Space

The question of the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence has worried humanity for centuries. We dream not only of finding traces of life beyond Earth, but also of establishing contact with intelligent civilizations. Today, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence is not just a scientific fantasy, but a real, high-tech discipline. But are we searching correctly? What methods do scientists use, what signals are they looking for, and how likely is it to succeed? Let’s figure it out.

What is SETI?
SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) is a complex of scientific projects and programs aimed at searching for radio signals and other signs of intelligent life beyond Earth. It all began in the mid-20th century with the advent of radio telescopes.

The main idea: if intelligent civilizations exist in the Universe, they probably use radio waves to communicate and transmit information. These signals can be accidentally or deliberately directed towards Earth.

What signals are they looking for?
Radio signals
Most often, narrowband radio signals are searched for — a narrow range of frequencies that rarely occur in nature and are easily detected as artificial.

Optical signals
Another approach is to search for laser pulses in the visible or infrared spectrum. Such signals can be used for interstellar communication.

Unusual anomalies
Unexplained astronomical phenomena are also studied: pulsars, fast radio bursts (FRB), strange stellar luminosities. Perhaps some of them are the result of the activity of intelligent beings.

What technologies are used?
Radio telescopes — the largest antennas in the world, for example, Arecibo (until 2020), Green Bank and Parkes observatories.

Artificial intelligence-based projects for analyzing huge amounts of data.

Space telescopes — for example, to search for laser signals.

Radio interferometry — combining several antennas to increase the resolution.

What has been found so far?
There have been several fascinating events in the history of SETI that have never been fully explained:

The “Wow!” signal (1977) is one of the most famous narrow-band signals, received by a radio telescope in Ohio. But its source has never been confirmed.

FRB (Fast Radio Bursts) are fast radio bursts, the nature of which is still unknown, some scientists admit artificial origin.

Many other temporary signals, which are often explained by natural phenomena or interference.

However, until now, no signal has been unambiguously recognized as a sign of extraterrestrial intelligence.

Problems and limitations of the search
1. Volume of the Universe and time
The Universe has a huge space and a huge time scale. Signals that could have been sent thousands or millions of years ago may simply not reach us now.

2. Frequency range
We do not know at what frequencies extraterrestrial intelligence is searching, if it sends signals at all. Perhaps our radio telescopes are simply “listening in the wrong place.”

3. Signal meaning and form
Intelligent signals may be coded differently than we expect. They may use completely unfamiliar methods of transmitting information.

4. Background noise and interference
Terrestrial radio signals, cosmic radiation, and natural phenomena create a “background” that complicates the recognition of the signals we are looking for.

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For a long time, space was only available to professional astronauts. But science fiction is slowly becoming reality — and today the word “tourist” increasingly appears in the same sentence with “orbit” and “weightlessness”. Every year, space tourism is getting closer to the mass market, although for now it remains a pleasure for the very rich. Who has already flown into space for the experience? How much does it cost? And when will it be possible to buy a ticket without selling your apartment?

When did it all start?
The first space tourist did not appear yesterday. In 2001, American businessman Dennis Tito became the first person to buy a seat on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft. He paid about $20 million for a week on the ISS.

He was followed by six more tourists — all through a Russian program supported by the Space Adventures company. However, since the 2010s, flights have ceased — priority has been given to professional astronauts. Everything changed with the advent of private space companies.

Who offers space tourism today?

1. Blue Origin (New Shepard project)
The company, founded by Jeff Bezos, was the first to launch an entirely civilian crew into orbit. In July 2021, Bezos himself, his brother, 82-year-old pilot Wally Funk and an 18-year-old student made a suborbital flight.

Flight:
Duration: ~10–11 minutes

Altitude: about 100 km (Karmana)

Price: ~200–400 thousand dollars (not officially confirmed)

Conditions: short weightlessness, views of the Earth from the windows

Since then, the company has regularly conducted suborbital flights.

2. Virgin Galactic
Richard Branson and his VSS Unity spaceplane fly passengers to the edge of the atmosphere. The first tourist flight took place in 2021.

