DESAIN HOTEL LUAR ANGKASA RUSIA tahun 2016

Tiring of the annual two-week break in a Med hot spot? Fed up with overcrowded resorts with no room to move?

Then how about a real get-away-from-it-all holiday with plenty of space � in space?

Russia yesterday announced plans for a hotel in orbit 217 miles up which would house seven guests in four cabins and have huge windows for views of the Earth turning below.

Futuristic: Orbital Technologies has revealed plans for a space hotel, which could be open by 2016

Just getting there will be an adventure in itself � it will take two days aboard a Soyuz rocket � and it won�t exactly be a budget holiday: A five-day stay will cost you �100,000, on top of �500,000 for your journey.

The hotel, or the Commercial Space Station to give it its proper name, is due to open by 2016 and, according to those behind it, will be �far more comfortable� than the International Space Station used by astronauts and cosmonauts.

More...

• Galactic grammar: Collision between two nebulas produces cosmic exclamation mark
• News flash from space... there's a meteor BELOW! Nasa astronaut's amazing Twitter picture of Perseid shower
• After 438 days in a 12ft-wide capsule, 'Mars' astronauts break record for longest space mission... and they haven't even left Earth
• The stellar images of Atlantis racing past the sun taken by an amateur photographer in his back garden

In the weightlessness of space, visitors can choose to have beds that are either vertical or horizontal, while showers will be sealed affairs to stop water going where it shouldn�t (those aboard the International Space Station must make do with sponge baths until they return home).

Tourists, who will be accompanied by experienced crew, will dine on food prepared on Earth and sent up on the rocket, to be reheated in microwave ovens.

The plan is to do away with the freeze-dried tubes of nourishment given to astronauts and replace them with delicacies such as braised veal cheeks with wild mushrooms, white bean puree, potato soup and plum compote.

Space tourism: The hotel room pods will be fitted with binoculars and cameras so guests can enjoy the spectacular intergalactic views

Space age: The rooms will also act as an emergency bothole for astronauts at the manned space station

Iced tea, mineral water and fruit juices will be available, but alcohol will be strictly prohibited. Toilets will use flowing air instead of water to move waste through the system.

Waste water will be recycled, while the air will be filtered to remove odour and bacteria and then returned to the cabin.

Sergei Kostenko, chief executive of Orbital Technologies which will construct the hotel, said: �Our planned module inside will not remind you of the International Space Station. A hotel should be comfortable inside, and it will be possible to look at the Earth through large portholes.

�The hotel will be aimed at wealthy individuals and people working for private companies who want to do research in space.�

Tourists might also find themselves playing host to unexpected guests � there is a plan for the hotel to be used as an emergency bolthole for astronauts aboard the International Space Station if there is a crisis, rather than bringing them all the way back to Earth.

Drop-off point: Guests will be sent in to the Commercial Space Station via Russian Soyuz rockets

Exclusive: The hotel will be aimed at wealthy individuals and people working for private companies who want to do research in space

Opening time: Orbital Technologies said it hoped the hotel will be up and running in just five years time

Price: The amount spent on the project has not been revealed, but a five-day stay will cost around �100,000

DESAIN HOTEL LUAR ANGKASA RUSIA tahun 2016

Tiring of the annual two-week break in a Med hot spot? Fed up with overcrowded resorts with no room to move?

Then how about a real get-away-from-it-all holiday with plenty of space � in space?

Russia yesterday announced plans for a hotel in orbit 217 miles up which would house seven guests in four cabins and have huge windows for views of the Earth turning below.

Futuristic: Orbital Technologies has revealed plans for a space hotel, which could be open by 2016

Just getting there will be an adventure in itself � it will take two days aboard a Soyuz rocket � and it won�t exactly be a budget holiday: A five-day stay will cost you �100,000, on top of �500,000 for your journey.

The hotel, or the Commercial Space Station to give it its proper name, is due to open by 2016 and, according to those behind it, will be �far more comfortable� than the International Space Station used by astronauts and cosmonauts.

More...

