try to explore more in depth of this planet?  I think there could really be some discovery here if this world is just as earth is.  I know that the climate there was supposed to be around 75 degrees year round.  It also features a lot of water, just like here on earth.  This telescope could also be used to check for further constellations out in our solar system.  There is always something new to discover out there in space, we really need to keep expanding our technologies so we can better ourselves as a nation.  This telescope would also be used to check for dust, gas, infant planets, asteroids, and collision fragments surrounding other stars.  I believe if we keep on track with building new technologies then the government will want to fund the program.  Evidence of this new planet Kepler-22b should also persuade their decision and also persuade them to want to look more in depth on this planet.  There could be life forms among us after all and we will never know unless we look to this planet.  Overall, I believe this telescope is the start of some new advancement’s from the NASA program.           

Hackers Into Space

I recently learned that hackers and independent space programs are trying to reach the moon on rockets they built themselves.  I think this is absolutely crazy and very dangerous.  If they do, they need to make sure they have a really safe journey and check all the precautions before launching into space.  If these people can do this then space exploration is on a whole other level than it used to be.  No one in the past would have thought of building their own spacecraft and launching it into orbit.  These amazingly smart people doing this are saving a lot of money on space travels and are trying to reach for new heights.  It’s a great thing, but also a very bad thing.  If they are safe about it, then I am all for it.  However, I feel like something will go wrong when they get into orbit and they will have trouble landing back on earth safely.  They don’t have the technology NASA had, unless somehow they are brilliant geniuses with a lot of money.  I do not think all of these missions into orbit will go so smoothly.  I think they can travel into orbit and fly around for a little, but landing on the moon?  I don’t think so.  It took NASA awhile before we could land on the moon and there were still some struggles along the way for them.  Imagine these independent space programs trying to do this.  It’s just plain dangerous.  I love how people want to explore space more because our own country won’t do it that much, but these people are taking it to the extreme.  I’m just looking out for their well-being and I really hope they have safe travels.  Overall, I believe a lot of these privately owned space programs will have some failures along the way without a team of advanced scientists like the NASA program.         

New Earth?

Is there really a new planet like earth? Recently, I read an article and discovered NASA found a new earth like planet called Kepler-22b. I think this is so cool and scary how we found another planet 600 light-years away. So far there is no way to travel there because of how far it is. But, I feel like maybe in the future we could build such a spacecraft to travel that distance.  So many questions arise when we find a planet like this.  Are there life forms that occupy this planet?  How is the landscape?  Can humans breathe oxygen on the planet?  How many years would it take to travel there with our technology we have now?  How do you get into that galaxy?  The answers to these questions are yet to be answered.  But maybe in the future we can answer these questions and learn from them to better our life here on earth.  In the future possible resources could diminish and we might have to look to Kepler-22b; even possible relocation and a fresh start of life.  All of this is really a lot to take in right now, but the future is the most important thing to think about.  Could this really be another resort of a home for humankind?  I believe if we can create a spacecraft to reach there quickly enough then we could possibly populate the area.  This would be the biggest achievement the earth would have ever seen.  The earth is getting overpopulated day by day and we might need to look to another planet to relocate; this could be our option.  However, tell scientists discover more about this planet all these questions are unknown.  I think the future is looking brighter now for life on earth with this discovery and if we keep learning more about this planet, then we will figure out a way to use it to our advantage if its reachable.        

Astronauts Drinking Water in Space

I recently read an article about how scientists are doing experiments to make sure that astronauts that go into space are drinking safe and clean water.  I think this is a really good idea to help make sure the astronauts are at full health when they are exploring space.  Water is a vital key to survival and giving them the best possible drinking water is the least we can do for them.  The astronauts that go into space are risking their lives just for the well-being of the world.  The scientists test the water by dropping iodine in the water and if it turns a wildly different color then growth of microorganisms is occurring.  A diffuse reflectance spectrometer is what judges the colors.  The testing they do on the water can also be used to test forensic drugs.  I thought it was interesting how they test the water; I didn’t know dropping Iodine in the water changed its color.  The growth of microorganisms is bad for the health of the water, so eliminating them is the only solution.  I think with the growth of science, the water for the astronauts will be beyond perfect.  Astronaut in space will get tired very easily from all the research they will be doing and having good water to drink will help them cope a lot better.  I did not know water that is taken into space can be easily contaminated.  The best precautions on making this water are in task and I think it should be.  We need to keep our astronauts in tip-top shape all the time, keeping their brains and minds running fully are all we can do.  Overall, contaminated water is bad for the health of our astronauts and with the help of scientists everywhere we can eliminate this problem.    

