Some Public Service Announcements

So much information available, so little time to partake. - LRK -

For you folks that may be in the San Jose, California area on the 4th of July, 2010 you might want to stop in at The Tech Museum of Innovation and take part in the July 4th Galaxy Forum USA.
 - LRK -

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http://www.iloa.org/galaxyforum.html

Dear Larry,

The International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA) and Space Age Publishing Company will be presenting an educational space event in July, which will likely be of interest to your readers, called July 4th Galaxy Forum USA: Galaxy Education and Galaxy Enterprise in the 21st Century.  This event is open to the public and admission is free.

This event is part of an international program of Galaxy Forums, to confirm and actualize Galaxy Education in the 21st Century as an energizing, central focus and way forward.

We would like to publicize the event through your publication / website.  Following is a brief notice:

Galaxy Forum USA
July 4, 2010, 9:30am – 11:30am, at the The Tech Museum of Innovation, San Jose, CA.
201 South Market Street, San Jose, California 408-294-8324
Map - TinyUrl for http://tinyurl.com/2v9vz9k

Featured speakers include
Pamela Harman SETI Institute ASSET Program “Teaching Astrobiology”, Ryan Nurmela and Michael Finnegan Quantum Camp “Comprehending Quantum”, Patrick Hamill Department of Physics & Astronomy, San Jose State University “Observing The Earth From The Moon”, Steve Durst, Space Age Publishing Company, International Lunar Observatory Association “International Lunar Observatory (ILO) Galaxy First Light Imaging Program.”

Admission is free; please contact news@spaceagepub.com or call
650-324-3705 to reserve your place.
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Recently signed up for the Kurzweilai.net news letter and here is a link to the online web page.

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http://www.kurzweilai.net/news/frame.html?main=news.html

http://www.kurzweilai.net/  [uses flash in a lot of places so might not work if you have flash disabled. - LRK - ] Subscribe to our influential free e-newsletter (we keep your email address in strict confidence):

Non Flash version of website.
http://www.kurzweilai.net/index.html?flash=1
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I have been trying to watch the launch of the Delta 4 rocket launching the GPS 2F-1 navigation satellite.
It has had several down to the wire holds and reschedules.
Looking again.
- LRK -

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http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d349/status.html
Mission Status Center

By Justin Ray

Welcome to Spaceflight Now's live coverage of the Delta 4 rocket launching the GPS 2F-1 navigation satellite. Text updates will appear automatically; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.

0012 GMT (8:12 p.m. EDT)
That issue in the Delta 4 rocket's countdown has been resolved, the launch team just announced. Work to finish fueling the vehicle before tonight's 11:00 p.m. EDT liftoff is underway.
0002 GMT (8:02 p.m. EDT)
The launch team has run into some sort of issue during the first stage liquid hydrogen post-fueling vent and relief checks. Engineers are assessing it.

The first stage liquid oxygen tank has been loaded and the upper stage's LOX tank is being filled currently. The upper stage liquid hydrogen has been tanked as well.

Weather remain favorable and there's an 80 percent chance of "go" conditions at launch time tonight.
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Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
Comments accepted here - http://lunar-update.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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'LUNA GAIA: a closed-loop habitat for the moon '

I wonder if President Obama said we had been to the Moon because the present plans were only talking about how to get to the Moon and not what would be a desired follow on, once we could get there again?  An Apollo type visit would be just the same as before.  I thought we had plans to do more than just a visit.

My reading about how our government works suggests that being too specific and telling you what it really will cost, scares the politicians that don't want to be blamed for spending the money to do the job right.  If money is tight, cost estimates can keep an agenda from getting out of committee.  That means you might just talk about one piece of the journey at a time in hopes that it will be funded.

When we thought we were going to go back to the Moon to stay and to do the things that would make that possible, folks got excited and started working on how to actually make it happen.