• Galactic grammar: Collision between two nebulas produces cosmic exclamation mark
• News flash from space... there's a meteor BELOW! Nasa astronaut's amazing Twitter picture of Perseid shower
• After 438 days in a 12ft-wide capsule, 'Mars' astronauts break record for longest space mission... and they haven't even left Earth
• The stellar images of Atlantis racing past the sun taken by an amateur photographer in his back garden

In the weightlessness of space, visitors can choose to have beds that are either vertical or horizontal, while showers will be sealed affairs to stop water going where it shouldn�t (those aboard the International Space Station must make do with sponge baths until they return home).

Tourists, who will be accompanied by experienced crew, will dine on food prepared on Earth and sent up on the rocket, to be reheated in microwave ovens.

The plan is to do away with the freeze-dried tubes of nourishment given to astronauts and replace them with delicacies such as braised veal cheeks with wild mushrooms, white bean puree, potato soup and plum compote.

Space tourism: The hotel room pods will be fitted with binoculars and cameras so guests can enjoy the spectacular intergalactic views

Space age: The rooms will also act as an emergency bothole for astronauts at the manned space station

Iced tea, mineral water and fruit juices will be available, but alcohol will be strictly prohibited. Toilets will use flowing air instead of water to move waste through the system.

Waste water will be recycled, while the air will be filtered to remove odour and bacteria and then returned to the cabin.

Sergei Kostenko, chief executive of Orbital Technologies which will construct the hotel, said: �Our planned module inside will not remind you of the International Space Station. A hotel should be comfortable inside, and it will be possible to look at the Earth through large portholes.

�The hotel will be aimed at wealthy individuals and people working for private companies who want to do research in space.�

Tourists might also find themselves playing host to unexpected guests � there is a plan for the hotel to be used as an emergency bolthole for astronauts aboard the International Space Station if there is a crisis, rather than bringing them all the way back to Earth.

Drop-off point: Guests will be sent in to the Commercial Space Station via Russian Soyuz rockets

Exclusive: The hotel will be aimed at wealthy individuals and people working for private companies who want to do research in space

Opening time: Orbital Technologies said it hoped the hotel will be up and running in just five years time

Price: The amount spent on the project has not been revealed, but a five-day stay will cost around �100,000

Foto-foto Menakjubkan Permukaan Bumi

Sejumlah foto yang dirilis oleh NASA terkait Hari Bumi 22 April lalu memperlihatkan sisi lain keindahan planet bumi ketika dilihat dari luar angkasa. Sebagian besar foto-foto ini diambil dengan teknologi Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) yang dipasang di satelit Terra milik NASA.

Foto-foto Menakjubkan Permukaan Bumi

Sejumlah foto yang dirilis oleh NASA terkait Hari Bumi 22 April lalu memperlihatkan sisi lain keindahan planet bumi ketika dilihat dari luar angkasa. Sebagian besar foto-foto ini diambil dengan teknologi Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) yang dipasang di satelit Terra milik NASA.

NASA Temukan 'Manusia Salju' di Asteroid

Gambar dari dekat asteroid masif Vesta yang diambil satelit Dawn baru-baru ini mengungkap banyak hal. Termasuk, trio yang dijuluki �manusia salju�.

Selain itu, gambar tersebut mengungkap belahan utara asteroid itu banyak terdapat kawah dan belahan selatan memiliki permukaan lebih halus.

Saat menemukan �manusia salju� tersebut, para ilmuwan mengaku belum pernah melihatnya seperti dikutip Dailymail.

Kepala ilmuwan Christopher Russell dari University of California, Los Angeles, mengatakan, �Kami mendapat beragam variasi permukaan."

Dawn sendiri telah mengorbit badan batu itu bulan lalu dan kini mulai mengirim gambar-gambar menakjubkan itu.

Gambar ini juga menjadi bukti pertama Vesta dilihat dari dekat. Sejauh ini, asteroid itu hanya diambil gambarnya dari jauh. Sejak memasuki orbit asteroid, Dawn telah mengirim lebih dari 500 gambar sementara berupaya terus mendapat posisi lebih dekat lagi.

Pekan depan, satelit ini akan mencapai posisi 2.736 km dari permukaan asteroid dan akan mencapai jarak 117 km setahun kemudian. Proyek US$466 juta (Rp3,8 triliun) ini telah lama berjalan sejak sebelum Amerika Serikat (AS) memutuskan mengirim astronot ke asteroid pada 2025.