The Chinese Space Program

Will Chinas space program pass the United States and all other space programs in the near future?  I believe they will unless the United States or Russian space programs get their butt in gear.  Knowing the recent failures of the Russian government, they are going to really need to get going or the United States is going to have to do something soon.  Chinas space program recently has done a few missions and have been very successful.  By the year 2020, China is supposed to have an International Space Station orbiting the earth.  Ironically, that is the same year NASA’s space station is going to diminish (so they say).  I think the Chinese will have the second best space program behind NASA as long as NASA continues their missions on space exploration.  The Chinese have always been known for being more technologically advanced then the United States.  These include cell phones, TVs, video games, computers, and basically anything dealing with technology.  The NASA program is going to have to start doing some missions soon or they will be passed up quickly by the Chinese space program.  The difference between NASA and the Chinese space program is that the Chinese program is connected with their military.  The NASA program is totally separate from our military force.  I think it could be an advantage to have the two linked together, however, it could also cause some faults.  For one, you don’t want the opinions of military men on space exploration.  It is totally a different thing and they don’t correlate at all.  I see how it could be a good thing too because of the military men’s perspectives.  Overall, I think the Chinese space program is one of the best around right now.  The NASA program needs to open its mind and start coming up with new missions to keep up.             

The New Youthful Generation and Space Exploration

Past generations have dreamt of flying into outer space and exploring the depths of our solar system.  But does the new young and youthful generation have the same dreams?  I think it is hard to depict if they truly have the same dreams as the past generations.  It seems like the new generation cares less about space exploration as the older generation did.  That could be for several reasons.  I believe the push for going to college could be a reason the new generation isn’t so interested in exploring the space field.  People of the new generation are getting the idea of “I have to go to college to get a job in this economy”.  It is kind of true though, most kids in this new generation are going to college to better their future.  Young adults can take out loans now and it is a lot more efficient as it once were in the past.  I think the dream of being an astronaut is more of a dream when you are a child and as you grow up you think more logically, just settling for going to college.  Being an astronaut it hard work and you have to be really smart to be accepted into the program.  It takes a lot more effort to be an astronaut then it does to get a business degree at a college.  The need to go to college in the past generation was not as in demand as it is now.  A lot of adults could not go to college but still be successful if they had hard work ethic.  Shutting down NASA’s flight to space could be another reason our youthful generation hasn’t been into the space exploration program as much as the past.  I believe if we advocate space exploration more in the future, more young adults in this generation would push to explore space exploration.    

Russian Space Program on Decline

In an article I read recently it talked about the recent failures of several Russian space launches into orbit.  There Russian space program recently stranded out a spacecraft into orbit around earth, instead of sending on its way to Mars.  Also, the Phobos-Grunt probe was designed to collect samples on the Martian moon Phobos, but quickly after launch the spacecraft failed to fire in a maneuver that would have set its course to the red planet.  I believe that is just poor communication between their Russian space program, I don’t think the NASA team would do this if we keep the United States space program alive.  The Russian President threatened the space program employees that caused these accidents; threatening them with serious punishments, heavy fines, and even criminal penalties.  I believe this is the right thing to do, you cannot send these huge rockets into space and not be cautious about retrieving them back safely.  What if the rocket or probe comes back to Earth and kills people?  Their bad science failures could harm the lives of innocent people, plain and simple.  There needs to be stricter precautions before sending these huge spacecraft’s into space and they need to check to see if everything is working ok before sending them out.  How can we put space exploration in the hands of countries like this that are having troubles with sending rockets out into orbit?  I know NASA has had their fair shares of mistakes too, but loosing multiple rockets in such a short amount of time is ridiculous.  It just shows that the Russian space program is lazy and they aren’t checking every single little detail to make sure it’s a safe trip to space.  We need to have people who are dedicated to the safety of the mission before doing the expedition.  Overall, I think the Russian space program needs to think more logically before just sending out these huge spacecraft’s into space.                 

