The Blue News

I have read several articles in the past focusing on the emergence of a police state. I think this is a simple function of laws intruding into other areas of living. The criminal code used to deal with strong societal issues as formulated by religious precedence. For example let us consider the preamble of the charter of rights even here in canada. Holy matters are brought to the forefront rather quickly. In fact according to the preamble, if people no longer honor the lord or the law, it doesn't even apply any longer. Of course the assumption is that when it was written the respect for this institution of faith was unshakable and that it would always figureinto our political thought. However, now when so many people are lax in religion or are even professed atheists, some for even understandable scientific reasons or views, whatever - the point is that if a majority adopt such views, byt the language of the text, the document invalidates itself. But I digress, my only point here is that now law is as concerned with completely secular 'safety and security' type issues instead of the clear duty to protect the innocent and be considerate of local norms and acceptance of behaviours, we are seeing a severely federalized system and one that demands more and more sacrifice from also federally enshrined protections. I am in no way an advocate of violence, harm to individuals, unrest, protest or anything else negative. But I do believe in facts, sociology, economy and the privelage of free,open and high quality arguement. The current situation in the canadian parliment all but makes argument a redundant attraction. The opposition is impotent, no members of the conservative cabinet dare offer up any interesting ideas, nothing indepentantly arrived at and certainly nothing in accordance with the views and desires of the rabble - or commons as they were once known.

In the last couple daysI have been writing a little more on the local paper. This is becauseof two things, one) the stories are getting more graphic and extreme and are also veryprominantly about issues of civility and abuse, etc.. and two) I think I am one of the only young people who reads it and Iam highly discouraged by the lack of participation by the young and free on their local forums. Through online public feedback, a pretty good view of things emerges. peoples political leanings and individual views are allowed to bubble up around topics provided. Now Idont know if its just coincidence, or if its meant to be a part of a media campaign about bill C-10, but these images floated across my screen today -- IMAGE 1) 2)







It just paints a scary picture. I dont think this type of direction is what canadians wanted. Remember, the medium is the message. Is this the message we want for ourselves, for the world to see and for our future generations to expect ?

Please be sure to go and check out your online local and have your say :) Our system only stops working when we think it doesn't work anymore. We all have a voice we can use, even to take the time to write up a letter and submit it oldschoool to a newspaper... you'd be amazed how much they probably really want to hear your views, because then it makes more people interested and informed and that is good for sales. Mostly I am just a huge fan of local forum and freedom of expression and whatnot. My ideal newspaper for the day would likely be the EXACT opposite of those images, I would be worried about the sort of person that thinks todays news represents steps in the overall right direction...I hope that doesn't make me too radical to continue to enjoy the privelage of the right to freedom to express my views.



ALL images are only zoomed, lightly edited and cropped for clarity and display inclusion from my screen for use in this review and satirical work of things on my screen. I claim no ownership and use here is no endorsement by any owner, etc. Original images here from the peterborough examiner 2012. Please comment for any questions, etc. :) Support Local y'all.

The Emerging UEPS ( Unified Environmental Protection System )

Unencumbered Amid an Infinite Expanse
D.M.J. March
Feb-2012


Impenetrable Depths

Spacesuits are the pinnacle of various streams of development in the area of human environmental protection apparel and apparatus. What sort of developments may ultimately await this technology cannot be readily predicted, but in the present we have a device - in the modern space suit - which is the cumulative hybridization of many previous journeys into the unknown. For several hundred years, people have been making serious and sustained forays into previously never examined areas, both upon and around the globe. In some latter instances, where we have had some prior reckoning of what awaited us, we made preparations and devices fit for the endeavour as best we could. The field of 'suits' is one of great practical scientific advance; its necessity exists only only due to an ever persistent drive in our species to reach out into the unexplored. Few modern devices so clearly testify to this desire more or are more interdependent upon it. Without this intrinsic desire to explore restricted areas we would not have this technology and without the technology we would have no ability to do it. Much like people who once relied on sailing to get across the oceans to uncover the new world we take for granted today, explorers who rely on this technology are willing to risk their very lives for that same spirit of discovery. As long as there have been people, there have been some who have intentionally broken away from the pack to take the road less travelled. Very seldom has that tendency failed to yield positive, lasting transformations of macro-scale concepts for the less adventurous members.

For example, in our quest to explore the seas, as early as the 1830s we had already developed the Standard Diving Dress suits that would remain employed up until the rather modern development of SCUBA equipment beginning about 1960. For some 130 years this type of metal and canvas assembly was used for nearly every underwater application that required a human touch. Before the very late 1700s, water was still a completely impenetrable barrier of mystic proportions for the common consciousness. After the development of these 19th century suits however, under water work, surveying and exploratory ventures could all be carried on by military, academic or commercial interests. The Siebe company was one of the early innovators in the field of diving suits, started in about 1840, this company still functions in this adventurous industry nearly 200 years later. Until the wide application of independent aqua-lung systems after World War II these sorts of bulky and more cumbersome suits set the standard for the first century of personal environmental shielding.

As SCUBA developed to maturity, another type of environmental suit became a practical necessity; suits for aerial flight (flight suits). Similar in some ways to underwater suits, their utility came in dealing with, mostly, the opposite environmental phenomena – low pressure. As man ascended higher into the sky less breathable air met him along the journey. In addition, flight performance improvements also required pressure suits to help the human body cope with changes caused by excessive g-forces. Both of these technologies owe their linage to initial work done on under-water suits.
Breathing apparatus for aerial and under-water applications grew almost hand in hand from the immediate post-WW2 period up to about the 1980s. From 1917 to 1950, however, the initial development of environmental suits for the unique situations facing pilots were already begun in earnest. An insulated leather suit incorporating many pockets complimented with a helmet and goggles was standard issue on most military pilots until about 1950. As new synthetic materials became available and as engine performance increased dramatically with the onset of the jet-age, these suits evolved. By the end of the 20th century, high altitude flight suits and those employed for some outer space applications (launch and return) showed little difference. Both provided pressurization for high-g, breathing support through BA technology, fire-retardation, thermal insulation and basic protections against space radiation.

Reaching the Peak

By about the 1985 most modern environmental suits had reached their zenith. Some improvements with the integration of advanced communications systems has continued, but for the most part all environmental and space suits have existed in their present form since this time. Much of this development happened as a part of a larger zeal for rapid technical gains that seemed to grip our species over the period of 1960-1990.
Today, our needs seem to be more oriented around esthetics and streamlining as opposed to the raw development of ways to conquer new environments. In truth much room still exists for improvement on both fronts - which is the focus of the end part of this paper. Though the suits we have developed previously 'suit' their purposes, the environments we are now preparing to penetrate come with their own unique requirements. The evolution of underwater suits is very relevant to these considerations. Initially, and for the better parts of a century, bulky and cumbersome suits offering a relative minimum of protection were the standard. These might be likened to the current EVA spacesuits employed by astronauts today. Since these have existed in their essence since the 1970s and we are approaching 2020, it appears that the progression of spacesuits will go about double the pace and a pinnacle in space suits could be approaching by 2025.

