New Mars Forums

The technology uses a vacuum-sealed centrifuge to spin a rocket and then hurl it to space at up to 4,700 mph (7,500 km/h; 2.1 km/s). The rocket then ignites its engines at an altitude of roughly 200,000 ft (60 km) to reach orbital speed of 17,150 mph (27,600 km/h; 7.666 km/s) with a payload of up to 200kg.

SpinLaunch conducted the first vertical test of their accelerator at 20% of its full power capacity, hurling a 10-foot-long (3.0 m) passive projectile to an altitude of "tens of thousands of feet." This test accelerator is 108 ft (33 m) in diameter, which makes it a one-third scale of the operational system that is being designed

In order to successfully enter low-Earth orbit, a spacecraft needs to reach altitudes of around 300 kilometers (186 miles) with orbital speeds of 25,000 kph (16,000 mph), which implies much greater speeds and heights than SpinLaunch has been able to reach. To get there, the plan is to have the full-scale SpinLaunch system achieve exit speeds of 5,000 mph (8,100 kph), and to then have a working late-stage rocket activate to take the payload the rest of the way into orbit once it reaches a height of ~60 kilometers.

Cybersecurity researchers are calling it the largest password compilation leak of all time.

On July 4, a newly registered user on a popular hacking forum posted a file containing nearly 10 billion compromised passwords in plaintext.  "Xmas came early this year," user "ObamaCare" wrote on the forum. "I present to you a new rockyou2024 password list with over 9.9 billion passwords!"

SpaceNut wrote:

Sounds like Basalt is an early on material for insitu useage but on a scale of 1 to 10 where does it fit in the bigger skeem of things that we need fro insitu resources....

Any thoughts on a mineral/ materials list of priority for mining?

Here's one I prepared a little earlier :

(i) Water.  The base will be located close to a water source (probably within 2 kilometres of a large glacier). One of the first tasks of the colonists will be to find a good access point to this glacier and a safe route back to the base along which the DAG vehicle can move with relative ease.

(ii) Atmospheric extraction  The atmosphere will be extracted and concentrated. It will be used with water (itself divided into hydrogen and oxygen) to create methane and to isolate oxygen. Carbon will also be isolated for use in industrial processes.

(iii).  Iron ore  Iron ore is ubiquitous on Mars. Finding a source of iron ore should not present problems but colonists will be keen to find a source with a high concentration – at least 30% so as to improve the efficiency of the smelting process.

(iv).  Silica  Deposits of silica are widespread on Mars.  This material is essential to the production of glass on the planet.

(v)  Aluminium  Aluminium is an extremely useful and malleable metal and it will be a very useful resource for the colony. Rolled aluminium will be used to make reflective foil to be used as part of the Solar Energy Facility.

(vi)  Basalt This volcanic rock will be useful to the colony. It can be used to create ceramic vessels and tools. It can also form the basis for rockwool and glass fibres.

(vii) Calcium carbonate Deposits of calcium carbonate are thought to exist on Mars although they are thought to be much rarer than

The following might  be among the key manufactures produced by the Mission One Colonists:-

•    Metal containers (75kgs)
•    Metal tools and kitchen utensils (30kgs)
•    Mars bricks (120,000 kgs)
•    Mars cement  (20,000 kgs)
•    Glass (100 kgs)
•    Reflective foil  (500kgs)
•    Stirling engines  (500 kgs)
•    Ceramic vessels and tools  (300 kgs)
•    Hydroponic equipment (growing platforms, rockwool)
             (100 kgs)
•    Fibreglass vessels  (40 kgs)

Some food for thought there!

I put in a large figure for Mars bricks and cement because I envisage the colonists constructing dwelling space for those who follow after them...I guess that would be mostly loose Mars top soil beign used there - scooped up by a digger.

Following the likes of ChangeHealthcare, Kaiser, Cencora, and several others during the past few months, another major US healthcare service has reported suffering a cyberattack that resulted in the theft of sensitive patient data.

This latest victim is HealthEquity, which was on the receiving end of an apparent supply chain attack. In an 8-K form, filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this week, HealthEquity reported how earlier this year, as it was routinely monitoring its systems, it discovered “anomalous behavior by a personal use device belonging to a business partner.”

GoSun’s Solar EV Charger addresses potential EV buyers’ concerns about running out of battery. The charger provides 1,200 watts of solar power and weighs 70 pounds. It can be installed on a vehicle’s roof rack. A company video shows how easily the panels can be unfolded and plugged into the car’s charge port. For security, the charger includes a lock to prevent theft.

According to the company, two people can install the charger in 20 minutes. While it can add up to 30 miles of range per day, on average, it provides 10-20 miles, depending on the vehicle and weather.