Setelah setahun, Dawn akan berpindah ke Ceres dan sampai di sana pada 2015. Berikut videonya. [mor]

NASA Temukan 'Manusia Salju' di Asteroid

Gambar dari dekat asteroid masif Vesta yang diambil satelit Dawn baru-baru ini mengungkap banyak hal. Termasuk, trio yang dijuluki �manusia salju�.

Selain itu, gambar tersebut mengungkap belahan utara asteroid itu banyak terdapat kawah dan belahan selatan memiliki permukaan lebih halus.

Saat menemukan �manusia salju� tersebut, para ilmuwan mengaku belum pernah melihatnya seperti dikutip Dailymail.

Kepala ilmuwan Christopher Russell dari University of California, Los Angeles, mengatakan, �Kami mendapat beragam variasi permukaan."

Dawn sendiri telah mengorbit badan batu itu bulan lalu dan kini mulai mengirim gambar-gambar menakjubkan itu.

Gambar ini juga menjadi bukti pertama Vesta dilihat dari dekat. Sejauh ini, asteroid itu hanya diambil gambarnya dari jauh. Sejak memasuki orbit asteroid, Dawn telah mengirim lebih dari 500 gambar sementara berupaya terus mendapat posisi lebih dekat lagi.

Pekan depan, satelit ini akan mencapai posisi 2.736 km dari permukaan asteroid dan akan mencapai jarak 117 km setahun kemudian. Proyek US$466 juta (Rp3,8 triliun) ini telah lama berjalan sejak sebelum Amerika Serikat (AS) memutuskan mengirim astronot ke asteroid pada 2025.

Setelah setahun, Dawn akan berpindah ke Ceres dan sampai di sana pada 2015. Berikut videonya. [mor]

Temuan Baru Mengejutkan Ilmuwan di Mars

Satelit NASA yang mengorbit Mars berhasil mengambil gambar sangat mengejutkan. Temuan ini mementahkan anggapan planet merah itu sangat kering.

Satelit badan luar angkasa Amerika Serikat (AS) itu berhasil mengambil gambar apa yang diduga kuat sebagai aliran air selama bulan-bulan terhangatnya. Dalam observasi yang direkam Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, fitur gelap seperti jari itu muncul.

Selain itu menurut laporan NASA, fitur itu terus menuruni beberapa lereng Mars selama musim gugur hingga panas kemudian memudar di musim dingin dan kembali lagi pada musim semi.

Perubahan musiman ini terlihat dalam beberapa lereng curam di pertengahan lintang belahan selatan Mars.

�Penjelasan terbaik observasi ini adalah, fitur tersebut merupakan aliran air,� ujar ilmuwan Alfred McEwen dari University of Arizona seperti ditulis HuffPost.

McEwen merupakan kepala penyelidikan untuk orbiter High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment. Temuan ini membawa ilmuwan berada pada titik terdekat menemukan keberadaan air di permukaan Mars. [mor]

Temuan Baru Mengejutkan Ilmuwan di Mars

Satelit NASA yang mengorbit Mars berhasil mengambil gambar sangat mengejutkan. Temuan ini mementahkan anggapan planet merah itu sangat kering.

Satelit badan luar angkasa Amerika Serikat (AS) itu berhasil mengambil gambar apa yang diduga kuat sebagai aliran air selama bulan-bulan terhangatnya. Dalam observasi yang direkam Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, fitur gelap seperti jari itu muncul.

Selain itu menurut laporan NASA, fitur itu terus menuruni beberapa lereng Mars selama musim gugur hingga panas kemudian memudar di musim dingin dan kembali lagi pada musim semi.

Perubahan musiman ini terlihat dalam beberapa lereng curam di pertengahan lintang belahan selatan Mars.

�Penjelasan terbaik observasi ini adalah, fitur tersebut merupakan aliran air,� ujar ilmuwan Alfred McEwen dari University of Arizona seperti ditulis HuffPost.

McEwen merupakan kepala penyelidikan untuk orbiter High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment. Temuan ini membawa ilmuwan berada pada titik terdekat menemukan keberadaan air di permukaan Mars. [mor]