MARS NEEDS CANNABIS!!

IT'S WATER ICE !

2008-06-20T04:27:00.000-07:00

Bright Chunks At Phoenix Lander's Mars Site Must Have Been Ice

NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Max Planck Institute
Press Release June 19, 2008

Dice-size crumbs of bright material have vanished from inside a trench where they were photographed by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander four days ago, convincing scientists that the material was frozen water that vaporized after digging exposed it.

"It must be ice," said Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson. "These little clumps completely disappearing over the course of a few days, that is perfect evidence that it's ice. There had been some question whether the bright material was salt. Salt can't do that."

The chunks were left at the bottom of a trench informally called "Dodo-Goldilocks" when Phoenix's Robotic Arm enlarged that trench on June 15, during the 20th Martian day, or sol, since landing. Several were gone when Phoenix looked at the trench early today, on Sol 24. Also early today, digging in a different trench, the Robotic Arm connected with a hard surface that has scientists excited about the prospect of next uncovering an icy layer.

The Phoenix science team spent Thursday analyzing new images and data successfully returned from the lander earlier in the day. Studying the initial findings from the new "Snow White 2" trench, located to the right of "Snow White 1," Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St. Louis, co-investigator for the robotic arm, said, "We have dug a trench and uncovered a hard layer at the same depth as the ice layer in our other trench." On Sol 24, Phoenix extended the first trench in the middle of a polygon at the "Wonderland" site. While digging, the Robotic Arm came upon a firm layer, and after three attempts to dig further, the arm went into a holding position. Such an action is expected when the Robotic Arm comes upon a hard surface.

Meanwhile, the spacecraft team at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver is preparing a software patch to send to Phoenix in a few days so scientific data can again be saved onboard overnight when needed. Because of a large amount a duplicative file-maintenance data generated by the spacecraft Tuesday, the team is taking the precaution of not storing science data in Phoenix's flash memory, and instead downlinking it at the end of every day, until the conditions that produced those duplicative data files are corrected.

"We now understand what happened, and we can fix it with a software patch," said Phoenix Project Manager Barry Goldstein of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena. "Our three-month schedule has 30 days of margin for contingencies like this, and we have used only one contingency day out of 24 sols. The mission is well ahead of schedule. We are making excellent progress toward full mission success."

Phoenix Mars Lander Testing Sprinkle Technique

2008-06-10T05:19:00.000-07:00

NASA Press Release

June 9, 2008 -- Engineers operating the Robotic Arm on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander are testing a revised method for delivering soil samples to laboratory instruments on Phoenix's deck now that researchers appreciate how clumpy the soil is at the landing site. "We're a little surprised at how much this material is clumping together when we dig into it," said Doug Ming a Phoenix science team member from NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston. The soil's physical properties are proving to be a challenge for getting a sample intended for one instrument to pass through a screen over a delivery opening. The instrument is the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Anaylzer, or TEGA, designed to bake and sniff samples to identify some key ingredients. The analyzer vibrated the screen for 20 minutes on Sunday but detected only a few particles getting through the screen, not enough to fill the tiny oven below. "We are going to try vibrating it one more time, and if that doesn't work, it is likely we will use our new, revised delivery method on another thermal analyzer cell," said William Boynton of the University of Arizona, lead scientist for the instrument. The arm delivered the first sample to TEGA on Friday by turning the scoop over to release its contents. The revised delivery method, which Phoenix is testing for the first time today, will hold the scoop at an angle above the delivery target and sprinkle out a small amount of the sample by vibrating the scoop. The vibration comes from running a motorized rasp on the bottom of the scoop. Phoenix used the arm Sunday to collect a soil sample for the spacecraft's Optical Microscope. Today's plans include a practice of the sprinkle technique, using a small amount of soil from the sample collected Sunday. If that goes well, the Phoenix team assembled at the University of Arizona plans to sprinkle material from the same scoopful onto the microscope later this week.

The Official Theme Song for Lunar Landings

2008-06-08T16:50:00.000-07:00

The commercial for Dicsovery Channel's series "When We Left Earth" uses the Stones' "Gimmie Shelter" to hype the show. Did Tom Brokaw's recent "1968" have a leftover song on their score or something?

Sorry, but when you see those Lunar Modules pitch,roll and yaw in the Big Black, then descend towards the Moon. The usual cast of mega popstars like the Stones don't cut it.

Dig & Scoop Analysis: Place Your Bets

2008-06-05T04:07:00.000-07:00

Based on the mass spectrometer readings from the Mars Phoenix lander, will regolith samples from the White Layer processed by TEGA consist of :

A: Water Ice

B: Salts

C: Gypsum

D: All of the above

E: None of the Above

Mars Phoenix says "Dig it!"

