The Aldrin Cycler: A Conveyor Belt To Mars | Answers With Joe

Moon, Sol Orbit Cycler, and then Mars?

To the Moon on one SLS or with stops to refill the fuel tanks of the SpaceX Starship? The Starship is said to need eight refills on the way to reach the Moon in three days. One question about the time to stop and go for each refilling. Will it take more than three days to reach top speed and slow down to a Tanker Starship eight times? How many trips will it take to bring a Boring Machine to the…

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You got any book recs? :)

I do!

The Ash and Sand trilogy by Richard Nell is a great and interesting dark fantasy series.

For fans of Sherlock Holmes and detective fiction in general I recommend some of James Lovegrove's Holmes books. Particularly The Stuff of Nightmares and The Thinking Engine.

Yahtzee Croshaw's (yes, that Yahtzee from Zero Punctuation) DEDA Files books are also great. Mystery/fantasy/comedy series about the world finding out about the existence of extradimensional deities and their effect on our world.

One of my favorite books of all time is a pretty old one, Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin Abbott. It's about a 2-dimensional world of geometric shapes and it's got some of the best worldbuilding in any work of fiction.

The Conqueror's Saga by Kiersten White is a pretty unique romance/historical/family drama series about a female version of Vlad the Impaler.

The Bobiverse Trilogy by Dennis E. Taylor is also very fun (didn't like the fourth book tho). His Quantum Earth series is also good.

The Last Dance by Martin Shoemaker is a very engaging mystery/character exploration book about the captain of an Earth-Mars cycler ship (a ship that goes back and forth between the two planets).

The Chrysathamere Trilogy is a fantasy/military series about a pair of twins who go from being the children of a prostitute in a brothel to the top of an empire's political system.

The Wells of Sorcery series by Django Wexler is a fun series that reminds me a lot of Avatar in a good way, albeit much darker.

The Long Earth is a unique series about humanity discovering the existence of an infinite series of parallel universes and how they explore and settle these parallel Earths.

I also have a lot of non-fiction recommendations.

Soyuz-punk scenario where virtually every spacecraft is a variation of the Soyuz. Lunar Soyuz travel to Lunograd weekly, the Mir 2 and 3 and 4 are running around Earth, and there are even cycler stations that takes you to the Soviet floating bases on Venus and the communities on Mars. There's also the Buran for some variety when you really need like a racecar.

Mars Cyclers

https://planetocracy.substack.com/p/mars-cyclers

Artificial Gravity Mars/Earth cycler concept with Starship in Mars orbit

New research models concept for data transport using train of satellites Although the Pony Express lasted only a short time in the mid-1800s before being outperformed by the transcontinental telegraph, it inspired a concept for a string of small satellites to transport data from Mars to Earth and help alleviate the data logjam currently occurring in the Deep Space Network. "The Solar System Pony Express is a mission concept that aims to augment the data transmission capabilities of the Deep Space Network using the idea of data mules," said Robyn Woollands, assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Woollands described the data mules as small spacecraft that can travel to a remote location, such as Mars, where they acquire data in close range to the probe's transmitter, then carry the data back to Earth where it is downlinked in close range to the receiver. This enables high latency and high bandwidth communication. "A network of interplanetary data mules could be established using cycler orbits," Woollands said. "After launch, the data mules use their own low-thrust propulsion system to inject into a cycler orbit and target subsequent flybys of Earth and Mars." Woollands explained that the trajectories encounter two or more celestial bodies along their path and require a modest amount of propellant for correction maneuvers. After launch, the data mules use their own low-thrust propulsion system to inject into a cycler orbit and target subsequent flybys of Earth and Mars. "During the Mars flybys, data is uplinked from spacecraft already operating at Mars—on orbit or on the surface—and during Earth flybys data is downlinked back to Earth," said Woollands. She said her Ph.D. student Alex Pascarella developed the tools to enable the trajectory design and optimization of Earth/Mars cycler orbits for the Solar System Pony Express mission. "We simulate trajectories that make use of low-thrust propulsion and include a high-fidelity model that incorporates the gravity of the Sun, Earth and Mars", said Pascarella. Low-thrust space missions are becoming more common due to the benefits afforded by ion engines, which are more efficient than chemical engines. They are also smaller/lighter which allows for the design of smaller spacecraft that can be launched economically as a secondary payload. "Our study revealed that the total data volume returned during the simulated mission exceeded our goal of 1 Petabit per year," said Alex Pascarella, Robyn Woollands' Ph.D. student. The study is published in the journal Acta Astronautica. Solar System Pony Express is a NASA Innovative Advanced Concept project led by Joshua Vander Hook at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. IMAGE....Concept of operations for one cycler spacecraft. Credit: The Grainger College of Engineering at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Kidney Dialysis Equipment Market Growing Popularity and Emerging Trends in the Industry Analysis by Key Players

