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But no matter how great your Facebook friends’ photos were, a trip to Hotel Ranga could’ve made them better."}],"_type":"block"},{"_key":"0eff87e05845","markDefs":[],"children":[{"_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"The Aurora Wake-Up","_key":"399eb0e58f890"}],"_type":"block","style":"normal"},{"_key":"6efc9e447df0","markDefs":[],"children":[{"marks":[],"text":"Iceland boasts unparalleled views of the northern lights due to its position on the globe, which means it","_key":"47fd38527ad90","_type":"span"},{"_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":" tops the list of destinations","_key":"776621120c58"},{"_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" for many aurora-seeking tourists. 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Though unproven, scientists have speculated for well over half a century about this icy area surrounding the solar system that supposedly stretches out trillions of miles and produces countless comets.","_key":"9b69732ca59a0"}],"_type":"block","style":"normal"},{"style":"normal","_key":"d3025fae3d39","markDefs":[],"children":[{"_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Even though there’s ","_key":"6538e55e35410"},{"_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"no real threat","_key":"65cd3833afdc"},{"_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" associated with Tsuchinshan-ATLAS and C/2024 S1, astronomers warn that a comet released from the Oort Cloud or anywhere else in the cosmos could feasibly strike our planet.","_key":"e90982e6a85e"}],"_type":"block"},{"_key":"a8aa3941e60a","markDefs":[],"children":[{"_key":"72a03346a82d0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Such a scenario is particularly alarming to experts because the uncertain movement of these celestial bodies means we’d probably have very little 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Many of the samples came back weaker and showing signs of irregular rhythm as compared to corresponding samples that remained on Earth."}],"_type":"block","style":"normal","_key":"e570755f4aa1"},{"_type":"block","style":"normal","_key":"f762670f10ea","markDefs":[],"children":[{"_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"The undeniable result, according to the authors of the study, is that heart tissues “","_key":"6ff4c8f8fc0b0"},{"_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"really don’t fare well in space","_key":"967164d2dbb5"},{"_type":"span","marks":[],"text":",” which means there’s some serious work to do before extended space trips become commonplace.","_key":"61aa58e71185"}]},{"_key":"e3fd12a67db3","markDefs":[],"children":[{"_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"The result of serious preparation","_key":"7705ea868f570"}],"_type":"block","style":"normal"},{"_type":"block","style":"normal","_key":"ecfbd794ad8a","markDefs":[],"children":[{"_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Creating tissue samples that mimic the impact of space flight on human hearts was no simple feat. A team of experts at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine were able to engineer such tissues, giving scientists more information on the topic than ever before.","_key":"a7f4dac47a240"}]},{"_type":"block","style":"normal","_key":"2d1bac83e633","markDefs":[],"children":[{"_key":"43930596f6c00","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"“An incredible amount of"},{"_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":" cutting-edge technology","_key":"af46d0501915"},{"_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" in the areas of stem cell and tissue engineering, biosensors and bioelectronics, and microfabrication went into ensuring the viability of these tissues in space,” said professor Deok-Ho Kim.","_key":"9557b8c68eec"}]},{"markDefs":[],"children":[{"marks":[],"text":"Among the notable ways space travel appears to impact the human heart 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Since even light cannot escape their gravitational pull, it takes powerful tools, experienced astronomers, and more than a little luck to spot one.","_key":"75ab2c3727cc0","_type":"span","marks":[]}],"_type":"block"},{"style":"normal","_key":"b214afa2b198","markDefs":[{"_type":"link","href":"https://www.npr.org/2024/07/10/nx-s1-5033974/rare-black-hole-intermediate-size-hubble-star-cluster","_key":"82371ff939e6"}],"children":[{"_key":"dca725398b8c0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"And there’s a particular class of black hole that has proven particularly "},{"_key":"dca725398b8c1","_type":"span","marks":["82371ff939e6"],"text":"adept"},{"_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" at hiding.","_key":"dca725398b8c2"}],"_type":"block"},{"style":"normal","_key":"36035c9a18de","markDefs":[],"children":[{"marks":["strong"],"text":"What makes it unique","_key":"b1ba247e5aac0","_type":"span"}],"_type":"block"},{"_type":"block","style":"normal","_key":"0a0366de57c7","markDefs":[],"children":[{"_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"No medium-sized black hole had ever been definitively identified until the one described recently in the Nature journal. 