Category Archives: Space Settlement

Future space, Space Settlement, Space Systems

Icarus Interstellar Starship Congress, Dallas, TX, Aug. 15-18

The Icarus Interstellar is hosting the Starship Congress in Dallas, Texas this Thursday through Sunday: Starship Congress: Competing Our Way to the Stars : Discovery News.

The gathering is described as follows:

The Icarus Interstellar Starship Congress to be held in Dallas, Texas, August 15-18 at the Hilton Anatole.

The Icarus Interstellar Starship Congress aims to bring together the interstellar community to foster discussion and generate tangible action. Our ambition is to move humanity toward becoming an interstellar civilization, with a broad campaign of exploration and migration to begin by the year 2100.

For 2013, the Icarus Interstellar Starship Congress is a four-day event. The first three days are dedicated to interstellar accomplishments in specific timescales: Interstellar Now (Next 20 Years), Interstellar This Lifetime (20-50 Years), and Interstellar Future (50 Years+). These are the near-term, medium-term and long-term focuses necessary for the realization of our ambition. The fourth day will be a wrap-up of the Starship Congress with a chance to network and plan for the future.

Presenters are a combination of scientists, physicists, engineers, researchers, and representatives from international space programs and present-day commercial space operators, as well as popular and well-known interstellar speakers and space journalists. Special note: Day 3 presenters include Science Fiction celebrities, authors and creators. The fourth day is for discussion of future plans and a summary of the congress.

The conference Program looks packed. Here’s a promotional video:

Space Settlement

Project Ion interviews space advocate Jerry Stone

The theme of the PROJECT ION site is “Working towards the radiation of Life from the Earth out into Space”. In their latest post, Jerry Stone talks about his long interest in free floating space colonies like those promoted by the late Gerard O’Neill, a noted Princeton physics professor:  An Interview with Space Advocate Jerry Stone – Project Ion.

 

In Space Infrastructure, Living in Space, Space Settlement

In-space colonies

Space.com today has an article and the infographic shown below about the in-space colony concepts developed by Princeton Prof. Gerard K. O’Neill and his collaborators during the 1970s and 80s. (They got some NASA grants but it’s a huge exaggeration to say NASA had a “plan to put thousands of people in Space Colonies”.)

See the Space Studies Institute for more details and the HobbySpace Art section for links to more space colony artwork.

Source SPACE.com: All about our solar system, outer space and exploration.

Activism, Living in Space, Space Settlement

“One Way Astronaut” – documentary film about Mars One

The  documentary One Way Astronaut is about the Mars One project’s goal to send private teams on one way trips to the Red Planet to create a permanent settlement. You can download ($4.95) or watch ($2.95) the full movie at onewayastronaut.com. Below is a trailer for the film.

Caption:

One Way Astronaut is about the people who are following this project closely: aspiring astronauts. Stephan, Sara, Henri and Beatriz are 4 people who, like tens of thousands of applicants from all over the world, say they are willing to spend the rest of their lives on Mars. It is the story of Mars One and its founder Bas Lansdorp in the early stages. Space experts answer questions about the likelihood of Mars One succeeding and discuss the kind of risks the astronauts will be taking. The degree of worldwide personal interest this mission has already attracted tells us something about our society today.

One Way Astronaut is an independent production by Tetteroo Media.