Just as the advances in water suits mainly included a more reliable and less cumbersome environmental system, sleeker designs, reduced weight and improved materials use; space suits should -we might infer- proceed along a very similar path. MIT has begun impressive work on a BioSuit that is designed to interact with the human body in new ways. The BioSuit works similar to some modern shallow-diving suit technology in that it provides close contact with the skin and is primarily concerned with insulation from exterior variables. These tight fitting suits draw on the automatic systems of the body for some of their performance attributes.
One main difference is that the BioSuit is tailored to move only in areas where human movement is required. The rest of the suit is therefore extremely dense and rigid providing a very tight and innovative fit and function for this new series of suits. Systems for respiration, heating and electronics are integrated throughout the 'skin' of the BioSuit in a similar way to the circulatory system of a human or animal. At the closing of this paper is contained a proposal for a way in which one such suit should be attainable that can deal with all future operations in hazardous environments.
In theory, if we can refine this technology to its maximum potential, the suit used by a SCUBA diver and an astronaut should be nearly the same. The name of the game has now become the creation of aesthetically pleasing protection from many environmental variables. We should no longer be concerned with one suit per situation, as is the case now. A suit that effectively insulates against extreme heat or cold, provides oscillating pressurization of environment and bodily fluids based on need, and has a cutting edge communications and data system integrated into it represents the pinnacle of what a suit can be made to do. Ideally, even this is missing only one additional factor to make it completely developed by modern applicable standards; it must be able to provide assisted locomotion whether in space, in the air, or under the water. The inclusion of mechanical enhancements which can increase strength, stamina and speed could also lead to even more wide-spread use of these sorts of systems. This may come to include regular industrial, mining or other work.

Eyes on the Horizon

I appreciate that this is an ambitious goal indeed, but we must consider the next entire phase of this sort of technology if we want to appreciate the potential inherent in the evolution of 'space suits'. In my opinion a space suit should be adaptable and suitable for many different kinds of space. Moreover it should be completely digitally integrated with a tablet-esque integrated panel on the forearm, and an integrated display of the type produced by Recon-Instruments in the helmet. Indeed, Recon Instruments has just been evaluated for systems integration in the next generation of space suits. Still I think we miss something important when we so divide the concept of environmental suits into such narrow and segregated channels.


Let us consider four types of suit presently employed :


1) The Deep Water Suit : Let us consider the NewtSuit, EXO Suit and other types of the newest ADS currently used by the US Navy to achieve depths of 2000 ft and beyond. While highly specialized submarines have penetrated as far as 35000 feet, a single person in relative comfort, operating and working at a depth of 2000 ft is an incredible milestone dependent on steady advances in materials sciences, design evolution and the spirit of discovery.
These suits combine a rigid outer shell with movable joints and an on-board breathing system. Modern suits also usually include on-board locomotive devices as well. The SCBA on these units is similar to those employed both in SCUBA and other extant environmental suits. The development of this breathing technology was essential for the development of autonomous suits of all sorts. Aqua-lung and Re-breather technology and the eventual emergence of 'hard suits' is one of the major modern advances after WW2. It has been developed from ever better attempts at atmospheric protection and control stretching back to initial reliable attempts about 150 years ago.The leading pioneers in this field have helped to push our superstitious and mostly habit bound peoples ever farther into the unknown depths of the planet and, by extension, the whole of the cosmos. Jaques Cousteau was as much responsible for the modern SCBA system as Phil Nuytten has been for its further utility in deeper, stronger and more probing deep-sea devices. We owe visionaries of this type our most sincere thanks and admiration.
As water was the first true 'other world' explored by our species, much of the technology that is used for air, space and other hazard operations is dependent on developments and realizations which began with our early quest to explore the previously forbidden regions of our own lakes and seas.




[[In these images (left to right) : Classical diving dress as it existed for nearly 100 years c.1960, the NewtSuit from Canadian inventor Dr. Phil Nuytten c.1980s, The Exo-Suit c.2010. Major advances include the hard exo-shell, joints, autonomous radio and self contained underwater breathing apparatus.]]




2) G and Wet/Dry Suits : I am putting these two together because they are very similar in consideration and form. Both protect exposure of the body to harmful forces and are also very form-fitting. While they are not completely sufficient for extremes that may be faced, they are a good initial example of the sorts of efficiency that can be introduced through innovation.
Initially suits for pilots and even shallow divers were generally bulky. Improvements in insulation, breathing apparatus and materials composition have allowed much of the bulk to be stripped away and only the most essential components are now employed. It can be hypothesized that, in the future, even deep-water suits can be down-sized with further advances in composite materials. Each diver may require a custom suit for these sort of advances in future hard-suits, but this is also the case with form fitting dry-suits for the most part in the present too. The advent of the BioSuit and its new methods of accommodating lines of non-extension could potentially allow for hardened surface materials to be integrated in to form-fitting suits in the future.
These suits would be well adapted to extreme pressurization in both negative and positive quantities. Hard plated suits with sophisticated skin-tight insular layers and adequate helmet systems could theoretically take a person from ocean depths to the moon – or at least act as a safety device at all stops along the way.





[[In these images (left to right) : Standard 'wet suit' assembly c.1980, Dry Suit c.2000, Standard G-Suit c. 2000. Both the wet and dry suits represent great advances over the Standard Diving Dress – they are less bulky, autonomous and in the case of the dry suit; provide thermal protection. The G-Suit is similar, but is designed to deal with completely different environmental variables.]]



3) Chemical Operations and Hazard Suits : Though there are varying styles and levels of protection, a quick review of the most protective (Level 1/A) reveals that this technology is very close to SCUBA (SCBA). Level 1 Hazard suits must contain a segregated (in suit) SCBA device. These suits are completely sealed from the environment and usually run at a positive pressure to the surrounding area so that in the event of any breach in the surface the pressure will blow matter away instead of committing the intake of any type of hazardous chemical or biological matter. These suits may also be metallicized or otherwise treated to enhance protection against radiation as well.
Though no such suits can presently protect against extreme sources of direct radiation they are most effective at preventing the uptake of isotopes or other harmful chemicals that are usually radiated in such instances and can have severe consequences if ingested.




[[In these images (left to right) : WW1 Gas Masks c.1915, WW2 Gas Gear c1945, Modern HAZMAT Suits c.2010. The early versions of this technology were little more than rags to filter particles from causing severe, immediate, direct damage to the lungs and respiratory system. By the second world war small advances had been made, but with the onset of the Aqua-Lung this type of suit quickly became much more resilient. The new suits have also evolved to include much larger optical portals, these are much better suited to the further advance of HUD integration.]]




4) Power Integrated Cybernetic Suits :
A new breed of suits is emerging from the field of robotics. Though these are not internally-cybernetic (as we might initially think), they are exo-skeletal, powered, and augment the attributes of the user the same as if they were. These have been developed by Lockheed Martin among others for use in military applications already. One system, HULC, is being tendered by the US Army forces. It boasts the ability to reduce user fatigue, enhance basic strength and increase speed. These introductory technologies are a good indication of the potential in this field of a unified suit design integrating all the latest of various types of technology. Further to the HULC, Japanese scientists have invented a rehabilitative suit which incorporates this type of technology around an entire human body. Though, this is again very early phase, there is no reason not to think that within 25-50 years these technologies will likely be the standard in field operations technology. We will look into further integration of all these types of technology in the final section.






Hopefully this composition has thus far provided a good general history of environmental suits up to the present time. Some effort was also made to examine or project that technology slightly into the future, for example the notion that HULC systems may become much more commonplace among the armed forces in the short-term (5-10 years). As exciting and interesting as this history and these developments may be, it was all to bring us to this place. The place at the end here where we consider the median-term (10-20 years) potential for these devices as they relate to cross-envrionmental integration, outer space applications and more. The reduction in bulk is one of the most visible of changes to occur with suits of most types with the present exception of space suits, though hopefully that will be changing soon. Water and air based suits for normal operations have shrunk as they have increased in utility considerably in the last few decades. We tend to see this in all facets of our manufactured advanced technologies now.
TV's are slimmer, cars are being designed for greater economy, computers are now only tablets. In like manner the Standard Diving Dress has been replaced by SCUBA wet and dry suits. Heavy leather suits that were the standard for pilots are now much reduced in size and overall bulk while still retaining insulation properties and having superior protection from fire and many other additional features not included on earlier suits.
In these systems we should also take some note of the integration of radio technology. In all types of suits herein examined, radio technology is now an integral part. Beyond this, most suits also incorporate some sort of note taking or data gathering technology based on writing. Technology now exists which could cause another great leap in this technology; a unified environmental protection system (UEPS) for the 21st century...

