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New Delhi, India's top oil firm IOC on Monday unveiled the nation's first <keyword id="18906554" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="green-hydrogen-powered-bus" source="Orion">green hydrogen-powered bus</keyword> that emits just water as it takes the lead in bringing out unrivaled tools to replace fossil fuels. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) will produce close to 75 kg of hydrogen by splitting water using electricity from renewable sources. This hydrogen will be used to power two buses which will ply across the national capital region for trial runs. <br /><br /> Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, flagging off the buses, said hydrogen will be India's transition fuel for moving away from fossil fuels. <br /><br /> IOC's R&amp;D Centre at Faridabad is producing green hydrogen for the pilot run. Four cylinders with a capacity of 30 kg can run the buses for 350 km. <br /><br /> It takes 10-12 minutes for the four tanks to fill. <br /><br /> Hydrogen when burnt emits only water vapour as a by-product. With three times the energy density and the absence of harmful emissions, hydrogen shines as a cleaner, more efficient choice to meet the energy requirement. <br /><br /> As much as 50 units of renewable electricity and 9 kg of deionized water are needed for the production of one kilo of green hydrogen. <br /><br /> Hydrogen can be used as a fuel for fuel cells. <br /><br /> Puri said by the end of 2023, IOC will scale up the number of buses to 15. <br /><br /> IOC will undertake operational trials of 15 fuel cell buses powered by green hydrogen on the identified routes in Delhi, Haryana, and UP. Under this programme, the first set of 2 fuel cell buses was launched on Monday. <br /><br /> "Our government has ambitious plans on clean and green energy. India has taken many steps towards low carbon development- through emerging fuels like hydrogen and bio-fuels and shall account for 25 per cent of global incremental energy demand growth over the next two decades," Puri said. <br /><br /> Upon the launch of the two buses, a cumulative mileage of more than 3 lakh kilometers will be covered for long-term assessment of performance and durability of the new technology. <br /><br /> India has one of the largest synchronous grids in the world, capable of handling intermittent renewable energy and it has achieved 'One Nation-One Grid-One Frequency'. <br /><br /> "With the low cost solar, synchronous grid, large demand and engineering, India will be a global champion in production and exports of hydrogen and is set to emerge as the hub for green hydrogen," he said. <br /><br /> Puri said recently the world's first BS 6 (Stage II) Electrified Flex Fuel vehicle prototype was launched that encompasses both the flex fuel engine as well as an electric powertrain that offers higher use of ethanol combined with better fuel efficiencies. <br /><br /> Hydrogen is deemed as the fuel for the future with immense potential to help India meet its decarbonization targets. The global demand for hydrogen is expected to increase by four to seven times to 500-800 tonne by 2050. <br /><br /> Domestic demand is expected to increase by four times, from the current 6 tonne at present to 25-28 tonne by 2050. <br /><br /> Oil and gas PSUs shall produce around 1 million tonne per annum of green hydrogen by 2030. <br /><br /> "This green <keyword id="14355451" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="hydrogen-powered-bus" source="Orion">hydrogen-powered bus</keyword> is going to transform the face of city transport in the country. I shall be closely monitoring the project and wish you all the very best for successfully executing this project of national importance," he added. <br /><br /> "The success of this project can catapult India from being a net importer of fossil energy to becoming a net exporter of clean hydrogen energy; and provide global leadership to other countries in terms of technology transfer while becoming a large green hydrogen producer and supplier of manufacturing parts."

IndianOil unveils India's first green hydrogen-run bus that emits just water

Terming the state budget as "revolutionary," Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath <keyword id="20040955" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shinde" source="keywords">Shinde</keyword> said that this budget in a true sense empowers women, youth, and farmers through various schemes worth Rs 1 lakh crore.<br /><br />He said that this budget is revolutionary and would make the future of weaker sections, farmers, and youth bright.<br /><br />Stating that the budget was a resolve to give a new direction to Maharashtra, <keyword id="20062947" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="CM-Shinde" source="keywords">CM Shinde</keyword> said that this budget has an "unending chant of the <keyword id="22227448" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="development-of-Maharashtra" source="keywords">development of Maharashtra</keyword>".<br /><br />Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister <keyword id="19941791" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ajit-Pawar" source="keywords">Ajit Pawar</keyword> on Saturday presented the additional budget for the year 2024-25 in the state assembly.<br /><br />The Finance Minister had presented the interim budget in February.<br /><br />Stating that the budget has important provisions to help women and unemployed youth to stand on their own feet, the Chief Minister said that "Chief Minister Majhi Laadki Baheen scheme, free vocational education to girl students, Chief Minister Annapoorna scheme which gives 3 cylinders per year to eligible families, project worth Rs 15 thousand crores for providing free electricity to farmers during day time, Chief Minister Baliraja electricity concession scheme which provides free power to farmers using agricultural pumps, training to 50 thousand youth every year to convey government schemes to masses and resolve to remove poverty of the weaker sections of the society have made this budget special."<br /><br />He said that provisions like free education to girl students for engineering, pharmacy, and medical education along with degree and diploma courses along with Rs. 1500 per month to every woman prove that the government has expressed its responsibility towards women of the state.<br /><br />Stating that the budget proves that it stands behind the farmers, Chief Minister Shinde said that the issue of food-grain storage would be resolved through schemes like Godown per village.<br /><br />He said that the lives of farmers would be transformed through various provisions in the budget which include financial assistance to cotton and soybean growers, special campaigns to complete irrigation projects, and solar pumps on demand.<br /><br />Pointing out that the decision to celebrate the coronation of <keyword id="19966480" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chhatrapati-Shivaji-Maharaj" source="keywords">Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj</keyword> through a ceremony every year at Fort Raigad is important, the Chief Minister said that other decisions include recommending the annual Pandharpur pilgrimage for the UNESCO World Heritage along with the rock sculptures in Konkan, Dahi Handi celebration are efforts towards the preservation of history and culture of the state.<br /><br />He said that the budget provides Rs 20,000 to every Dindi (the troops participating in the annual Pandharpur pilgrimage) and it has made the announcement of making arrangements for medical treatment of pilgrims through the Chief minister's medical relief cell and provision for Nirmal Waari show commitment towards the annual pilgrim and Warkari sect.<br /><br />He said that a separate Warkari Mahamandal or separate Corporation for the annual pilgrims would be set up. <br /><br />Stating that massive investment would be made in priority sectors and the <keyword id="21313056" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="green-hydrogen-sector" source="keywords">green hydrogen sector</keyword>, he said that it would generate employment in a big way.<br /><br />He said that the chief minister's youth training scheme would impart training to ten lakh youngsters every year and a centre of excellence would be established in ITI's which would benefit the youngsters. <br /><br />Stating that the Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar scheme and Shrawan Bal seva state pension scheme assistance would be raised are strong steps CM Shinde said that providing for housing of various sections of society, Anand Dighe housing scheme for differently abled amply proves that the state government is taking strong steps towards removing the poverty in the state.<br /><br />The chief minister said that Metro routes worth 449 Kms in Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur along with 23 thousand kilometer road stretch works under Chief Minister Gram Sadak scheme, construction of buildings of village Panchayats under Balasaheb Thackeray memorial Matoshree Gram Panchayat scheme, PM e-bus scheme in municipal corporation areas and other infrastructure works would be undertaken in a big way which would result in speedy development of the state. <br /><br />The monsoon session of the Maharashtra Assembly began on Thursday (June 28) and will go on till July 12. This is the last legislative session before the state assembly polls, in the next four months.<br />