Going to the ISS has not developed a closed-loop habitat as much as I thought it would.  It is too easy to take the garbage back or dump it into space.  We have to continually take up consumables.  When you talk about living on the Moon, you know you are going to have to learn how to do better at recycling.  That is something we could be doing more of here on mother Earth as well.

I think that the more we continue to plan for going to the Moon and the more we test what we can here on Earth, the more we will be able to keep the ideas in front of the public.  Politicians need to have solutions waiting for problems to present themselves.  If you say today you want to go to the Moon, you had better be prepared to support that with ways you can show that it can be done.

Take a look at what is being done at the International Space University.
- LRK -

http://www.isunet.edu/
Welcome to the International Space University

http://www.isunet.edu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=41&Itemid=546
Student Reports

http://www.isunet.edu/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=110&Itemid=251
Success Stories - ISU
 ---
SAFEN EARTH: space aid for energy needs on Earth
ACCESS Mars: Assessing Cave Capabilities Establishing Specific Solutions
DREAM: Disaster Risk Evaluation And Management
FuturIST: Future Infrastructure for Space Transportation
VAPOR: Volcanic Activity:processing of Observation and Remote sensing data

and see 'more' at bottom for the link to  'LUNA GAIA: a closed-loop
habitat for the moon '

http://www.isunet.edu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=214&Itemid=251
 SSP 06 Strasbourg (France) - Student report

The Luna Gaia posits a pathway towards new technologies, philosophies, systems applications and infrastructure aimed at achieving a closed loop habitat model for human settlement on the Moon. Luna Gaia design solutions focus on the coupling power for all regenerative processes of a network of closed loop life support. Using proven and innovative solutions that produce relatively independent and highly reliable cycles of oxygen, water, energy, food growth and waste processing, the modular, hybrid bioregenerative network of systems particular to the Luna Gaia design architecture is ambitious but feasible.

Thie report also details ethical and philosophical considerations of lunar settlement and the wider implications for international law, policy and future interplanetary social governance.

Executive summary|
http://www.isunet.edu/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=343
Full report| http://www.isunet.edu/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=236
Request a copy --- Email copy request

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Dr. Sarah Jane Pell participated in the SSP 06 team project - L U N A G A I A - A CLOSED LOOP HABITAT FOR THE MOON.
She is an Artist, Researcher and Commercial Diver and has some interesting presentations.
If you can't go immediately to the Moon, you can go under water.

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http://www.sarahjanepell.com/
snip
Humans experience many coexistent and contrary needs in relation to any given space. We have a desire for socialising, communicating and being close to others and, in direct contrast, we desire privacy, individuality and opportunities for meditation and creativity. I am practice-based performance researcher and I explore these issues and how they signify human patterns, rituals, behaviours and performances of day-to-day life through my laboratories and further imagine how they relate as a space analogue missions.
snip
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You aren't going to go to space alone and you need to know how to get along with each other in a closed environment.
- LRK -

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http://www.sarahjanepell.com/LunaGaia.htm
L U N A G A I A
A CLOSED LOOP HABITAT FOR THE MOON
SSP O6 Team Project, International Space University, Strasbourg

Luna Gaia posits a pathway to new technologies, philosophies, systems applications and infrastructure aimed at achieving a closed loop habitat model for human settlement on the moon. The framework supports an ideal profile for an optimum of 11 human crewmembers on the lunar surface for a period of 18-36 months. This presentation outlines the recommendations on the overall systems architecture, the engineering processes, as well as the research, development and orchestration of separately phased precursor missions by the year 2030. The Luna Gaia design solution focuses on optimizing the synergy between all regenerative processes of a network of closed loop life support systems. It also details the ethical and philosophical considerations of a lunar settlement and the wider implications for international law, policy and future interplanetary governance. Advancement of earth-based application of these processes are highlighted and strategies for effective information transfer and handling through education, media communication, outreach and advancement of futures research.
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Do take look at her website.  Much information about her projects.
- LRK -

