SpaceX plans to reach Mars by 2018

Elon Musk’s SpaceX isn’t dilly-dallying on its space exploration plans. Its founder has previously said he wanted to bring humans to Mars in 10 years. And it seems the first step is being taken. Musk announced on Twitter that he plans to send Dragon, the vehicle designed to fly people and cargo to Mars, by 2018. “Planning to send Dragon to Mars as soon as 2018. Red Dragons will inform overall Mars architecture, details to come,” the tweet said.

There isn’t much information on it yet but another tweet from Musk says, “Dragon 2 is designed to be able to land anywhere in the solar system. Red Dragon Mars mission is the first test flight.” However, no plans of sending a human to Mars just yet. “But wouldn’t recommend transporting astronauts beyond Earth-moon region. Wouldn’t be fun for longer journeys. Internal volume ~size of SUV.” According to SpaceX, the Dragon’s first manned test flight is about two or three years away.

Source: CNET

NASA set to announce ‘major science finding’ on Sept. 28th

Big news seems to be heading our way from NASA. The space agency will be holding a press conference on Monday, September 28^th. It’s said they be detailing a “major science finding” and that a big Mars-related mystery has been solved. The press con will be happening at 11:30 a.m. EDT. The people leading the event include: Jim Green, director of planetary science at NASA Headquarters; Michael Meyer, lead scientist for the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters; Lujendra Ojha of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta; Mary Beth Wilhelm of NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California and the Georgia Institute of Technology; and Alfred McEwen, principal investigator for the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Source: io9

Net Change Week in Toronto - June 7 to 11, 2010 / It's ON!

Net Change 2010: You're invited! from SiG @ MaRS on Vimeo.

June 7 to 11, 2010 will be dedicated to exploring the intersection between social technology and social change launched in its first year last June of 2009. The MaRS Discovery Centre in downtown Toronto, hosted fourteen events, each with a unique focus and target audience. Over 2,000 people attended the week, which was built in partnership with over 35 collaborators. More info after the break.

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