Budget resolves to give new direction to Maharashtra: CM Shinde

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><keyword id="20630" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Honda">Honda</keyword></p><p class="caption">Honda unveiled its latest Hydrogen Fuel Cell EV Concept at the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show this week.</p></div><p></p></div>At the Los Angeles Auto Show this week, Honda unveiled the FCEV Concept, a futuristic-looking car it says "will feature the world's first application of a fuel-cell powertrain packaged completely in the engine room of the vehicle, allowing for efficiencies in cabin space."</p>
<p><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Although fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) are rare today, they may have what it takes to be very popular one day.</span></p>
<h3>The benefits of FCEV</h3>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">FCEVs run on hydrogen gas and oxygen, which an onboard fuel cell stack converts, </span><a href="http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/fuelcell.shtml" target="_blank">via a chemical reaction</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">, into electricity.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">This version of the electric car offers the same performance and environmental benefits of battery-powered EVs (BEV), as well as the range of conventional <keyword id="20632" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Cars">cars</keyword>, as it can be refueled on the go. What's more, t<span>he electricity is generated </span><em>in</em><span> the car, so a major downside of BEVs - that the power stored in the battery runs out, often rather quickly - is not an issue.</span></span></p>
<p>With the proper infrastructure of hydrogen refueling stations (which could be incorporated into present gas stations), FCEVs would have the same "unlimited" range as cars with internal combustion engines.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">That means no range anxiety and no long battery charging times, Jack Nerad, executive editorial director and market analyst at Kelley Blue Book, told Business Insider.</span></p>
<p>No carbon dioxide is pumped into the atmosphere, no noise is made, and the motor delivers better torque than most engine-powered cars, which translates to great acceleration.</p>
<p><strong></strong>The only emission from FCEVs is water vapor, <a href="http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/gases.html#watervapor" target="_blank">which is a greenhouse gas</a>, but, Nerad says, "not generally regarded as bad as carbon dioxide."</p>
<p><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">But the technology is vastly underdeveloped and faces serious challenges that could keep it off the roads and out of your driveway for decades to come.</span></p>
<h3>The problems with FCEV</h3>
<p><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">The first hurdle is the actual production of hydrogen.</span></p>
<div>
<p>Pure hydrogen can be industrially derived, but it takes energy. If that energy does not come from renewable sources, then fuel-cell cars are not as clean as they seem.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Jack Nerad of KBB said, "it's still easy to poke holes in the ground," to extract oil and natural gas. "It's cheap to do that, we know how to do that."</p>
<p>Another challenge is the lack of infrastructure. Gas stations need to invest in the ability to refuel hydrogen tanks before FCEVs become practical, and it's unlikely many will do that while there are so few customers on the road today.</p>
<p>"We're in a chicken-egg situation," according to Nerad.</p>
<p>Compounding the lack of infrastructure is the high cost of the technology. Fuel cells are "still very, very expensive," even compared to battery-powered EVs, Nerad said - and BEVs cost a lot more than internal combustion engine-powered cars.</p>
<p>The last major challenge is that few potential customers have any idea what FCEVs are. The Electric Drive <keyword id="34991" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="transportation">Transportation</keyword> Association promotes the technology as "part of a suite of electrification technologies," Cullen said, which includes improving awareness of their importance and existence.</p>
<p>For fuel-cell electrics, "we're right at the beginning of that process," she said.</p>
</div>
<h3>The next step for FCEV</h3>
<p>Although relatively few people are aware of fuel cell technology, there are FCEVs on the road today.</p>
<p><strong></strong>Many are parts of bus fleets in Europe, said Genevieve Cullen, vice-president of the <a href="http://www.electricdrive.org/">Electric Drive Transportation Association</a> (EDTA).</p>
<p>For now, such "fleets are the optimal application" for FCEVs, Cullen told Business Insider. They follow set routes, so few refueling stations are required. The large number of vehicles creates the economies of scale that justify the cost of building those stations.</p>
<p>There are also well-known automakers working on the technology. Ford, Daimler AG (which owns Mercedes-Benz and Smart), and Renault-Nissan <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ford-nissan-daimler-cooperate-to-build-fuel-cell-cars-2013-1" target="_blank">announced a partnership in January</a> to speed up the development of commercially viable FCEVs with the jointly-created <a href="http://www.afcc-auto.com/" target="_blank">Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation</a> (AFCC).</p>
<p>Greg Frenette of the AFCC said the group is working towards serious, large-scale commercialization of a fuel-cell vehicle by 2017 or 2018, a timeline he called "cautious."</p>
<p>Aston Martin became the first automaker to put a hydrogen fuel cell-powered car on the Nurburgring, the famed German circuit. The Hybrid Hydrogen Rapide S, which can also run on gasoline, will race at the ADAC Zurich 24 Hours of Nurburgring in May.</p>
<p>Honda is the furthest ahead: It actually made an FCEV, the FCX Clarity, available for lease in 2008, but the project did not lead to widespread sales.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">In September, Honda CEO Takanobu Ito said they would introduce a fuel-cell electric vehicle to go on sale in 2015.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Still, many people close to the technology argue large-scale commercialization "might be decades away," </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Nerad told Business Insider.</span></p>
<p>Ford, Daimler AG, and Nissan partnered up on FCEVs as "a serious effort to cover themselves," Nerad said. It's a way to "at least keep their hand in the game," in case the technology goes mainstream.</p>
<p>For hydrogen-powered cars to become completely viable, <span>the process of making hydrogen must become easier and cheaper, without commensurate gains for battery-powered <keyword id="6358835" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Electric-cars">electric cars</keyword>. Until then, the FCEV may forever be just around the corner.</span></p>

