Time Lapse Images From Orbit

It's been a fairly quiet day on the adventure news front, and since we're closing out the week, and preparing to head out for some weekend fun, I thought I'd post yet one more great video courtesy of The Adventure Life, who have shared great videos all week long. This one was shot from the International Space Station and while it isn't the longest clip you'll watch this week, it is an amazing time lapse of the Earth, caught from orbit. Enjoy!

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The New Age of Exploration: An Interview with Explorers' Club President Lorie Karnath

The National Geographic Adventure Blog continues to offer great new content and compelling information since it was resurrected from the grave back in February. Today they have an excellent interview with Explorers' Club President Lorie Karnath, who touches on a variety of topics, including the "New Age of Exploration".

In the interview, Lorie discusses a host of wide ranging topics, including her thoughts on the future of space tourism, which is just now entering its infancy. She mentions some members of the club working on privately funded space explorations projects, and the importance of continuing to explore other planets, which could eventually lead to colonization and more.

The Explorer's Club is an organization dedicated to "promoting exploration and the field sciences", and one of its more public events is the annual dinner in which they give out awards and shine a spotlight on an emerging area of exploration. This year's dinner takes place this Saturday, March 20th, and clearly the theme is all about exploring space. Lorie shares some of the surprised that attendees of the dinner can expect, including a menu of "future foods" and a visit from animal friends who have helped us in our exploration of space thus far.

Exploring space holds a lot of possibilities, and it is interesting to think that we are entering a new era were privately funded explorers may be headed up into orbit and beyond. We're obviously quite a long way from stepping onto another planet at this point, but the possibilities are there for the future.

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Astronauts Tweeting Photos From Orbit

The International Space Station was recently upgraded to allow astronauts to begin using the built in wireless network for their own personal uses. Naturally, they went straight for Twitter, and started sending back tweets from orbit under the @NASA_Astronauts feed. Naturally, a number of their tweets revolve around the space program, life on the station, and so on, but they've also taken to sending back photos from orbit, some of which are quite stunning.

Take the two no this page for instance. The one on the right is of Mt. Kilimanjaro, as seen from orbit, while the one below is of Mt. Fuji, in Japan. Mashable has a few others, including a beautiful shot of the Maldives, that you can check out here. Amazing stuff. What does the view from your office window look like?

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NASA Set To Unveil Personal VTOL Aircraft, I Want One!

Ever since the calendar turned to 2010, I've been asking myself where I could find a flying car or personal jetpack. After all, 2010 sounded so futuristic at one point. Sadly, we still aren't living in an age of the Jetsons, and I'm still tethered to the Earth by gravity on my daily commute.

Thankfully, the big brains over at NASA are hoping to change that, as they are set to officially unveil the design for their Puffin personal aircraft. According to Gizmodo, the vehicle stands 12-feet in height, has a wingspan of 13.5-feet, and is powered by an electrical engine that can cruise at speeds of 150 mph and but can top out at over 300 mph when necessary. Reportedly, the aircraft can fly up to 30,000 feet in altitude, and is designed for vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL).

What's the catch you ask? Well, as a prototype, there is no known costs yet, and because it is battery powered, its flight range is still a bit limited. At the moment, the Puffin is only capable of covering about 50 miles of distance on a single charge. Good enough for that morning commute, but not great for heading to the coast for the weekend. Still, NASA has a pretty good track record with improving on technology, and better, more efficient batteries are in the works. That leaves me with just one question. Where and when can I get one of these?

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Video of The Known Universe

Want to feel incredibly small and insignificant? Then check out the video below which was made for the Hayden Planetarium in New York City that puts into scale just how large the Universe is. The video begins in the Himalaya and slowly begins to pan out, past the moon, the solar system, and so on. It's pretty amazing, and really, really humbling.

Enjoy.

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First Space Hotel To Open Doors in 2012!

I wrote about this yesterday at Gadling as well, but thought some would find it interested here too. The company behind the Galactic Suite Space Resort says that the orbiting hotel is set to begin operations in 2012 after receiving some much needed venture capital in the form of a $3 billion investment from an anonymous billionaire who is described as a "space enthusiast".

The company says that it has already had more than 200 inquiries for potential guests, and that they already have 43 reservations in place. That's no small number when you consider that the cost for a three-night stay is currently set at $4.4 million. That includes an eight week training program on a South Pacific Island and transportation to and from the hotel.

When it first begins operations, the Galactic Suite Space Resort will have just one pod in place. That will allow up to four people, and two pilots, to live comfortably for the duration of the stay. In the future, new pods can be added to expand capacity as needed. The pods have velcro lined walls to keep passengers in place, and will complete a revolution around the Earth once every 80 minutes, offering 15 sunrises each day. Of course, the view out the window won't be half bad either.

