Welp, It's About Time. Manned Mars Mission by 2018!

Inspiration Mars Foundation is planning a manned flyby mission to Mars for a target launch date of January 5, 2018. The announcement was made today.

A fast, free-return mission is similar in function to the Apollo 8 mission. The idea is to send two private U.S. citizens (probably a married couple, actually) on a 501-day mission to flyby the Martian surface by 100 miles and then return safely to Earth.

I like the patriotic nature of this mission, billed as "A Mission for America." I know it isn't very "politically correct" considering the fact that idealistically access to space is something that all nations should aspire towards and the collaboration between nations is a virtue extolled by Star Trek and other popular ideals, but I don't care. I still like America best.

I completely agree that now is as good a time as any to visit the red planet. It's been technologically possible to achieve this mission ever since the technology of Apollo. But we've just been waiting for someone to take initiative. That initiative came from Inspiration Mars.

Check out this factoid sheet on the preliminary mission specs: http://www.inspirationmars.org/Inspiration%20Mars%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

Help Name Pluto's Newly Discovered Moons!

You all have the chance to go over to www.plutorocks.com/ and vote for your favorite names for the two new plutonian satellites. Heretofore they have been referred to as "P4" and "P5" and I think scientists are getting tired of such boring nomenclature.

I voted for "Cerberus" because I am in the middle of playing Mass Effect 3 and enjoy links between science and popular culture. Of course, the science people were probably thinking of the three-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld, not the pro-human terrorist group, but that fits, too.

Another option I almost went with was "Vulcan," but I feel obligated to save that name for a distant planet filled with green-blooded logical pacifist pointy-eared hobgoblins.

Friendly Reminder to DO HARD THINGS

While my life in general seems to exude the notion that it isn't going to waste, and while picking a tough major and moving halfway across the country for a tough internship can be considered "doing hard things," a close look at how I've spent my free time lately would reveal a distinct lack of productivity. I looked at my list of project ideas this morning. It is extremely long. I have not completed a single one all year. What have I been doing in my free time? Absolutely nothing.

I'm borrowing this rallying cry from my friends at theRebelution.com, whose banner has graced the bottom of this webpage since the history of this blog: a call to rebel against low expectations for young people and to Do Hard Things. While I am no longer a teen, the temptation to slack off and retreat into my own little world hasn't desisted. I want to do something other than for myself. I'm going to start small. I've noticed I have the ability to post educational videos on YouTube. That is my Start Here.

I hope God will use me to help bring light into this world.

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."
~Matthew 5:14-16

XCOR And AXE Teaming Up to Send 22 People to Space

Fun news.

Commercial spaceflight is entering the main stream and looking (and smelling) quite good! United Kingdom-based Unilever Group (NYSE: UL, Unilever N.V. and NYSE: UN, Unilever PLC), and Space Expedition Corporation (SXC) announced a 22 flight purchase on XCOR Aerospace's Lynx® Mark II suborbital spacecraft for Unilever's space-themed AXEApollo™ campaign for the AXE ® brand of men's cologne, body spray, shower gels and other personal care products.

Unilever will award the first flight to a lucky winner selected from a drawing just after the Super Bowl on February 3rd, and the 21 other winners will come from a year long, 60 country promotional campaign. That larger campaign includes a 100+ person December 2013 space camp for early stage winners in Orlando called the AXE Apollo™ Space Academy (A.A.S.A.). The campaign also includes legendary Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin and a 30 second Super Bowl advertisement. For a chance to win, register at www.AXEApollo.com.
"When a global brand leader like Unilever makes a significant commitment to a product like our Lynx®, it is a clear sign that commercial spaceflight has entered the main stream of worldwide commerce and truly is the Next Big Thing," stated Andrew Nelson, Chief Operating Officer of XCOR Aerospace, "Expect to keep seeing more good news from SXC as they ramp up in 2013!"

XCOR Press Release

On The Next Six Months...

I arrived in California a couple of days ago and today will be starting the first day of a 6-month internship at XCOR Aerospace. While I would love to tell you about all of my experiences the next six months, I will have to speak in very general surfacy terms when talking about XCOR for obvious reasons. But you will hear all about my adventures in Mojave and Lancaster and of course my own personal projects (thinking very seriously about level 3, and I'm going to try and find a high-power rocketry club out here!)

Me and the two other interns are sharing an apartment in Lancaster. It is very nice, with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a wide-open living room. We bought some cheap furniture at Goodwill to fill up the empty void. As far as the other two interns go, I think we're going to get along great! Time will tell.

Very excited, and I'll hopefully post some pictures soon.

A Level 3 Casing. Can Anyone Guess What This Means?

I am in possession of a level 3 casing. Can anyone guess what this means for 2013? This means that I am going to go for my level 3 certification! Finally! This is going to be my main project for 2013, and it will enable me to fly rockets on M-O impulse. Now, I know what you're thinking... You're a poor college student. How are you going to afford to be a level 3 flier? The answer to that is quite simple. First of all, this is a borrowed casing from the Iowa State Space Society (Thanks guys, even though you didn't even know you had this casing in the first place!). So all I need to buy are the rocket parts and the reloads. Still kind of pricey. But future projects are going to be primarily funded by my university, including Rockoon. The goals for next year are to build a two-stage rocket using this casing for the first stage and a baby-N load, and the 75mm Cesaroni casing in the second stage with a baby-M load. Initial Rocksim predictions say that if we launch from a balloon at 80,000 feet we would hit the very edge of space.

Space.

But I'm not going to do it without help. I'll need a team. Just a few members with strong and diverse skills. Nimble and adaptable to any situation. We'll need resolve, because space is hard. That is why we do space. WE EAT SPACE FOR BREAKFAST!

I'm an Astronomer! (Oops!)

See the pretty picture of the Iris Nebula that I took? This is the result of endless hours of work. It goes with a 15-page report about the photometry of the surrounding stars, the flux ratios in different bands of the nebula, and other random science stuff. I enjoyed this class, but I know now that astronomy is not my cup of tea. It's a rather passive form of space exploration, and I'd much rather work on the vehicle to get there.

Special thanks to my lab partners, Mikaela and Mia.