Honda Is Working On Hydrogen Technology That Will Generate Power Inside Your Car

<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"></div><p class="source"><keyword id="20630" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Honda">Honda</keyword></p><p class="caption">The Honda FCX Clarity is powered by hydrogen.</p></div></p>
<p>If you don't know what a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) is, don't worry, you're not alone. </p>
<p>But you will. You might even be driving one some day. </p>
<p>So what is it and why should you care?</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">FCEVs run on hydrogen gas and oxygen, which an onboard fuel cell stack converts, </span><a href="http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/fuelcell.shtml" target="_blank">via a chemical reaction</a><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">, into electricity.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><span>In simple terms, this automotive technology provides the best qualities of electric and conventional <keyword id="20632" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Cars">cars</keyword>. It marries some of the best qualities of traditional gas burning cars and electric or hybrids. </span></span></p>
<p>This version of the electric car offers the same performance and environmental benefits of battery-powered EVs (BEV), as well as the range of conventional cars, as it can be refueled on the go.</p>
<p>But the technology is vastly under-developed and faces serious challenges that could keep it off the roads and out of your driveway for decades to come.</p>
<p><strong>Why you would buy one</strong></p>
<p>In short, because you get "unlimited" range, there's no engine noise. The electricity is generated <em>in</em> the car, so a major downside of BEVs — that the power stored in the battery runs out, often rather quickly — is not an issue.</p>
<p>With the proper infrastructure of hydrogen refueling stations (which could be incorporated into present gas stations), FCEVs would have the same "unlimited" range as cars with internal combustion engines.</p>
<p>That means no range anxiety and no long battery charging times, Jack Nerad, executive editorial director and market analyst at Kelley Blue Book, told <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/business-insider" target="_blank">Business Insider</a>.</p>
<p>No carbon dioxide is pumped into the atmosphere, no noise is made, and the motor delivers better torque than most engine-powered cars, which translates to great acceleration.</p>
<p><strong></strong>The only emission from FCEVs is water vapor, <a href="http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/gases.html#watervapor" target="_blank">which is a greenhouse gas</a>, but, Nerad says, <span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" id="docs-internal-guid-73308089-60c0-1ac2-c583-54a6fbe40f77">“not generally regarded as bad as carbon dioxide.”</span></p>
<p><strong><div class="image-container float_left click-to-enlarge" style="width:300px"><div class="image"><a title_source="Aston Martin" title_caption="The Aston Martin Hybrid Hydrogen Rapide S" class="zoomin" href="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5181667eeab8ea6a31000009-960/aston-martin-hybrid-hydrogen-rapide-s-1-2.jpg"><span class="click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a></div><p class="source">Aston Martin</p><p class="caption">The Aston Martin Hybrid Hydrogen Rapide S</p></div>Who's paying attention<br /></strong></p>
<p>Although relatively few people are aware of fuel cell technology, there are FCEVs on the road today. Many are parts of bus fleets in Europe, said Genevieve Cullen, vice-president of the <a href="http://www.electricdrive.org/">Electric Drive Transportation Association</a> (EDTA).</p>
<p>For now, such "fleets are the optimal application" for FCEVs, Cullen told Business Insider. They follow set routes, so few refueling stations are required. The large number of vehicles creates the economies of scale that justify the cost of building those stations.</p>
<p>There are well-known automakers working on the technology. Ford, Daimler AG (which owns Mercedes-Benz and Smart), and Renault-Nissan <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ford-nissan-daimler-cooperate-to-build-fuel-cell-cars-2013-1" target="_blank">announced a partnership in January</a> to speed up the development of commercially viable FCEVs. </p>
<p>BMW and Toyota are <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bmw-hydrogen-fuel-cell-car-toyota-tech-2013-1">on the verge of finalizing their own deal</a> to work together.</p>
<p>Aston Martin just became the first automaker to put a hydrogen fuel cell-powered car on the Nurburgring, the famed German circuit. The Hybrid Hydrogen Rapide S, which can also run on gasoline, will race at the ADAC Zurich 24 Hours of Nurburgring in May.</p>
<p>Honda is the furthest ahead: It actually made an FCEV, the FCX Clarity, available for lease in 2008, but the project did not lead to widespread sales.</p>
<p>So if fuel-cell cars offer so many benefits, why can't anyone walk into a dealership and buy one today?</p>
<p><strong>Why you might never ge to buy one<br /></strong></p>
<p>While the technology is tantalizing, it is far from serious commercialization, and faces real challenges.</p>
<p>The first hurdle is the actual production of hydrogen.</p>
<p>Pure hydrogen can be industrially derived, but it takes energy. If that energy does not come from renewable sources, then fuel-cell cars are not as clean as they seem.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Jack Nerad of KBB said, "it's still easy to poke holes in the ground," to extract oil and natural gas. "It's cheap to do that, we know how to do that."</p>
<p>Another challenge is the lack of infrastructure. Gas stations need to invest in the ability to refuel hydrogen tanks before FCEVs become practical, and it's unlikely many will do that while there are so few customers on the road today.</p>
<p>"We're in a chicken-egg situation," according to Nerad.</p>
<p>Compounding the lack of infrastructure is the high cost of the technology. Fuel cells are "still very, very expensive," even compared to battery-powered EVs, Nerad said — and BEVs cost a lot more than internal combustion engine-powered cars.</p>
<p>The last major challenge is that few potential customers have any idea what FCEVs are. The Electric Drive <keyword id="34991" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="transportation">Transportation</keyword> Association promotes the technology as "part of a suite of electrification technologies," Cullen said, which includes improving awareness of their importance and existence.</p>
<p>For fuel-cell electrics, "we're right at the beginning of that process," she said.</p>
<p><strong><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:301px"><div class="image"></div><p class="source">Honda</p><p class="caption">Refueling the Honda FCX Clarity at a Shell Station in Torrance, California in 2011.</p></div>Driving into the future</strong></p>
<p>Despite the challenges, several automakers are working on bringing the technology to the mass market, possibly within a few years. So the prospects of owning one aren't entirely grim.</p>
<p>In September, Honda CEO Takanobu Ito said they would introduce a fuel-cell electric vehicle to go on sale in 2015.</p>
<p>Greg Frenette of the <a href="http://www.afcc-auto.com/" target="_blank">Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation</a> (AFCC), created by the Ford, Daimler AG, and Renault-Nissan partnership, said the group is working towards serious, large-scale commercialization of a fuel-cell vehicle by 2017 or 2018, a timeline he called "cautious."</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">But Jack Nerad told Business Insider many people close to the technology argue large-scale commercialization "might be decades away."</span></p>
<p>Ford, Daimler AG, and Nissan partnered up on FCEVs as "a serious effort to cover themselves," Nerad said. It's a way to "at least keep their hand in the game," in case the technology goes mainstream.</p>
<p>There are circumstances that could make hydrogen-powered cars completely viable. For instance, if the technology for battery-powered <keyword id="6358835" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Electric-cars">electric cars</keyword> does not develop significantly, and if the process of making hydrogen becomes easier and cheaper, then the case will be much stronger for FCEVs.</p>
<p>If and until that happens, advocates will likely continue to promise the hydrogen-powered car is just around the corner, but won't be able to deliver it onto your driveway. </p>

