Solar sails are promising tools for space research.

"This artist’s concept shows the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System spacecraft sailing in space using the energy of the Sun. Credit: NASA/Aero Animation/Ben Schweighart" (ScitechDaily, Tumbling in Orbit: NASA’s Test of Advanced Solar Sail Technology Encounters Early Challenges)

NASA's solar sail technology faced early challenges, but it seems promising. Solar sail technology is an interesting tool for traveling inside the asteroid belt and between Earth and Mars. If the spacecraft can use solar sail technology at least during the early journey to Mars. That technology saves energy and fuel. 

When the craft starts to travel back to Earth the solar sail can brake the nuclear thermal rocket. There are two ways to use giant mylar structures for that purpose. One simply opens the sail behind the craft. 

Then the solar wind pushes the craft backward. And that slows its speed. Or the nuclear thermal engine can use the sail as a break chute. The system can aim the thrust to that sail, slowing the speed. The nuclear rocket can change the exhaust gas line which minimizes thrust. This makes it possible to use solar sails for braking systems. 

In some versions of the hypothetical interstellar probes, they slow their speed using solar sails. When those, still hypothetical probes will close the Alpha- and Proxima Centauri systems they can use the solar sails to slow its speed. 

Artist's impression of Daedalus, the interstellar probe concept. 

The nuclear thermal rockets can also use solar sails to travel to Mars and that gives them the ability to maneuver at trajectory. The fact is that the solar sails have limited operational area in the solar system. 

However, researchers can use that technology in the systems that might someday take samples from the Sun to Earth. Those next-generation versions of the Parker probe can dive into the Sun's atmosphere and capture ions from there. Then the solar sail will transport those ions to Earth. 

The solar wind gives thrust to the craft. And when it travels to Earth. When that probe travels near Earth the laser or ion beams that shoot against the solar sail will slow its speed and those ions from the Sun can carried to the laboratory. 

The technology that allows to creation of solar sails can be used to create giant radar antennas that can packed into small spaces. The solar sail or space probe can travel to Jupiter and its icy Moons. Or the Martian orbiter. Map the surface and subsurface areas of the red planet. The radars that use long wavelengths can see things from underground. 

Those systems can search underground ice and caves. Advanced radar systems can see things, like underground nuclear laboratories. The solar sail can also equipped with an iron net, that acts as a radio telescope. The large radio telescope that will travel outside the Solar system makes that thing possible. 

Solar sails are systems that are promising for near-Earth journeys outside of the Sun. Because the system is based on existing technology there are radio telescopes and radars that can also connect to that structure. 

The solar sail can be a suitable tool for long-term missions inside the asteroid belt. And the fact is that one system must not be suitable for everything. 

The solar sail can give thrust and speed for things like Jupiter probes. The solar sail can open in the last stage of gravity acceleration. And that can make the flight time to Jupiter shorter. 

https://scitechdaily.com/tumbling-in-orbit-nasas-test-of-advanced-solar-sail-technology-encounters-early-challenges/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Daedalus

SETI-program, and searching extraterrestrial civilizations

(Picture I)

http://crisisofdemocracticstates.blogspot.fi/p/seti-program-and-searching.html

Kimmo Huosionmaa

SETI-program is actually umbrella-term for many radio-astronomical programs, what are looking for strange radio signals from space. Those program's primary or secondary mission is to find the extraterrestrial radio signals, what are send by intelligent alien civilization. Some of those programs primary mission are to hunt for black holes or make maps of other planet's surface. But the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) is the fascinating projects on the Earth.


With this program the computer scientists have created new kind of ways to analyze big data masses, with distributing data processing methods, where the computers would share their resources over the Internet, and this methodology makes new kind of network-based CAD and graphics programs like "Renderfarm" possible, but as we know the distributing data processing makes also possible to connect supercomputers together. Those ultra-powerful computers are able to connect together similar way as regular PC:s by using the Internet.


SETI uses those systems in the mission, where they are analyzing very large mass of information, and in the same purpose uses NSA (National Security Agency)  their computers. In the real world, there would be not much difference between radio astronomy and electronic intelligence. But when we are thinking about the purpose or benefit of SETI itself is that we must be ready to face an alien. We don't actually know if there is an alien near our solar system. We have ever been actually visited even in Alpha Centaur, and that's why some sarcastic person might ask, "have you visited there recently"?


If somebody says that there is not alien civilization. Actually, we probably don't know what do we know all planets even in our own solar system. And when we are thinking about the hypothetical humanoids and their hypothetical SETI-program, we must think that they might want to observe us without disturbing us. And that would mean, that those aliens would want real information of our planet. In this case, they might think, that we might be species, what is under control of some other species.


This hypothetical thing means that those humanoids would use "Dyson's sphere" type ball-shaped space stations for observing us. And in the worst case this "Dyson's sphere" would be the same kind of battle station as the "Death Star" in the movie Star Wars. This type of combat stations could be covered by ice, what makes them very difficult to separate from other ball-shaped objects in our solar system. This is one problem with communicating between civilizations. We don't know are those aliens really coming in peace. And another very big problem with the communication between civilizations is that we don't know are those hypothetical aliens actually only the users of their systems?


And this makes very difficult to make the diplomatic relationship with alien civilizations. If those aliens would want to colonize the earth, they might take one state under the control by giving they some war equipment, and that would make that state or nation to bluster to other nations. That way to use alien technology would make that nation addicted to humanoid technology, what they cannot produce. This is the reason, why we must be very careful with this kind of things. If we cannot produce our own systems and technology, would we be addicted to an indulgence of hypothetical humanoids?