Obviously the price tag on this trip is still far beyond what a normal person can pay, but it is interesting to watch a new travel industry beginning to take shape right before our eyes. With Virgin Galactic set to begin operations soon, it isn't too much of stretch to think that we may see space tourism become a viable option within our lifetime.

That said, the 2012 time frame for this project seems a bit ambitious. Even with $3 billion in cash they still have to launch their first pod, get it fully operational, and have some kind of delivery system for taking passengers up to it on a regular, consistent basis. I'm just not sure how they can do that in the short time frame they're looking to work with. And while $3 billion sounds like a lot of money, when it comes to dealing with high tech space gear, it really doesn't go as far as you'd think. Still, you can sign me up for a couple of night's stay, once it becomes a tad bit more affordable!

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Lunar Spelunking!

Spelunkers across the globe have to be a little excited by the news that Japanese scientists have discovered what is believed to be an open lava tube on the surface of the moon, which could potentially offer access to what is believed to be a vast cave system under the lunar crust.

According to this story from National Geographic, this "skylight" could eventually be used as a safe haven for a permanently manned lunar base, providing shelter from the hostile environment above. The cave found underneath would also allow for a cheaper, larger, and more stable living and working environment for explorers sent to the moon.

Finding a hole, such as this one, on the surface of the moon has not been easy, and scientists have searched for a long time. It is the result of a lava tube that was created roughly 3 billion years ago, during a period of violent volcanic activity, on the small planetoid. The opening was discovered after scientists painstakingly examined a number of high resolution images of the moon's surface, sent back to Earth by the Japanese spacecraft Kaguya.

Of course, before a permanent base could be built on the moon, the cave system would have to be explored more fully, which could mean that NASA will soon be in the market for some experienced spelunkers who have yearning to be the first to go underground on the Earth's natural satellite. Sure, they can use space probes and robots to do some of that exploration, but where is the fun in that? Anyone want to visit the moon and go for a little adventure underground?

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Commemorating The Greatest Adventure of All Time!

Thursday marks the 40th Anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11, the spacecraft that first took man to the moon, an event that many people feel is the greatest accomplishment in human history. To commemorate this historic event, a new website has been launched at WeChooseTheMoon.com which will recreate the entire mission from start to finish.

If you visit the site right now, and as I write this we're still more than 43 hours from "launch", you can see a virtual representation of the Saturn V rocket that would propel Apollo 11 out of the Earth's atmosphere. You'll also be able to hear ground control running through pre-flight checks as they prepare for the mission, which is still two days away. All of the audio feeds are authentic, and once the mission is underway, there will be video as well, as we follow the three astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins on their voyage, which will culminate next week on July 24th when they return to Earth with a splashdown. Of course, before that happens we'll get to relive the most significant piece of history when on July 20th, Armstrong and Aldrin pilot the lunar lander to the surface of the moon, and become the first humans to step foot on another world.

From what I understand, the details of the mission have been rebuilt to exacting specifications for this website, so we'll all be able to follow along in realtime. The site also allows you to view the liftoff from a variety of angles, and feeds us information about the speed and distance traveled. Other feeds provide trivia about the day, such as what the best selling books were at the time, and the songs that topped the charts as well.

Of course, once liftoff occurs, that's when the fun really begins. I'm told that there is nearly constant chatter between the astronauts and mission control, which should make for a very interesting way to relive this slice of history. I wasn't around when the moon landing happened, I was actually born a month later, but I have always been a fan of the space program, and have been fascinated with the idea of traveling to other planets. For the next week or so, this is going to be something that I'll be watching very closely. In my mind, it is indeed the greatest human adventure of all time, but if you can think of one better, I'd be happy to re-evaluate.

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Construction of Spaceport America Begins Tomorrow!

Construction of Spaceport America, a structure designed exclusively for commercial use of space, begins tomorrow in New Mexico. The major aim of the site it to offer both vertical and horizontal launch vehicles that will eventually deliver commercial payloads along with passengers into orbit.

The site will be the future home of Virgin Galactic, the company that is most actively pursuing commercial space travel for the masses. Well, those that can cough up $200,000 anyway. There is no word on when they'll begin the actual flights with paying passengers, but the spacecraft, creatively dubbed SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo are already in the testing phase. Once that testing is complete, VG will begin offering weekly sub-orbital flights.

Spaceport America has already been launching satellites from a temporary facility, but once construction is complete, all of the launches and landings will take place at the permanent spaceport. The current goal is to have the facility finished by December of 2010, and regular launches resuming shortly after that.

Is the next great adventure found in space? Perhaps! But obviously we are still a long way from actual space travel, but even still a project like this can't help but be a step in that direction. I for one would love to take a ride on the SpaceShipTwo and go up into orbit. Unfortunately, until I win the lottery, I'll have to just watch from down here on Earth.

In honor of this occasion, here are 20 Great Images of Earth as seen from space, courtesy of Environmental Graffiti.

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