Kidney Dialysis Equipment Market Comprehensive Study is an expert and top to bottom investigation on the momentum condition of the Global Kidney Dialysis Equipment industry with an attention on the Global market. The report gives key insights available status of the Global Kidney Dialysis Equipment producers and is an important wellspring of direction and course for organizations and people keen on the business. By and large, the report gives an inside and out understanding of 2021-2027 worldwide Kidney Dialysis Equipment Market covering extremely significant parameters.

Some key Players in This Report Include Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. (Germany),Davita Healthcare P,B. Braun Melsungen AG (United States),Diaverum Deutschland GmbH (Germany),Nipro Corporation (Japan),Nxstage Medical Inc. (United States),Nikkiso Co. Ltd. (Japan),Mar Cor Purification Inc. (United States),Asahi Kasei Medical Co. Ltd. (Japan),Terumo Corporation (Japan)

Disclosure of new medications, diagnostics, and gadgets are regularly seen as developments in the Kidney Dialysis field. Usage science is again perceived as a type of advancement. Diabetes mellitus is considered as the most widely recognized reason for unending kidney infection that may prompt increment sought after for kidney dialysis. As per Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, the normal predominance has been accounted for at moderate level in the U.S. and Europe that are barring those on dialysis or with a working transplant.

Market Trends: Advanced Technologies

Rise in Awareness about Dialysis At Home

Market Drivers: Rise in the Patient Population.

Increasing Number of Hospitals

Market Opportunities: In The Asia-Pacific Region Is Expected To Rise Exponentially Due To Rise in a Number of Dialysis Centers, Initiatives by the Government to Produce Cost-Effective Treatments

The Global Kidney Dialysis Equipment Market segments and Market Data Break Down by Type (Hemodialysis (Hemodialysis Machines, Catheters, Dialyzers, Dialysates, Blood Pumps, Dialysis Tubing Kits, & Other Supplies), Peritoneal Dialysis (Peritoneal Tubing Kits, Dialysates, Peritoneal Dialysis Cycler Machines, & Catheters), Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy), Application (Hospitals, Clinics, In-Center Dialysis Settings, Home Care, Ambulatory Services, Others), Apparatus (Hemodialysis Equipment, Hemodialysis Machines, Dialyzers and Filters, Blood Line Systems, Concentrates and Solutions, Tunneled Hemodialysis Catheters, Vascular Access Devices, Peritoneal Dialysis Equipment, Concentrates and Solutions, Others)

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AMA Research & Media LLP

I think an important aspect is also what kind of stories can you tell in a space setting. 1. Mars Cycler: Here we go with an oligarchic city state ruled by a few noble houses, this setting is perfect for a murder mystery, political drama, or even a "historic" drama about a family in the nobility or lower nobility. 2. Isolated space habitat established by a sect: This is perfect for your dystopic setting; you can make whatever strawman society you want and make some statement about it; you want Katniss to overthrow the Man or Winston to be crushed under the booth of the Man, go for it. 3. Mars: this is the setting for frontier society, you can have people establish settlements on the frontier. 4. The Gas and Ice Giants: These regions are likely to be full of space city states, but ones which lies close enough for conquest to make sense, here you can have tales of space warfare with battleships and space carriers, space merchants, and space privateers. 5. Beyond Neptune: Here we come to the final frontier, along the trade routes firefly can fly between the settlements on the different dwarf planets and asteroid, trading with them and ending up in trouble, Enterprise can travel in the region, helping settlements in trouble and explore empty "worlds" and sometimes find a rogue settlement on these worlds. 6. The Light Ways: This is the highway to Alpha Centaury a city ship full of traveler are on the way to it, speed and slowed down by lasers, the trip takes 8 years. Here we return to the murder mystery.

-- user Jürgen, alternatehistory.com (source)

14 February 2247

How much do I owe the people who work with me?

I do maintenance and remodels on Earth-Mars resort cyclers during the down season. Usually there's a couple dozen of us, a bunch of really nice empty facilities we can't use, and a giant pile of work that seems impossible to finish in time.

This is going to my seventh trip, and my third running a team. They're a great bunch, and most of them tell me they'd never stick around if it weren't for me.

