Thursday, April 17, 2025

 SPACE/COSMOS

  Bezos Versus Musk: Which Billionaire Will Trash Space the Most?


 April 15, 2025
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A Falcon 9 Starlink L-14 rocket successfully launches - NARA & DVIDS Public Domain Archive Public Domain Search

Photo credits: Public domain and Steve Jurvetson (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Amazon’s Project Kuiper is sending its first satellites into space. The company’s founder and executive chair, Jeff Bezos, seems keen to challenge all things Musk—including Elon’s SpaceX Starlink system.

The satellites in Amazon’s $10 billion-plus Kuiper Atlas project are being launched with the Lockheed Martin-designed Atlas V rocket, at Cape Canaveral’s Space Force Station.

OK, a few thoughts on the matter that corporate media probably won’t contemplate.

Astronomical Funding

Fifteen years ago, Barack Obama’s White House trumpeted an increase in NASA funding. Obama said it would “help improve the daily lives of people here on Earth” and help companies produce “new means of carrying people and materials out of our atmosphere”—first to an asteroid, later to Mars. I’m just a little unclear about how, overall, sending hundreds of billions of dollars into space has been improving my daily life so far. If you ask me, money for reliable bus service would help a lot more. Universal medical care. Free higher education.

The benefits to the planet’s most massive corporations are obvious. I hear Amazon’s lining up deals in Britain, Indonesia, Australia, and potentially Taiwan.

This lucrative new space race feeds off the human need for information, especially where internet access is sparse.

Profit Streams

Yes, Starlink connects people in far-flung places with internet services. And it calls these people markets. It’s not hard to imagine unbanked populations being converted into profit streams, once they’re online.

Moreover, when wealthy companies secure US government backing, they can become political instruments, manipulating the populations they claim to serve. Polish taxpayers have forked over an annual $50 million to provide Starlink’s services to Ukraine. But Poland’s foreign minister tweeted out concerns about the trustworthiness of US-based Starlink. Be quiet, small man, Musk snapped back. (Musk then bragged about having challenged Putin to one-on-one physical combat.)

People with unfathomable wealth take more billions in handouts from the US military in the name of national security. General Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations for the US Space Force, recently named SpaceX as a recipient of nearly $6 billion more. Saltzman called the contract “a strategic necessity that delivers the critical space capabilities our warfighters depend on to fight and win.”

Got it. Warfighters gonna warfight. Blam! Zonk! Kapow! Splat!

Cosmic Sprawl

So here comes Jeff Bezos, a prominent player in Donald Trump’s troupe of lickspittles since January. With the Trump regime now describing Amazon Prime as a model for deportation, who knows? Maybe “alien enemies” (those people who have autism awareness tattoos or otherwise ruffle the regime’s feathers) could be shipped into orbit.

In any case, Amazon’s space project will pile 3,200+ satellites onto the tens of thousands that Elon’s launching into the low Earth orbit (within a 1,200-mile band around Earth). Space scientists have long pressed for reviews of the satellites’ impact on the delicate balance of elements and molecules in the air when these things ultimately burn up in our atmosphere.

And the Federal Communications Commission enables it all.

Welcome to outer space in the Anthropocene.

Lee Hall holds an LL.M. in environmental law with a focus on climate change, and has taught law as an adjunct at Rutgers–Newark and at Widener–Delaware Law. Lee is an author, public speaker, and creator of the Studio for the Art of Animal Liberation on Patreon

ELVIS has entered orbit: Pioneering imaging system to enhance space biology and life detection beyond earth



ISS National Lab-sponsored investigation to test a new holographic microscope will launch on NASA’s SpaceX CRS-32 mission




International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory

ELVIS launching to the International Space Station on next SpaceX mission for NASA 

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Portland State University's Extant Life Volumetric Imaging System (ELVIS) is shown during testing.

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Credit: Jay Nadeau





KENNEDY SPACE CENTER (FL), April 15, 2025 – Onboard the International Space Station (ISSInternational Space Station), the Extant Life Volumetric Imaging System, dubbed ELVIS, is not about resurrecting rock-n-roll legends but pioneering scientific discovery. Using innovative holographic technology to deliver detailed 3D views of cells and microbes, the system allows scientists to study the adaptability and resilience of life under extreme conditions. Knowledge gained could reveal how life might persist on distant moons and planets, significantly enhancing our search for life outside Earth.

Beyond the capabilities of traditional two-dimensional microscopes, ELVIS offers scientists a closer look at the intricate structure, volume, and environmental interactions of cellular organisms. This detailed view enables more accurate biological assessments that could shed light on the ability of life to thrive in the most extreme environments of space.

Portland State University (PSU), in collaboration with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is spearheading the ELVIS project, which is scheduled to launch on SpaceX’s 32nd Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission, contracted by NASA. The investigation, sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory®, combines expertise in biology, physics, and cutting-edge imaging technology, says Jay Nadeau, a physics professor at PSU and a principal investigator on the project.