In this very shocking scenario, the human race would be the slave by using the methodology, where aliens would give us a couple of their war machines, what are superior to our own aircraft. Then they would play gods in our planet, and this method where some civilization would be addicted by the weapons, what they could not the product is well known from the age of colonialism. In this case, the aliens would act like European colonialists, who destroyed many civilizations from Earth.


And I certainly don't hope this kind of future to mankind. We must stand on our own feet, and we can turn incoming asteroids away without help from humanoids, and we must feel our responsibility when we are going to other solar systems. In the future, we might be the visitors in some strange solar system and meet the primitive aliens. There we must follow the policy, that we don't addict those civilizations to our own technology. In that case, we are adults, and they are children.


We must teach them independence because in the worst case, would the result be the war between civilizations. That would be and at least the human colonies on that planet. When the help for those colonies would send from the Earth, the time of travel would take hundreds of years, and in that time would the opponent create the space flight, even if they were lived in the stone age in this hypothetical accounting and colonizing some primitive civilizations in distant future, when mankind would send the space probes to another solar system.

Sources:

Picture I:

https://geneticliteracyproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/MARS-COLONY-HERO-PSD.jpg

http://crisisofdemocracticstates.blogspot.fi/p/seti-program-and-searching.html

NASA:s new laser propulsion can open the route to all Solar system

Laser propulsion spacecraft
(Picture 1)

Kimmo Huosionmaa

NASA is testing new laser propulsion system, what is actually only the solar sail, what will give more push with the laser system. The laser will target the spacecraft, what is equipped with very large and thin mylar sheet, what takes the power of the movements also from the solar radiation. The small space-probe would be in the middle of sail, and its weight might be the only couple of grams because it is made with the state of art miniaturized technology, and equipped with highly developed artificial intelligence. That allows the spacecraft to operate independently in the all solar system.


But the high power laser systems can give more push to those spacecraft, and the unmanned lightweight version can reach the planet Mars in three days (72 hours), and manned version can travel that trip in the month, and this kind of vehicles can also travel all around our solar system. The mylar sheet is necessary because the very large area of that sheet will deliver the heat energy in the large area, and that denies the overheating of that structure. The mylar sheet might also use as the communication antenna if it will be covered by the very thin iron surface.


That antenna would also transmit the electric power to that very small space probe,  what can be made by the integrated micro-circuit technology. The electric supply will give the space probe with the radio-masers, what will also work as the communication systems. The manned system would be much bigger, and it can use the way that Nuclear rocket will be launched to the Martian orbiter to wait for the crew. And then the crew will send to Mars with this solar- or laser sail.


When the mission is completed, the crew will return to the Earth with the nuclear rocket. Using the laser to send the satellites in the Earth orbiter would give the NASA very cheap and clean way to shoot satellites outside Earth atmosphere. The laser is non-poisonous propulsion system, what is also noiseless and because there is no need for the chemicals, the launch will be extremely cheap. And because this powerful laser system can also use for ASAT (Anti Satellite) and ABM (Anti Ballistic Missile) purposes, and that's why also military forces might be interested in that laser-based equipment.

Sources:

Picture 1

https://www.sciencealert.com/images/Sail.png

Other sources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf5Fbx0nl50

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhUasBcoj-Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owitVAgcrTI

The new asteroid, what comes from interstellar space, might give us the new way to look the universe

Oumuamua

(ESO)

Kimmo Huosionmaa

https://sites.google.com/view/asteroidfromanotherstar/etusivu

The asteroid is named as Oumuamua, and it is very long shape particle of the stone, what comes from somewhere very far. And this object is traveling to the center of our galaxy. The reason why Oumuamua is the thing, what might cause the talk about the threats what comes from the outer space, is that we don't actually know where that particle of the universe is actually coming from.


In the wildest theories that particle might come from another galaxy, and in some wildest dreams that kind of objects might contain even the cells from another solar system. If that particle has been born, when some asteroid have been hit to the water planet or supernova has been destroyed some planet, there is a possibility that asteroid contains living bacterias from another planet.


That scenario bases the theory, that in those asteroids is little pockets of water, and if the heat is not very high, will those organisms freeze near absolute zero points of Celsius, and that will allow those organisms stay alive in that super cold conditions. If the organisms will freeze in the absolute zero point, what is in physics zero kelvin all movements and molecular oscillation will stop, and that means those bacterias might stand forever they capacity to infect the planet.


If we are talking about this situation against the Big Bang theory, there might be the situation, where those particles come really far away.  In the Big Bang theory is a part, known as the Big Crash theory. In that theory, the universe will fall sooner or later in some black hole, and then will the new universe begin to form, when that black hole will explode. And if there has been another universe before our own universe, that particle might come from that past universe. All asteroids will not flush to that black hole, and if they are far enough from the point of the Big Bang, those asteroids can deliver bacterias from the past universe, and if we will go farther in this thinking process, we might think that those aliens, what  lived in this theoretical situation, might survive with flying their spaceships far from the point of the Big Bang.  That would be very interesting talking about the cosmologists and physics. That talking will be puzzled about the question, what kind of species lived in the universe what existed before our universe.  But there might one big risk about those particles, what can cause the end of the Earth.


If that particle is antimatter, and it will explode in our solar system, will the results are very devastating, even if that particle of the antimatter will not hit the earth. The planets might collapse from their trajectories, and if the antimatter pierces hits the Jupiter, will it cause the horrifying situation. And if it hits to the Earth, will the results that the earth will completely destroy and changes as a molecular nebula. The most exotic thing what will be told about this asteroid is that will be some kind of spaceship. This will be a good reason for some theories, that some scientists will cover that information. But that is only the humorous citation for the end of this text.