The UEPS, like other game-changing technology, would incorporate elements from previous versions and types of environmental suits and also add pivotal and practical new technologies. Let us consider that previous versions of diving suits have relied solely on man-power. New heavy-suits incorporate some turbine technology to enable autonomous controlled locomotion. Martin Jet-packs is a company from around down under that has developed a wearable turbine kit that can propel a man through the air.
At present this jet-pack technology is bulky, but it is also early in its development, just as the Standard Diving Dress of old it has tremendous potential. If it can propel a man through the air it could reasonably do so in water also - even if some slight modification is required. So we see that we are at a time where the locomotion technology exists for one device to propel a man through the water or the air or from one to the other and vice-versa. Once these last few technologies are in place (or even prototyping at present with existing configurations) humanity will truly have mastered this area of investigation. No longer would atmospheric restrictions pose any threat to human explorers of the planets. Well, Earth, at least.
Because of the practicality of mass producing one such suit for a variety of applications, it can be assumed the laws of supply and demand might even make this sort of unit affordable for those who might travel to exotic destinations but who are not million-dollar organizations. The vision for a UPES as presented in this article can be summarized thusly; a suit drawing on the various disciplines of current environmental suit technologies, including a means for multi-atmosphere locomotion and also a complete array of advanced digital and exo-skeletal enhancements.
These digital components would include various optical and auditory sensors, a data drive for storage and processing of recordings. An operating system integrated to the components. A heads-up-display of the type from Recon Instruments. Digital integration of all valves, canisters, environmental data, etc, and the inclusion of a tablet type device hard wired to the suits internal digital systems that can be used for graphic-user-interface applications relevant to the operation and data collection requirements of the suit.

To summarize, personal environmental protection has been developed rather lately in the course of human affairs, but it has advanced rapidly over the last hundred years. In the coming century we can reasonably predict a sort of pinnacle for this stream of technology. A suit which at once allows a person comfortable access to the sea, skies and stars is truly within our scope of vision. Integrated circuitry and digital technology have come to a place where they are making new levels of versatility possible. Combined with other technology that can augment human performance and strength, the possibilities are nearly limitless. A suit as proposed herein (as modelled from the general ideal of the BioSuit, for example) and its further development, to a point where such a form-fitting suit can have the strength of an ADS, means it could become the standard issue -for safety at least- on all marine vessels or submarine units as well for as aeroplanes, spacecraft and for other exploratory or dangerous missions.



Now if only someone would hire me to make a comprehensive technical design of the bugger.


SOURCES:

IMAGES:

(L to R)

GROUP 1 : Stages of Deep-water exploration suits.

Standard Diving Dress c. 1860-1960, IP of US Navy, USA. Retrieved online from Bigjoe on g503.com for sale item (2005). Retrieved Feb/12 from : http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y300/onebigjoe/b54084ad.jpg

NewtSuit c. 1985–2000, IP of Dr. Phil Nuytten & Nuytco Research, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Retrieved online from theinquisition.eu an online blog about diving (2009). Retrieved Feb/12 from : http://theinquisition.eu/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/newtsuit.jpg

Exo-Suit c. 2010–Present, IP of Dr. Phil Nuytten & Nuytco Research, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Retrieved online from nuytco.com the official site of Nuytco Research (2012). Retrieved Feb/12 from : http://www.nuytco.com/products/exosuit.shtml


GROUP 2 : G and Wet/Dry Suits

Standard SCUBA Wetsuit system c. 1950-Present, Aqua-Lung system IP Emile Gagnan & Jaques Costeau, of suits various. Retrieved online from scubasource.org a SCUBA site (2012). Retrieved Feb/12 from : http://www.scubasource.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/scuba_wetsuit-225x300.jpg

Dark Dry-Suit system c.2000–Present, IP of various. Retrieved online from GoDaddy parking address in google image cache for thehappiercompany.com (2012). Retrieved Feb/12 from : http://i.ehow.co.uk/images/a04/gn/qk/dry-suits-800X800.jpg

Fighter Pilot Standard G-Suit c. 1970-Present, IP of US Airforce, USA. Retrieved online from nexus404.com a high-tech new portal (2006). Retrieved Feb/12 from http://nexus404.com/Blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/09/gsuit.jpg


GROUP 3 : Chemical Operations and Hazard Suits

WWI French Gas Mask on Troops c. 1915-1930, IP of various. Retrieved online “Dogs of War” from oldphotos.blogspot.com (2009) a blog about old photos. Retrieved Feb/12 from https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_kK9wExzeblutcNFIpANxkJTYAGJmoEKHF0GtjKOgeUevMt_YHlHWtHn8S2S0IJ7_o3Z4Q5JURxqDHVOVSF0PFCZ8Sw9mUSO91ppNyMUyQnSRMlcOjJs95qXfx1ccerZanPIerQJlBWo/s1600/dogs-of-war.jpg

WW2 Era Hazard Suit for Police c.1945, IP of Manchester Police, UK. Retrieved online from Greater Manchester Police flickr site (2010). Retrieved Feb/12 [directlink] from http://www.flickr.com/photos/gmpolice1/4457687322/sizes/m/in/photostream/


Modern Chem/Radiation/Hazard SCBA System c. 1990 – Present, IP of National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center, TX, USA. Photo from kavigupta.com an online exhibition of images from the site c/o Paul Shambroom “Level A HAZMAT suit, yellow”. Retrieved Feb/12. Retrieved from http://kavigupta.com/artist/paulshambroom


GROUP 4 : Power Integrated Cybernetic Suits

HULC System c. 2010–Present IP of Lockheed Martin / US Army, USA. Photo from google image search “HULC”. Manual upload OSL. Feb/12.

Recon Instruments Googles [micro LCD graphics also] c. 2012, IP of Recon Instruments, BC, Canada. Retrieved Feb/12. Retrieved online from : http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2011/01/small-recon-next-gen-feature3.jpg

Cyberdyne HAL Suit c. 2012, IP of Cyberdyne, Japan. Photo from cyberdyne.jp the official Cyberdyne site [direct link]. Retrieved Feb/12. Retrieved on : http://www.cyberdyne.jp/english/robotsuithal/img/img_robotsuithal.jpg



LINKS:

Nuytco Research - http://www.nuytco.com/ - The official site and site of Dr. Phil Nuytten; inventor of the NewtSuit, Exo-Suit, consultant to the motion picture Abyss. Order of BC, Dr, L.L.D. Leader in hard-suit technology. Advocate for marine safety.

Lockheed Martin - http://www.lockheedmartin.com – American technology company with major contributions to aerospace, astrospace, defence, marine and other high technology products.

Cyberdyne - http://cyberdyne.jp/ - Japanese robotics company specializing in augmented functionality for people with medical conditions that require mechanical assistance with locomotion and mobility.

The Costeau Society - http://www.cousteau.org/ - legacy site for Jaques Costeau. Ocean issues and information. Films, petitions, media information, etc. Donations welcome.

US Navy - http://www.navy.mil/swf/index.asp – Official site of the US Navy. Information, news and links. The USN is the largest and most advanced navy in the history of the Earth.

US Air Force - http://www.airforce.com/ - Official site of the US Air Force. Information, news and links. The USAF is the largest and most advanced air force in the history of the Earth.


NASA – http://nasa.gov – The official site of the US Space Agency. NASA has led the world in space technology and spending for many years since the competetion with Russia during the first space race

Recon Instruments - http://www.reconinstruments.com/ - Recon Instruments of BC, Canada. North American leaders in integrated HUD technology for sport visors. In 2011 their technology was reviewed for inclusion in NASAs studies of possible future space suit technology.

Siebe Gorman History - http://www.divingheritage.com/siebe.htm – A site about the history of diving technology and one of the major personalities behind it, Augustus Siebe.