2008-06-05T03:51:00.000-07:00

Three locations to the right of the test dig area are identified for the first samples to be delivered to the Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer (TEGA), the Wet Chemistry Lab (WCL), and the Optical Microscope (OM) on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander. These sampling areas are informally labeled "Baby Bear", "Mama Bear", and "Papa Bear" respectively. This image was taken on the seventh day of the Mars mission, or Sol 7 (June 1, 2008) by the Surface Stereo Imager aboard NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander.

Has Mars Phoenix hit water ice with it's thrusters?

2008-06-01T05:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, interpretation of this photo from Mars by JPL scientists infers that the Mars Phoenix lander's hydrazine thrusters exposed more of the subsurface ice layer than the robotic arm ever could.

PHX lander photo shows possible water ice

2008-05-27T05:22:00.000-07:00

According to JPL, as shown in this false color photo, the diamond shaped patterns along the Martian surface, where the Mars Phoenix lander touched down on Sunday, are similar to those found in Antarctica.

But it will take the Phoenox lander to dig and analyse the soil to prove it.

How Cool Is This ???

2008-05-26T20:08:00.000-07:00

Another chunk of history was made during the landing of the Phoenix onto the planet Mars . At the left, is a photo from the HiRise Reconnaisance Satellite, which orbits Mars.

What did it photograph? Nothing short than the parachute descent of the Mars Phoenix lander.

It's the white spots in the photo.

Phoenix arrrives on mars & begins "shoegazing"

2008-05-26T06:53:00.000-07:00

T-4 hrs to Mars. Press release from JPL.

2008-05-25T12:46:00.000-07:00

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander sped on Sunday morning toward its arrival at Mars, as the tug of the Red Planet's gravity accelerated the craft during the final day of its trip from Earth to Mars. "Mars is literally pulling on our spacecraft, and at the same time it is pulling on our emotions," Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith, of the University of Arizona, Tucson, said early Sunday afternoon. "We are excited at how close we are right now to beginning our study of a site where Martian water ice will be within our reach, after all these years of preparations. Our science mission begins as the spacecraft settles into its new home on Mars." The spacecraft's speed relative to Mars increased from 6,300 miles per hour at 8:30 a.m. Pacific Time to 8,500 mph at 12:30 p.m., headed for a speed higher than 12,000 mph before reaching the top of the Martian atmosphere. Phoenix was on track for anticipated entry into the atmosphere at 4:30p.m. Pacific Time and reaching the surface at 4:38 p.m., although confirmation of those events comes no sooner than 15 minutes, 20 seconds later, due to the time needed for radio signals to travel from Mars to Earth. Mission controllers decided Saturday night and Sunday morning to forgo the last two opportunities for adjusting the spacecraft's trajectory. "We are so well on course that those adjustments were not necessary," said Phoenix Project Manager Barry Goldstein of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The most challenging part of the entire mission, getting from the top of the atmosphere to a safe landing on three legs, still lies ahead. Internationally, only five of the 11 attempts to land a spacecraft on Mars have succeeded. The Phoenix mission is led by Smith, with project management at JPL. The development partnership is with Lockheed Martin, Denver. International contributions are from the Canadian Space Agency; the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland; the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark; the Max Planck Institute, Germany; and the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

T minus Eight Hours & Change before...

2008-05-25T08:24:00.001-07:00

Image: NASA

The End of the Beginning for the Phoenix Lander

2008-05-24T20:02:00.000-07:00

The Martian lander Phoenix, the first American spacecraft to be run by an American university and not a government agency, has now entered the critical Entry Descent and Landing phase of the mission.

According to mission control at the University of Arizona, tomorrow afternoon, the craft will enter the thin Martian atmosphere, accelerate to approximately 13K mi/hr, decelerate and land in an area known as Region D; a 620 square mile area, 800 feet deep, located in the Scandia Calles region of Vastitus Borealis near the Martian North Pole.

We will have confirmation of landing during acquition of signal at 4:53 PDT.
NASA says the weather at Region D looks clear, with temperatures ranging from -110 to a daytime high of -28 F.

If all goes well, within 60 seconds of landing, the Mars Surface Operations phase begins and will end with the destruction of the lander during the winter, when the spacecraft will become encased in the expanding North Pole.

Hopefully, before Phoenix meets its icy end, its scientific instrument packages will relay to the science teams back on Earth whether Mars contains frozen water and any organic compounds under the surface.

New Journal Blog: Dread Mars

2008-05-18T11:45:00.000-07:00

As I have always said, this blog promotes the use of cannabis hemp for a sustainable Martian community.

Unfortunately, where there's discussions on hemp, it's more celebrity cousin Marijuana gets into the act. Because the US Controlled Substances Act has linked the two together, I cannot.

So I've created a separate blog for just such a purpose.

' Dread Mars - I Marstafari Journal' is more relaxed in style, so to speak, than MNC. So now you get to see how both members of the Cannabacae family may fair on the fourth planet from the Sun.