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And near the top of the list, at least for the Biden administration and NASA, is "},{"marks":["81b6f3a61406"],"text":"establishing","_key":"ba9ea153c3171","_type":"span"},{"text":" a standard lunar time zone.","_key":"ba9ea153c3172","_type":"span","marks":[]}]},{"markDefs":[],"children":[{"_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"Why it’s important","_key":"2bd3eeacc13f0"}],"_type":"block","style":"normal","_key":"a88ee801858a"},{"children":[{"_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Our home planet is littered in time zones due to the Earth’s rotation on its axis, so we all have a pretty standard experience of morning, midday, and night. 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There’s still a lot of work to do, but","_key":"b8cdba9196250","_type":"span","marks":[]},{"_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":" we already know quite a bit","_key":"5d253ab58943"},{"text":" about it thanks to the work of Albert Einstein.","_key":"ba0e171cd74c","_type":"span","marks":[]}],"_type":"block","style":"normal","_key":"15b1d01fa979"},{"style":"normal","_key":"da70fd3e17bc","markDefs":[],"children":[{"marks":[],"text":"“Darn that Einstein guy,” said Planetary Society chief scientist Dr. Bruce Betts. “He came up with general relativity, and many strange things come out of it. 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","_rev":"ZbsQdKV9uvr7y4rUgHT6zD","publishDate":"2024-05-28","slug":"/story/2024/05/a-manned-mission-to-mars-science-fiction-or-future-fact","author":{"_ref":"phCNL32Gn","_type":"reference"},"category":"space","body":[{"_key":"f95b37983a5c","markDefs":[],"children":[{"_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Elon Musk and other leaders in the private space exploration industry have been prioritizing the concept of sending humans to Mars for many years … but the process hasn’t really moved beyond the speculative phase as of yet.","_key":"ca9bd38fb0da0"}],"_type":"block","style":"normal"},{"markDefs":[{"_type":"link","href":"https://www.businessinsider.com/why-havent-we-been-to-mars-yet-2024-5","_key":"22ad0ee1b37f"}],"children":[{"_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Therefore, the ","_key":"e60cde0e022e0"},{"_type":"span","marks":["22ad0ee1b37f"],"text":"question","_key":"e60cde0e022e1"},{"marks":[],"text":" remains: will people ever make it to the red planet or is it a fool’s errand to even try?","_key":"e60cde0e022e2","_type":"span"}],"_type":"block","style":"normal","_key":"ba6efc23be00"},{"_key":"67b93c73d404","markDefs":[],"children":[{"_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"Why NASA wants to go","_key":"e1d82e255e320"}],"_type":"block","style":"normal"},{"_key":"6569e4eda1bf","markDefs":[{"_key":"1c7ca0707c7a","_type":"link","href":"https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/humans-to-mars/"}],"children":[{"_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"It’s not just companies like SpaceX that are interested in establishing a human presence on Mars. NASA has been developing an ","_key":"be9ad8946e660"},{"_type":"span","marks":["1c7ca0707c7a"],"text":"ambitious","_key":"be9ad8946e661"},{"_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" project to do exactly that by","_key":"be9ad8946e662"},{"_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":" sometime in the 2030s","_key":"d18545c62fe1"},{"_type":"span","marks":[],"text":".","_key":"e407275bce21"}],"_type":"block","style":"normal"},{"markDefs":[],"children":[{"marks":[],"text":"A few factors fueling this mission involve the fact that Mars is perhaps the most likely place in the solar system aside from Earth that might have ever had life. And there could be valuable resources on our neighboring planet. 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Coronae Borealis that is always shining deep in the cosmos, but it’s typically not visible with the naked eye. But","_key":"47fa45e0f53c0"},{"_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":" about every eight decades","_key":"686e2bb8d69e"},{"_type":"span","marks":[],"text":", a major explosion takes place, allowing folks on Earth to witness exactly why the system is commonly known as the “Blaze Star.”","_key":"2c5dbe714530"}],"_type":"block","style":"normal"},{"_key":"8ada633dbd35","markDefs":[],"children":[{"_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"As Lowell Observatory science director Gerard Van Belle explained, one of the two stars has entered its “white dwarf” phase, which typically represents","_key":"91e420b13ac90"},{"_key":"bf1ca4ca5f6a","_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":" a less volatile “retirement” period"},{"_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" for giant stars. 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