The MIT BioSuit - http://mvl.mit.edu/EVA/biosuit/index.html - Home site for the MIT BioSuit development team. Includes info and links.

AIAC - http://www.aiac.ca - The Aerospace Industries Association of Canada official site.

Exo-Skeleton Directory - http://www.upgradeyourbody.com/biotech-directory/bionics/exoskeletons/ - a great resource of the various exo-tech that presently exists.

*** All materials are the property of the holders. No one endorses or owes this site anything and all material has been sourced from open source resources or used with permission where applicable. All sources cited or referred. Made with 98% GNU. Free for reuse as permitted. For questions about individual materials or info please contact me or sources or leave a comment :) ***

Appraising Emptiness

An Essay on Reasons for Outer Space Operations
and Considerations on AGBases
Agricultural Space Station Bases)

D. M. J. March /Jan2012

In any effort to promote the commercialization of space among the private sector, the significance of the profit motive cannot be understated. Though prize moneys (and the specific competitions they create) are certainly excellent precursors for sustainable development, they ultimately cannot be any more than a component of larger plans. Presently, there still remains the rather significant problem of attracting dedicated investors from among the more traditional financial operators. Solving this requires little; there has only to be a demonstrated need and a viable potential for profit to coax more interest from such capitalists. Meeting such basic requirements of good business can help lead those reluctant moneyed entities to more easily consider a wider frame of thinking on the potential returns from any investment in outer space.
A few sufficiently independent and visionary financial mavericks like Richard Branson, Robert Biggelow, Paul Allen and Elon Musk (to name a few) have apparently already come to appreciate the value of exo-planetary resources enough to enter themselves into the sphere of operations. The main attraction for them right now is the simple notion that it exists and is exotic and people want to go take a look. These adventurers are taking substantial financial liabilities upon themselves personally in the process of trying to push us all a little further out along the edge of the envelope. These are noble and forward thinking pioneers indeed, but we cannot expect them to carry this burden on our behalf indefinitely based strictly on their personal beliefs, fortunes and visions for the future. Each of these people has already helped to inspire a future that few people appreciate at present but which will become more obvious and pronounced as time goes on and more people become involved. Hopefully we will all become more excited at the possibilities above us sooner rather than later.
Nevertheless, because of this yet remaining importance of attracting other vast pools of capital to assist with space projects, we should make every coordinated, public, thoroughgoing effort towards developing a comprehensive common understanding of the resources available in space that are not available here at home (or are really less cost effective on the Earth when all things are considered). We need to figure out the magnitude of value of such heavenly resources to help attract others of slightly less vision, but still with substantial capital and intelligence, into action beyond the Earth. Creating studies and plans around these ends can help to demonstrate the good business sense of choosing space destinations for a corporations future plants, projects and sales markets.

In considering the value of outer space we should obviously take in to account the most prominent feature. First, we notice that space is full of, well, empty space. On this point I think about current terrestrial `space problems` such as the examples of ethnic persecution, urbanization, resource scarcity and the root of all such problems and scarcity; Namely a lack of sufficient growing space. This last phenomena can be clearly observed when we think of the problem of bio-fuel crops taking up arable farmland. This is a relatively new problem and is dependent on two modern phenomena; One, the population is becoming so large that we may be facing a shortage of land for the traditional growing of crops. Two, an evolution towards plant-based energy sources which are renewable and not 'fossil based'.
While many presently argue the pros and cons of agricultural subsidy, the actual land that goes uncultivated in North America (to say nothing of Europe or Asia) is scant indeed. In spite of this maximization of land used for cultivation, through the present system, thousands of people every night go to bed hungry. Many even perish for lack of nourishment. There is obviously no extreme abundance to the point where the overflow satisfies the lowest castes. More to the point, the notion that anyone is concerned about the taking away of agricultural lands for the cultivation of bio-fuels speaks to the fact that if we are not at 'peak agra' right now, we will approach it with certainty as long as the population grows and the land area available for the cultivation of crops remains a finite measure.


There is really no question of the probability of an eventual 'peak agra' situation, there will surely be a lack of sufficient land to indefinitely provide food for the people under the current models. It is a certainty if we intend to remain a mono-planetary species. The only question is; which types of crops are most deserving of terrestrial planting and which might be most reasonably slated for development in other spaces, possibly even spaces far away from the Earth?

For example we must consider it on a profit / gram x acre, basis.

Let us construe a table of totally assumed values for illustration:

Wheat-.02
Corn -.08
Grapes - .12
GMO Biomass for fuel - .69

It would obviously seem to be in the best interests of cultivators to produce grapes and biomass on their land, while the growing of corn and wheat would be better served by those not so concerned with the profit motive. On the contrary to this however, I would say that it might be more practical to reserve land on earth for the cultivation of cheaper, more widely demanded, food-stuffs while suggesting that more expensive (see profitable i.e. industrial, medical or cosmetic) crops be cultivated off-world to help displace some of the short-




term costs of exo-planetary crop infrastructure development. I moreover propose that massive space based growing platforms for these applications can readily and easily overcome any food related concerns as well as help to develop a reasonable and lasting human labour force in the expanse above. In one design proposal of mine, massive greenhouses could be parked along earths orbit around the sun and shipments could be sent to the planet as it passed by quarterly or whatever. Any such 'retrieval units' would need little more than to be appropriately jettisoned and gravity would pull them in. Of course more elaborate systems could be employed, but the bottom line is that repeated shipments to the platforms would not be required beyond basic chemicals required for the growing ( initial soils and some fertilizers and a few seeds to get it going). Water is the greatest concern but because these types of crude materials can be shipped through a variety of methods which are not dependent on low-g launch systems (mag rail launch, electric rotor arm, etc). A cheap system of repeated upward re-supply should not be unfeasible or contrary to cost effective operations. Also, the impetus to uncover such resource deposits away from the Earth could become more attractive as a system of more regular space infrastructure develops around these initiatives. Getting H20 from the Moon may be cheaper and less harmful to the environment here too depending on the systems employed and the environmental impact assessments.
Planting these stations around our solar orbit may be a tad too ambitious, Lagrange points between the Earth and moon might better serve early efforts. Having them at these L-Points would allow for easier maintenance and also special operations, whereas points along a solar orbit would only be accessible a few times a year and would require otherwise permanent habitation by operators.

The main reason I propose that these AGBases (agro-bases) should be constructed outside of Low Earth is because of their large projected size, the availability of solar energy, and the safety that distance provides from space debris and satellite networks around the planet. These early experiments could also work hand in hand with our initial efforts to push the species further out into space as well. While eventually leaving them at points around our solar orbit would greatly help to enhance our awareness of our place in the solar system, points between the Moon and Earth could quickly help us to understand orbital mechanics better in the main stream. Much depends on how quickly we truly intend to move outward in the coming decades. Regardless though, given the exponential nature of the growth of the species, it is essential that we begin to plan and construct (at least initial) space-agra projects as soon as possible. Any primary investments can surely be recovered later as the need for this infrastructure truly manifests and more people come on board. Waiting until the specter of scarcity raises its head across the North American and European continents should not be an acceptable action plan. Even a severe climate related (or other) food event in the present could result in severe price increase and/or scarcity for many. Having these Agro-projects, even in the developmental phases, can be considered an insurance against such calamity ever striking the population... what's that worth?





