Excalibur Almaz

The space firm Excalibur Almaz, based  on Britain's Isle of Wight and headed by American lawyer Arthur Dula, has some big plans.  Using Russian manned spaceflight technology, the company intends to offer 30 lunar expeditions, circumlunar flights, between 2015 and 2025, for $150 million a ticket.

Even though no Soviet or Russian manned mission has ever left low Earth orbit, the Soyuz was deigned to fly to the Moon.  EA also owns Salyut space station modules, which it plans to use as part of its lunar ships.  Those ships will use an electric propulsion system.  The power generator of that propulsion system will also allow a rudimentary shield to protect the crew against potential solar storm activity.

EA is active across a broad range of space operations.  Currently, it relies on Russian and European technology, but it's looking at tapping into American technology, as well.

Shengzhou 9 Home

China's Shengzhou 9 successfully landed under parachutes, completing a 13-day mission that demonstrated the Chinese have the capability to dock spacecraft, both automatically and manually.  The three taikonauts also proved they could live and work in a space station module.

The landing was covered live by Chinese television, which suggests a real confidence by the Chinese powers-that-be in the space program.  The Soviets, by contrast, did not provide live television of its early space efforts, though, of course, American television did cover Mercury missions live.

Asteroid Sentinel

The B6 12 Foundation is announcing a project to build, launch, and operate a private, space-based telescope that would search out Near-Earth asteroids, both to establish a baseline to support planetary defense efforts and to target likely mining possibilities for companies like Planetary Resources,

NASA believes we have identified 95% of the large asteroids that could hit Earth, but that leaves 5%-- dozens or hundreds-- of the total still to be catalogued.  It's also an ongoing, dynamic process that needs monitoring.  As orbits change due to shifting gravitational influences, large bodies not now dangerous may become so.

Responding To WOW!

As part of the promotional campaign for The National Geographic Channel's new series, "Chasing UFOs," a reply to the famous WOW! signal will be sent to the stars using the Arecibo Observatory"s radio telescope.

The WOW! signal, detected in 1977 by Ohio State's Big Ear SETI effort, is the most tantalyzing signal yet found by any SETI search.  It had the characteristics scientists expect to see in a true alien signal.  The problem is that, despite repeated searches by SETI programs of the area of the sky from which the signal came, nothing like it has been found since.

Mars One

A Dutch company is leading an effort to establish the first human colony on Mars.  The first human landing is scheduled for 2023.  In the Mars One project, while building up the colony, the humans who go out there will never return to Earth.

The company figures getting through the first phase of the project will cost about $6 billion dollars and intends to make that money by selling corporate sponsorships.  After that, the company sees the colony being a going concern financially by producing media content-- the leading production of which would be a reality show type effort documenting life in the colony.

The company, of course, foresees the show as being the greatest media spectacle ever, but there's no guarantee people will watch.  What happens to the colonists if the media strategy fails to bring in the required revenue will presumably be addressed in the planning stage.

Expanding The Economy

Companies like Planetary Resources, Shackleton Energy, and others in the NewSpace sector intend to make their profits directly from space and space resources.  Their hope, however, is that their activities will spark a general move into space, expanding the economy, and igniting a new era for humanity.

Lots of work remains to be done before that can happen, however-- and not all of it involves science and engineering.  For example, before selling space resources is possible, establishing their legal status and defining property rights beyond Earth, and establishing the right to make profits in space and returning that profit to Earth must be settled.  Politicians around the world looking to support a move into space and growing the human economy could do no better than produce a legal framework that encourages investment in space on a large scale.

Bigger Than Expected Asteroid

The asteroid 2012 LZ1, which came within 3.3 million miles of Earth on June 14, turns out to be bigger than originally thought.  Astronomers at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico used radar to measure the asteroid during its close approach and determined it to be 0.6 miles across at its widest.

That's well short of the size of the dreaded Doomsday Rock, but its plenty big enough to create horrific damage if it struck Earth.  Happily, Arecibo was also able to refine the asteroid's orbit and determine there's no danger of such a collision for at least the next 750 years.