A Hydrogen-Powered Car Could Someday Be Sitting In Your Driveway

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The second moon that Earth has captured in its orbit this month is an asteroid called 2024 PT5.</li><li>Mini-moons like this could be ideal targets for asteroid mining to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-havent-we-been-to-mars-yet-2024-5">send humans deeper into space</a>.</li></ul><p>The <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/second-moon-orbiting-earth-when-why-what-to-know-2024-9 ">second moon that Earth now has for two months</a> may seem like just a fun curiosity, but it's also a sneak peek at a future space industry that could change our global economy.</p><p>An asteroid called 2024 PT5, which normally orbits the sun as part of the Arjuna asteroid belt, was <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/astronomers-photograph-mini-moon-small-object-in-orbit-2020-2">captured in Earth's orbit</a> on Sunday, according to astronomers' projections. Astronomers expect it to spend about 57 days traveling along a horseshoe-shaped path around Earth before rejoining its asteroid belt.</p><p>For those 57 days, the school-bus-sized <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-asteroid-impact-simulation-experts-fear-congress-would-delay-action-2024-6">asteroid</a> will be a "natural satellite" of Earth — basically another, temporary moon.</p><div type="image" title="screenshot of asteroid profile page showing illustration of a bumpy candy-corn-shaped grey asteroid in space with a text box labeling it 2024 PT5 and saying its average estimated diameter is 10.76 m" height="1537" width="2864" msid="113817839" hostid="261" sizebytes="68552"></div><p>That makes it economically intriguing. "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fake-moon-asteroid-orbiting-sun-alongside-earth-astronomers-discover-2023-6">Mini-moons</a>" like this are ideal targets for mining, according to Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, one of the scientists who charted 2024 PT5's path around our planet.</p><p><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/asteroid-mining-company-earth-startups-raw-materials-cobalt-gold-platinum-2021-3">Asteroid mining</a> could someday help humans travel further out into the cosmos and extend our presence through the solar system. That's because some asteroids contain valuable metals like iron or platinum, as well as water.</p><p><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-plan-colonize-mars-plan-unrealistic-scientists-explain-2023-10">Elon Musk's vision of a city on Mars</a>, for example, depends on asteroid mining. Temporary moons like 2024 PT5 could be a key stepping stone.</p><p>"Mini-moons are very important for the nascent global <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-helping-private-companies-build-business-moon-make-lunar-billions-2023-6">space economy</a>," Marcos told Business Insider in an email. Because they come so close to Earth and take a sojourn in our orbit, he added, "they are among the objects easier to reach using low-cost missions."</p><h2 id="462c4c69-18b1-4a3f-8e7d-7cb0491d6b39">Asteroids can be worth quintillions</h2><p>Asteroid 2024 PT5 may not be worth much, since scientists think it's made of basalt.</p><p>It's basically "a giant boulder," Teddy Kareta, a planetary scientist at the Lowell Observatory, told Business Insider.</p><p>But some asteroids contain so much metal that they're <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-visit-psyche-asteroid-worth-more-than-entire-world-economy-2023-10">worth more than our entire global economy</a>.</p><p>Take Psyche, for example, an asteroid that NASA is sending a spacecraft to for scientific study, since the agency believes it to be the core of a long-dead planet.</p><p>Psyche's metal-rich makeup — mostly iron and nickel — makes it worth an estimated $100 quintillion if it were here on Earth.</p><div type="image" title="graphic of what the asteroid is thought to look like" height="900" width="1600" msid="113817842" hostid="261" sizebytes="175866"></div><p>Some asteroids even have precious metals like platinum, gold, and cobalt.</p><p>Nobody has mined an asteroid yet, though <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-video-osiris-rex-probe-landing-on-asteroid-kicking-dust-2020-10">NASA punched one</a><strong> </strong>in 2020 to grab scientific samples from it.</p><p>Some startups are trying to figure out how to start mining space rocks, and do it in a cost-effective way. Flying to an asteroid isn't cheap.</p><p>One of them, called <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/asteroid-mining-startup-has-booked-its-first-test-mission-spacex-2022-6">AstroForge, has launched a small probe with SpaceX</a>, though the spacecraft wasn't able to conduct the testing they'd planned, according to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.space.com/asteroid-mining-astroforge-docking-mission-2025">Space.com</a>. The company is now planning two more missions, which it hopes will culminate in its first landing on a metallic asteroid in 2025.</p><h2 id="e5b0dd4a-bb61-4c4d-a49c-2d9e9a2960a9">Pit stops on the way to Mars</h2><p>Long-distance <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-invest-mars-pulsed-plasma-rocket-shorten-space-time-travel-2024-7">deep-space missions</a>, especially if they're carrying humans and cargo, will have a fuel problem.</p><p>Fuel is heavy, so the less of it you have to load onto a spacecraft the better. On the long flight to Mars or other planets, asteroids could become gas stations.</p><p>That's because <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://academic.oup.com/mnrasl/article/506/1/L6/6298231?login=false">research</a> <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2018JE005584">suggests</a> that many asteroids in Earth's neighborhood are rich in water, which can be mined and split into its elementary components — hydrogen and oxygen, both of which are critical for making rocket fuel.</p><p>Mini-moons are perfect places to start, some scientists think, because of their proximity to Earth but also because of how small they are.</p><p>It takes an immense amount of rocket fuel to escape Earth's powerful gravitational pull. But little asteroids don't have much gravity, making it easy to leapfrog off of them.</p><p>"It only takes a puff of fuel to leave the mini-moon and head back towards Earth," Richard Binzel, a planetary scientist at MIT, previously told <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.livescience.com/space/space-exploration/undiscovered-minimoons-may-orbit-earth-could-they-help-us-become-an-interplanetary-species">Live Science</a>.</p><h2 id="bf8bc193-7a0a-4a09-9d9c-2c6ac7e8d411">Mini-moon missions at the ready</h2><p>One problem with mini-moons is that scientists sometimes don't see them coming until a few weeks before they're captured in our planet's orbit.</p><p>Asteroid 2024 PT5, for example, was first identified as a mini-moon in early September and will only be in Earth's orbit for about 57 days.</p><p>That's a tight timeline for preparing and launching a mining mission. For any asteroid, "you need to learn enough about it to know whether it's worth sending a rocket up," Kareta said.</p><p>Asteroid-mining companies can work around that by having mining spacecraft ready in Earth's orbit, waiting for the right space rock to zoom by, Marcos said.</p><p>"Either if you are thinking about collecting mineral samples for research or starting a space mining venture, mini-moons are your best bet to get your business off the ground," he said.</p>