With the increased threat of rapid, global, biological contamination also now evident, the very availability of an isolated 'space' in which to conduct cultivation and other sorts of preservationist activity cannot be understated either. There are many many reasons we can note, in both the present and the future, which justify steady and elaborate R&D in the area of outer space agricultural development. In addition to the basic production of these sorts of biomass in space for strictly-human consumption, bio-fuels and other elements can be procured from the 'waste' of simple food production and can then be used in various apparatus. Depending on the scale of operations, this also has the potential of providing an economic and practical reason for continual commercial operation in space, including; fuel sales, the transport of astronauts to private facilities, between facilities for supply or maintenance work, or materials/tools delivery,3D printing, etc, etc. Space is a new frontier for our species, only somewhat less foreboding than the depths of the ocean but space also helps us to map, understand and utilize the ocean whereas the ocean does not provide the same level of return for space, though it is a great training ground for journeys to other worlds. Just as we have a seed bank in the Antarctic, a living storehouse of plants as well as people in space is certainly a valuable and useful precaution at the very least.
There is also presently a great risk of complete GMO contamination for the flora of the Earth. If we were to make any catastrophic mistake in this regard, the effects could mean near-to-total extinction of our species (or several plant species at least) without our having the proper precautions in place. I would strongly advocate that much of any AGBase bio-products could be produced of the “purest” genetic composition and that such heritage should there be intentionally preserved. Heritage plants, as completely free from synthetics and manipulation as possible, would be the only types allowed on select Heritage Class stations. Of course, as part of the nature of space, commercial efforts could also construct modules or stations that have only GMO products which presents its own health and corporate interests not available to heritage-based models or on the Earth.


The bottom line however is that we need to really get to the business of integrating an expended view of space operations within the public domain again. During the former space race everyone from Disney Studios to President Kennedy was producing public information and paying for the airtime to disseminate the work and wonders of this exciting new frontier. We need stimulation in this area more than ever. The outlook for mono-planetary living is not very appealing. Continued threats, wars and depression are the agenda looking forward. We need that nostalgic old inspiration, to create a better place that is working towards a symbiotic and ever expanding relationship with the Earth and all humanity. Space can ultimately be used to help the Earth in any ways that we can presently imagine. This is mostly because, right now, it is basically empty. We have dipped our toes in the ocean of the cosmos, but a time will come where we wade out. Then finally we will find ourselves swimming - sometimes happily sometimes not - but there we will be nevertheless and ever-after, swimming free among and betwixt the infinitely numbered pinpricks of light that beckon us ever further into their embrace.

LINX AND CREDIT DUE:

IMAGES

Image1 : PHOTO FROM EX.29 on ISS. NASA 2011. NASA BLOGS @ http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/newui/blog/viewpostlist.jsp?blogname=ISS%20Science%20Blog
Cosmonaut Sergi Volkov tending to little green friends on the ISS. This represents the level of current cultivation on the ISS c.2010-2011.

Image2 : Image by Space Artist Phil Smith. Mars Foundation 2005. Lifeboat @ http://lifeboat.com/images/mars.greenhouse.jpg
Rendition of a Canadian Astronaut tending plants on Mars. Illustrating the utility of exo-planetary greenhouses.

Image3 : Photo of Englands largest greenhouse, Thanet Earth. Thanet Earth 2009. Blogspot @ http://pruned.blogspot.com/2009/07/thanet-earth-and-crystal-palaces-for.html
An image from the largest commercial greenhouse in England. Similar in same; Gotham Green

INFO

NASA BLOG - http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/newui/blog/blogs.jsp
The official NASA Blog.

LIFEBOAT FOUNDATION - http://lifeboat.com/ex/main
The site of lifeboat which has a focus on using space for the long term maintenance of humanity and its presence on the Earth.

PHIL SMITH, SPACE ARTIST - http://www.philsmith.us/portfolio.html
The site of space artist Phil Smith, please take a look. Inspiring work.

GOTHAM GREENS - http://gothamgreens.com/
New York arga producer utilizing rooftop greenhouses for the year-round production of approx 100 annual tons of veg.

THANET EARTH http://www.thanetearth.com/
Proprietors of the largest commercial greenhouse in England.

Supreme Children of a Chinese Moon

Although space exploration has modernly been touted as an achievement of great peaceful ambitions, it did not begin under such an earnest distinction. Rockets, which were the forefathers of all modern spacecraft systems, were initially exploited by the brutal and murderous Nazi regime for the express purposes of warfare. A little further in their development, it was technology developed simultaneously to deliver nuclear payloads through the implementation of Inter-Continental-Ballistic-Missile systems that allowed both sides in the Space-Race to catapult men around the world along the very edges of the infinite heavens above for the first time.
The Space-Race itself was a direct descendant of the Cold War that resulted from World War Two and the competitions of ideology between Russia and the USA. Even though these two sides were so different in so many ways, the styles and origins of their space launch technology shared much in common. Indeed, were it not for pressure and antagonism from both sides a much more comprehensive, united and advanced system for human space exploration may have already evolved.




In spite of these beginnings, some of the first steps towards a lasting global peace were indeed formed in space. The Soyuz/Apollo rendezvous in 1975 heralded the end of any classical Space-Race competition and was certainly a durable foundation for the later actualization of a more liberal Russian system of governance and a formal end to isolationist American tendencies as well. In later years, as the Soviet union crumbled, the massive ISS project (the largest single human undertaking of modern times at some $150 Billion+) and other cooperative ventures cemented arrangements for a lasting cultural exchage that recognized no borders or barriers of intrinsic ideological, ethnic or national prejudice. Men and women from both sides worked together in concert with other international partners and they achieved meaningful developments in diplomatic and scientific activities. Surely if you had said in the 1950s or 1960s that the two major antagonistic sides would eventually become mutual partners in massive low-orbit space projects you would not have often found a warm reception. People would scarcely have believed the Cold War would end with neither side having never suffered total annihilation.

These relationships,resultant from cooperation among many peoples working in unison whilst floating above the clouds, have remained an enduring testimony to our potential and also the success of our early efforts in space. Though born from such dangerous and hostile situations, the new space confederacy born near the very end of the last century has enabled ever more members of our species to ascend into the realms previously reserved only for Enoch, Elijah and Jesus in customary Christian discourse. Any story of men from many nations all living and working in a vessel constantly falling around the earth at thousands of miles-per-hour would surely have qualified as “heavenly tales” in any previous age.

I have titled this article as I have to act as a warning to us as well as to the Chinese; if we are not careful, such a title could come to apply to an elite group of humans in the future and, moreover, it could be used in a terrible and segregationist tone against other visitors to a China-controlled lunar surface. This is no way meant to be a remark against China, it is much more a reflection on dangerous tendencies in humans whenever an environment and attitude of xenophobic pride is encouraged. If anything it is a recognition of the precarious place China is flirting with through their mostly solo efforts at space-faring thus far. I could have just as easily called the article "Sons of the American Lunar Soil Company", but I perceive that as far as a matter of national pride, NASA has bequeathed their control of manned space exploration over to the free market system – a major step in the right direction, as far as I'm concerned, I might add. That being said, I think there might also have been better and more forthright ways of going about manifesting this transition, but such is merely speculation and what's done is done. The bottom line here is that I think that if nations contunie to explore space through their individual governments instead of a coordinated international, indeed a planetary-corporate undertaking a sort of segregationist attitude might develop in the future against nations who lose this, now forming, SpaceRace2.0.

At this, the dawn of the 21st century, there are three major competitors in outer space development and exploration; The USA, Russia and China are leading the nations of the globe in space capabilities, though we might also consider that several other nations are close to developing independent capabilities in the field. China, however, is currently the new kid on the block. The fact that it is taking its first massive strides so quickly and so independently is some cause for concern as much as it might be cause for the bestowing of accolades. As previously noted, the USA and Russia were operating under this independent national model, although in open competition, at the beginning of the Space-Age. For a time, both were steadily growing in GDP and global dominance so that, somewhat logically, space seemed a natural next step in the expansion (one) of their empires. Many people on both sides wondered if the moon and space would be colonized under American freedom or Soviet communism. Such paradigms and concerns are simply not the case any longer. The advance in technology because of the Space Race, for both Russia and America happened at a relatively steady, controlled and uniform pace. We should be very aware that China considers all those achievements to be initial steps, far in the past. Because of little more than their place in the progression of overall space development for Terrans, they are moving at a much more accelerated rate during the present.There should be little doubt that their economy is one of the best poised heading into this new century of outer space exploration as well. When one is sitting on the top of the pile, open cooperation becomes a truly noble and humane act, rather than one made of strictly self-serving interests. When the fall of the Soviet system occurred America could have abandoned them and their space ambitions to the dustbins of history for a time. The extension of a hand of cooperation and inclusion in these matters should not be under-appreciated by the Chinese so far as its positive effect on the establishment and maintenance of peace between two sides such formerly antagonistic sides.