So do I owe it to them to tell them before we start this run that it's going to be my last one? If I do, I wouldn't be surprised if at least one of them drops out.

-boss or buddy

The sensible thing to do is keep it to yourself. The nice thing to do is to tell them, especially if you think one or more of them has something else they'd rather be doing.

But no, I don't think you owe it to them to share your life plans several months in advance. In a job like yours, there's always a good chance any given trip will be somebody's retirement cruise. And, for that matter, there's plenty of people who swear each trip will be the last and still keep signing up for more.

映画『密航者』〜コロナ禍の私達を描いているのかもしれない〜

2021年　ドイツ・アメリカ合作 原題：Stowaway 監督：ジョー・ペナ 脚本：ジョー・ペナ、ライアン・モリソン 撮影：クレメンス・ベッカー 美術：マルコ・ビットナー・ロッサー 編集：ライアン・モリソン 音楽：フォルカー・バーテルマン 出演者：アナ・ケンドリック、ダニエル・デイ・キム、トニ・コレット、シャミアー・アンダーソン

　GW明けて（やはりこうなるよねと言うべきですが）新型コロナウィルス感染症の感染拡大が加速していますね。医療に携わるものとしては、なかなか気が重い状況になってしまいました。

　最近バタバタしていて、なかなか長文で感想や考察を書く時間がなかったのですが、久々に印象に残った映画がありましたので映画レビューを書きました。『密航者』というNetflixで配信されている新作映画ですが、何となく科学考証がしっかりされたSFで面白そうだなと思い鑑賞したところ、予想に反して重たいテーマを内包した映画だったのです。

あらすじ

　火星への人類移住プロジェクトの研究目的として、宇宙飛行士のマリナ・バーネット船長、医師のゾーイ・レベンソン、生物学者のデイビッド・キムの3人を乗せた宇宙船は地球を飛び立った。2年かけて火星に向かうミッションである。無事大気圏を突破し、火星へ向かう経路を維持することに成功した彼らだったが、ひょんなことから二酸化炭素除去装置のパネルの背後に閉じ込められていた、怪我を負い意識を失った男を発見する。男は宇宙船発射の技術者の一人であるマイケル・アダムスで、なんと宇宙船切り離しの作業中に気を失い、宇宙船に乗ったまま図らずも宇宙に旅立ってしまったのであった。ゾーイの手当でマイケルは一命をとりとめ回復する。しかしマイケルを救出した際に二酸化炭素除去装置が破損してしまい、そして4人になってしまった乗組員に対して、火星に到達するまでに“3人分”の酸素しか残されていないことが判明するのだった。

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リアルで美しい宇宙・技術描写

　本作は近未来を描いたSF映画で、まずなんと言っても宇宙船描写がとてもリアル感があって素晴らしいことが特徴といえます。ロケットで大気圏外に出て、地球の周回軌道上の宇宙ステーションとドッキングして宇宙船となり、さらに回転しながら船内の重力を生むという仕組みは、素人が見ても有り得そうだなと思えるギミックでしたし、ドッキングした宇宙ステーション内は僕らがこれまで実際に映像で見たことのある宇宙ステーションと類似しており、壁に過去に乗船したクルーたちのサインが書いてある描写などがあり、この宇宙ステーションがこれまでも活用されてきた設備なのだということを暗に示していてリアルでした。重力の影響や船外活動の様子など、他の細々した宇宙描写も含め、かなり現実に近いリアリティにこだわった演出がなされていると感じられました。

　僕は宇宙開発に詳しいわけではありませんが、このように現在の技術の延長で近い将来火星へ向かうとすればこんな感じになりそうだなという、実在感のある宇宙船造形・美術が印象的で、決して遥か遠い未来や別世界と言っていいようなデフォルメされまくったファンタジー性のあるSF描写ではないのです。映画『オデッセイ』や『ゼロ・グラビティ』といった映画に近い雰囲気です。

　ちなみにIMDbに記載されていたので知りましたが、この映画の火星への到達方法は、火星サイクラーという方法論で実際に存在する理論だそうです。

映画『ゼロ・グラビティ』予告編

映画『オデッセイ』予告編

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サスペンス演出が見事

　クルーの3人の様子も良かったです。船長は宇宙飛行士ですが、他の2人はそれぞれ医師と生物学者であり、入念なトレーニングを受けたとはいえ、経験は未熟で宇宙へ行くのは初めてです。序盤、ゾーイは大気圏外に出て地球が見えたときにニッコリして「信じられない」と叫んだり、デイビッドは宇宙出た直後に酔って嘔吐するなど、彼らの経験値を説明的セリフで示すわけではなく行動や態度でさり気なく伝えるような演出が丁寧でした。