Dread Mars can be located at http://www.marstafari.blogspot.com

MARSTAFARI: A 21c interplanetary ideology

2008-05-17T18:25:00.000-07:00

I have been a member of the US Democratic Party since I was old enough to vote. Right now that party has a choice between a party hack and a rock star.

Neither give a shit about Mars.

So what would happen if the concept of "Martian" became a socio-political party? In that context, every political decision made in American government will be one that benefits the move to Mars, no matter the issue.

MarsDrive.com notwithstanding, there's no way humans can "Mayflower" themselves to another planet. Besides matters of International Law to contend with, there's always the fundamental requirement of cold hard cash. Remember that movie " The Right Stuff "? An astronaut rhetorically asks the german rocket scientists what make the rocket fly, and he yells at them: "Funding. That's what. No bucks, no Buck Rogers."

If those in power are ideologically committed to a Martian movement, then will there be a chance for ALL people to leave the Earth for Mars if they so desire to do so. Laws can be revised and cash can be found.

Many have had input in to the NASA system: The Planetary Society, The Mars Society, Ad Astra, etc. They have been around for several administrations. Now ask yourself how much closer are we as private citizens to leaving Earth?

This then is the Martian Agenda mentioned in the subtitle of this blog. And irregardless of how kooky anyone in the mainstream thinks about it, I hearby resign from the Democratic Party and will go to voter registration and register myself as MARSTAFARI.

Remember: it worked for the Religious Right. It worked for the Greens. It can work for the...Butterscotch.

At home with the Martians

2008-05-17T18:16:00.000-07:00

Hemp Milk Products Fueled Growth of Hemp Food Market in 2007

2008-05-12T05:11:00.000-07:00

Mars needs Cannabis...for food, clothing, paper products and medical therapies.

Here is a March 2008 press release from the Hemp Industries Association.

Portland, OR — As leading North American brands that make hemp food and body care products with hemp seed and oil exhibit at the Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, CA from March 14-16, new retail data released today proves that these brands are racking up record sales once again. Hemp milk is the main driving force behind this accelerated sales growth. The strong sales have occurred against the backdrop of state-licensed hemp farmers in North Dakota fighting a high stakes legal battle against DEA to grow hemp seed. The new sales data lends credibility to the assertion by U.S. farmers' that they are being left out of the lucrative hemp market that Canadian farmers have cashed in on for exactly ten years. Canada re-legalized hemp production on March 12, 1998.

The sales data, collected by the market research firm SPINS, was obtained from natural food retailers only, excluding Whole Foods Market and mass-market food and pharmacy stores, and thus under-represents actual sales by a factor of two to three. The total hemp foods market is estimated to be $20-30 million. The new report shows that hemp food sales grew by 55% over the previous year (from December 2007 to December 2008), or by $3.4 million, to a total of $9.7 million.

Hemp milk is a refreshing alternative to nut- and grain-based beverages as well as dairy beverages. Grain-based beverages are often lacking in Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs), protein and minerals, unless they are fortified. Nut-based milks and dairy beverages are nutritionally better, but more and more people, especially children, are developing allergies to dairy products and tree nuts and groundnuts.

"We wanted to offer a great-tasting, healthy product that we can feel good about giving our own kids," says Christina Volgyesi, President of Living Harvest (http://www.livingharvest.com/). "As more and more consumers begin searching the shelves for alternative dairy products that are enjoyable to drink and contain unprocessed ingredients, we thought that early 2007 was the perfect time to introduce Hempmilk, a real essential and balanced nutritional beverage that the whole family can enjoy."

"We expect the double-digit growth of the hemp food sector to continue in 2007, now that hemp milk is finally available to waiting consumers," says Eric Steenstra, HIA Executive Director. "I tried all of the flavors available last year at Expo East in Baltimore, and they were just amazing, as were their nutritional profiles. In 2006 we predicted that the double-digit growth of the hemp food sector to continue through 2007, especially since hemp milk would finally be available to waiting consumers, and we were correct" says Steenstra.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Statistics Canada data show that the quantity of hemp seed exports increased 300% from 2006 to 2007. Hemp oil exports kept pace, with an 85% increase in quantity. Hemp fiber exports showed encouraging progress, with a 65% increase in quantity. According to the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance farmers are expected to grow 10,000 to 15,000 acres of hemp this year.

NASA/JPL Phoenix Mission media briefing

2008-05-12T04:52:00.000-07:00

by Jet Propulsion Laboratory May 13, 2008 WASHINGTON

NASA has scheduled a media briefing Tuesday, May 13, at 8 a.m. PDT, to discuss the challenges, risks and science opportunities of the scheduled May 25 landing of the Phoenix Mars Lander. Officials also will provide details on the Phoenix landing site.

The briefing will take place in the NASA Headquarters' James E. Webb Auditorium, 300 E St., S.W., Washington. It will be carried live on NASA Television and on the Web.