Mini-moons like the one Earth just captured could be huge business opportunities

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Montgomery County, Maryland aims to transition its electric bus fleet to zero-emissions by 2035.</li><li>The county is building microgrids with solar, battery storage, and eventually green hydrogen.</li><li>The microgrids are islands of power that are resilient during outages and emergencies.</li></ul><p>Montgomery County, Maryland, is on the cusp of a clean-transit transformation. </p><p>Part of an old diesel-bus depot in Silver Spring <a target="_blank" href="https://newsletter.businessinsider.com/click/33308462.29808/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbHBoYXN0cnV4dXJlLmNvbS9uZXdzLXByZXNzLXJlbGVhc2UvYWxwaGFzdHJ1eHVyZS1jZWxlYnJhdGVzLWxhdW5jaC1vZi1pbnRlZ3JhdGVkLW1pY3JvZ3JpZC8_dXRtX21lZGl1bT1uZXdzbGV0dGVyJmVtYWlsPWNib3VkcmVhdSU0MGluc2lkZXIuY29tJng9ODEyOGUyOWUzMDdkOGMyNjIyODcwYzQzZDJlODMxYTIyY2U1MDA5MjU1YTE1MGQ1NDcxNzAzNWU4Y2IwZDBhNg/628bdf90094963f5ad0eef3eBf5d93db3"><u>has already been redeveloped</u></a> into a charging station for dozens of electric buses, powered by a microgrid equipped with solar canopies, battery storage, and several backup gas generators. It's essentially a self-sustaining island of power, even during outages.</p><p>A similar microgrid — twice the size of the one in Silver Spring — is expected to break ground early next year and be operational in 2025, county officials told Insider. The microgrid is set to power a transit center for 200 zero-emissions vehicles and be the first on the East Coast to produce <a target="_blank" href="https://newsletter.businessinsider.com/click/33308462.29808/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYnVzaW5lc3NpbnNpZGVyLmNvbS9oeWRyb2dlbi1lbmVyZ3ktaGVscC1jbGltYXRlLWNyaXNpcy1idXQtc3RpbGwtaHVyZGxlcy0yMDIzLTEwP3V0bV9tZWRpdW09bmV3c2xldHRlciZlbWFpbD1jYm91ZHJlYXUlNDBpbnNpZGVyLmNvbSZ4PTgxMjhlMjllMzA3ZDhjMjYyMjg3MGM0M2QyZTgzMWEyMmNlNTAwOTI1NWExNTBkNTQ3MTcwMzVlOGNiMGQwYTY/628bdf90094963f5ad0eef3eBccca7a50"><u>green hydrogen from renewables</u></a>. Green hydrogen is key for buses with longer routes, officials said, because electric buses average about 125 miles on one charge, or less than half the distance than on a tank of diesel. </p><div type="image" title="An electric bus charger" height="3024" width="4032" msid="105104812" hostid="261" sizebytes="675146"></div><p>"We are going to transition to a completely fossil-fuel-free transit group with electric and hydrogen buses," Michael Yambrach, the chief officer of energy and sustainability for Montgomery County, told Insider during a tour of the depot.</p><p>The county aims to complete that transition by 2035 for its fleet of 380 buses and nearly 3,600 cars. It's part of a larger plan to achieve net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions. So far, 14 buses and about 100 cars are electrified.</p><p>Yambrach said Montgomery County's efforts could be a model for other local governments trying to clean up their fleets, <a target="_blank" href="https://newsletter.businessinsider.com/click/33308462.29808/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cud3JpLm9yZy9pbnNpZ2h0cy91cy1wdWJsaWMtZmxlZXQtZWxlY3RyaWZpY2F0aW9uP3V0bV9tZWRpdW09bmV3c2xldHRlciZlbWFpbD1jYm91ZHJlYXUlNDBpbnNpZGVyLmNvbSZ4PTgxMjhlMjllMzA3ZDhjMjYyMjg3MGM0M2QyZTgzMWEyMmNlNTAwOTI1NWExNTBkNTQ3MTcwMzVlOGNiMGQwYTY/628bdf90094963f5ad0eef3eB9b811c13"><u>which include millions</u></a> of city buses, school buses, police patrol cars, and other vehicles. Only about 2% of US public buses are zero emission, <a target="_blank" href="https://newsletter.businessinsider.com/click/33308462.29808/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudHJhbnNwb3J0YXRpb24uZ292L3VyYmFuLWUtbW9iaWxpdHktdG9vbGtpdC9lLW1vYmlsaXR5LWJlbmVmaXRzLWFuZC1jaGFsbGVuZ2VzL3RyYW5zaXQtYmVuZWZpdHMtYW5kLWNoYWxsZW5nZXM_dXRtX21lZGl1bT1uZXdzbGV0dGVyJmVtYWlsPWNib3VkcmVhdSU0MGluc2lkZXIuY29tJng9ODEyOGUyOWUzMDdkOGMyNjIyODcwYzQzZDJlODMxYTIyY2U1MDA5MjU1YTE1MGQ1NDcxNzAzNWU4Y2IwZDBhNiM6fjp0ZXh0PVRoZSUyMG51bWJlciUyMG9mJTIwdHJhbnNpdCUyMGJhdHRlcnksdGhlJTIwVS5TLiUyMHRyYW5zaXQlMjBidXMlMjBmbGVldC4/628bdf90094963f5ad0eef3eBa79655cd"><u>according to federal data</u></a>. </p><p>US transit agencies are buying more zero-emission buses and vehicles, but sourcing enough power and building the charging infrastructure affordably are major hurdles.</p><p>Montgomery County opted to build a microgrid so it didn't have to rely on power from Pepco, the local utility. It hired AlphaStruxure, a joint venture of Schneider Electric and the private-equity giant Carlyle, to finance, develop, and maintain the microgrids. In return, the county pays AlphaStruxure monthly under a long-term contract. The company declined to disclose the total cost.</p><div type="image" title="A rendering of new sustainable transit center that will be built in Montgomery County, Maryland. Rooftop solar panels and battery storage will supply power for electric buses and cars." height="1200" width="2130" msid="105104813" hostid="261" sizebytes="383458"></div><p>A stand-alone system is more resilient in the event of an emergency outage, Yambrach said. The county has a pilot program with Pepco that allows the utility to tap power from battery storage at the Silver Spring bus depot when the grid is stressed. That is more climate-friendly than relying on firing up a dirty power plant.</p><p>Renewable transit also benefits locals' quality of life by phasing out rows of noisy, idling diesel buses that create a lot of pollution.</p><p>"When they light up the buses, the diesel will just hang, and that's been a consistent issue with the neighbors," Don Scheuerman, the chief of the office of energy and sustainability at the Montgomery County Department of General Services, said. "So we're going to have resilience, we're going to have green power 98% of the time, and we're getting our greenhouse-gas emissions down." </p>

See what the future of zero-emissions transit looks like in suburban Maryland

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Regulators want to slash the number of short-haul flights to reduce aviation's carbon emissions.</li><li>But experts told BI recent regulations might only have a small impact on reducing emissions.</li><li>Shifting to greener fuels and enhancing green tech are essential for cleaner air travel.</li></ul><p>To reduce carbon emissions and boost sustainability in the aviation industry, some governments and air-travel regulators are looking to ban or severely limit the number of short-haul flights.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Air travel is a dirty business: While the industry <a target="_blank" href="https://www.iea.org/energy-system/transport/aviation">produces about 2%</a> of global energy-related carbon emissions, a plane trip produces <a target="_blank" href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/how-much-does-air-travel-warm-the-planet-new-study-gives-a-figure/">100 times more carbon dioxide per hour</a> than a train or bus ride. And short-haul flights, or <a target="_blank" href="https://www.eurocontrol.int/publication/eurocontrol-data-snapshot-co2-emissions-flight-distance">routes of 932 miles or less</a>, produce a disproportionate amount of carbon output. A report from the International Council on Clean Transportation, or ICCT, found that short-haul flights made up <a target="_blank" href="https://theicct.org/not-every-tonne-of-aviation-co2-is-created-equal/">a third of all global aviation emissions</a> in 2018.</p><p>But experts say bans alone won't significantly impact carbon emissions. Instead, reducing the number of short-haul flights, experimenting with new technologies, and investing in environmentally friendly travel alternatives may go further in reducing the aerospace industry's carbon footprint.</p><h2>Regulations on short-haul flights aren't yet having the desired effect on emissions</h2><p>Denmark announced last year that by 2025, Danes will be able to fly domestically on a "completely green route," meaning that at least one domestic flight would be carbon-free and that all domestic flights would be fossil-fuel-free by 2030. The move makes Denmark one of the first countries to signal publicly for stronger aviation-sustainability policies.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The Danish government also <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/denmark-proposes-14-green-passenger-tax-air-travel-2023-11-09/">announced a "green tax</a>" on passengers starting in 2025 to finance the country's green domestic route. The tax, converted from Danish krone, amounts to $9 for flights within Europe, $35 for medium-distance flights, and $56 for long-haul flights.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Similarly, earlier this year, the French government enacted a law banning any flights within the country that a train ride of 2-and-½ hours or less could replace.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The law initially seemed like a big win for climate activists, but the number of exceptions for international travel meant the law only impacted three routes between Paris-Orly Airport and the cities of Nantes, Bordeaux, and Lyon.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/summer-flight-cancellations-airlines-partner-with-buses-trains-2022-5">France's hyper-connected railway</a> allows passengers to move between cities without changing travel patterns. Since high-speed trains already connect the impacted flight routes, potentially limiting the law's effects, the country's aviation industry isn't likely to see any big changes to its carbon footprint.</p><p class="MsoNormal">"In terms of absolute emissions reduction, it's not going to do too much," Sola Zheng, a researcher on the ICCT aviation program team, told Business Insider. "But it's a very good precedent that governments are willing to pull these kinds of levers."</p><div type="image" title="Headshot of Sola Zheng, wearing a white blouse in front of greenery." height="1365" width="1365" msid="106002081" hostid="261" sizebytes="61600"></div><p>But banning short-haul flights doesn't solve the industry's carbon-footprint problem, Giulio Mattioli, a transportation researcher at the Technical University of Dortmund in Germany, said. He told BI that banning these routes would have minimal environmental effects unless regulations <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-innovation-not-only-solution-to-climate-crisis-2023-7">address the industry holistically.</a></p><p class="MsoNormal">"Maybe ban short-haul flights, but then don't expect that to solve the problem," he said. "We need to talk about the long-haul flights as well."</p><h2>Other strategies could curb the industry's emissions</h2><p>The solution to the industry's emissions problem, Mattioli said, can be divided into a three-part strategy: avoid, shift, and improve. Avoiding would mean curbing the amount of flying we already do, or at least maintaining the same level of travel without increasing it; shifting would mean moving toward methods of travel, such as trains or buses, that create less pollution; and improving would mean enhancing sustainable aviation technology.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Mattioli told BI these strategies are all complementary, so the aviation industry must implement them simultaneously.</p><p class="MsoNormal">"It's only if we do those three things at the same time we have a chance of reducing emissions at the rate at which we should," Mattioli said.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Zheng said one emerging aviation technology that could make a difference is alternative power sources, such as hydrogen or electricity. Shorter flights are great candidates to test these advancements since electric and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/aviation-industry-net-zero-by-2050-disagree-decarbonization-2023-12">hydrogen-powered planes</a> are often distance-constrained due to battery density and fueling needs. Because short-haul flights don't have to travel very far, the aviation industry won't have to change many flight patterns to test alternative power sources.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/aviation-sustainable-fuel-saf-production-challenge-decarbonization-zero-emissions-planes-2023-1">Sustainable aviation fuels</a> have also recently gained industry attention because they're largely made of waste materials or renewable biomass. While aircraft could theoretically use these materials for longer flights, supply problems make their use as primary fuel unrealistic for the near future.</p><p>"You want to develop these other solutions for the shorter ones, so you can decarbonize both at the same rate," Zheng said.</p><h2>Passengers can help reduce emissions, too</h2><p>Flying continues to be a priority for travelers. A report from the International Civil Aviation Organization found that demand for air travel is expected to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.icao.int/Meetings/FutureOfAviation/Pages/default.aspx#:~:text=The%20most%20recent%20estimates%20suggest,GDP%20to%20the%20world%20economy.">grow by about 4.3% a year over the next 20 years</a>.</p><p class="MsoNormal">But Zheng said passengers are interested in making their <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/eco-friendly-travel-sustainability-expert-tips-2023-4">travel greener</a> and are willing to take steps to accomplish that goal. A Booking.com survey found that <a target="_blank" href="https://globalnews.booking.com/download/31767dc7-3d6a-4108-9900-ab5d11e0a808/booking.com-sustainable-travel-report2023.pdf">76% of surveyed passengers</a> want to make their travel more sustainable over the next year, and 43% of surveyed passengers are willing to pay more for it.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Zheng recommended flying on newer aircraft or booking an economy seat. Flights that dedicate more seats to standard seating can fit more people, reducing each passenger's carbon footprint.</p><p class="MsoNormal">"We have to experiment," she said. "There's never going to be a silver bullet."</p>

