Close Approach Comet Arrives in April

Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacombini-Kresák zooms past the barred spiral galaxy NGC 3198 in this photo taken by astrophotographer Chris Schur on March 14. At the time, the glowing, green comet was about 16 million miles from Earth. This "April Fool's Day Comet" will make its closest approach on April 1, passing within 13.7 million miles of the Earth.

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Pee not Pea May be Integral In Long Term Space-flight

Most food to the International Space Station are shipped as cargo from Earth. However, longer-duration space missions, such as those to Mars, will need a self-sustaining food supply.

Scientists are researching how to grow food in space, including a test system that involves a tank of urine and a tomato plant, as reported by the BBC.

The Earth is a closed biological system with plants producing oxygen and food. Then you have the animals and microbes that degrade the plant and animal waste processes into soil.  Without these systems, no sustainable long-term life-support system would be viable.

Using both synthetic and human urine, scientists are conducting lab experiments to re-create this cycle in a way that could be useful for long term space-flight, the BBC reported.

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Beam Me Up Episode 482 Now Online

Harris Tobias

Welcome to Beam Me Up episode 482. This week I start by playing a song selection, after which I read Harris Tobias' the Word Maker. From there I head over to the Beam Me Up blog to read some of the most recent articles.

Finally, in my "flash from the past" segment, I play part 3 of Poul Anderson's story Inside Earth.

Click HERE  for episode 482                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Space X Plans to Orbit the Moon in late 2018

In what would be a first, SpaceX plans to fly two private citizens around the moon atop one of the company’s own rockets. And, SpaceX says, the cost will be paid out of the astronauts’ own pockets.

Elon Musk, billionaire founder and chief executive, said that two individuals came to him and asked if SpaceX could and would set up the flight, and that they are “nobody from Hollywood.” They’ve put down their deposits and will start fitness tests and training later this year to make the flight in late 2018.

For more click HERE