Phoenix is expected to conduct a three-month mission studying a northern arctic site on the Red Planet. Phoenix will dig down to an ice-rich layer expected to lie within arm's reach of the surface of Mars. It will analyze the water and soil for evidence about climate cycles and investigate if the environment there has ever been favorable for microbial life.

Participants will be: Ed Weiler, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, WashingtonDoug McCuistion, director, Mars Exploration Program, NASA HeadquartersPeter Smith, Phoenix principal investigator, University of Arizona, TucsonRay Arvidson, Phoenix landing site working group chairman, Washington University in St. LouisBarry Goldstein, Phoenix project manager, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

For more information about NASA TV, streaming video, and downlink and schedule information, visit: NASA TV

Phoenix: 23 days & a Wake Up

2008-05-03T16:53:00.000-07:00

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Washington Univ. St. Louis/Univ. of Arizona via SPACE.com.

In just under 23 days, the Phoenix lander will land on Mars' North Polar Region. The landing foorprint is the area marked D on the false color photo on the left.

****************************************

I have had this blog for almost a year now. I think that's long enough for the rhetoric phase.

Don't you?

Now comes development of products to serve the Martian Agenda. Everything from cartoons, concrete and even beer and coffee. Plus will follow the rest of the Phoenix project, and see what's in the water. Will it be easily filterable to drink, use for industrial commodities like shelters, made into breathable air for everyone, and so on.

The rest of the year looks like a cool one...

Martian Solidarity on "Talk Like a Commie Day"

2008-05-01T06:52:00.000-07:00

As old school Pirates were heavily involved in the Slave Trade, I don't celebrate " Talk Like a Pirate Day". So I submit this for your aproval as another geek holiday: May 001 as "Talk Like a Commie Day". And here's my submission to you.

" Greetings comrades for the Red Planet:

"We artistic agro-hempsters of the Red Planet offer our solidarity in your struggles whatever they may be. Never forget that all struggles are interconnected, both on and off your home planet.

"This is the sol to bang vigorously the shoe of discontent upon the surface of the table of oppression. Make post-industrial society understand that the time has come for Martian emigres to UNITE and MOVE off this damp blue prison planet! "

CA Hemp Bill AB 1147 Vetoed

2008-03-16T11:29:00.000-07:00

Months ago, my home computer lost its valiant battle against entropy.
While waiting to afford a new one, I went to the bookstore and bought a copy of the March 2008 edition of High Times to see how the California Hemp Bill was progressing. After all, it’s not like any local news would cover a story like this.

In the Buzz section on page 18, three words said it all: Arnold Terminates Hemp. The bill is officially as dead as my PC.

So what happens next? True to form, cannabis hemp activists are trying again with the California Cannabis Hemp and Health Initiative 2008. This initiative, currently being petitioned by California ballot recipient committee # 1303604, is an act to amend California’s Health & Safety Code.

As posted on http://www.calhemp08.org/:

Purpose of Act: This Act is an exercise of the police powers of the State for the protection of the safety, welfare, health, and peace of the people and the environment of the State, to protect the industrial and medicinal uses of cannabis hemp, to eliminate the unlicensed and unlawful cultivation, selling, and dispensing of cannabis hemp; and to encourage temperance in the consumption of cannabis hemp euphoric products. It is hereby declared that the subject matter of this Act involves, in the highest degree, the ecological, economic, social, and moral well-being and safety of the State and of all its people. All provisions of this Act shall be liberally construed for the accomplishment of these purposes: to respect human rights, to promote tolerance, and to end cannabis hemp prohibition.

In a press conference, Governor Schwarzenegger defended his veto of AB 1147 stating that law enforcement could’t tell the difference between hemp and marijuana, and it would be too costly to create education for the cops. .

Think about that statement for a minute.

Consider that for almost a century this same law enforcement has spent hundreds of millions of tax payer dollars eradicating marijuana in this country alone. And here in the early 21st century, drug cases are built on not only surveillance but sophisticated laboratory analysis as well.

So representatives of these same members of law enforcement have actually advised the governor of the state of California that after all this time and money, they are too ill-trained to tell the difference between hemp production and marijuana cultivation?

And that the Governor, a former body builder who built his career and fortune as an action movie star while simultaneously working on and receiving a MBA (not an honorary one, mind you). That this man who hyped his political aspirations to the voters of California as a tax reformer, would tolerate such a horrific Enron-like misuse of public funds, i.e. with all that cash down the drain that the cops (please pardon the old school pun) don’t know shit?

At this juncture, it would be so very easy to rip out a bombastic diatribe against this veto. But I can’t. See, when my PC took a dirt nap, I could have made the effort to go to the public library and used the Internet access there to keep current on this legislation, and then later post to this blog by e-mail from, say, an Internet cafe. I could have been more active in making connections with people in both the hemp and microsat space industries. I definitely could have been more committed in reading up and researching this project.

