Category: Nanodot

from the Distant-airs dept.
(28 November 2001) – Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have been able to obtain data indicating the presence of sodium of a planet orbiting another star. This is the first direct detection and chemical analysis of the atmosphere of a planet outside our solar system. Their unique observations demonstrate it is possible with Hubble and other telescopes to measure the chemical makeup of extrasolar planets' atmospheres and potentially to search for chemical markers of life beyond Earth. The planet orbits a Sun-like star that lies 150 light-years away in the constellation Pegasus. Its atmospheric composition was probed when the planet passed in front of its parent star, allowing astronomers to see light from the star filtered through the planet's atmosphere. Additional information is available in this press release from the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and an article in the New York Times.

from the historical-ironies dept.
(No, this isnít about nanotech. Itís an item in an occasional series of off-topic news and information for Fridays.)

United Press International reports that, according to White House tapes released by the Kennedy Library archives, President John F. Kennedy clashed with NASA's top officials over his desire to gain political points by landing a man on the moon before the Soviet Union ("Tapes: JFK pushed for lunar landing", 23 August 2001). According to UPIís transcription, Kennedy made the following comments during a White House meeting over spending for the space program on Nov. 21, 1962 (about a month after the Cuban Missile Crisis):

"This is important for political reasons, international political reasons, and this is, whether we like it or not, in a sense, a race," Kennedy said. "Everything that we do ought to really be tied to getting onto the moon ahead of the Russians."
"I do think we ought to get it really clear that the policy ought to be that this is the top priority program of the agency and one … of the top priorities of the United States government," Kennedy said. "Otherwise, we shouldn't be spending this kind of money because I'm not that interested in space."

On the same day the Kennedy tapes were released, UPI also reported that a Russian Progress M-45 cargo ship docked safely with the International Space Station, the day after the U.S. space shuttle Discovery departed for landing, carrying the crew of three who had staffed the station for over five months. That crew was commanded by Russian cosmonaut Yuri Usachev and included American astronauts Jim Voss and Susan Helms. They were launched into orbit on 8 March 2001 as the ISS's second permanent crew and logged almost 70 million miles during 5 ½ months aboard the orbital complex. The Progress cargo craft, which lifted off Tuesday from Kazkahstan's Baikonur cosmodrome, was carrying supplies to the current ISS crew that includes Russian cosmonauts Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin and their commander, U.S. astronaut Frank Calbertson.

The shuttle Discovery landed at the Kennedy Space Center on 22 August 2001.

from the going-(way)-up;-watch-your-step! dept.
Brian Wang writes "An article from New Scientist posted at EurekAlert describes recent NASA studies on the feasibility of space elevators and orbital towers. The interesting aspect is the view of some solutions to making nanotubes cheaply and long enough to be the primary structural material."

According to the article, two independent NASA teams recently work out the technological requirements and found them to be feasible. The article also notes that "carbon has been elevated to the material of choice. In the form of diamond, it shows record-breaking mechanical properties. Diamond can't be spun into filaments, but there is a form of carbon that combines strength with length: nanotubes. These . . . exceed the tensile strength of steel by at least a factor of 100." The problem, as the article notes, is synthesizing nanotube molecules long enough construct the cable at the heart of the orbital tower.

Additional information about the space elevator studies can be found at this NASA website.

from the space-creatures-II dept.
David Coutts writes "I was writing A Crude Guide To Energy Levels In Our Solar System, and my mind started racing with ideas related to nanotechnology. Perhaps they are far-fetched and extreme, perhaps not. So I thought I'd subject them to Nanodot.org readers for some constructive criticism. Please be gentle… As you can see, this time I re-read some sections of Engines Of Creation before submitting my article."

from the billions-of-billions dept.
David Coutts writes "I enjoyed reading the recent CNN article about Stephen Hawkings' predictions for the human colonisation of our solar system in the next 100 years. In particular, he narrows it all down to 2 possibilities: (1) either we destroy ourselves )2) we engineer one or more species which surpass us… [About] option 2, at least I wrote an article recently with a similar view, called The Cassandra Prophecy. This is only the second draft, so I would appreciate constructive criticism: http://www.bnbg.com.au/~bnbgames/6billionZPG.htm" CP: Read more for an excerpt from Engines of Creation pointing out that space colonization postpones but does not solve the problem.

from the there's-plenty-of-room-at-the-top dept.
David Coutts writes "I'm a big fan of the Living Universe Foundation, and a member. I agree with their goal of the human civilisation of space, starting with our own solar system (they call this phase "Solaria", the equivalent of Kardashev Level 2) and then on to the Milky Way galaxy ("Galactica", or K-3). Until recently, they don't appear to have taken nanotechnology seriously, so I was delighted to read the following article on nano fibers in the online "Distant Star" magazine: http://www.distant-star.com/issue13/jan_2001_nanofibers.htm Personally, I would like to see Foresight Institute and the Living Universe work together to ensure that there is a place for humanity in space, starting with our own solar system." CP: One point of disagreement would be that LUF wants to colonize the ocean surface first.

from the more-people-than-you-can-shake-a-stick-at dept.
David Coutts brings to our attention SolarPop, a program for modeling solar system demographics in the third millennium, now available as a Java applet. This follows up our earlier piece on the game 6 Billion, which David points out is now listed at number 9 its category in Games Magazine's Games 100 buyers guide. Read More for David's full post.