“We are thrilled to leverage the ISS National Lab to prepare ELVIS for its future roles in space exploration missions,” says Nadeau. She added, “The successful operation of ELVIS in the demanding conditions of space not only paves the way for its use in off-Earth environments but also holds implications for enhancing biomedical and microbiological research on our planet.”

During its tenure in space, ELVIS will focus its analysis on two resilient types of Earth-based life forms: Euglena gracilis, a microalga lauded for its adaptability, and Colwellia psychrerythraea, a bacterium that thrives in frigid ocean waters. This study goes beyond merely observing organisms; it tests their observable and genetic adaptations to microgravity. The insights gained could illuminate how life might survive beneath the icy shells of distant moons like Europa and Enceladus.

Built to endure the rigors of space, ELVIS incorporates durable, low-maintenance components and features automation that minimizes astronaut involvement, ensuring experiments can run continuously without disruption. As ELVIS gears up for launch, the team looks forward to testing its full potential to explore the resilience and adaptability of life under extreme conditions, Nadeau noted.

SpaceX CRS-32 is scheduled to launch no earlier than April 21, 2025, at 4:15 a.m., from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

For additional information on ISS National Lab-sponsored investigations launching on NASA’s SpaceX CRS-32, visit our launch page. To learn more about the research and technology development sponsored by the ISS National Lab, including how to propose concepts for future space-based research, visit our website.

Download a high-resolution image for this release: Ph.D. Student Nikki Johnson and ELVIS

NSF-funded research heads to the international space station on NASA's SpaceX CRS-32 mission



ISS national lab-sponsored investigations aim to enhance drug manufacturing and develop new materials for aerospace, defense, energy, and robotics



International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory

NSF-funded research launching to the space station on next resupply mission 

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Left: A drop of protein solution less than two and a half centimeters in diameter formed in the RSD onboard the International Space Station. Right: An image showing a computed Newtonian flow diagram for the drop.

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Credit: J. Adam





KENNEDY SPACE CENTER (FL), April 16, 2025 – Three investigations funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and sponsored by the International Space Station (ISSInternational Space Station) National Laboratory are launching on SpaceX’s 32nd Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission, contracted by NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration. These experiments leverage the microgravityThe condition of perceived weightlessness created when an object is in free fall, for example when an object is in orbital motion. Microgravity alters many observable phenomena within the physical and life sciences, allowing scientists to study things in ways not possible on Earth. The International Space Station provides access to a persistent microgravity environment. environment to advance fundamental science that could lead to improved pharmaceutical manufacturing, new materials with valuable industrial applications, and the next generation of soft active materials with lifelike properties.

These projects build on a strong, multi-year collaboration between the ISS National Lab and NSF, which allocates millions of dollars to space-based projects within the fields of tissue engineering and transport phenomena, including fluid dynamics. To date, more than 30 projects funded by NSF and sponsored by the ISS National Lab have launched to the orbiting laboratory, with nearly 70 additional projects preparing for flight. Below are details about the three NSF-funded investigations launching on NASA’s SpaceX CRS-32.

Improving Medicine Manufacturing

An investigation by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), supported by Tec-Masters, builds on previous research to examine protein fluid flow and clumping—a problem that occurs during manufacturing of protein-based pharmaceuticals that affects the quality of the drug.

“Proteins are used to make various therapies and must be concentrated in medicines to avoid needing to administer large amounts of fluid,” says Amir Hirsa, professor of mechanical, aerospace, and nuclear engineering at RPI. “But above a certain concentration, the proteins tend to form aggregates or clump.”

On Earth, studying protein behavior is complicated by interactions between the solution and the container used to hold it. But on the ISS, researchers can use the Ring-Sheared Drop module to form liquid into a self-contained sphere held between two rings.

Hirsa and his team can use this device to study protein motion and create more accurate models of the factors that lead to clumping, especially during drug manufacturing and dispensation to patients. The team also can test computer models that predict the behavior of proteins of vastly different concentrations and types, such as hormones and antibodies. Findings from this research could help uncover ways to avoid or reverse protein clumping, which would have a significant impact on the pharmaceutical industry.

“Another very important aspect of this work is making this data, which is so difficult to get, available to other scientists through open data repositories,” says Joe Adam, a research scientist at RPI. “Other scientists may see something even more interesting than we do.”

Developing New Materials

An investigation from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, supported by Leidos, will examine the formation of ceramic composites, which have valuable applications in several industries, including aerospace, defense, and energy. The study focuses on polymer-derived titanium carbide and silicon carbide composites that have electrical conductivity, are stable at high temperature, can be made into almost any shape and size, and are lightweight yet strong.

“These materials can be used in different extreme conditions, such as high temperatures and highly acidic or oxidative environments, where other materials become unstable or cannot survive,” says Kathy Lu, a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering.

Studying these composites in microgravity could reveal unique behaviors that cannot be replicated on Earth. Findings from this research could inform new techniques for ground- and space-based manufacturing of materials with specific properties for applications such as heat exchangers, electric systems, energy storage, electrodes, and microsystems.