But I didn’t. Sure, while I was offline my personal life got complicated. But then again, who’s doesn’t?

With this new initiative on the horizon comes a new opportunity. Now is the time to re-evaluate my efforts thus far, and focus on what I can realistically do to promote this project on a sustainable level with whatever skills I have.

This’ll be fun!

Computer crash - posting to resume soon

2008-01-27T08:02:00.000-08:00

Apologies for the delay in posting.

Please stand by.

On Martian Hemp

2007-09-16T07:56:00.000-07:00

Here's some of my thoughts on producing a cannabis variant for Martian cultivation. The rhetorical comments are in response to the high;y political nature of...a plant.

Yield from aquaponics would have to approach the yield of Terran hemp in soil per square meter.

Hydroponic yields of marijuana per square meter is significantly less than that of hemp in soil in the same space. Based on what literature you read, on average you can grow a range of 200-300 hemp plants while you yield arount 10 -12 marijuana plants per square meter. Sure comparing hemp to marijuana is an " apples & oranges" thing. However, given the lack of studies on growing hemp in water culture (hydroponics, aeroponics & aquaponics), it's all that I can find available to gauge yield. That's why research in this area is critical.

It would also have to yield close to Terran hemp in terms of local temperature and atmospheric pressure.

From what I've read, hemp fiber yield decreases with lower temperatures and higher altitudes.

Hemp could be slowly cross-bred over time in continuously changing environments until it can be as close to whatever the Martian greenhouse conditions will be.

There have never been any human-rated structures built for long term habitation on another planet. So will the greenhouses on Mars sport temperatures & lower pressures found in spacecraft, or closer to that of the International Space Station? Or will research show that in order to be economically viable for the settlements, cannabis will require it's own separate greenhouse? Again, nobody knows.

Water & nutrient uptake would have to be adjusted for Mars gravity.

There's about three decades worth of plant research studies done in microgravity, with a significant portion of it still untranslated in Russian. That database points the way on how to proceed. The only way to specifically work on this is with hard data from plants grown in an on-orbit experiment package.

Now we enter the frustrating political realm of the International Space Station.

Even though you can have these experiments performed there as simply as using small plastic shopping bags as planters (major kudos to the brilliant high school students who came up with that one), that order of simplicity requires a $100 billion space station, astronauts doing it for the PR value thereby not charging their services for station resources, and every bit of ISS infrastructual support.

A few posts ago I mentioned NASA's free research plan, but you have to get it there.
And to run it " for free" , it would have to be completely autonomous once on-line. Unless you need to have a human work with it. Then NASA charges something like $15,000 per hour to do so. Or if you need to use their power, water, telemetry, computer network, etc. .

In reality, nothing is free on the ISS, the USA rules the roost, and NASA has final say on what goes up there. I'm pretty confident that the US government is not going to allow this research on board. Even if it was proposed by more hemp-friendly ISS partner nations like Canada or France.

So we're left with DIY university-class microsatellite use. Works for me.

Loss of crop yield due to infestation by indigenous vectors may not be factor. Resistance to molds, & possibly any bacteria from human exhalation and fish (via water from the aquaponic system) must be considered.

Due to the irrational political nature that nations have placed on Cannabis Sativa L. and it's subvariations, it's tragic that the possibility that terrestrial pests could be introduced on Mars as a deliberate act of interplanetary state-sponsored bio-terrorism must be seriously taken into account. Makes me wonder if The Big Four (Energia, ESA, JAXA, NASA) modeled this possiblity in their long-term space greenhouse studies?

Long term storage & radiation protection must be developed to keep the initial seed stock viable en route to Mars.

Here's another wonderful area of hard core engineering research that can be done on a micro-satellite level.

AB 684 Passes in California - UC Davis as Mars Hemp Central?

2007-09-13T05:29:00.000-07:00

A wonderful opportunity has appeared for areo-agricultural cannabis research within the United States.

On September 11th by a 26-13 vote, the California legislature passed AB 684, the California Industrial Hemp Farming Act. The bill now goes to the Governor for signing.

According to Section 1g of the Act, within four pre-selected counties in the stste of California to produce hemp; Imperial, Kings, Mendocino & Yolo, agricultural hemp research can be conducted under strict criteria.

The perfect choice for this research would be Yolo County's UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Not only does it perfectly fit the criteria set by the Act as a research facility, ironically Davis, California is also the home of celebrated Mars Trilogy author Kim Stanley Robinson.

But the Act has a built-in expiration date. Unless otherwise put into law, this act will automatically be repealed on 01 January 2013.

Also by no later than 01 January 2012, the Hemp Industries Association must report no later than 01 January 2012 to subcomittees of agriculture & pubic safety the economic impact of this act.

Within this time frame, along with fundamental research on growing hemp (not marijuana) aquaponically (which to date I can't find any research ever done), the real business of research and development could begin on producing a hemp variant for use in martian greenhouses.

