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Space is Open for Business by Robert Jacobson is a must-read for all potential “astropreneurs” (entrepreneurs involved the NewSpace economy), space advocates, investors or anyone who wants to keep current on space commerce and its impact on the future of humanity. This book is a refreshingly positive view of our future in space, a welcome alternative outlook in stark contrast to many dystopian and negative predictions of where we’re headed in today’s media.
Jacobson covers all aspects of the nascent space economy which has already begun to grow in leaps and bounds, and is headed for explosive growth in the near future. No stone is left unturned by his deep research of all aspects of space commerce, with scores of interviews of executives from both established and small startup space companies.
I especially liked the Sci-Fi and Society chapter in which Jacobson talks about science fiction “illuminating the possibility of the space frontier”. Much of what is now happening in space was predicted in science fiction in the last century. Many CEOs and executives of NewSpace companies were inspired to pursue careers in science or engineering through science fiction books, televisions shows and movies.
Eventually, humanity will evolve to migrate off Earth and establish space settlements throughout the solar system and eventually among the stars. Development of the technologies and commercial activities for space settlement have the potential to create vast wealth, bring billions of people out of poverty and preserve Earth’s natural environment. Jacobson has provided a hopeful glimpse of how the space businesses supporting this effort will manifest this destiny.
ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano loads microbes into the Kubik centrifuge facility on the International Space Station. Credits: ESA
A research team at the University of Edinburgh in the UK has just published an analysis of data from an experiment on the International Space Station that could lead to “biomining” on Mars or an asteroid. Published in Nature Communications on November 10, Cockell, C.S., Santomartino, R., Finster, K. et al.* present experimental results demonstrating microbiological leaching of rare Earth elements from basalt rock, an analogue for much of the regolith material on the Moon and Mars. Called BioRock, the ESA sponsored experiment examined three species of microorganisms under variable gravity conditions in the Kubik centrifuge facility located in Europe’s Columbus module on the ISS.
This technology is a significant breakthrough for in situ resource utilization. By “living off the land” on the Moon, Mars or an asteroid, space settlers could have an available source of valuable materials used in electronic devices and many other high-technology applications. These rare Earth elements and the traditional heavy mining equipment needed to extract them would not have to be launched from Earth, significantly reducing transportation and processing costs. Positive results were found under Earth gravity, Mars gravity and microgravity conditions. The authors conclude that the experiment “…shows the efficacy of microbe–mineral interactions for advancing the establishment of a self-sustaining permanent human presence beyond the Earth and the technical means to do that.”
Artist’s rendering of settlements on the Moon. Credits: Taylor Herring/Samsung via Futurism.com
A melding of multiple disciplines is required for creating a positive human space future that will enable space settlement. In addition to aerospace engineering, architecture and the traditional physical sciences we associate with space exploration, the fields of sociology, philosophy, art, space law and may others will be needed. A method for integrating these fields and coordinating them across the private sector, universities and government has been developed in The Interplanetary Initiative, a pan-university venture created at Arizona State University. The innovative research model is described in a paper in the September 2020 issue of New Space. The program turns students into team leaders and collaborators, equipping them with the skills and knowledge to solve problems anticipated to be encountered as humans expand out into the solar system.
Artist’s concept of an O’Neill space colony. Credit: Rachel Silverman / Blue Origin
J. N. Nielsen has a theory…or four. Picking up where he left off in his previous Bound in the Shallows post on Centauri Dreams about the origins of a spacefaring civilization, Nielsen explores the possibility that the nuclear rocket or fusion power may be the indispensable transformative technology that will enable breakout of a spacefaring future. But even if we develop the capability of nuclear propulsion, it may not be sufficient. We need a “mythology” to enable humanity’s next central project. As Nielson defines it, a mythology “… is a kind of recapitulation in which the contributions of ages past—whether biological, psychological, social, or cultural—are each given their due, and these antecedents serve as a springboard to something authentically novel, something unprecedented that facilitates human beings to transcend their past and to accomplish something unprecedented.”
As happens every time, whenever I dig into Nielson’s rich writings I loose myself in a beautiful philosophical landscape of culture. Give yourself some time to ponder and absorb these insightful hypotheses on what is needed to settle the solar system and beyond…and visit his Grand Strategy: View from Oregon site for more politics, economics, warfare, religion, and philosophy with a focus on civilization which often leads to consideration of the future and space exploration.
Illustration of SPEAR (Swarm Probe Enabling ATEG Reactor), an affordable nuclear electric propulsion spacecraft using a custom designed fission reactor. Credits: Troy Howe, Howe Industries LLC
The 2020 NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Symposium just rapped up it’s virtual event. The NAIC Program supports early studies of visionary concepts in space and aeronautics that develop and assess revolutionary, yet credible, aerospace architecture, mission, and system concepts. These studies showcase ideas that will enable far-term capabilities, and spawn exciting innovations to radically improve aerospace exploration, science, and operations.
There were a wealth of new ideas presented at this year’s meeting with Phase I, II, and III posters and presentations available as PDFs on the NAIC Symposium website. To give you a taste, above is an illustration of Howe Industries’ Phase II concept for a small, affordable nuclear electric propulsion spacecraft using a custom designed fission reactor with advanced thermoelectric generators (ATEGs). The innovative design would allow private entities, universities, or other interested parties to carry out missions across the solar system at relatively low cost.
Another favorite of ours was Trans Astronautica’s Mini Bee asteroid capture concept in which they will deploy, then chase down and “swallow” a test object in LEO as a precursor to an asteroid mining mission.