WE NEED TO CONTINUE DEEP SPACE EXPLORATION

                Will all be lost for humankind if we do not keep exploring deep space exploration?  There are a lot of questions we as humans must ask ourselves and space exploration is one of those.  Do we continue our voyage and path to discover new things out there in our solar system or not?  I believe we need to keep in mind how much of the earth we have already destroyed because of things us as humans have built.  We pollute our planet so much that there could be a long term effect for earth in the near future.  Driving cars, mill plants, oil spills in the ocean, are just a few things that are very harmful for planet earth.  Will we have to rely on other planets in our solar system to keep earth alive or possibly have to relocate onto another planet in the future?  There are just too many questions and to many possibilities out there; we need to keep exploring space and figure out new ways to better the lives for our future generations to come.  I believe NASA is the biggest contender for doing all of this for the world and we need to keep funding the program so we better our future forever.  NASA has achieved so much already, so why shut down the program?  Landing on the moon was the biggest event that they have achieved and that’s just a small thing we can do out in space.  I believe NASA has a lot of potential for bettering and understanding more about our earth and the planets that our in our solar system.  Who knows, maybe in the future we will have to occupy a new planet because of an epidemic occurring here on earth.  Overall, we need to keep deep space exploration alive and definitely keep NASA aboard the journey to a better life for all mankind.    

NASA Sends "Curiosity" Rover to Mars

I recently read an article and even caught glimpse of this event on the television, which NASA sent a probe out into orbit.  In Cape Canaveral, Florida, on November 26 NASA released a rover into space on its nine month mission to the red planet Mars.  The rover was named Curiosity and is the most advanced rover that they have ever sent out into the depths of space.  The journey was basically for trying to depict if life is on Mars and prepare for future human explorations on the planet.  I think this is a spectacular achievement for the United States, knowing how lately our government has still been trying to figure out the funding for the space program NASA.  We need to keep NASA alive and this was an excellent way to keep our goals right on track for future missions to Mars.  This rover is also noted to be the fastest one ever built.  The Jet Propulsion Laboratory stated, “Once on the surface, the rover will be able to roll over obstacles up to 75 centimeters (29 inches) high and travel up to 90 meters (295 feet) per hour. On average, the rover is expected to travel about 30 meters (98 feet) per hour, based on power levels, slippage, steepness of the terrain, visibility, and other variables.”  This rover gives us hope on finding out more about Mars because it will be able to travel across a lot more terrain, which in the end will give us a lot better findings and results.  The previous Mars rovers only rolled at 18 meters per hour, which is a tremendous difference.  I believe with NASA creating such a rover that the future of space exploration is at an all-time high and will only continue to sky rocket.  We need to continue missions like this and expand our knowledge of the other planets in our solar system.  Overall, I believe this mission is one to keep recorded in the books and hopefully we discover something extraordinary that we have yet to see.  Space exploration and travel is the key for bettering our future as a planet.            

To Back Down or Not

                Why is NASA having these thoughts on backing down on space exploration?  We have spent SO much money already on going to the moon, building space ships, building an international space station, supplying millions of people with jobs, supplies to build rovers, and so many more investments have been made.  The list could go on for days on end and still no conclusion on why we back down on future space travels. 

                I honestly think we need to keep in mind how much money we have put down on the table already and why not keep space travels alive.  I know its billions of dollars to go into space, but we really don't need to spend that much money.  There is more cost efficient ways to do things and NASA needs to get their heads out of their butts; just buy and pay who they REALLY need to pay.  The salaries of all their employees is a big part of the cost on funding NASA.  Why not just hire the people they really need and not all the people they don't.

                Then again, I see their perspective on things too.  It does make sense to drop out of space exploration because of how much of a debt were in.  It costs so much money to send people out into space and build these huge space ships, while keeping in mind the cost for rocket fuel is tremendous.  It's just a reasonable decision on the United States part too because how much more will we really discover in space.  Is there even life out there or things that could help our planet in the future?  It's a huge toss up and huge decision on whether or not to spend the money on  more space travels.  Is it really worth getting so much further in debt?  Will we really discover something worth the money?  These are questions every person should ask themselves before hating on the governments decisions.  Who knows, maybe we will still travel into space and keep the NASA program alive.  Only time will tell now and all we can do is wait........   

               

US Astronauts to Russian Space Program?