　また冒頭は宇宙ステーションにドッキングするまで、ずっと乗組員が座っているコクピットの様子しか映し出されず、3人の様子、宇宙船の揺れや音、管制との無線でのやり取りのみで一部始終を演出しているので、我々観客には最小限の情報しか無いため非常に緊張感が高いです。ど��なるどうなる？という展開の後、大気圏外に出たときにゾーイのネックレスが首元から中に浮き、おもむろに窓から地球が見えることで、宇宙に出てきたんだということが分かり、こちらの緊張感もふっとほぐれる見事な一連の冒頭シーンでした。

　この映画、この後もそうなんですが、このように緊張感のあるサスペンス描写はすばらしく、ハラハラする展開はよくできていると感じました。

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大義や他者のために誰かを犠牲にできるのか？

　当初は順調に宇宙での活動が始まるのですが、予期せぬ乗員の出現と生命を維持するための酸素が枯渇するという重大な問題生じて、物語は急に別の方向に舵を切ることになります。希望に満ちた宇宙SF映画が、突如宇宙船内という限定空間でのシュチュエーション・サスペンスに切り替わります。

　不本意とはいえ、怪我をした上、全くトレーニングを受けていないド素人をひとり抱えることになり、更に4人乗員がいるのに酸素が3人分しかないという最悪の状況に陥ります。このままではいずれ全員死ぬ、1人増えさえしなければこんなことにならなかったのに・・・。そうなった時、一体どうすればよいのでしょうか。運命はそんな問いを4人に投げかけ、決断を迫ってくるのです。

　ここから先は映画を観てください。

　ネタバレを避けてあまり深くは言及しませんが、劇中では弱者は犠牲になっても良いのか、自分はこんなに我慢したのにまだ辛いことをさせるのか、何かを犠牲にしてでもミッションを進め続けることができるのか、という感情が錯綜します。つまり本作の最大のテーマは「資源が限られている状況で大義や他者のために誰かを犠牲にしても良いのか」ということです。

　本作は一見、宇宙船内で起こるサスペンスを描いたSF映画なのですが、私達の実社会で起こることのメタファーとも言える物語でもあります。上述したようなことは、世界レベルの国家間問題から地域社会レベルで抱える問題や、さらには職場・家族・友人同士という小さなコミュニティー内でも起こりうる問題であり、それを「地球から遠く離れた宇宙船内で窮地に追い込まれた異なるバックグラウンドを持つ4人」という設定に落とし込んでいるのです。

　そして製作時の意図は知りませんが、図らずも現在のコロナ禍における社会ともシンクロする部分が大いにあると感じました。経済や最優先に考えてCOVID-19感染拡大リスクを冒すのか、感染拡大防止のため制限を強めた場合に困窮する人達はやむなしとするのか、感染拡大が問題となる中でもオリンピックのためなら医療に人員を割いてよいのか、感染拡大抑止のためなら努力してきたアスリートの目標が消えても良いのか、僕にはそういった問題を暗示するかのように感じられました。

　自分は医師ですので、限られた資源という観点では、残り一台しかない人工呼吸器に対して呼吸不全になった患者が2人いるときどうするのか？、残り1床しかないのに2人の患者受入れ要請があったときどうするのか？という問題も想起されました（実際、現在の関西ではこういった問題が起きていると聞いています）。

　このような白黒付けられない、非常にセンシティブな問題を孕んだ映画なのです。それを踏まえると、ラストの着地はちょっと残念で、例え最適解ではないとしてももう一捻り欲しかったなあと感じてしまいます。あれでは広げたテーマに対して答えになっていない気すらしてしまうのです。正解を出すのは難しいとは思うんですけどね・・・。

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医療描写について

　医療描写に関して言及すると、アナ・ケンドリック演じるゾーイという医師が、怪我をしたマイケルを手当するシーンがあるのですが、ここは概ねリアルだったと思います。

　体表面の深い傷に対して、スプレー式の消毒と思われる処置をした後、麻酔をして、表皮を縫合するという一連の操作が短縮されて映し出されます。本当は外傷の場合、消毒よりも麻酔してから傷の内部をゴシゴシとしっかり洗浄することのほうが重要なのですが、宇宙船内の限られた環境ではこのような方法になるのだと思います。