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http://www.sarahjanepell.com/Astro.htm
THE CULTURE OF SPACE

http://www.sarahjanepell.com/AnatomyBiology.htm
THE ART OF LIVING SYSTEMS

http://www.sarahjanepell.com/LunaGaia.htm
L U N A G A I A
A CLOSED LOOP HABITAT FOR THE MOON

http://www.sarahjanepell.com/neutral.htm
Neutral Buoyancy

http://www.sarahjanepell.com/Hydromedusa.htm
H Y D R O M E D U S A
Undersea to Outer Space
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Down under as well as above. :-)

Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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SPACE EXPLORATION WORKSHOP May 25-26, 2010 --- NSS ISDC 2010 May 27-31, 2010 --- IKAROS

Best be informed.
- LRK -

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http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2010/may/HQ_M10-081_Exploration_Charts.html
MEDIA ADVISORY : M10-081

NASA Announces Posting Of Space Exploration Workshop Charts

WASHINGTON -- Presentation charts for the opening-day briefings of NASA's Exploration Enterprise Workshop in Galveston, Texas, will be posted online at noon EDT, Monday, May 24.

The two-day workshop brings together a broad community of space exploration stakeholders from government, industry and academia. The Exploration Systems Mission Directorate's plans for human and robotic space exploration and the administration's fiscal year 2011 budget request for the agency will be discussed.

The charts represent a starting point that will be refined throughout the summer and coming years. They capture the results of planning as of May 25, but do not represent final plans. Any specific launch dates and missions are likely to change to reflect the addition of the Orion Emergency Rescue Vehicle, updated priorities, and new information from NASA's partners.

The charts provide a basis for engagement with outside organizations, including international entities, industry, academia and other government agencies. Involving outside groups helps NASA make informed decisions as program objectives and expectations are established. To view workshop presentations, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/new_space_enterprise/home/workshop_home.html

or

http://www.aiaa.org/content.cfm?pageid=230&lumeetingid=2486

For more information about NASA's exploration programs, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/exploration

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Watch the talking.
- LRK -

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http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/new_space_enterprise/home/workshop_home.html
May 25 - 26, 2010
Moody Gardens Hotel & Convention Center
Galveston, TX

The first day of the conference will provide an overview of NASA's "point of departure" plans for technologies and missions. This will serve as a starting point for further refinement.

Day 1 of the conference will be streamed live!

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Also watch here.
- LRK -

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http://www.aiaa.org/content.cfm?pageid=230&lumeetingid=2486
 NASA Exploration Enterprise Workshop
25 - 26 May 2010
Moody Gardens Hotel & Convention Center
Galveston, Texas

On Feb. 1, 2010, the President released the FY 2011 Budget Request.  The budget proposes several exciting new programs that seek to foster a sustainable human space exploration enterprise. NASA will host an Exploration Enterprise Workshop that brings together a broad community of stakeholders from industry, academia and the U.S. federal government to discuss these changes.

The Agency has completed the initial phase of planning for the new technology and robotic programs and will provide insight into the progress to date. The open workshop will also encourage participants to engage in discussions related to strategy building, development, and the implementation of the new plans for human and robotic exploration in space. The objectives are to:

   * Convey progress in planning toward the new programs
   * Discuss proposed program assignments
   * Solicit feedback, ideas and suggestions from interested parties
   * Prepare for the next steps once the new programs are implemented

The first day of the conference will provide an overview of NASA’s “point of departure” plans for technologies and missions. This will serve as a starting point for further refinement. Breakout sessions on the second day of the conference will focus on specific plans for maturing technologies, conducting flight  demonstrations, and building commercial capabilities. In preparation for the event, several requests for information (RFI) will be released and discussed at the conference.