Illustration of Trans Astronautica Corporation’s Mini Bee spacecraft chasing down and capturing an artificial asteroid in LEO. Credits: Joel Sercel / Trans Astronautica Corporation
Artist’s concept of an O’Neill space colony. Credits: Blue Origin
In a thread on Twitter Philip Metzger, a planetary physicist at the University of Central Florida, updates his bootstrapping vision from a few years back in which he and colleagues at NASA published a paper on how robotics, 3D printing and in situ resource utilization could be leveraged to accelerate a solar system civilization. In a series of 9 Tweets, Metzger makes the case for his “Rapid Bootstrapping Scenario” as the preferred course out of three possible alternatives to get us there faster.
Many space enthusiasts, including Blue Origin CEO Jeff Bezos, advocate for what Metzger calls a solar system “Civilization Fully Revolutionized”. This is a future where most industrial manufacturing is done sustainably in space and Earth is preserved as a beautiful natural environment.
If we continue on the current path, down what Metzger calls “The Slow Growth Scenario”, space agencies like NASA will continue paving the technological highway for private entities to slowly develop their profitable enterprises. But because space exploration and development is difficult, a different approach is needed to prime the pump. Metzger suggests the preferred course of action is intentional pre-economic bootstrapping in which “…visionary individuals with means, citizen-led movements, or governments that see the long-term benefit of getting beyond our planetary limit…create a coalition of likeminded citizen movements and enlightened governments committed to a good future so we reach the ‘ignition’ point first by being fast”.
Source: Philip Metzger/UCF. @DrPhiltill. www.philipmetzger.com
One of the biggest challenges of space settlement facing humanity is procreation off world. We simply don’t know if its possible for a baby to be carried to term in less then one gravity. There are obvious ethical considerations of simply going there and trying it out. NASA is studying the problem but until we have a variable gravity centrifuge facility in space that will enable us to determine the “gravity prescription”, it will be a while before we have an answer.
In an article in The Space Review, Fred Nadis discusses some of the medical challenges of human reproduction in space and why one company, SpaceLife Origin, who’s mission was to enable human reproduction in space decided to suspend its planned missions for “Serious ethical, safety and medical concerns …”
These medical unknowns about reproduction in any gravitational field less then 1g is the obvious attraction of O’Neill type free space settlements which provide Earth normal gravity. But the huge scale and investment necessary to build such large scale settlements puts this approach far in the future. Al Globus thinks a better way might be to start with smaller spinning habitats in low earth orbit.
Asgardia’s has a key scientific goal of facilitating the first human childbirth in space which they believe is a crucial step on humanity’s “path to immortality as a species”. In preparation for that goal, the organization is creating the first sovereign nation in space. A good introduction to their plans can be found in an interview with Dr. Lena De Winne, the Head of Administration to the Head of Nation of Asgardia, who appeared on the Space Show recently.
Artist’s impression of the first human born in space. Credits: Asgardia
The Pathfinders’ Guide to the Space Enterprise. Credits: The Aerospace Corporation.
The Aerospace Corporation has created a visually stunning chart called “Pathfinders’ Guide to the Space Enterprise” in which they provide a glimpse into the nascent space economy based on hundreds of ideas from over 70 world-class space experts condensed into seven core themes about how the future could unfold. The analysis, which is both deep and thought provoking, identified two critical uncertainties shaping the the future of space development:
1. The degree in which space will be “commercialized.” How much will space exploration and exploitation be designed to seed the commercial ecosystem?
2. The evolution and potential transformation of global power states. What space-based leverage points could change the terrestrial power balance?
Their hope is to “…inspire your internal adventurer to think about how space can and will play a role in the future and how we get there.”
Artist’s impression of a fleet of worldships on an interstellar voyage. Credits: Michel LaMontage / Initiative for Interstellar Studies
In the August 2020 Issue of Principium, Richard Soilleux summarizes current research on the feasibility of interstellar voyages via multi-generation worldships. The starting point is assumed to be free flying orbital settlements as envisioned by Gerard K. O’Neill that will eventually be tooling around the solar system way before a trip to the stars would be possible. The baseline for the analysis was an orbital space settlement called Avalon, the result of a complex study by the British Interplanetary Society called the BIS Space Project which took a fresh look at O’Neill’s smallest habitat Island 1, a settlement that would house 10,000 inhabitants.
Artist’s impression of the Avalon orbital settlement. Credits: Mark Hempsell / Initiative for Interstellar Studies
Much of the technology needed for an interplanetary ship like Avalon could be leveraged for an interstellar craft, but there are several challenges for permanent occupation over many generations as would be needed for a trip to the stars. For example, the ships would obviously have to be much more robust and reliable. Design lifetimes of 1000 years, as what is estimated to be needed, would require rigorous maintenance and repair schedules. Major periodic replacement of damaged or worn components and obsolete parts would also be required.
Soilleux’s analysis breaks down the key features of the settlement in terms of technology readiness and extrapolates to the interstellar case. One key element of the design is the environmental control and life support system (ECLSS). Avalon’s ECLSS does not need to be fully closed when voyages are limited to within the solar system as there are plenty of resources to replace nutrients and materials that cannot be recycled. Interstellar voyages are another matter all together and the study found that the recycling rate needs to be better than 90% for at least 36% of a material to remain useable after 100 years. This ratio would have to be significantly higher for an interstellar journey, the duration of which could be an order of magnitude longer. Soilleux concludes that “Recycling must therefore be managed carefully, and a detailed inventory maintained of all materials and nutrients wherever they are in the system.”
ECLSS technology is clearly one of the gating items for space settlement in the solar system and for journeys beyond. More information and research can be found in the Life Support Section.