Short-haul flights are the first target for sustainable aviation — but aerospace experts say banning them probably won't make the difference

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Blue Origin</span></p><p class="caption">Blue Origin's New Glenn orbital rocket system compared to NASA's Saturn V rocket, which took astronauts to the moon.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Just over a week after <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-rocket-explosion-launch-pad-2016-9">SpaceX's launchpad rocket failure</a>, Blue Origin - the aerospace company owned by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos - has revealed its ambitious plans to build two "New Glenn" launchers.</p><p>Both rockets will tower about 90 feet over the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-falcon-heavy-vs-apollo-saturn-v-rocket-2016-7">Falcon Heavy rocket planned by SpaceX</a>, a company run by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk.</p><p>The largest of the two new rockets, called the "New Glenn 3-stage," is an enormous <strong>23 feet in diameter</strong> - about half the length of a school bus - and <strong>313 feet tal</strong>l, which is close to the height of NASA's Saturn V moon rockets used during the Apollo program. And with <strong>3.85 million pounds of thrust</strong>, the rocket could be more than half as powerful as the Saturn V.</p><p>Unlike the Saturn V, however, Blue Origin plans to build on its <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blue-origin-reusable-rocket-video-2015-11">rocket-recycling experience</a> and reuse the giant first-stage booster of each launcher - saving untold cash over multiple launches, since rocket boosters are normally trashed in the ocean.</p><p>Bezos, who <a href="http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/rockets/a11823/what-is-jeff-bezos-building-out-there/">kept a veil of secrecy around his rocket company</a> for many years, has said he hopes to make space travel as routine as airplane flight. He's also compared typical non-reusable rockets to using a 747 to fly across the country once and then throwing the plane away.</p><p>Below is the full email that Bezos sent out Monday morning:</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Our mascot is the tortoise. We paint one on our vehicles after each successful flight. Our motto is "Gradatim Ferociter" - step by step, ferociously. We believe "slow is smooth and smooth is fast." In the long run, deliberate and methodical wins the day, and you do things quickest by never skipping steps. This step-by-step approach is a powerful enabler of boldness and a critical ingredient in achieving the audacious. We're excited to give you a preview of our next step. One we've been working on for four years. Meet New Glenn:</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Blue Origin</span></p><p class="caption">Introducing New Glenn: Reusable, vertical-landing booster, 3.85 million pounds thrust</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Building, flying, landing, and re-flying New Shepard has taught us so much about how to design for practical, operable reusability. And New Glenn incorporates all of those learnings.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Named in honor of John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, New Glenn is 23 feet in diameter and lifts off with 3.85 million pounds of thrust from seven BE-4 engines. Burning liquefied natural gas and liquid oxygen, these are the same BE-4 engines that will power United Launch Alliance's new Vulcan rocket.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">The 2-stage New Glenn is 270 feet tall, and its second stage is powered by a single vacuum-optimized BE-4 engine. The 3-stage New Glenn is 313 feet tall. A single vacuum-optimized BE-3 engine, burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, powers its third stage. The booster and the second stage are identical in both variants.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">We plan to fly New Glenn for the first time before the end of this decade from historic Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. New Glenn is designed to launch commercial satellites and to fly humans into space. The 3-stage variant - with its high specific impulse hydrogen upper stage - is capable of flying demanding beyond-LEO missions.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Our vision is millions of people living and working in space, and New Glenn is a very important step. It won't be the last of course. Up next on our drawing board: New Armstrong. But that's a story for the future.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Gradatim Ferociter!</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Jeff Bezos</p><p class="tagline">Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through hispersonal investment company Bezos Expeditions.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-falcon-9-rocket-explodes-cape-canaveral-florida-2016-9">Watch the dramatic moment SpaceX rocket explodes</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="xlbXluNTE6jYeBE4WkXxEPSKkMO16Ip1" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Jeff Bezos' secretive rocket company just revealed its plans to tower over SpaceX