                Recently, I have been informed that NASA might send some of their astronauts to the Russian space program to help explore the future of space exploration further more.  I hope this doesn't happen for several reasons.  One, I think the United States space program (NASA) is a lot more technologically advanced than the Russian Space Program.  We have been and seen things that the Russian space program has never done before.  We were the first team to land on the moon planet and we built the first international space station.  That is saying a lot about our program and what we can accomplish in such little time.  Just think if we can land on the moon and travel safely back to our planet, there is no reason we can't go beyond to other planets in our solar system.  Second, we will lose a lot of our space exploration hype.  The United States has always been the top dog on space exploration and travel but if we shut down NASA for good then we will be over taken by Russia or China soon.  I believe we are in such a huge debt already that a few space missions won't affect us that much economically.  It is a lot of money but its good money well spent.  Our country is known for our space program and I would hate to see that go down the drain.  We need to buckle up as a country and figure out a way we can still fund the NASA space program because without it, I don't think the future for space exploration will be as efficient.  Sending United States astronauts to a different space program will not solve much, we really need NASA back on the grid; discovering new and exciting things.  Space has a LOT more to discover and I truly believe the United States has a big part in the future for outer space exploration.                  

Creating Something New and Interesting for Our Children

I’ve always wondered why toy manufacturers never created spaceships, rovers, and astronauts for kids to play with.  I mean we have Barbie dolls, transformers, power rangers, and so many other non important toy figures for kids to play with; but nowhere is there a rocket ship or a planet toy.  I think it could make our future generation of children smarter in the future if we created toys that helped them realize what us humans are truly trying to achieve in life; deep space exploration.  Don’t parents want their children to grow up and be as intelligent as they possibly can?  Well that’s where we create NASA or space exploration toys; where kids can interact with space and learn more about it by playing with the toys.  I know kids want to play with power rangers but why can’t we make space exploration more important in every person’s life in this world.  These ideas of space exploration toys could push more children growing up into space programs all over the world and this could help us discover things we never thought we could.  Our future generation is what holds the new and exciting ideas that will be around for their children’s children, so we need to advocate space expansion for all ages.  Most children don’t even know that there is a space out there until they are about 10 years of age or so.  With kids knowing more about space and our world, children all around the world will be more aware of what the possibilities are on space exploration.  Maybe playing with a rocket ship could be a lot of fun for a kid, you never know until we try.  I believe we need to get deep space exploration in the minds of our children at a younger age and make them more aware of what is out there, including all the possibilities and wonders.     

Bringing Life to Other Planets

Recently I read an article  dealing with the thoughts of atheist physicist Steven Hawking and how he advocated the expansion of the human race to relocate on other planets.  I totally agree with Hawking for several points.  First, it is totally correct to say that we have inefficient resources here left on planet earth.  Within the next 100 years or so, resources will rocket to an all-time low and we will have to turn to something and somewhere else.  Second, the human population is growing at an astronomical rate and it would be to our advantage to use some more planets to localize more humans.   Countries such as China have a law on having too many children, so why not throw those kids to Mars.  But in all seriousness, localizing humans on other planets could become a huge advantage in the near future.  Steven Hawking’s was quoted in the article saying, “Our Genetic code still carries the selfish and aggressive instincts that were of survival advantage in the past.  It will be difficult enough to avoid disaster in the next hundred years, let alone the next thousand or million.”  This is totally true with humans; we build stuff that in time could hurt our future.  For example the more and more we build cars; the more people drive those cars and put harmful gases in the atmosphere.  Global warming is a huge deal on planet earth and it is caused mostly by the selfish human beings building things that they don’t think will affect us in the long run.  There also could be resources on other planets that could help us live a longer and better life.  We just need to advance our technologies here on earth and explore other planets in our solar system, seeing what they have to offer us.  I believe if we do this, we could have a long and more stable life for all of mankind.  All in all, I believe and advocate everything that Steven Hawking was saying in this article.      

My Thoughts On Future Space Exploration

Do you want to know my thoughts on future space exploration? I really think us as a whole nation needs to start thinking more into the future of our solar system.  We need to explore more in depth the black abyss we call space.  There could be stuff we learn about other planets out there that could in time help keep our planet in well-being.  Also, there could be some other type of life forms out there and we may never know until we expand our space exploration.  I believe we need to travel outside our galaxy eventually in the future and really see what’s out there. 

                People usually do not really think about space as much as they should.  I mean come on, earth is a planet.  Don’t you want to see and learn more about other planets like ours?  We need to join together with all the nations and ethnicities around the world and complete this task together.  One has to wonder what other life forms are living among us.  Us as humans couldn’t live out there in space because the lack of oxygen, but what if others could.  But finding other life forms may not happen, at least we should explore the terrain on these other planets.  There could be viable resources out there that could change our earth forever and we may never know until we explore other planets.