It might seem like a bit of a stretch to asume that China could so quickly become a leader in space development, but beyond only economic domination China has a large number of the worlds population and a more authoritarian type of government than any current Western power currently involved in space. If China so chooses to start a more massive space initiative they would have the spending authority, technology and authority of government to make it a serious undertaking for their people (whether the vast majority of their population supported it or not). Obviously there are positive aspects to why we in the West do not find ourselves in a similar situation, but as far as an outlook on the progress of space development; for the next 25-50 years China might be the dark horse of any new space race. The fact that this supremacy might belong to a nation other than my own (while certainly some) is not my primary motivation with these concerns. I would urge the following position on any nation that found itself in a stance of supremacy on these matters.

As China recently began to expand its space program to include stations, further manned missions and prospects for the moon over the last few years, I have watched with some dismay at the lack of cooperation with other nations. I was very happy to see China involved with other nations on the MARS-500 project, but here again I was disappointed to the maximum that there was no Canadian or American contingent. Though I can understand and appreciate a measure of national pride in regards to independent national space achievements (especially early ones), we should not loose sight of the great gifts that came out of diplomatic gains from space cooperation among groups of powerful nations. Medical, scientific and technological advances can be developed and shared for the benefit of the entire species through this sort of cooperation. Now that China has begun to construct habitats in Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO), I would think them wise to further embrace the hands of the nations of the world in these endeavours. Seeing Russian and American cosmonauts working together has been a normal part of living experience for my generation. We never knew the bitterness, the suspicion, the animosity of the cold war because of projects like this – far fetched ideas that were slipped into the mainstream consciousness have protected my generation from tyranny more than any body scanner ever could. I have seen more positive space propaganda including members of both the American and former Soviet sides - and watched with enthusiasm the achievements of both - than I have ever seen a piece of war propaganda that would incite me to hatred of another group of human beings. Almost every previous generation of man has had a less fortunate upbringing on this Earth than me in regards to racial distinction and though I am sure that many of the people out there under 30 cannot or do not in any way live in a meaningful awareness these great freedoms from oppression of thought that we enjoy today. I even write this just in hopes that any increase of such awareness is a good step towards the prevention of the re-emergence of these vain terrors. It is interesting that we see quite clearly today that if we do not become more aware and appreciative of these tolerances we may be doomed to regress to a competitive struggle among the nations which draws divisions based on geography, religious preference or genetic kinship and slows and divides our overall progress yet again. Such national or ethnic prejudices are so provincial now that we almost underestimate the dangers of the ignorance they engender here in the 'civilized' world. But I would like to call attention to it in the hopes that someone might here consider it in a way that previously hadn't. Even I live in a way that somewhat encourages and allows me to take the political situation of my birth for granted, I try and make a conscious effort to choose not to though. I am truly thankful and grateful of the role that space development and mutual cooperation in these areas has had on my life. I abhor the use of violence even in war but especially in any other situation where it may be averted. Not to the point of flaccid defences, mind you. Viewing the issues of our time from a planetary or greater humanity-focused frame of reference often changes the paradigms we face. If America, Russia or India were racing to the top of the space heap (or even some corporation within or betwixt them) I would still and always urge a very open-source kind of ideology; Cooperation and free exchange wherever reasonable. I do not understand why China or even Bigelow Aerospace have not been invited to partner with the ISS more formally yet. The ISS will remain in orbit for another 8 years at least. Even this timeline may be extended through adequate funding and development, but what would be truly wonderful would be to have other nations participate in the maintenance and expansion of the station for an unrestrained time. A hundred years from now, the original ISS trusses or perhaps even a module could still exist at the core of a larger station, perhaps even one finally pushed out further to an L-Point or beyond. If any of our successes have taught us anything it should be that nothing is impossible. Much of our development depends on motivation, intention and commitment in equal measure, nothing more.





Many people think the American system is now losing direction, but I am not so sure that is the case. NASA seems to be transforming itself into more of a research partner (if they were really ever anything else) and they are turning more and more of the real applications of space travel over to the private sector (and therefore potentially increased competition) and they are using money they have saved from withdrawing their own participation to drive funding for other projects according to the same principals of the X-Prize foundation. For example, where NASA used to spend a billion, say, on something and get inefficnet use of that money by many measures, now they can put a billion up for tender and the companies will spend that much or more on their initiatives - if you follow NASA and us are getting wayyy more bang for our buck through this scheme of management. The Ansari X Prize spurred on many amazing technologies, vast amounts of research and helped also to develop and strengthen a community of free enterprisers who shared similar passions. Far from having no direction the direction of space is opening up evermore to how we want, indend and desire to make it go.

However, just as we stand on this precipice, we are also tumbling ever closer to a new world war. The ramifications to space development can not be understated. In an open world war, space budgets would specifically be targeted because of their overtly diplomatic inclinations. Either that or space invariably becomes rigid, military and segregationist because of the vantage points plainly offered over other, enemy nations.
The treaty to prevent the weaponization of space was a tremendous, forward-looking document. In it was enshrined the principal of peaceful and coordinated development of space technology for the benefit of all mankind. The moon, stars and all of space has been mutually declared forbidden from the ownership claims of any nation, or even coalition of nations except in the overall interests of the benefits to all mankind.
Because of this legal framework I believe that a legislative process for joining a planetary union must be set up. Of course nations may wish to develop their own space propulsion systems autonomously, and then they might want to launch to LEO unassisted. I would suggest that any efforts beyond LEO would require participation in and sanctioning by a civil, elected space body representing the whole interests of the Humans of Earth in outer space. People from all nations would be able to vote on leadership and issues in the organization as long as their nations were member states. This legislative body and its legislation would govern space in the interests of the species. We can quickly see that this form of international government with enforcement duties and mandates so sweeping would quickly become a powerful force for good in the universe beyond the Earth. So long as it is made up of people who appreciate this prospect which space, like nothing else, offers us for the unification of our species and the peaceful and open exploration of the cosmos.

Once we tear down these physical prejudices through such a cooperative exo-planetary scheme, some ideological differences may remain. However, because of the vast swaths of territory available to future Human colonization, I believe we can find enough room for all of them if we try and make it so. Hopefully there will be little need or utility for national distinctions in space and instead of the title of my paper now, any similar or reflective work in the future will just be titled something more general, like "The Sons of the Moon" and it will celebrate how much further we have been able to tear down walls that previously existed between our peoples. Suspicions, prejudices, independent desires that only served to isolate us from our true greatness. I feel quite confident that nationalism has no more a place in space than racism once enjoyed on the Earth.

My FragileOasis Bid 2011-2012

I wanted to take some time out and give a little outline about my involvement with and the existence of the Fragile Oasis project;

Since about August 2011 I have been in a competetion for a medal from the International Space Station (ISS). My desire to enter wasn't a self serving one. When I was younger, in my teens, I volunteered for a number of 'green' outfits. I spent my summers and other free time working on organic farms, bailing organic feed-meal and working out design and construction of various green projects ranging from housing to engine design. Along the way I also worked in IT and other high tech projects. All this led me to having a pretty comprehensive understanding of both nature and technology. In my later years I have tried to augment this with studies of fundamental sciences like chemistry, math, physics and biology to a lesser degree. Even still, I have maintained and very active and forward looking online presence.

My interests in formal academic studies have centered around an overall desire to remain involved with both technological developments and environmental concerns - specifically with applications to outerspace flight/exploration. Designing ever less destructive methods for the production of locomotive force is a hobby I have spent countless hours wrapped up in.