Flight:
Altitude: ~80–90 km

Duration: about 90 minutes (including ~5 minutes of weightlessness)

Price: $450,000

Launch: horizontal launch from a carrier aircraft

Virgin Galactic is betting on mass tourism. The queue for flights is scheduled for years in advance, but this is no longer the transcendental space, but a real market.

3. SpaceX
Elon Musk’s company is betting not on suborbit, but on real orbital missions. In 2021, it sent an entirely tourist mission, Inspiration4, into orbit, where the crew consisted of four non-professionals.

Flight:
Altitude: 575 km (higher than the ISS)

Duration: 3 days

Price: estimated to be around $50-100 million per mission

SpaceX partners with companies that sell flights to wealthy clients, such as Axiom Space. In 2022, three tourists and one professional astronaut spent more than 10 days on the ISS.

Who has already flown?
In addition to Tito and Bezos, the list of “private” astronauts includes:

Yusaku Maezawa – Japanese billionaire, spent 12 days on the ISS 

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Black holes are some of the most mysterious and frightening objects in the Universe. They do not emit light, violate the usual laws of physics, and still remain largely incomprehensible even to scientists. But it is thanks to these anomalies that we are getting closer to solving the mystery of the universe. What do we know about black holes today, and why do they cause both admiration and fear?

What is a black hole?
A black hole is a region of space with such a powerful gravitational pull that nothing, not even light, can escape it. Theoretically, if you cross its boundary – the event horizon – there is no turning back. Everything that gets inside will disappear forever (or almost?).

Black holes are formed when a large-mass star collapses under its own gravity after the end of its “life cycle”. The core contracts, and the outer layers can be thrown into space. As a result, an object with almost infinite density is formed – a singularity – surrounded by an event horizon.

What types of black holes are there?
Modern science distinguishes several types:

1. Supermassive
Mass: from millions to billions of solar masses.

Located in the centers of galaxies, including the Milky Way.

Example: Sagittarius A* in the center of our galaxy.

2. Stellar
Formed from collapsed stars.

Mass: from 3 to 20 solar masses.

3. Intermediate
Less studied, can have a mass of hundreds of solar masses.

4. Microscopic (hypothetical)
Possible under certain quantum conditions or at the moment of the birth of the Universe.

Not yet discovered.

How are they found if they are “black”?
Surprisingly, we never see black holes themselves. We notice their influence on the surrounding space:

Bending of light from nearby objects.

Behavior of stars that move around the “invisible center”.

X-rays from matter falling in (accretion disks).

Gravitational waves – as in the case of the collision of two black holes, registered by LIGO in 2015.

And, of course, the main discovery: in 2019, humanity saw for the first time the “shadow” of a black hole in the galaxy Messier 87. The photo taken by the Event Horizon Telescope project became a scientific sensation.

What are we afraid of?

1. Absorption of everything around
The fear that black holes can “suck in” everything is exaggerated. To be dangerous, a black hole must be very close. We are at a safe distance even from the nearest known one.

2. Distortion of space and time
According to Einstein’s theory of relativity, time slows down near a black hole. This is not science fiction – it is reality. But we do not yet know what happens to matter inside the event horizon. Perhaps all known laws of physics collapse there.

3. Rupture of matter – spaghettification
Objects falling into a black hole experience a huge difference in gravity between their heads and feet – they are literally “stretched into a thread”. This process is called spaghettification.

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Mars has long excited the imagination of mankind. The red planet, eternally hanging in the evening sky, has become a symbol of hopes, fears and scientific ambitions. Ever since the surface of Mars was first seen through Galileo’s telescope, the question “is there life there?” has haunted scientists, writers and dreamers. Today, this question sounds different: can humans live on Mars – and when will it become a reality?

Why Mars?
Mars is not the closest planet to us (that title belongs to Venus), but it is considered the most suitable for colonization for several reasons:

A day on Mars lasts almost as long as on Earth (24.6 hours).

There are reserves of water in the form of ice.

Mars has seasons and an atmosphere (albeit thin).

Temperatures are lower than on Earth, but not critical – from -140°C to +20°C in the equatorial zones.

In addition, the planet’s topography resembles Earth: valleys, volcanoes, canyons, glaciers, and even possible traces of ancient rivers.

Were there signs of life on Mars?
To the question of the existence of extraterrestrial life on Mars, science so far gives a cautious but intriguing answer: perhaps it once was.