                Overall, I honestly just think we need to push space exploration to the maximum limit.  There is so much out there for us as humans to learn and discover.  We just need to take it step by step and start exploring the other planets out there in our solar system; and maybe in the future expand out even further.  The only way we can do this though is by working together as one nation in hope for discovering something truly beautiful out in space.        

                     

                     

  

  

NASA Aboard the Journey to the Red Planet or Not?

I recently read an article about the future of the NASA and how they are waiting on funding from President Obama to begin preparing for missions to space.  The United States space program (NASA) wants to accompany the Russian space program to future missions to the red planet Mars.  They want to first successfully plant a rover onto the planet to gather and collect samples.  Then in the future they want to send men on the planet and gather more Intel.  All in all, I think this is a great idea; we need to find out more about these other planets that are located in our solar system.  If we do this, we could have a better future for all of mankind.  But first off, we need to get the funding from the White House before anything else can come.  I believe the president needs get his act together and just fund NASA the money they need to reach further space exploration.  I mean we have been in debt for so long now and a couple billion dollars won’t affect the debt too significantly.  Getting back to the planet missions, this is such a good idea to find out more about Mars.  There could be other biological life forms on that planet and we may never know unless we travel there.  Gathering the soil that makes up the grounds of the planet is also a good way to see if life could be supported on the planet.  Mars is a beautiful planet and the United States cannot pass up an opportunity like this.  We need to be a part of the mission with the Russian space program because this could be one of the biggest missions our life has ever seen.  President Obama needs to figure out what he plans to do with future space exploration soon before it’s too late and the Russian space program has already set foot on the red planet.  Overall, I think NASA needs to jump aboard this space shuttle and set sail for Mars because this is going to be a journey to remember.           

What Nasa Needs To Do To Save Money

Do you know what NASA needs to do?  They need to get there stuff together and learn how to operate in space without using so much damn money.  Seriously, the cost for space travel shouldn’t cost billions of dollars.  There can be ways to cut down the cost of space travel.  First off, don’t hire so many people to work for NASA.  Honestly, they don’t need all those people they hire!  What do they even do? Shine shoes?  Clean carpets?  They just need to hire the people they really need and the people who really put the critical thinking into space exploration travels.  Obviously, they need to employee the spacecraft designers and builders.  Without them, none of the travels into space would be possible.  They also need to hire the astronauts who they trust and are very knowledgeable about space.  They are a key success to what knowledge we gain from the outer depths of space.

Another way they can cut down their funds for space exploration is by using a different fuel source that doesn’t cost so much money.   Currently and in the past NASA has been using rocket fuels to boost the rocket out into the atmosphere of space.  A new idea they have put on the table is by using photovoltaics to power ion-thrust engines into space and this idea is WAY more affordable.  In this economy and with the huge United States debt, this is a great thought.  Adding cheaper fuel to our rocket ships will allow the ships to take many more voyages.  This fuel source is also a lot lighter then rocket fuel which will allow for further travels out into space.  This idea for a new fuel source and hiring just the people they need, not all the extras is a good way for the NASA team to save money.  By doing some of these things I mentioned could possibly lead to a better base and knowledge of life out in space.        

NASA and Space Exploration Funding

In an article I read recently the author talked about how NASA might not end up getting their full funding for the future of space exploration.  This could lead to the discoveries of space by different countries such as China or Russian who are going to be in space in the near future.  The American debt is huge and the government is trying to find ways to cut 1.2 trillion dollars out of the national debt.  The government doesn’t have money to be funding the NASA program.  Priorities like the James Webb Space Telescope and long-planned missions to retrieve rock samples from Mars are at risk to be delayed badly by budget related problems.  By cutting NASA this could lead to missing out on important finds in space some say.  I believe this is true, other countries are now going to be the first to find the new and what’s beyond in our world.  This kind of sucks for the United States because of how our reputation has always been good, but now we won’t be the top dog for space exploration; we will be overrun by either China or Russia.  Our government needs to come up with funds to explore space exploration alongside these other countries and discover this world together.  President Obama proposed funding NASA at 18.7 billion dollars in his proposed fiscal 2012 budget.  Which is about 280 million, or 1.5 percent more than the agency got in fiscal 2011.  On Tuesday, the Democrat-controlled senate approved 17.9 billon dollars for the space agency.  This is astounding to me because they cut out a lot of money that they proposed for NASA, but still the money they are offering is better than nothing.  A lot of the money that goes to NASA goes to the hundreds of employees they hire.  However, they do not hundreds of employers; NASA just needs the bare minimum.  Overall, I hope to see NASA get their correct funding to achieve great success in space in the near future.                             