In the last year or two I have also become keenly involved with digital bridges to real world space exploration. Let me explain a little. Beginning a couple years ago I began to regularly watch space launches. Everything from satellites and cargo to human payloads was within my field of focus. In that time I have watched many interesting events. The last shuttle flights, numerous soyuz launches, the ESA cargo ship to ISS, Dragon testing, I even watched the virgin galactic X prize launch, as far back as 2004, from work one day to the semi-disdain of my employer.

What I have noticed in my time with these programs is an ever increasing level of public disclosure and interactivity. Spaceflightnow even used to stream a chat with the launches before miles left. These initial observations led me to want to participate on a greater level. I produced a couple videos for youtube about shuttle launches taking as many as 5 to 7 dedicated hours to produce. This might seem insignificant, but then how much time have you spent glued to a launch or rendezvous, or both over several days ? For most people a launch becomes uninteresting twenty minutes before launch and about ten minutes after. Regardless, after I had produced these pieces, still there was a longing to be more actively involved. These are huge public projects but, beyond star scanning satellite access and the odd "tweetup" there seemed little opportunity for the general public to actively get ahold of outer space. Then I made some discoveries. NASA has been TRYING to get the public interested and involved for years. They have sponsored NES games, PC games and others across many platforms. STEAM had recently released the Moonbase Alpha sim free for people, and there was more, several more efforts to utilize the resources of the internet to educate and involve the public in space based activities. As such I took a few turns at moonbase alpha, I captured the high score on NASA moonworld on the linden grids, I designed a t-shirt based on nasa for a threadless competetion and I even joined up with fragileOasis. What I really liked about fragile oasis was the chance to get my hands on something that had really been there. The astronaut in charge of the program took three medals with him to space. One for education, one for humanitarian service and one for the promotion of peace. NOW HERE !! I thought, IS A WAY TO REALLY PARTICIPATE !!! So I chose a long standing concern of mine (water stewardship) and set about making regular contributions.

What truly made fragile oasis interesting was that the projects are generally supposed to be a hybridization of work that is performed in space and on the earth. My project will result in dynamic 3d mapping of water resources and trends around the world based on both data from space and data from earth. This will help us identify and quantify our relationship to water and our impact as a species on the biosphere of the earth in a comprehensive way regarding this finite fluid resource.

See, what I would do with the project, if it won and garnered some more interest or incentive that I should do so - is create a team of people who would help with the construction and development of an API data system related to water (and content) levels in the seas, lakes and sky and calculate out impact and potential issues or solutions for our management of the water supply of the earth. Generally it is a project about making us more aware and accountable for our impact on the environment. If I win, which I believe is possible, it will generate awareness about not only the fragileOasis project and other initiatives which exist and are worthy of notice, but it will also be a step forward down a road of data-managed resource awareness and integration services within an open-source or public domain. In big business like oil and forestry for example, much is done to generate data and produce accurate projections of bio-sphere information, but in the public domain -- where can you really go to get info on your local water (unless there is an advisory alert - then its all over the front pages). But monitoring water levels and contents in real time can produce insights to problems that were not before possible and relaly help to create a preventitive mechanism instead of only a reactionary one to water pollution or other issues.

Regular monitoring or investigation of biological conditions is a good choice for human health, why would we assume it would be any different for the health of our planet. Indeed too much data is not available to the public given our level of sophistocation. Radiation, polloution, smog, electro-magnetic intensity, all this sort of information should be readily available to the public for considerations of health, real estate purchase, or environmental action. The earth and this data do not only belong to a small elite, but we all have a right to know and also we should be able to expect that regular and adequate testing, of such resources we have deemed essential, should be the case and not an exception.


** it takes about 5-10 to generate an account, then you can vote me up too; here:

http://fragileoasis.org/projects/free-the-water/

also, there is the FTW homepage; here

https://sites.google.com/site/spaceguidebook/home/free-the-water

My last blast for 2011 TIME IN A BOTTLE

I have had a very profound realization in the past couple days. Not to take anything away from the spirit of the holidays, but in consideration of some larger associated issues I arrived at a startling discovery about the James WEBB telescope that I have previously written about. I have written about the startling impact of the discoveries of the Kepler in the last few months of the year. How these should be much more seriously considered issues among the masses and the press, but they are almost completely overlooked or 'fringe' in the current cultural lexiconography.

I will briefly review my previous points here.;

The hubble telescope was a huge leap for telescope technology. Finally we had escaped the confines of the atmosphere and its damned distortions of 'pure' imagery. We could see light, traveling almost completely through the vacuum of space for millions and million of miles on journeys consisting of hundreds and thousands of years. Our ability to observe phenomena in space has taken us almost to looking back into the origins of the universe as if we were peering backward through time itself with every increase of clarity and projection resoultion technology. Even though this was astounding in its own right, there were still limitations with focal distance. For example, though hubble could observe large and distant massive bodies of light in the darkness of space, it could not, very well, pinpoint any planetary systems. And so scientists had begun to develop our present telescope the Kepler. Hubble went on spotting stars and checking them for compatability with our theories of planetary systems evolution, but it had to leave any definite discoveries for Kepler, which would take this data about the stars with the highest likelihood of planetary development - and examine them.

In video games from KOTOR to Mass Effect (and farther into the past) planetary systems navigation has been a regular feature of space-fiction videogames. Also in television like star trek, a system of planets is quite readily presented in a believeable and realistic way. It seems very old hat for the members of any USS Enterprise to visit a strange new world. Especially in TNG timeline. Regardless, I only bring this up because it seems that just as cellular communications, touch screen computers and plasma energy - we may be about to turn another science fiction notion into science fact.

See, right now these discoveries seem remote to us because we have no way to derive any immediate impact/benefit from it. Okay, so there are planets around stars, we already knew that didn't we ? In fact no. We had speculated and postulated and Sagan had even simulated how and where other planets might exist, but even concrete visual data escaped our actual grasp. Though the common person takes it for granted that planets exist in vast number in deep space, it is almost an irrelevancy because we lack the technology or drive as a society to make any use of such an assumption. We squabble and fight to keep our resources limited and the disparity of wealth high, but in actuality, there is an almost INFINITE supply of every material in the universe if we just figure out where exactly its located and how to get our hands on it.

Well, now, we are just a few steps away from solving the first part of that dilemma. We have found some places. Real worlds, in areas of solar systems similar to Earth, so that if the formation of intelligent humanoid life has anything to do with the conditions on our planet, it may now be more reasonable to also inferr that such an event may have come to pass elsewhere as well.

Now I want to reach out into the edge of human thought for a moment. The theories you are about to hear are based on analysis of technology that does not yet exist. The James Webb telescope should allow us to map planets surfaces that are light years away as clearly as we see our own world on google earth today. Indeed I hope to see a 'GOOGLE KEPLER20F' program very soon (nudge nudge google). What this means is that within 5 - 10 years we may discover a planet with cities. The first images of another world filled with another dominant intelligent species may be viewed within our lifetime. IMAGINE !

Again, there seems to be a sort of public apathy about it all because of sci-fi characterization of aliens. The younger generation, because of the science they grow up in and the fiction of their time - have much less difficulty with the notion that intelligent life probably exists elsewhere in the cosmos. But for people even nearing 100 years old, this is as astounding as a super sonic jet flight (though perhaps because of the rapid pace of development in their lifetimes they are also highly apathetic). So we see that as a species and as a function of technology we are moving ever cloer to these realities. But what will it mean?