Reality Check: Zen & the Art of Space Hacking

2007-08-26T11:59:00.001-07:00

There was a great article in Wired online about space hackers: DIY types using weather balloons to get their ultralight payload to the very edge of space around 100,000 ft. It helped me realize that it was that perspective I had to consider as a working plan to do this.

As of right now, before even beginning to write up the PDR, HempSat is a commercial failure.

If this were a straight-up commercial venture this would completely suck. However, according to Fleeter, an astounding 98% of all satellite missions fail for the same two reasons:

1) Lack of engineering
2) No money. Especially no money.

After all, I’m not an engineer, nor do I have the financial backing to hire any talent let alone serious talent. Or money to have HempSat professionally designed, fabricated, tested and launched. Nor do I have a ground station & all the legal ducks in a row that it requires to establish & maintain one. In the real world, starting from scratch, that’s looking at around $ 2 million.

For me, when I really started approaching this concept, the first thing I had to get over was 'sticker shock'. Two million dollars is busfare for the commercial satellite industry. But for everybody else, this is ponying up the cost of several average sized homes in order to construct something the size of a small microwave oven.

And speaking of realities, even should all the former setbacks get resolved; there’s always the payload itself to consider. Can anyone within the continental US legally launch it in the first place? True, I will have to petition the DEA for a hemp cultivation license, at a cost of around $3000 I’m told. And all the paperwork & inspections that entails. Unfortunately, that could very well be the simplest problem to solve.

But would that license allow the LV vendor to accept the payload containing live hemp seeds, or be able to secure insurance without all parties facing federal threats of a RICO felony? And, launch vehicle aside, you can’t launch anything within the USA without insurance. So to get answer to those questions, I will have to add in attorney fees into the bottom line costs.

Also, launching outside the US is out of the question: on top of FAA & DEA involvement, they’d be another three letter agency involved: the DoS. The Department of State is responsible for enforcing ITAR ,the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. And shipping a satellite from the US to be launched elsewhere in the world may be a violation of Federal arms & munitions regulations.

It could be argued that as a science-oriented and not a communications satellite, it is not considered a restricted technology that cannot be exported from the US. But the same may not be the case for the satellite sub-systems; i.e. the commercially produced operating software that’s been modified for space flight, or believe it or not, just the expansion nozzles on the attitude control thrusters themselves could make this an arms issue.

So that means even more attorney fees.

Of course there’s the possibility this will be easier and less costly than I think it will be. I keep thinking of those space hackers I mentioned earlier on.

Sending their balloons aloft, cobbling electronic bits together to track their payload, or to be made into the payload itself. They too have little or no engineering experience, no real money to speak of, and could very well face negative governmental intervention.

I also keep thinking of a title of a book on Buddhism called Start Where You Are.

And keep going.

Launch of the Phoenix

2007-08-05T05:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning, I watched the launch of the Mars Phoenix mission online at NASA-TV. Needless to say, in the context of this blog, this mission is huge.

Orbital Squatting in the Name of Science

2007-06-28T07:51:00.000-07:00

Here's my "Wild Goof Chase" for today.

I read online that NASA has changed their policy on using the ISS for research. Basically, if you can pony up the $ 20 million plus to get there yourself, the use of the facilities is free.

It says nothing about having to pay to get back to Earth. Or even going back to Earth for that matter. Imagine being a permanent citizen squatter in orbit in the name of science.

So in order to do this, I'm thinking a tricky " Pierre LeGrande meets Buckaroo Banzai " routine is in order.

In a break of thought from every space venture of the last 20 plus years, launch a completely expendable WYSIWYG spacecraft. My guess is it would be easier on you if you launched by dropping it out the back of an Antonov @ 30K feet. Hit the first stage engine(s) a la X-15 to get it to around an altitude100 miles, Stabilize the orbit for a prelim systems check for the next act, which is a 2nd stage burn that kicks it up to 250 miles.

Figure the shuttle & Soyuz craft take approx. two days to catch up to ISS from launch. So in the name of margin say the total life cycle of the throw-away spacecraft can be three days.

When you match orbits & are in rendevous range, maneuver with the ACS to the main US airlock, go EVA with ( ultralight ) research gear in hand. Then literally kick the spacecraft away from the ISS to both avoid any collision mishaps & give you the impetus to propel towards the airlock.

After that just ring the doorbell. I think ettiqutte demands you bring gifts. Then once you're in, you get to work!

One small step for cannabis: HempSat-X™

2007-06-22T06:43:00.001-07:00

Section 3.7.1.2 (Associated Market Segments) of 1997's Commercial Space Transportation Study (CSTS) by the United Space Alliance, it is subsections d, e, and f that are relevant for use here.

The study's methodology links subsection e, space agriculture, with subsection d, space settlements. As the study concluded that the market for space settlements was defocused due to lack of an assessed market demand, the study did not report in any depth on space agriculture.