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>US ARMY MCGREGOR RANGE, New Mexico - The most advanced missile system on the planet can hunt and blast incoming missiles right out of the sky with a 100% success rate - and we got to spend a day with it.<p>Meet America's THAAD system.</p><p>THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Defense">Defense</keyword>) is a unique missile-defense system with <span>unmatched precision, c</span><span>apable of <span>countering threats</span></span><span> around the world with its mobility and strategic battery-unit placement.</span></p><p><span>"I<span>t is the most technically advanced missile-defense system in the world," </span></span><span><span>US Army Col. <span>Alan Wiernicki, commander of the 11th <span>Air Defense Artillery Brigade</span>, told Business Insider in an interview.</span></span></span></p><p><span><span>"Combatant commanders and our allies know this, which puts our THAAD Batteries in very high global demand," <span>Wiernicki added.</span></span></span></p><p><span>That claim has been spot on. This week, after <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/03/07/thaad-deployment-threat-likely-to-stoke-us-tensions-with-beijing-moscow.html" target="_blank">North Korea launched four ballistic&#xa0;missiles</a>&#xa0;into the sea amid angry bluster over joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises, the White House said it was moving forward with the plan to station THAAD on the Korean peninsula.</span></p><h2>Deploying America's THAAD</h2><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span>Last March, </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">North Korean leader Kim Jong-un <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/north-korea-wants-everyone-to-know-that-it-has-a-miniaturized-nuclear-warhead-and-this-is-what-it-apparently-looks-like-2016-3" target="_blank">claimed</a> his country had developed miniaturized nuclear warheads, which can be mounted to long-range ballistic missiles.</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>The rogue regime's announcement was a follow-through pass to a previous</span><span>&#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/north-korea-has-fired-a-long-range-rocket-2016-2" target="_blank">long-range-rocket launch </a>and January's </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-earthquake-detected-in-north-korea-not-clear-if-nuke-test-2016-1" target="_blank">purported hydrogen-bomb test.</a>&#xa0;Since then, the Kim regime has only continued its advance, with its latest missile launch happening earlier this week.</p><p><span><span>Negotiations to equip South Korea with THAAD have been ongoing since </span><span>South Korean President Park Geun-hye's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/thaad-missile-defense-systems-south-korea-usa-2015-10" target="_blank">October 2015</a> visit to the White House.</span></span></p><p><span><span><span>Now, under the Trump administration, THAAD is heading to its first duty station. But the move is controversial, as both China and Russia worry the system's advanced radar penetrates into their territory. In February, China <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-chinese-news-agency-warns-south-koreas-lotte-over-thaad-2017-2" target="_blank">called</a> the system's deployment a threat to regional stability.</span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>Chinese Ambassador Qiu Guohong warned last year that basing the US-made THAAD missile system in South Korea would irreparably damage relations between the countries, The Chosunilbo </span><a href="http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2016/02/24/2016022401747.html">reported</a><span>.</span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>THAAD deployment, Qiu </span><a href="http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2016/02/24/2016022401747.html">said</a><span>, "would break the strategic balance in the region and create a vicious cycle of Cold War-style confrontations and an arms race, which could escalate tensions."</span></span></span></span></p><p>&#xa0;</p><p><span>Depending on where it's deployed, nearly all incoming missiles from the North could be eliminated, as displayed by the following <a href="http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2015/06/south-korea-needs-thaad-missile-defense" target="_blank">graphic</a> from The Heritage Foundation.</span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table center"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>But, as former<span><span><span><span>&#xa0;</span></span></span></span><span><span><span><span>Secretary of State John Kerry explained, the US was "<span>not hungry or anxious or looking for an opportunity to deploy THAAD," CNN <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/23/politics/u-s-china-kerry-wang/" target="_blank">reported</a>.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><span>"<span>THAAD is a purely defensive weapon. It is purely capable of shooting down a ballistic missile it intercepts. And it is there for the protection of the United States," Kerry said.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><span><span>"If we can get to denuclearization, there's no need to deploy THAAD," he added.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><h2>How THAAD's 'hit to kill' lethality works</h2><p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p><span>THAAD's first line of defense is its radar system.</span></p><p><span><span>"We have one of the most powerful radars in the world," US Army Capt. Kyle Terza, a THAAD battery commander, told Business Insider.</span></span></p><p><span>Raytheon's </span><a href="http://www.raytheon.com/capabilities/products/antpy2/" target="_blank"><span>AN/TPY-2 </span>radar</a><span> is used to </span><span>detect, track, and discriminate ballistic missiles in the terminal (or descent) phase of flight.</span></p><p><span>The mobile radar is about the size of a bus and is so powerful that it can scan areas the size of entire countries, according to </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IveFdVsiJg&amp;app=desktop" target="_blank">Raytheon</a><span>.</span></p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p>Once an enemy threat has been identified, THAAD's Fire Control and Communications (TFCC) support team kicks in. If there is a decision to engage the incoming missile, the launcher fires an interceptor to hunt <span>for its target.</span></p><p>Here's what the launch looks like from far away:</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div><p>While in flight, the interceptor will track its target and obliterate it in the sky.</p><p>The following infrared imagery shows THAAD demolishing the target:</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div><p>By the end of 2016, the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is scheduled to deliver an additional 48 THAAD interceptors to the US military, bringing the total up to 155, according to a <a href="http://www.mda.mil/global/documents/pdf/ps_syring_031915_hasc.pdf" target="_blank">statement</a> from the MDA's director, Vice Admiral J.D. Syring, given before the House Armed Service Committee.</p><p>According to the MDA, there are more than 6,300 ballistic missiles outside of US, NATO, Russian, and Chinese control.</p><p>While other US partners around the globe are interested in purchasing THAAD, the United Arab Emirates is the sole <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/lockheed-martin-wants-to-sell-more-missiles-abroad-fewer-to-the-pentagon-2014-9" target="_blank">foreign buyer</a> after signing a deal with the Department of Defense for $3.4 billion.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/thaad-missile-defense-systems-south-korea-usa-2015-10">Meet America's THAAD: One of the world's most advanced missile-defense systems that has China spooked</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="95Zm44eDqXqjOFS4KtUG-tSZsvP__qLW" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

This is the advanced anti-missile defense system being deployed to Korea - and it has Beijing spooked