Well, the one thing I have come to realise is that it will mean the creation of time portals will become a reality also. Let me tell you what I mean because I know right now you're probably crooking your brow thinking this is some crackpot nonsense... but I am really not the sort, I assure you ;p

This is what I mean. When the james webb comes online it will enable us to make detailed examinations of the surface of other worlds on par with google earth. The seeming problem with this operation is in fact its great gift to our species; the problem is that Kepler is 600 years away, so what is the benefit, really ? Well for us, beyond a sort of scientific novelty, there seems to be little to gain. But what if you were a Keplerian ? Suddenly, as of say 2015, these people on Earth have an ongoing and accurate window into conditions on the planet Kepler20f some 600 years ago. Now think about what that means. That means for us, that if another species is in the same position as us, and if they have reached this sort of technology before or relative to us, then an exchange with this species would provide us with FACTUAL records of our own origins. Think, if we can see whats happening on kepler 600 years ago, then some planet 2015 light years out from us, could in theory be watching the life of Jesus unfold (or not) right now ! We could witness detailed recordings of ancient historical events. The construction of the pyramids, what has happened to all those craft lost in the bermuda triangle, who shot kennedy ?.... everything ! In a sort of eery bible prophecy way it seems that indeed, ALL will be revealed. I just hope whoever is slated to 'judge' us takes us in context of all possibility and that we havn't been doing as bad a job as we are all generally told.


Either way though, our whole history back to the truth of adam and eve or the missing link can be explored through societal exchange with other worlds ! And we would be developing the ability to provide certain unique perspectives as well for others ! Truly a valuable goal, to have an interplanetary data exchange network like this which effectively allows viewing of any world at any time, from any angle.... now THAT's a database project, cataloguing the peoples, histories and worlds of the galaxy ! IMAGINE; The MSNBC/GE Berkshire McGoogle Galaxy app from the planet Earth ? Imagine even postulating such a notion 100 years ago, they probably would have experimented on your brain in a public forum to try and eliminate this deviation from normalcy.

I suppose people who have things to hide will not be pleased about this technological and diplomatic scheme of revelation, but as they've been telling us for years, if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear. Kind of like Minority Report meets Facebook ! hah ! Take that shadow government ! The light of knowledge is about to step it up. You can't stop an idea whos time has come and you can't keep good people down forever ;p I think the revelation of truth, though scary at times, is its own reward in many instances. Science keeps pushing us in the direction of enhanced knowledge, but there seem to be concerted forces against free access to it. The economy now contains unlimited currency, yet we still can't feed the hungry people of the world... we need to get our house in order, perhaps seeing another house - even far off- will finally inspire us to some action on this front. After all, if you know that guests may be arriving you generally make some preparations. I can barely wait to surf on the silvery mercury crests of the metallic-ocean moons of Alpha Centuri... or whevever they are... I will probably listen to Joe Satriani at the time.

Why I'm a tele fan

With the discovery of yet another 'earth like planet' in the 'habitable zone' of a 'sun like star' this week, I wanted to take a moment and discuss the impressive growth we have experienced in this area for some time now and some potential effects on the space industry as a whole.

With Hubble we became able to seek out and positively identify stars and formations at varying distances from our own spot in the universe. The range, accuracy and detail available through the Hubble program were state of the art, and also gave a great example of data from space projects that can have a viable impact here at home. Hubble set the standard for its era, but also enabled scientists to create a catalogue of their 'favourite' stars where life might exist because of more preferable stellar conditions than might exist in another region. Though impressive in its own right, these revelations did little to alter general paradigms, no 'game changers' were likely to result from Hubble for the common person. But now we have Kepler.



The Kepler telescope is the next chapter in this epoch of development. With this satellite, and the data gleaned from the Hubble program, we are able to peer far deeper into the details of these stellar systems we had previously bookmarked. The rate of discovery from the Kepler telescope has been staggering, every announcement could herald the discovery of a species of extra-planetary beings. Every day we ride the wake-crest of this exciting possibility into uncharted waters for the human experience.

Here on earth, we are turning LEO control over to the private sector, with the larger goal of governments beginning to press outward into the expanse. Though few details are emerging into the public domain at this time, the technological potential of our species is nearly boundless. In a few years the entire american economy was converted into the mightiest army complex the planet had hitherto witnessed. In this age of suppressed technological awareness, infinite money and digital integration there is little that someone with the will and connections could not produce. What the mind can conceive, it can achieve.

Kepler began by identifying systems with short period planets, like mercury, whose orbit lasts only a few months. Once the telescope confirms more than one sighting, it will confirm that planetary bodies do in fact exist around star candidates. The Kepler team now projects that nearly 20% of all stars contain planetary bodies within their solar systems. While that is certainly encouraging for mining colony development, the team has also projected that only about 5% of all stars have any planets in the habitable zone. Nevertheless the potency of these discoveries should not be understated. For the FIRST TIME in our history, we have the optic technology to reach across time and space and examine other worlds. The fact that this exceptional nature of the discoveries in our time is so unnoticed must surely speak greatly to either public apathy or public suppression. How can we as a people not be truly captivated by these discoveries. These days we live in are surely among the most profound in our history. We could be plunged into a third world war almost any day, or we could discover another race of beings, or perhaps be discovered by them !!

I don't mean to sound extreme here. In fact I would suggest people who think my views are extreme should read up on Richard Dolan and his work. Not because I find Dolan extreme in any measure, much the contrary. His academic, balanced and thorough examination of social and technical issues around planetary affairs is one of the most reasonable and factual examinations and his conjectures are also enlightening. Though I have differences of opinion on some matters with Dolan, surely, there is tremendous knowledge in his uncovering the depth and nature of secrecy in our society around these such issues. His references to the NSA having 650Mhz computers in the 1960s is a great example to someone so familiar with computer technology as I am. That would be equivalent to saying that they had flying cars powered by banana skins to an automotive tech, by comparison.

Regardless, I digress, but Dolan, though somewhat exploited by the "UFO" community is a truly able researcher and a balanced presenter. You should check him out. Where I wanted to end this though was on discussion of the James Webb telescope which is the next generation to be deployed in the next few years. Just has Hubble was able to track star candidates, we now are beginning to identify planetary candidates in a like manner. When the James Webb is deployed in just a few years time, it will enable scientists to view the planet candidates in a way the reflects the leap forward that Kepler was over Hubble. So what am I getting at here ? It means that in the next year or so, if Kepler identifies more Earth Type planets, Webb will then be able to look at their surfaces and the data be posted much as we would look at Google Earth images of our own little world here. The interesting thing, is that we may find another civilization out there. If we did, and there is any correlation between our development timeline, we would be watching their world go through its own 'late medieval age', c.1400-1600. Even though that is true, they may be just as advanced, looking at us in the present day, but looking on our history, perhaps recording it for us as we would for them. In this way, one of our first exchanges may involve accurate records of our history ! What an interesting concept, that two so disparate cultures may be the only key to truly unlocking the mysteries of each others past.

Still, I hope not to draw too much attention to this amazing possibility, but rather to generally try and provoke some appreciation of the truly remarkable possibilities that exist. How special a time we are in and how we might not be the only ones out there. And if we are, all the better, that means that if you and I or our kids, or their kids get our shit together enough, they could potentially be, like, planetary governors working in a inter planetary society which develops the resources of many worlds for the benefit of all mankind.

On the other hand, the further we explore and reach out, we may find that we are only a little player in a big game. If that is the case I hope we can distinguish ourselves sufficiently to secure some reason for existing at all. This business of butchering our own people, exploiting and abusing natural resources and exercising policy from the absolute WEAKEST diplomatic intentions is surely not going to be a welcome contribution to galactic affairs. If we wish to integrate or lead a planetary civilization we will have to be more evolved than we presently are. Now what do I mean more evolved ? We already really know... talking our problems out, working together, being motivated and motivational for one another, having great dreams with both immediate and long term implications, innovation, discovery, great love !

I truly hope we make it and the culprits behind the present darkness are discovered and economy begins to serve the peoples interests again, instead of the people serving only the economy. The supreme courts of the world have ruled that corporations are legal people, but that doesn't mean those people can't be assholes.