The idea of colonizing Mars is not a new one, it has been the backdrop of many science fiction novels, and the focus of much scientific research. But, actually making it happen is a whole other story. Well on Sunday, November 15, the National Geographic Channel is going to air a special, as part of their "Expedition Week", about how we would go about creating a habitable planet out of Mars.

I think it will definitely be worth a watch, and in the meantime you can check out the promotional material and videos to whet your appetite. I think the reality of how close we are to undertaking the colonization of Mars will surprise some of you. So, check it out, and let me know what you think!

Image Credit: © National Geographic Channel

NASA reported that a 23 foot wide asteroid came within about 8,700 miles of entering Earth's atmosphere on Friday. This was the third closest miss on record. Astronomers at the University of Arizona's Catalina Sky Survey group announced the finding. They discovered the asteroid about 15 hours before it passed our planet, moving at more than 16,000 miles per hour.

So, what would have happened if the asteroid would have entered our atmosphere? Well, at 23 feet across, it most likely would have burned up in our atmosphere. The heat generated by air resistance as it fell toward Earth would have caused the asteroid to disintegrate. In fact it would take a very large asteroid, hundreds of feet across, to cause any significant damage, and those are large enough to see coming from quite a distance away. And yes, NASA is keeping a watchful eye.

For those of you following the space elevator games, the LaserMotive team was awarded the second place $900,000 prize. Their design, which used a ground based laser to power a robot, climbed nearly 3,000 feet in about 3 minutes and 48 seconds. The LaserMotive team was the only team to meet the criteria necessary to claim one of the top prizes. They could have won the top prize of $2 million if they could have ascended the course more quickly.

The LaserMotive team used a ground based laser, pointed upwards, to power their robot platform. Once the laser light reached the robot, a photo voltaic cell converted the light into electricity. Once powered, the robot scaled a cable that was being dangled from a helicopter nearly a kilometer in the air.

I can almost hear it now:
Elevator door opens...
"What floor sir?"
"Space Station Please."
"Yes sir."
Sound ridiculous? Well, yeah, it is actually. But, the idea of an elevator to space may be a reality sooner than you might think. The 2009 Space Elevator games are under way, and there have already been some interesting developments. For those of you not familiar the the competition, NASA has put up a $2 million prize for anyone who can construct a prototype elevator capable of taking a heavy payload up one kilometer in the air.

In order to qualify for a part of the prize money, a team must ascend a 900 meter course with an average speed of 5 meters per second. This benchmark was reached by Team LaserMotive this week, and there are two other teams that will try and reach that milestone this week as well.

Of course this all is a far cry from building an actual space elevator. But it is a necessary first step. The ultimate goal is to create an efficient way for NASA and others to transport heavy payloads (like satellites and space craft) to low Earth orbit. Right now, that is the most difficult and costly aspect of NASA's operations. The common wisdom is that such an elevator would pay for itself in just a few years of operation.

Unfortunately though, my vision of taking an elevator to space and visiting the international space station, or some other space hotel will have to remain a dream... at least for now.