Universe Likely Has Many Extinct Civilizations: Study

A new paper in Astrobiology suggests there could be a way to simplify the equation, based on the observations of exoplanets that we have made since the first one was discovered in the 1990s. While the result is depressing — life was plentiful, but is likely extinct — it does have applications to help us extend our own civilization, the researchers said. The research was led by Adam Frank, a physics and astronomer professor at the University of Rochester.

“Our results imply that our evolution has not been unique and has probably happened many times before,” Frank said. “The other cases are likely to include many energy-intensive civilizations dealing with their feedback onto their planets as their civilizations grow. That means we can begin exploring the problem using simulations to get a sense of what leads to long lived civilizations and what doesn’t.” (discovery)

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How Many Intelligent Aliens are Out There?

Jeff Bezos pulls back the curtain on his plans for space

Long before he ever conceived the idea to sell books on the Internet, he was obsessed with space. It started at age 5, when he watched the Apollo 11 moon landing, and continued on through his Trekkie adolescence to high school, when Jeffrey P. Bezos gave his valedictory speech about space travel and reportedly told friends that the “future of mankind is not on this planet.”





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Elon Musk unveils spacecraft to ferry astronauts

fresnobee:

A company that has flown unmanned capsules to the Space Station unveiled a spacecraft designed to ferry up to seven astronauts to low-Earth orbit that SpaceX founder Elon Musk says will lower the cost of going to space.

The futuristic, cone-headed craft dubbed Dragon V2 featured landing legs that pop out and a propulsion system designed to land almost anywhere "with the accuracy of a helicopter," Musk said Thursday at the Southern California rocket builder's headquarters near Los Angeles International Airport.

The technology would enable rapid reloading and reusability of the spacecraft, he said. He noted that in the past, many rockets and space craft return to Earth in a fireball, rendering them unusable.