Astronomy

How do you get ready for a moon mission? The Artemis 2 astronauts practiced a day in space ahead of their historic liftoff in 2025 to see what living in the Orion spacecraft is like.

In 2022, countries pledged to halt biodiversity loss by protecting 30 per cent of the planet by 2030, but progress has been too slow thus far

In 2022, countries pledged to halt biodiversity loss by protecting 30 per cent of the planet by 2030, but progress has been too slow thus far

An outlandish experiment searching for a brain network that tunes up and down the feeling of immersion is hoping to unlock the therapeutic effects of psychedelics

First we get "Predator: Badlands" news and now 20th Century Studios has confirmed a second Predator movie for 2025.

An outlandish experiment searching for a brain network that tunes up and down the feeling of immersion is hoping to unlock the therapeutic effects of psychedelics

In a small study, women experienced more empathy for strangers who were experiencing pain after an eight-week meditation training programme

In a small study, women experienced more empathy for strangers who were experiencing pain after an eight-week meditation training programme

In a small study, women experienced more empathy for strangers who were experiencing pain after an eight-week meditation training programme

A small number of fast-moving wildfires cause almost all the property damage by forcing firefighters to focus on saving lives

Geoenvironmental scientist Hiroto Nagai used publicly available climate data from the North and South poles to compose an ominous-sounding chamber music piece.

Image: ESA Astronaut Reserve training kicks off at EAC

NASA's efforts in science, exploration and beyond are helping drive significant economic growth across America, according to an agency study.

ESA's 'Explore 2040' strategy sets its sights on low Earth orbit, the moon and Mars, demanding greater innovation and increased European presence in space.

Chile and Cyprus have signed the Artemis Accords, bringing the number of nations in the moon-exploration coalition to 47.

The two CubeSat passengers aboard ESA’s Hera mission for planetary defence have exchanged their first signals with Earth, confirming their nominal status. The pair were switched on to check out all their systems, marking the first operation of ESA CubeSats in deep space.

Single-celled organisms called archaea can become multicellular when compressed, highlighting the role of physical forces in evolution

Single-celled organisms called archaea can become multicellular when compressed, highlighting the role of physical forces in evolution

A new United Nations expert study of the effects of nuclear war would spur informed and inclusive global debate on what nuclear war means for people and the planet today

This idea really is quite a fascinating one. Currently a trip to Mars would require large amounts of air, water and other resources to sustain human life but would also expose travellers to harmful levels of radiation. A wonderful solution has been proposed in a new paper recently published by researchers from Ukraine. They propose that asteroids which already travel relatively close by Earth, Mars and even Venus already could be used to hop between the planets. They are already making the journey anyway and so perhaps the cosmos already provides the solution to interplanetary travel. 

After a return to the Moon, the red planet Mars is next on the list for human exploration. On average it is 225 million km away so a round trip would require astronauts to be away from home for about 3 years! Spending this length of time in space raises a number of serious health risks many of which are caused by prolonged exposure to radiation and microgravity. Over time, muscles and bone density will decline so that the skeletal part of the body will no longer bear enough weight to sustain a return to Earth’s gravity. The cardiovascular system would adjust to microgravity too making heart issues likely upon return. There would be an increased risk of cancer and damage to the nervous system as a result of the prolonged exposure to radiation. The list goes on! 

Mars, Credit NASA

The paper recently authored by A. S. Kasianchuk and V.M. Reshetnyk from the National University of Kyiv in Ukraine they report upon their analysis of the orbit of more than 35,000 near-Earth asteroids. They have been looking for the possibility of successive approaches to all pairs of planets Earth – Venus and Earth – Mars within a time range of 2020 to 2120. If successive passes exist then why not, the team suggest, use the asteroids as interplanetary busses to provide a fast transfer between the planets, possibly even as fast as 180 days. 120 candidates were discovered for Earth-Mars, Earth-Venus, Mars-Earth, Venus-Earth, and even Mars-Venus and Venus-Mars!

Image of Venus taken by NASA’s Pioneer-Venus Orbiter in 1979. (Credit: NASA)

It is a tantalising prospect that instead of mounting a massive rocket based mission to get to Mars or even Venus, that the use of Near Earth Objects (NEO) might provide a natural solution. They would certainly provide a fast transfer between planets but would still require some form of technological solution to radiation protection. The quicker the journey, the lower the risk from radiation so careful selection is an important part of the process. 

The team have produced quite an extensive list of potentials NEO’s for transfers between the inner planets but as new NEO’s are discovered the list will grow. The work provides a snapshot in time of the possible candidates but it requires on going work to keep the list up to date as more asteroids are discovered and orbital elements are refined. NASA’s NEO Surveyor mission has been set the challenge to find more than 90% of all  NEO’s larger than 140 metres in diameter. This will certainly provide a useful resource to the study.

An artist’s conception of an NEO asteroid orbiting the Sun. Credit: NASA/JPL.

Among the asteroids identified, size and proximity to the target planet needs to be considered. Analysis of the overall mission needs to be carefully worked too. If a spacecraft stays in open space for a longer period of time than inside a NEW for example, the effectiveness of the approach must be carefully weighed up. 

It’s an interesting proposition though. With appropriate technological solutions, a carefully selected asteroid can serve not only as a fuel station but also, if shelter is taken beneath the surface for example in caves, could offer radiation protection too. There are significant challenges ahead before this all becomes a reality but with the ever increasing drive to reduce the cost and ecological impact of space flight it is one that most definitely needs further careful analysis. 

Source : The search for NEOs as potential candidates for use in space missions to Venus and Mars

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