For inquiries, please contact: Penny Ritch, AIAA Customer Service, via phone at 703.264.7510 or via email at pennyr.aiaa.org

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and out Chicago way, the NSS and folks.
- LRK -

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http://isdc.nss.org/2010/
National Space Society's
29th International Space Development Conference
May 27-31, 2010
InterContinental O'Hare Hotel - Chicago, Illinois
The National Space Society's 29th annual International Space
Development Conference is just a few days away!  ISDC 2010 will feature leaders from across the space community:

Some of those attending this year's ISDC are:

   * NASA Administrator Charles Bolden
   * Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin
   * Scientist and author Freeman Dyson
   * Apollo 9 astronaut and B612 Foundation Chairman Rusty Schweickart
   * Former NSS Executive Director and new CEO of Virgin Galactic George Whitesides
   * X-Cor Aerospace President Jeff Greason
   * NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver
   * Civilian astronaut Richard Garriott
   * Space Adventures CEO Eric Anderson
   * Mars Society President Robert Zubrin

These are just a few of the many Speakers that will be sharing their views on the future of space exploration.
http://isdc.nss.org/2010/?page=speakers

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While out is Space with hardware being tested, and update from Japan's IKAROS.
See pictorial at the link below and wish them luck when they unfurl the sail.
- LRK -

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http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2010/05/20100524_ikaros_e.html
IKAROS moves to Verification Experiment Phase

May 24, 2010 (JST)

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) completed the initial operation check of the Small Solar Power Sail Demonstrator "IKAROS," which was launched on May 21, 2010 (Japan Standard Time,) from the Tanegashima Space Center. 

 

We will take a few weeks to carry out the first verification experiments, namely deployment of the solar sail and solar power generation by thin film solar cells.

snip
Mission web site - LRK -
http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/ikaros/index_e.html
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I am still reading about how our government makes decisions or not.
Not all that encouraging
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http://www.amazon.com/Agendas-Alternatives-Public-Policies-2nd/dp/0673523896
Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies (2nd Edition) [Paperback]
John W. Kingdon
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Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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Craig Venter unveils "synthetic life" - follow up

Some TED talk links and articles.
- LRK -

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Craig Venter unveils "synthetic life"
http://www.ted.com/talks/craig_venter_unveils_synthetic_life.html

About this talk

Craig Venter and team make a historic announcement: they've created the first fully functioning, reproducing cell controlled by synthetic DNA. He explains how they did it and why the achievement marks the beginning of a new era for science.
snip

[As a TED talk it is 18 minutes and chops off some of the questions seen on other posts - LRK -]
Interesting comments below the video link.
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Another post with more information and links to the TED talk.
- LRK -

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http://integral-options.blogspot.com/2010/05/ted-talks-craig-venter-unveils.html
Integral Options Cafe

TED Talks - Craig Venter Unveils "Synthetic Life"

Life re-created. Blue colonies (top) indicate a successfully transplanted genome, with self-replicating bacteria revealed in an electron micrograph.
snip

Citation:

   Creation of a Bacterial Cell Controlled by a Chemically Synthesized Genome
   Daniel G. Gibson,1 John I. Glass,1 Carole Lartigue,1 Vladimir N.
Noskov,1 Ray-Yuan Chuang,1 Mikkel A. Algire,1 Gwynedd A. Benders,2
Michael G. Montague,1 Li Ma,1 Monzia M. Moodie,1 Chuck Merryman,1
Sanjay Vashee,1 Radha Krishnakumar,1 Nacyra Assad-Garcia,1 Cynthia
Andrews-Pfannkoch,1 Evgeniya A. Denisova,1 Lei Young,1 Zhi-Qing Qi,1
Thomas H. Segall-Shapiro,1 Christopher H. Calvey,1 Prashanth P.
Parmar,1 Clyde A. Hutchison, III,2 Hamilton O. Smith,2 J. Craig
Venter1,2,*

   We report the design, synthesis, and assembly of the 1.08-Mbp Mycoplasma mycoides JCVI-syn1.0 genome starting from digitized genome sequence information and its transplantation into a Mycoplasma capricolum recipient cell to create new Mycoplasma mycoides cells that are controlled only by the synthetic chromosome. The only DNA in the cells is the designed synthetic DNA sequence, including "watermark" sequences and other designed gene deletions and polymorphisms, and mutations acquired during the building process. The new cells have expected phenotypic properties and are capable of continuous self-replication.