Chinas Off into Space!

I recently read an article over China space exploration and how they just sent two spacecraft’s 200 miles above earth.  The crafts names were Shenzhou 8 capsule and the Tiangong 1 module.  China also stated that they have future plans on putting men on the moon; they plan to take off into space around the year 2020.  It amazes me that China wants to go to the moon even though the United States were the first humans to reach it.  However, China is usually known to be more advanced technologically then the United States.  It still will help the world as a whole if China goes to the moon because they can gather up different kind of information that the United States might have missed.  While saying that, there are different scientists and different minds in the Chinese space exploration programs that will bring different ideas onto the table.  China is also banned from using the American International Space Station.  I don’t know why this is; maybe the United States is jealous that the Chinese has many new and exciting ideas.  The world needs to come together for space exploration and put every single little idea together from different scientists worldwide to gain more knowledge of what we are really capable of.  Also, the Chinese are known for their technology so why not use it…  The United States needs to allow the Chinese department to use the space station and in exchange use some of their well-developed technology.  Both countries would gain if we did so and not to mention more bonds between us would occur.  Overall, the United States could really use helpful knowledge from other countries including China.  We will grasp a better future for our people, gain significant knowledge, and best for last learn more of the depths of space.                 

Bill Nye The Science Guy

I recently read an article over space exploration and the contribution of Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Bill was at a National Science Teacher Association and talked about how educating the youth on space exploration is expanding their minds to the research of space.  I just wanted to talk about how Bill Nye could have a big impact on Space exploration.  First off, if children see him advertising space exploration, more kids will jump on the space trend.  Just how Bill always says, SCIENCE IS WAY COOL!  Children love his shows because he brings fun activities into his learning.  Second, he is a brilliant man.  He obviously knows what he is talking about or he wouldn’t have such a big show.  Teachers all around the world play his movies in their classrooms.  Celebrity input on space exploration could help bring people together and think more in depth on space exploration.  Another way we could use Bill Nye on expanding space exploration is using him for advertising.  Commercials, posters, billboards, flyers, and many other things are a few of the things he could help us with.  Imagine if you saw a commercial with Bill Nye explaining how we ARE going back into space, people would be interested more and want to learn when exactly we are planning on doing this.  His advertising of space exploration could also lead kids to career paths down the science field or even space related careers.  There are a lot of possibilities for space exploration with the assistance of Bill Nye but he can only do so much.  The rest is up to the young minds of our future generations.  All in all, we need the guidance of mentors like Bill Nye to help the youth gain more knowledge on the concerns of space exploration and the imaginably impossible knowledge of the depths of space.                 

Privately Owned Spacecraft: The Dragon

In an informational article I read I realized the true potential of space exploration.  People all around the world have been building their own privately owned spacecraft’s to orbit into space.  One of these in particular made me really interested, the Dragon.  It is a rocket created by a space program known as SpaceX, a space transportation company based in California.  This spacecraft was the first vehicle ever placed into orbit and recovered by a privately owned company.  That amazes me how people out there in the world have been putting their own time and money into space exploration.  This opens so many more possibilities for space travel.  Also, the first operational space mission the Dragon will have is hauling cargo to the International Space Station for NASA.  This vehicle can also hold up to seven passengers or a mixture of cargo.  The Dragons heat shield will be able to withstand flight to the moon and Mars, which means we could fly this spacecraft to these planets.  I was just amazed on reading all of this information and how privately owned space programs are already sending vehicles up into space.  If the Dragons heat shield can withstand planets like the moon and mars maybe we could travel to other planets that we have yet to examine.  If so, we could learn so much more about our galaxy and maybe even reach out further past our own galaxy.  I think if we join programs like SpaceX and NASA we could cut out a lot of costs, have more knowledge on our relations with space, and learn more about this world together.  Millions of minds together outsmart hundreds of minds, plain and simple.  As a country we need to seek out greater minds and take advice from all sides of things.  There could be something one group thinks and the other group thinks in the complete opposite.  So we need to take information from all different angles and if we do that we will succeed further out into the pits of space.  All in all, this article helped me realize what man can truly do without NASA and how there are so many privately owned space programs out there.     