“Nobody has studied microgravity’s effects on these ceramics, and the results could be helpful for the broader family of ceramics and other possible additives, such as fibers and nanoscale materials,” Lu says.

Studying Active Matter

A research team at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) will leverage microgravity to study active matter—microscopic particles that use energy to produce motion—and its effects on the separation of non-mixable liquids. These liquids, such as oil and water, separate into concentrated droplets of one substance dispersed in the other, a phenomenon known as active liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS). This investigation, supported by Redwire Space Technologies, seeks a better understanding of active LLPS, which plays a key role in physics, materials science, engineering, and biology.

“Active fluids are made of billions of small molecular motors that push and pull on each other and generate a turbulent flow, like a windy day stirs the water on a beach,” says UCSB professor Zvonimir Dogic. “A long-term goal is using active matter in microfluidic devices to stir and control the separation of two substances. We’re trying to create simplified systems that start to mimic biology.”

Active LLPS could be used to create materials with lifelike properties, such as the ability to move, change shape, and self-repair, that could be used to develop more lifelike robotics.

SpaceX CRS-32 is scheduled to launch no earlier than April 21, 2025, at 4:15 a.m., from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. For additional information on ISS National Lab-sponsored investigations launching on NASA’s SpaceX CRS-32, visit our launch page. To learn more about the research and technology development sponsored by the ISS National Lab, including how to propose concepts for future space-based R&D, visit our website.

Download a high-resolution image for this release: SpaceX CRS-32 NSF Science



Curiosity rover finds large carbon deposits on Mars



UCalgary scientist Ben Tutolo lead author in groundbreaking study published in the journal, Science



University of Calgary

UCalgary scientist Ben Tutolo 

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Ben Tutolo, associate professor in the Department of Earth, Energy and Environment in the Faculty of Science at the University of Calgary, is the lead researcher on a paper about Mars. Tutolo is a participating scientist on the NASA Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover team.

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Credit: University of Calgary 2025 Riley Brandt/University of Calgary




Research from NASA’s Curiosity rover has found evidence of a carbon cycle on ancient Mars, bringing scientists closer to an answer on whether the Red Planet was ever capable of supporting life.
Lead author Dr. Ben Tutolo, PhD, an associate professor with the Department of Earth, Energy and Environment in the Faculty of Science at the University of Calgary, is a participating scientist on the NASA Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover team.
The team is working to understand climate transitions and habitability on ancient Mars as Curiosity explores Gale Crater.
The paper, published this week in the journal Science, reveals that data from three of Curiosity’s drill sites had siderite, an iron carbonate material, within sulfate-rich layers of Mount Sharp in Gale Crater.
“The discovery of large carbon deposits in Gale Crater represents both a surprising and important breakthrough in our understanding of the geologic and atmospheric evolution of Mars," says Tutolo.
Reaching the strata, he says, was a long-term goal of the Mars Science Laboratory mission.
“The abundance of highly soluble salts in these rocks and similar deposits mapped over much of Mars has been used as evidence of the ‘great drying” of Mars during its dramatic shift from a warm and wet early Mars to its current, cold and dry state,” says Tutolo.
Sedimentary carbonate has long been predicted to have formed under the CO2-rich ancient Martian atmosphere, but Tutolo says identifications had previously been sparse.
NASA’s Curiosity rover landed on Mars on Aug. 5, 2012, and has travelled more than 34 kilometres on the Martian surface.
The discovery of carbonate suggests that the atmosphere contained enough carbon dioxide to support liquid water existing on the planet’s surface. As the atmosphere thinned, the carbon dioxide transformed into rock form.
NASA says future missions and analysis of other sulfate-rich areas on Mars could confirm the findings and help to better understand the planet’s early history and how it transformed as its atmosphere was lost.
Tutolo says scientists are ultimately trying to determine whether Mars was ever capable of supporting life – and the latest paper brings them closer to an answer.
“It tells us that the planet was habitable and that the models for habitability are correct,” he says.
“The broader implications are the planet was habitable up until this time, but then, as the CO2 that had been warming the planet started to precipitate as siderite, it likely impacted Mars’ ability to stay warm.
“The question looking forward is how much of this CO2 from the atmosphere was actually sequestered? Was that potentially a reason we began to lose habitability?”
The latest research, he says, fits with his ongoing work on Earth – trying to turn anthropogenic CO2 into carbonates as a climate change solution.
“Learning about the mechanisms of making these minerals on Mars helps us to better understand how we can do it here,” he says. “Studying the collapse of Mars’ warm and wet early days also tells us that habitability is a very fragile thing.”
Tutolo says it’s clear that small changes in atmospheric CO2 can lead to huge changes in the ability of the planet to harbour life.
“The most remarkable thing about Earth is that it’s habitable and it has been for at least four billion years,” he adds. “Something happened to Mars that didn’t happen to Earth.”

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