   1 The J. Craig Venter Institute, 9704 Medical Center Drive,
Rockville, MD 20850, USA.
   2 The J. Craig Venter Institute, 10355 Science Center Drive, San
Diego, CA 92121, USA.

   * To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jcventer@jcvi.org

   Received for publication 9 April 2010. Accepted for publication 13 May 2010.

Science has made the article available for free (download the PDF -
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/rapidpdf/science.1190719v1.pdf). 

You can also read a free summary article at the Science site, written by Elizabeth Pennisi.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/328/5981/958

It took 20 years and an around $40 million to get to this point, which is revealed online by the journal Science.

   Craig Venter and team make a historic announcement: they've created the first fully functioning, reproducing cell controlled by synthetic DNA. He explains how they did it and why the achievement marks the beginning of a new era for science.

   Venter, the man who led the private effort to sequence the human genome, is hard at work now on even more potentially world-changing projects.

   First, there's his mission aboard the Sorcerer II, a 92-foot yacht, which, in 2006, finished its voyage around the globe to sample, catalouge and decode the genes of the ocean's unknown microorganisms.  Quite a task, when you consider that there are tens of millions of microbes in a single drop of sea water. Then there's the J. Craig Venter Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to researching genomics and exploring its societal implications.

   In 2005, Venter founded Synthetic Genomics, a private company with a provocative mission: to engineer new life forms. Its goal is to design, synthesize and assemble synthetic microorganisms that will produce alternative fuels, such as ethanol or hydrogen. He was on Time magzine's 2007 list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.

   In early 2008, scientists at the J. Craig Venter Institute announced that they had manufactured the entire genome of a bacterium by painstakingly stitching together its chemical components. By sequencing a genome, scientists can begin to custom-design bootable organisms, creating biological robots that can produce from scratch chemicals humans can use, such as biofuel. And in 2010, they announced, they had created "synthetic life" -- DNA created digitally, inserted into a living bacterium, and remaining alive.

       "Either he is one of this era's most electrifying scientists, or he's one of the most maddening." ~Washington Post
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[TED talk link]

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and from MEFEDiA feed
http://www.mefeedia.com/video/31298583
Craig Venter unveils "synthetic life"

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http://www.jcvi.org/
J. Craig Venter Institute
FIRST SELF-REPLICATING SYNTHETIC BACTERIAL CELL

http://www.jcvi.org/cms/research/projects/first-self-replicating-synthetic-bacterial-cell/video/
Video
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Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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Scientists create synthetic cell, version 1.0

This is very, very, interesting and has many implications.
- LRK -
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http://www.jcvi.org/cms/press/press-releases/full-text/article/first-self-replicating-synthetic-bacterial-cell-constructed-by-j-craig-venter-institute-researcher/
snip
As in the team’s 2008 publication in which they described the successful synthesis of the M. genitalium genome, they designed and inserted into the genome what they called watermarks. These are specifically designed segments of DNA that use the “alphabet” of genes and proteins that enable the researcher to spell out words and phrases. The watermarks are an essential means to prove that the genome is synthetic and not native, and to identify the laboratory of origin. Encoded in the watermarks is a new DNA code for writing words, sentences and numbers. In addition to the new code there is a web address to send emails to if you can successfully decode the new code, the names of 46 authors and other key contributors and three quotations: "TO LIVE, TO ERR, TO FALL, TO TRIUMPH, TO RECREATE LIFE OUT OF LIFE." - JAMES JOYCE; "SEE THINGS NOT AS THEY ARE, BUT AS THEY MIGHT BE.”-A quote from the book, “American Prometheus”; "WHAT I CANNOT BUILD, I CANNOT UNDERSTAND." - RICHARD FEYNMAN.
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Check this out and stand by for more advances.
- LRK -

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May 20, 2010 3:12 PM PDT
Scientists create synthetic cell, version 1.0
 by Tim Hornyak

Scientists at the J. Craig Venter Institute have created a synthetic cell that can survive and reproduce itself according to an artificial DNA sequence, promising designer genomes with which researchers can produce sophisticated artificial organisms.