The SLS Vehicle

I recently read an article  over the recent advancement in the building of a new ship by NASA to fly into the depths of space.  (Hyperlink above) This vehicle is not supposed to be ready to orbit earth until 2016.  This new SLS vehicle has selected a design containing solid-fueled, side-mounted boosters that might be substituted with liquid-fueled engines.  Having all these new designs will allow us to travel further out into space.  President Obama signed the NASA Authorization Act of 2010, which will allow NASA to start working out the ideas and basis of the SLS.  This spacecraft has been commented on looking a lot like the Ares 5, but the SLS could not be completed on the current budget schedule.  With these new ideas from all these different people around the world, eventually NASA will be able to build a vehicle to go into the oblivion of space.  Saying that, I don’t believe this will be one of the few ships they build; but the many.  Supporting this plan for the SLS is all we can hope for because there is a lot of money that has to be funded to build this ship.  Lawmakers said the plan would cost an estimated $1.8 billion dollars in 2011.  Right now, we are on the right track to be back into space by 2016.  As long as the president gives us his moral support and allows us to continue funding space exploration.  There are a lot of things out there that mankind still needs to explore and space is one of the main ones.  We can learn so much more about our world if we explore other stars, planets, or even galaxies.  The SLS is just a start to something bigger and eventually better then what we have done in the past.  Within time we will be much more knowledgeable about space with the help of the SLS vehicle.       

NASA Cooperation Together

Today I learned about the 62^nd International Astronautical Congress(IAC) and how they had a gathering of all the different nations to talk about space exploration.  Indian, European, Japanese, and Russian space chiefs met from around the nation in Africa.  However, the Chinese leader did not show up.  From the link above the chief of NASA Charles Bolden stated, “International cooperation is important not just because of finances but because in this day and age you can no longer afford to leave ideas on the table.  We don’t have the corner on the market on everything technological.  I can go to any of my partners and we could pick a topic and they will dwarf me in their knowledge of it, and so we need to be able to take the best from all of us in trying to go forward in exploration.”  I agree with Charles Bolden in several ways.  Firstly, the expense of space exploration is tremendous.  Therefore, using all the money from all of the different nations would give us a huge jump in building ideas fast.  It costs billions of dollars to send people into space but with the help of others all around the world we can do something we never thought possible.  Second, you cannot leave knowledgeable ideas on the table.  There are so many good thinkers on space exploration out there and putting them all together in one room would send us farther into space.  Not just the ideas of these people would be different but also their technicians who build the crafts could bring a lot to the table too.  We could eventually build something far greater than what those have built in the past.  NASA is building the SLS craft which alone is better than the last ones and can travel farther into the depths of space.  Now bring the ideas of different countries and they can build on our ideas.  All in all, I hope in the near future on space exploration we join as a nation and do this journey together.  There is a lot to learn and analyze out in the complexities of space and together we can accomplish anything.       

NASA. The Challenger

I read some useful information about space exploration the other day that really fascinated me.  The Challenger Spacecraft that blew up in 1986 happened because the crew didn’t check to make sure all things were safe before liftoff.  Apparently an O-ring seal in its right rocket booster failed at takeoff.  How does this happen? How could the crew not notice such a huge thing like this?  It amazes me that NASA put so much money, time, and effort into space exploration but they aren’t 100% concerned with the crew risking their lives.  Astronauts know that going into space has a serious risk of not coming back alive safely.  But still that is insane and irresponsible of the crew working on the ship to not make sure everything is working properly before the big take off.  Families lost loved ones because of one simple error that they didn’t properly check.  The failing of the O-ring caused gas from the rocket motor to spread to the outside engine.  Hopefully in the near future, the crews will check to make sure all parts of the vehicle are ready to go and are working to their full potential.  This is probably one of the main reasons that NASA isn’t being funded right now.  In a segment I watched on television, it showed at the beginning of a takeoff a piece of spacecraft falls off and then the ship takes launch.  Seems like somebody in the NASA program would have realized this, got in contact with the pilot of the ship, and told them. Also, in the segment they talked with many people who used to work for NASA.  The former employees did not seem too fond of the space program after what they have all gone through.  Was NASA really doing their best and following their STRICTLY stated safety codes?  I guess in time we will see how well NASA upgrades there safety polices before taking off.