But it's in 3.7.6 of the CSTS, Multiuse LEO Business Park, that is the most relevant.

'Market Infrastructure' (3.7.6.3.4), raises the political & financial questions: tax laws, registering deeds, operating expenses and so on.

And it is here you find a legal landmine:

" One of the standard clauses in all U.S. real estate contracts is a statement saying, ' this contract shall be governed by the laws of the state of _________.' This clause needs to be clarified for a space business park development."

Bottom line: it's potentially legal as well as financial suicide if designing any C. Sativa on-orbit research based on the use of any American commercial orbiting facilities. It will no doubt take years of litigation, and tens of millions of dollars away from any real research & technological development to legally secure access of any orbiting platforms.

And even if it was possible to gain access, would it even be economically viable to do so? It's been reported that in 2002, NASA charged over US $ 20 million for facility usage ( fixed time , consumables, station power , data transmission, communications, etc.) and US $15,000/hour for ISS personnel assistance.

Outsourcing this on-orbit research to another international platform is not even an option. The NASA forced ISS/Mir debacle is solid proof of that. So at least for the next ten years the ISS is the only game in town for human space research.

Hence the critical need for the development of HempSat-X™: an independent automated micro-satellite, launched from international territory, dedicated to place cosmoponically germinated industrial cannabis (low/no THC) plants in low earth orbit for remote microgravity research. It bypasses the entire issue of using a crewed facility.

Unfortunately, a big downside is the micro-sat cannot re-enter the atmosphere & deliver the plants themselves back to Earth for full post-orbit analysis by researchers. Not only would it be cost prohibitive, there's also legal issues to consider. One of course would be if it could return with the plants intact and land in US territory, would the DEA consider the entire project as prosecutable under RICO? Maybe.

And what about insurance? Bet the premiums would be, well, astronomical. Getting quotes from aerospace insurers for a project cost analysis should be interesting.

I am working under the assumption that I can, for the near future, work up the inital design phase as outlined in Sarafin. One of the ideas I have regarding the bus modelling/fabrication process is using a more environmentally-friendly hemp-based molding material. Perhaps even using a hemp-based material as part of the structure itself. If that's feasible, then the satellite really will earn it's name.

It's way too early to be concerned about securing any outside funding. Though my guess is that soliciting for funding could very well be another legal landmine. But that's another topic.

Granted, I have no prior professional experience in this field. This is going to take some time to come to fruition. But that's the whole point behind the 'New Space' ( n00b Space? ) concept? To be personally involved in advancing humans in space instead of waiting for some government to to do it. If they ever do, that is.

What I do know is that without pursuing this so very important "one small step", the Big Vision is just another utopian science fiction concept that comes to light and fades away all too soon.

- The Big Vision -

2007-06-20T06:07:00.001-07:00

NOTE: All figures are approximations and strictly for descriptive purposes at this time.

Generic name: Cosmoponicum (tm)
Trade Name: GrowHab (tm)

Basic description:

A small orbiting cylindrical test-bed capable of growing over eleven million cannabis plants, using cosmoponics (tm); aquaponic technology adapted for on-orbit variable gravity environment.

Length: four kilometers
Diameter: one kilometer
Maximum acreage: 35,281
Maximum yield: 11,841,234 cannabis plants

" Post in progress "

Feds quietly stop NASA Mars money-again.

2007-06-16T06:42:00.000-07:00

In a press release dated 11 June 2007 from the office of Congressman Alan B. Mollohan (D-WV), the House Commerce,Justice and Science and Related Agencies Appropriation Subcommittee passed FY08 bill which stops all federal funding for sending humans to Mars.

The press release states that in one of the two provisos known as a-76, that a moritorium will prohibit NASA "from funding any research, development or demonstration activity related exclusively to Human Exploration of Mars."

It also says that " the President is welcome to include adequate funding for the Human Mars Initiative in a budget amendment or subsequent year funding requests."

The other proviso prohibits the use of funds for public-private competitions for the employees of the Bureau of Prisons.

Notes for today

2007-05-23T05:15:00.000-07:00

Been reading up over the last month & am more convinced fiber cannabis cultivation is vital to human expansion throughout the solar system.

But there's the reality of the situation. Long term human habitation off- world is decades away, and I harbor no illusions that I may live long enough to see it, let alone hop a flight & go there myself.

It's going to require dedicated highly technical people to even develop the technology to make this work. I'm no rocket scientist, but I'm beginning to get the idea.

Case in point. Any delevopment of large scale cultivation equipment will at one point require product testing. To do so in the USA may be considered illegal, even though the use if the technology is not even for this planet.

A possible solution: Test systems with a fiber cannabis simulant.
Another solution: test using low-THC (fiber) cannabis in a country that is more open to such development. For example, the EU subsidise hemp growers, and are agressively active in space botanical research. So are the Russians & the Japanese.