The new bacterial cell, "Mycoplasma mycoides JCVI-syn1.0," is the result of a 15-year, $30 million effort by genetics pioneer Craig Venter. The study, led by the institute's Dan Gibson, is reported in the May 21 edition of the journal Science.

The team of 25 researchers took Mycoplasma capricolum bacteria and completely rewrote its genetic code of more than 1 million base pairs of DNA. The data was sequenced as chemical DNA fragments and sewn together using yeast and E. coli bacteria.

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Read a lot more at the links.
- LRK -

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http://singularityhub.com/2010/05/20/venter-creates-first-synthetic-self-replicating-bacteria-from-scratch/#more-16798
Singularity Hub - The Future Is Here Today...Robots, Genetics, AI, Longevity, Singularity

Venter Creates First Synthetic Self-Replicating Bacteria from Scratch May 20th, 2010 by Aaron Saenz

Craig Venter wants to program life the way we program computers, and today he announced a momentous win: the first synthetic self-replicating bacterium. The J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) used the four types of chemicals that make up DNA, and complex assembly methods utilizing yeast cells, to ’program’ the 1.08 million base pairs that make up the genome for the bacteria cell. As described in the journal Science, the result was a synthetic copy of the Mycoplasma mycoides, dubbed M. mycoides JCVI-syn1.0, that can grow and divide like normal. The little “1.0″ highlights the vast potential of Venter’s project, as JCVI will be able to update and improve their synthetic organism base pair by base pair, gene by gene. Computers can now program sustainable synthetic life – welcome to the future.

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[See Video, links and more - LRK -].
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View the videos if you can.  Good talk.
- LRK -

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http://singularityhub.com/2010/02/08/venters-successes-in-creating-synthetic-life-video/
Singularity Hub - The Future Is Here Today...Robots, Genetics, AI,
Longevity, Singularity

Venter’s Successes in Creating Synthetic Life (video)
February 8th, 2010 by Aaron Saenz

Craig Venter is pushing the boundaries of what humans can do with DNA and aims to create new life to serve our needs. At TEDMED this past year, he discussed what he and his company, Synthetic Genomics, have accomplished by analyzing and manipulating the genes of simple organisms. While the presentation was titled “What could we do with synthetic life?” it would have been more apt to call it “What we have done so far is going to blow your freakin’ mind.” Venter gives an in depth look at the methods which will lead to custom  made organisms.  Biofuel, new antibiotics, vaccines – Venter could one day make them all by using yeast and bacteria to reproduce artificially constructed genomes. As many have said, synthetic biology is likely to be the defining technology of the 21st century, and Venter plans on helping to write that definition. Check out his TEDMED video, in its entirety, after the break.

snip
[screen capture and video credit: TEDMED]

[The TEDMED video - 18 minute - and a time line guide provided by Aaron Saenz. ]
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Some of the crew and much more at JVCI.
- LRK -

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http://www.jcvi.org/cms/research/projects/first-self-replicating-synthetic-bacterial-cell/photos/
First Self-Replicating Synthetic Bacterial Cell
Photos

http://www.jcvi.org/cms/research/projects/first-self-replicating-synthetic-bacterial-cell/overview/
Overview