　ゾーイが縫合する手付きはリアルで、手首の動き方などは本当に縫合している人に見えました。アナ・ケンドリックはこのためにしっかりトレーニングしたのかもしれませんね。

　あとは医療描写に限定したことではないのですが、ダニエル・デイ・キム演じる生物学者デイビッドが、やむを得ず取るある自己犠牲的な行動。自分も臨床医でありますが、ちょっとだけ研究にも携わっている立場なので、科学者である彼の気持ちを考えると、あれは本当に辛かったです。泣きそうになりました。

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最後に

　若干不満点を述べた部分はありましたが、概ね好意的で非常に満足度の高い映画でした。いろいろ賛否は分かれそうな内容ではありますが、本作を観た人のいろんな意見を聞いてみたいと思いましたし、何より映像は十分高いクオリティで面白いことは間違いないと思います。是非ご覧になってみてください。Netflixで配信中、ステイホームのお供に！

Use 4 Mars Cyclers Yearly Mars Transits 

Unleashing the Power of the Mars Cycler: SpaceX Starship to play a huge part?  I have commented about the Mars Cyclers, but Marcus House uses two different Cyclers, one to get to Mars in 5 months and one to get to Earth in 5 months. I have commented on the use of more than one Habitat Ship with gravity along the Mars Cycler so that humans survive the 16-month trip from Mars. The Torus in this…

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mass manned space flight two 100 0677

Some quick notes on SPACE in the Biopunk World:

Earnest settlement of space began with the development of reusable rockets by the US and China in the 2030s, and later single-stage-to-orbit rockets by Brazil and Argentina in the 2050s. With proper infrastructure, soon trips to the Moon and space mining became commonplace.

The peak of space exploration was in the 2090s, when radiotelescopes found evidence of alien civilizations and manned expeditions were sent to Jupiter. It culminated with the opening of the Santos-Dumont space elevator in Brazil in 2096.

This golden age was cut short by World War 3 and the Ecocide. The destruction of space infrastructure generated a Kessler Syndrome that is still being cleaned up by the new UN. Most space projects have been suspended or with skeleton crews.

The US-EU and Sino-Russian programs are still around, but kind of obsolete. The main space powers are the UNASUR joint programs, India and East Africa.

Brazil has the largest space fleet, not surprising, since they have the only space elevator. The orbital city of Hy Braseal hosts most of international space infrastructure, including the UN's cleanup program (think the guys from Planetes). Brazil mantains bases all over the Solar System, and in fact Brazilian "icebreakers" supply bases that were isolated from the Kessler Syndrome.

The second largest space organization in the UNASUR is Tawantinsuyu. Buillt on a modernizing effort in the 2080s-90s, they own two Aldrin Cyclers that make the Earth-Mars trip. Notably, they never stopped their space program even at the height of the Ecocide; most of the growing population of Mars is of Andean descent (they're very much "Mars to Stay").

The third largest in the UNASUR is Argentina. Out of national pride and reliability concerns, they keep their own shuttle and space fleet. They also have the third largest asteroid mining program, behind China and Brasil (about 15% of Argentina's GDP).

Before the Ecocide, the space population (permanent and temporary) was reaching the tens of thousands. Now this is much reduced. There are other concerns rather than space exploration... but that might change.

Some major space milestones: Disovery of first alien biosphere (USA, 2030s) First men on Mars (USA, 2030s), Permanent Moon base (China, 2040s), Commercial space mining (USA, 2040s), First child born in space (China, 2059), first child born on Mars (USA, 2061), discovery of alien dyson spheres (2084, international telescope led by India), first space elevator (Brazil, 2096), manned mission to Jupiter (UNASUR, 2098), interstellar probe to Alpha Centauri (international, led by India, UNASUR and East Africa), manned mission to Saturn (UNASUR, 2113), WWIII, Ecocide and Kessler Disaster (2114-2123), reopening of the space elevator (2129)

Somehow both starstruck and a little annoyed, and if that's not the Aldrin way I don't know what is

Buzz's Cycler

Getting to Mars is a long trip, and right now most of our plans to get there involve one way rockets. What if there was an easier way? Buzz Aldrin proposed a way that would allow us to ride to Mars in style, for a fraction of the cost of one way rocket.

Getting to Mars is a long trip, and right now most of our plans to get there involve one way rockets. What if there was an easier way? Buzz Aldrin proposed a better way that would allow us to ride to Mars in style, for a fraction of the cost of one way rockets. Lets check out Ben as he rides the first of these ‘cyclers’.

The Fun Part

November 23, 2073 6 million miles from Earth

This was…

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