What was found:
Canals and riverbeds: orbital images indicate that water flowed on Mars billions of years ago.

Methane in the atmosphere: on Earth, its sources are mainly biological. It also appears on Mars, but its origin is still unclear.

Organic compounds: the Curiosity rover discovered traces of organic matter on the surface.

However, no direct evidence of the existence of living organisms (past or present) has yet been obtained.

Life-seeking missions
For decades, humanity has sent probes, satellites, and rovers to Mars. Each mission brings us closer to solving the mystery.

NASA Curiosity (since 2012):
Studying the geology and chemical composition of the surface. Found organic matter and traces of water.

Perseverance (2021–present):
A next-generation Mars rover. The mission is to search for signs of microbial life and collect samples for future delivery to Earth. Equipped with a drone (Ingenuity) and advanced scientific instruments.

ExoMars (jointly with ESA and Roscosmos):
Plans to launch the Rosalind Franklin rover to drill the soil to a depth of 2 meters — where it is possible to protect organic matter from radiation.

Can we live on Mars?
Technically, it is possible. Practically, it is extremely difficult.
Here is what we will have to face:

1. Atmosphere
The Martian atmosphere is 95% CO₂. Oxygen — less than 0.2%. Without a spacesuit, a person dies instantly.

2. Radiation
Mars has no magnetic field or dense atmosphere. The surface has a high level of cosmic radiation. Long-term stays will require underground shelters or thick shields.

3. Gravity
Martian gravity is only 38% of Earth’s. It is not yet known how long-term stays in such conditions will affect human health.

4. Temperature
The average temperature on Mars is -63°C. Without thermal insulation, you cannot survive.

5. Food, water, oxygen
All of this must either be brought from Earth or learned to be produced on site. Experiments like Mars Habitat and developments in growing plants in Martian soil help with this.

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When Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon in 1969, humanity took a giant step in space exploration. But, contrary to expectations, we have not built lunar cities or research stations. For more than half a century, the Moon has remained a symbol of past victories, but now interest in it is reviving again. NASA’s Artemis initiative promises to return people to the Moon – this time not for a short excursion, but with the ambitious goal of creating the first-ever lunar base. Why is this necessary? Let’s figure it out.

Why the Moon again?
At first glance, returning to the Moon may seem like a step backwards: after all, we’ve already been there. However, the Artemis mission has completely different goals than the famous Apollo. If in the 1960s the main goal was to demonstrate technological superiority, now we are talking about creating a sustainable human presence beyond Earth.

The Moon is the perfect “test bed” for technologies needed for future missions to Mars and deep space. It is the closest celestial body to us, where everything from life support to resource extraction can be tested.

What is the Artemis program?
Artemis is a multi-year NASA program with the goal of landing a human on the Moon in 2025–2026 and creating a permanent lunar infrastructure.

The key milestones of the program are:

Artemis I (2022) — an unmanned flight of the Orion spacecraft around the Moon.

Artemis II (expected in 2025) — a manned flyby of the Moon.

Artemis III and beyond — landing on the surface and building a base.

NASA is not acting alone. The program involves the European Space Agency (ESA), Canada, Japan, and private companies, including SpaceX, which is building the lander.

Why build a base on the Moon?
1. Preparing for Mars Flights
To go to Mars, humanity needs years of training in conditions as close to reality as possible. The Moon is an ideal testing ground:

weak gravity (1/6 of Earth’s);

harsh climate conditions;

limited resources;

high radiation.

Creating a base will allow us to test life support systems, radiation protection methods, energy generation technologies, and resource processing. All this knowledge is critical for future expeditions to Mars.

2. Resource extraction
One of the most promising resources on the Moon is water ice found in polar craters. Ice can be used to obtain drinking water, oxygen, and even hydrogen for fuel. The possibility of local resource extraction (In-Situ Resource Utilization, ISRU) is a key step towards autonomy from Earth.

3. Astronomy and Science
The Moon can also be used as a unique platform for science. On its “dark side” there is no radio interference from the Earth, which makes it an ideal place to install radio telescopes capable of peering into the depths of the Universe.

The lunar surface also contains ancient geological layers, which scientists can use to study the history of the Solar System and even Earth processes.

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