Genomic science has greatly enhanced our understanding of the biological world. It is enabling researchers to "read" the genetic code of organisms from all branches of life by sequencing the four letters that make up DNA. Sequencing genomes has now become routine, giving rise to thousands of genomes in the public  databases. In essence, scientists are digitizing biology by converting the A, C, T, and G's of the chemical makeup of DNA into 1's and 0's in a computer.  But can one reverse the process and start with 1's and 0's in a computer to define the characteristics of a living cell? We set out to answer this question.
snip

http://www.jcvi.org/cms/research/projects/first-self-replicating-synthetic-bacterial-cell/video/
May 20, 2010 Press Conference
snip
[Don't miss this press release  and the questions that are part of it. - LRK -]
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Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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AKATSUKI (PLANET-C) about to launch

I am glad someone is not just saying been there, done that.
Japan to visit Venus with PLANET-C

I enjoyed Pioneer 12's visit to Venus.
Yours truly, standing in for a controller in Fig 2-12.  :-)
Pioneering Venus NASA SP-518
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19960026995_1996055001.pdf
373 p. 176.41 MB
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/missions/archive/pioneer.html
- LRK -

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http://www.spaceflightnow.com/h2a/akatsuki/status.html
Mission Status Center
By Stephen Clark

Welcome to Spaceflight Now's live coverage of the launch of Japan's H-2A rocket with the Akatsuki probe bound for Venus. Text updates will appear automatically; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter. http://twitter.com/spaceflightnow/

1659 GMT (12:59 p.m. EDT)
We have posted a preview of the Ikaros solar sail that is launching as a secondary payload aboard the H-2A rocket.

1555 GMT (11:55 a.m. EDT)
The rocket is now fully fueled for launch. Launch controllers just finished loading liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into both stages of the H-2A rocket.

The first stage LE-7A engine consumes hydrogen during its six-and-a-half minute firing. The second stage's LE-5B powerplant will ignite twice to place the Akatsuki orbiter on track for Venus.

The H-2A's two solid rocket boosters burn solid propellant, which has already been packed inside the motors.
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What is scheduled to take place.
- LRK -

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http://www.spaceflightnow.com/h2a/akatsuki/100516timeline.html
H-2A/Akatsuki launch timeline
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: May 16, 2010
Updated: May 19, 2010

NOTE: Launch sequence data assumes liftoff on May 20, 2010.
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Always nice to have some company.
May you have fair winds on your sailing venture.
- LRK -

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http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/planet_c/index_e.html
May 18, 2010 Updated
AKATSUKI/IKAROS Launch rescheduled to 6:58 a.m. on the 21st (Fri) The launch of the Venus Climate Orbiter "AKATSUKI" and the Small Solar Power Demonstrator "IKAROS" by the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 17 was rescheduled at 6:58:22 a.m. on May 21 (Fri. Japan Standard Time, JST) after carefully studying the weather conditions.

Accordingly, the live launch report will begin at 6:30 a.m. on May 21(Fri., JST.) The report will be broadcast not only through the Internet, but also at JAXA i, Sagamihara Campus and other public viewing locations including some universities. You can also watch it through some CATV and cell phone providers.

   * Press Release
     http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2010/05/20100518_h2af17_2_e.html
   * AKATSUKI Special Site
     http://www.jaxa.jp/countdown/f17/index_e.html
   * Live Broadcast
      http://www.jaxa.jp/countdown/f17/live/index_e.html

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AKATSUKI (PLANET-C) is the next planetary exploration project for the Martian orbiter NOZOMI. This project’s main purpose is to elucidate the mysteries of the Venusian atmosphere. Though often referred to as Earth’s sister planet in terms of size and mass, Venus is actually very different. It is veiled in carbon dioxide, with a high temperature and thick sulfuric-acid clouds. Clarification of the causes for this environment will provide us with clues to the understanding of the birth of Earth and of its climate changes.  Therefore, Venus is a very important subject for exploration.