On the topic of space botany: just what are the effects of microgravity on germination of low-THC cannabis sativa seeds? That's not something you can pull off the web or read in High Times. Nor can you take as truth data collated from research on other plants that have been previously observed in microgravity.

Somebody is going to have to actually do this. Whether or not the Americans will allow such basic research be done on the ISS is another matter. It may require the contsruction of an independent on-orbit automated satellite specifically designed to observe germination, using privately owned launch facilities.

But will the Americans see that as an act of "astro-narco-terrorism"?

Next time I'll clarify why I'm so concerned about the American governmnet's reaction to this research.

Cannabis as treatment for Space Sickness

2007-04-22T06:25:00.000-07:00

Pop culture has, metaphorically speaking, allied the concept of midnight tokers and outer space. Truth is they have been mutually exclusive. Astronauts take drug tests like any other federal employee. And do you think right now NASA will risk the PR damage by having some billionaire waving millions of dollars in their face for a ride to the ISS, only for the press to grab hold of the fact that those same " space tourists" were busted as teenagers for possesion?

That fact alone would disqualify them and every other citizen for a seat on a government rocket. It may not disqualify them for a seat on privatized space transportation that the so called New Space entrepeneurs are developing. So just like commerical air travel, the bong hits you did last night doesn't mean you can't catch your flight today.

However, in all the ballyhoo about sub-orbital space flight made by these entrepeneurs, as far as I know, nobody has ever addessed "Vomit Comet Syndrome".

It's a well documented fact of life in the space biz that amost 40% of all people when in a microgravity environment can get extremely nauseated if not violently ill. And quite frankly, if I were a well-heeled potential space tourist, I sure wouldn't want to think I'll spend experiencing my lifetime dream and up to US $ 260,000 a seat up-chucking into a bag.

In 1989, NASA first tested the use of Promethazine HCl injections to treat the symptoms of space sickness. At the time, it was a great choice. Promethazine [ Phenergan (TM)] is not only an anti-nausea agent, but it also acts as an antihistamine. Body fluids pool in microgravity, and at least for the first 72 hours, practically everyone feels as if they have a head cold. The anti-histamine would help relieve the sinus pressure.

Treatment begins prophyllactically with one 25mg injection approx. one hour prior to flight. Should symptomatic treatment become necessary during the flight, the suffering crewmember is given 1 x 25mg injection twice daily.

Promethazine has been their number one choice of treatment since.
As a space sickness treatment for space tourists, however, is another story.

In the following 18 years since it's introduction to the shuttle's medicine cabinet, astronauts report consistent side effects such as drowsiness, mental impairment and negative moodiness.

Furhter, according to the 2006 Physicians Desk Reference, this medication is contra-indicated for use by persons with underlying cardiovascular conditions. it is als reported as not being "tolerated well" in young children, up to and incluing suppression of respiratory function in toddlers.

I would love to go with my kids on a space trip, but the thought of one or more of them having a life threatening drug reaction on top of the possiblity of having them aspirate on their own vomit in zero-g is 100 percent unacceptible!

And consider the aging baby boomers, full of Space Age nostalgia and money to indulge fulfilling it, only to launch, get sick & being treated by something that may exacerbate an unknown heart condition.

NASA and the New Space entrepeneurs may not have the solution right now, but it's possible medical marijuana users and their caregivers may have. The use of low/no-THC cannabis ( specifically a high cannabinoid type ) for treating the nauseating after-effects of chemotherapy, as well for those persons suffering with HIV/AIDS, could be a well-tolerated treatment.

So it's quite possible that thanks to those patients, caregivers, compassion club volunteers & the med-mar growers risking so much for just wanting to improve quality of life, a significant roadblock to the permanent migration of humanity to Mars & beyond may be solved.

And for that, the very least that we as a people can give them, is the complete and unconditional decrimilization & legalization of cannabis use for medicinal purposes.

Obligatory Rambling Introduction

2007-04-21T05:18:00.000-07:00

It's a thought experiment that I've been noodling off & on for four years now. More off than on truth be told. But this being the day after the "420 holiday", it's as good a time as any to use this blog to pull my thoughts together to put this concept into words. And hopefully in time, begin to put it into action.

Guessing here, but a strain of C. Sativa bred specifically for Mars would be called Cannabis Aresii. I need to double check on the suffix for accuracy, but for now C. Aresii works for me.

And as on Earth, it can be bred for a wide variety of uses; industrial, medical, spiritual or recreational.

Like here on Earth, the locals will give it popular names; for example, recreational users could call it 'Barsoomian Kush' or 'Tharsis Thunderf*ck'. Indeed, what about one honoring the late great Marshead (and marijuana user) Carl Sagan : 'Cosmos Chronic'? No doubt they (or for that matter anybody else who reads this post) will come up with much better names than these.

But whatever it's called, I truly believe sustainable human communities on the planet Mars isn't possible without it.