AKATSUKI will usher in a new era of Venusian exploration. The probe vehicle is scheduled to be launched in FY 2010 and is expected to reach Venus orbit.
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Good pictures.
- LRK -

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http://www.spaceflightnow.com/h2a/akatsuki/100520gallery/
H-2A rolls out to launch pad for second time

The 174-foot-tall H-2A rocket moved from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad No. 1 at Japan's island spaceport around midday Thursday, local time. It was the second time the rocket has rolled to the pad. The first launch attempt Monday was scrubbed by thick clouds.
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Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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Hearings ---The Future of U.S. Human Space Flight

I had tried to listen to the hearing of the Senate Commerce, Space & Transportation committee on Wednesday, May 12 2010, but got tired of Internet stalls of the video and finally quit listening.  In conversations with you folks I was pointed to the archived version.
Here is a Tiny URL for the link below.  http://tinyurl.com/2em5kxh
- LRK -
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Hearings
The Future of U.S. Human Space Flight
Jena Longo - Democratic Deputy Communications Director 202.224.7824
May 12 2010 2:30 PM
Russell Senate Office Building - 253
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If you play the video you will have about 25 minutes of nothing but the poster as the meeting didn't start on time.  It starts up with no sound so you will probably want to play with the slider to get to about the 26 minutes into the archived video.

Texts are available as PDFs below the Flash Video screen. Neil stuck with his, except for a sentence at the beginning which he missed.  Gene, however skipped some material because of the ad lib directed at Bolden, which is not in the typescript.

If you would just like to watch what Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan had to say you might take a look at the following link that Colin Mackellar in Sydney Australia made.  You can view the video and down load MP4 files for your own permanent record.

http://apollo11tv.com/testimony/
(Colin has a lot more Apollo 11 history at http://honeysucklecreek.net/Apollo_11/index.html)

Just how we get to space and on what vehicle or combination of, doesn't seem to matter that much to me.  I would like to see work done to accomplish the end goal of being able to move off world and survive in the long term.  To me the Moon seemed like a good place to start.  Changing short term projects every new administration seems like a waste of time and money, but that is just my opinion.
- LRK -

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Nasa's Constellation Program - To the moon and beyond! (HD) ( CANCELED )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDja2xUslBA&feature=related

TheFutureIsRightHere  —  August 05, 2009  — On Sept. 16, 2010 at 1 p.m. EDT, the last Space Shuttle mission is expected to launch.  STS-134 (Space Transport System - stands for STS). After the shuttle's retirement, Nasa's Orion capsule will take its place. The new missions will most likely be called O.S.T.S. (Orion Space Transport System).  The Orion and the new Constellation program will take Americans back to the moon on 2020. For more information go to:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AresTV
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If you didn't watch the whole commission hearing and saw what Gene Cernan had to say, you might want to see Bolden's response when asked about the bail out quote.
- LRK -

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kHDGIPSBMk&feature=youtu.be
The New U.S. Space Plan - To Bail-out Or Not Bail-out

AmericaSpace — May 12, 2010 — The "New" Space Plan

Beginning in 2011, the President no longer wants NASA to send astronauts to space. So, he's canceling Constellation. Instead, he wants NASA to subsidize and outsource human space flight.

None of the companies have ever launched a living thing. Not to worry, if the commercial launchers fall behind schedule or go over-budget, NASA will rescue them.

If the commercial launchers get into financial trouble, the NASA Administrator said NASA will bail them out. Even if it is the biggest bail-out ever.

Even bigger than GM's bail-out.

The NASA Administrator denies ever saying this.

But Gene Cernan, Apollo 17 Commander and last man to walk on the Moon heard what the NASA Administrator said.

And wrote it down.
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Still trying to figure out how we pass the laws we do and fund or not, those that have been passed.
To go to space or not to go to space, that is the question.
May I borrow a dollar?
Can I hitch a ride?

Listen, what do I hear?
http://www.zarya.info/Frequencies/FrequenciesPRC.php
Radio Frequencies - Peoples' Republic of China
- LRK -

Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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