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://mars.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/?ImageID=6589">NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Billions of years ago, Mars looked a lot like Earth, scientists suspect.</p><p>But something happened 3.7 billion years ago that severely changed the Red Planet's climate and, over time, left the surface dry, desolate, and frozen - a lifeless shell of its former self.</p><p>For years, planetary scientists have wondered where all of the surface water and atmospheric carbon dioxide (for possible plant growth) went.</p><p>Now, these questions are one significant step closer to being answered thanks to NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (<a href="http://mars.nasa.gov/maven/">MAVEN</a>) mission that <a href="http://mars.nasa.gov/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&amp;NewsID=1855">recently completed</a> one year in orbit around Mars.</p><p>Today, scientists announced that Mars is currently losing about 1/4 pound of atoms in its atmosphere to space every second. One of the main causes of this extreme loss is the solar wind - fast-moving charged particles ejected from the sun.</p><p>When the solar wind is especially powerful - after a particularly powerful event like a solar flare or coronal mass ejection - the amount of atmospheric loss is 10 to 20 times more. Here's a scary animation showing a cascade of atmospheric loss from Mars:</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX5JCYBZpcg">NASA Goddard on YouTube</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div>"This [discovery] is exciting to me to think that a [powerful solar] event like this increases escape because solar storms were more common and more intense earlier in solar system history [so] ...we can expect escape to happen all the time [on an earlier Mars]," said David Brain, a co-investigator for MAVEN, during a NASA teleconference.</p><p><strong>These answers will not only shed light on just how habitable Mars was in its distant past, but also the potential habitability of similar worlds in distant solar systems with a star much like our sun.</strong></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://mars.nasa.gov/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&amp;NewsID=1800">NASA</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div>MAVEN is a school-bus-sized spacecraft equipped with eight instruments that study the different layers of the Martian atmosphere as well as the space weather that bombards it. It takes about 4.5 hours for MAVEN to complete one orbit around Mars.</p><p><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-to-announce-new-findings-on-fate-of-mars-atmosphere">A panel of MAVEN scientists</a> presented their results from four scientific papers, published in <keyword id="41551" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="science">Science</keyword>, about the data MAVEN has collected over the past year. Complimenting these results are <a href="http://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/agu/journal/10.1002(issn)1944-8007/vi-grl-maven.html">44 additional scientific papers</a> about the mission published today in Geophysical Research Letters.</p><p>A diagram of MAVEN's eight instruments is below. Some of them measure space weather while others sniff out different molecules in the Martian atmosphere, especially during <a href="http://mars.nasa.gov/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&amp;NewsID=1780">deep dips</a> just 78 miles above Mars' surface - three times closer than the International Space Station floats above Earth.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/maven/spacecraft/#.VjuUWmSrRuV">NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div>In order to figure out what happened to Mars' luscious, potentially life-giving climate, MAVEN had three science goals, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBFfHIklLY0">explained </a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBFfHIklLY0">Stephen Bougher</a>, who is a co-investigator on the MAVEN team and lead author of <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aad0459">one of the Science papers</a>:</p><ol><li>Find out what Mars' upper atmosphere looks like today and what forces control it.</li><li>Determine how fast the atoms in Mars' atmosphere are currently leaving the planet and escaping into space.</li><li>Use the current rate of atmospheric loss to calculate how much atmosphere Mars had in the past.</li></ol><p>"We can't actually go back in time," <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBFfHIklLY0">Bougher said</a> during a presentation at the University of Michigan last year. "As you lose hydrogen and oxygen, you'll eventually lose water. As you measure that in the current time and get those loss rates ... you can integrate that loss over time ... <strong>and figure out what might be the volume and depth of water covering the whole surface of Mars that might have been lost over its history.</strong>"</p><p>Bougher and his team published their paper on how a very powerful solar event, like the one shown below, affected these loss rates. In fact, it was the most powerful solar event ever recorded around Mars, the team reported.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSVv40M2aks">NASA Goddard</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div>On March 8 of this year, a giant mass of magnetically charged gas from the sun - called an interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) - struck Mars. These solar events are the most energetic explosions in the solar system and <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/agu11-spaceweather.html">threaten</a> not just Mars, but <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sdo-amazing-pictures-of-the-sun-2015-2">Earth as well</a>.</p><p>Luckily, Earth's magnetic field shields us from this high-energy radiation - what does penetrate our magnetic field we usually see as the aurora borealis, or Northern Lights. But Mars' magnetic field is weak and can only deflect a small amount of the CME compared to Earth.</p><p>Yes, that means that Mars can have <a href="http://mars.nasa.gov/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&amp;NewsID=1813">spectacular auroras</a>, like in the illustration below. And, in fact, <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aad0313">another Science paper</a> published today discusses results from MAVEN when it dipped down near the surface during one of these auroras. They found evidence to suggest that the auroras are likely the result of interactions between the solar radiation and the remnant magnetic field of Mars' crust.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/press/2015/march/nasa-spacecraft-detects-aurora-and-mysterious-dust-cloud-around-mars/#.VQszhmTF-aZ">University of Colorado</a></span></p><p class="caption">Artist's conception of MAVEN's Imaging UltraViolet Spectrograph (IUVS) observing the "Christmas Lights Aurora" on Mars.</p></div><p></p></div></div>A weak magnetic field also means that more of these high-energy particles from the ICME strike the Red Planet at a given time and, as Bougher and his team reported, increase the speed at which Mars loses particles in its atmosphere to space.</p><p>"The observations and the model results suggest there are substantial enhancements in the ion [charged particles] loss rates during ICME events," the team stated in <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aad0210">their paper</a>.</p><p>The team's results contradict another paper, published earlier this year in the <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2015JE004816/abstract">Journal of Geophysical Research</a>, that used data from the <a href="http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Mars_Express">European Space Agency's Mars Express satellite</a> to measure a decrease in overall atmospheric ion loss rates when the solar wind, generated by solar activity, is especially dense.</p><p>The reason could be different data sets or different instruments, the team wrote, or it could be that different kinds of events induce a different response in Mars' atmosphere. More data will be needed to constrain "how ICME events influence ion escape, [which] is an important component for understanding escape rate from early Mars," Bougher and his team concluded.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/carl-zimmer-contaminating-mars-bacteria-viruses-earth-2015-10">If life exists on Mars, it could pose a problem for our exploration of the planet</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="lwdTcyeDpUTqolRQBKiMsOvqHxXrqiyI" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

NASA just revealed how extreme climate change transformed Mars into a lifeless desert

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div><strong>MCGREGOR RANGE, New Mexico - </strong>The most advanced missile system on the planet can hunt and blast incoming missiles right out of the sky with a 100% success rate - and we got to spend a day with it.<p>Meet the US's THAAD system.</p><p>THAAD (<a href="http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/products/thaad.html">Terminal High Altitude Area Defense</a>) is a unique missile-defense system with <span>unmatched precision, c</span><span>apable of <span>countering threats</span></span><span> around the world with its mobility and strategic battery-unit placement.</span></p><p><span>"I<span>t is the most technically advanced missile-defense system in the world," </span></span><span><span>US Army Col. <span>Alan Wiernicki, commander of the 11th <span>Air <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Defense">Defense</keyword> Artillery Brigade</span>, told Business Insider in an interview.</span></span></span></p><p><span><span>"Combatant commanders and our allies know this, which puts our THAAD Batteries in very high global demand," <span>Wiernicki added.</span></span></span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">And that demand seems poised to rise. </span></p><h2>Deploying America's THAAD</h2><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>On Wednesday, </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">North Korean leader Kim Jong Un <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/north-korea-wants-everyone-to-know-that-it-has-a-miniaturized-nuclear-warhead-and-this-is-what-it-apparently-looks-like-2016-3" target="_blank">claimed</a> his country had developed miniaturized nuclear warheads, which can be mounted to long-range ballistic missiles.</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>The rogue regime's latest announcement is a follow-through pass to </span><span>last month's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/north-korea-has-fired-a-long-range-rocket-2016-2" target="_blank">long-range-rocket launch </a>and January's </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-earthquake-detected-in-north-korea-not-clear-if-nuke-test-2016-1" target="_blank">purported hydrogen-bomb test.</a></p><p><span><span>Negotiations to equip South Korea with THAAD have been ongoing since </span><span>South Korean President Park Geun-hye's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/thaad-missile-defense-systems-south-korea-usa-2015-10" target="_blank">October 2015</a> visit to the White House.</span></span></p><p><span><span><span>As of yet, there has not been a formal move to deploy the missile system.</span></span></span></p><p class="p1"><span>"The complexity of global-security challenges is increasingly causing combatant commanders to request more Army forces," <span>US Army Capt. Gus Cunningham told Business Insider.</span></span></p><p class="p1"><span>"With that said, THAAD is ready to respond to any request, at any time," Cunningham added.</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">If a THAAD battery were deployed to South Korea, depending on its exact location, nearly all incoming missiles from the North could be eliminated, as displayed by the following <a href="http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2015/06/south-korea-needs-thaad-missile-defense" target="_blank">graphic</a> from The Heritage Foundation.</span><span class="s1"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table center"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span><span><span>Meanwhile, China is spooked over the potential THAAD assignment to South Korea.</span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>Chinese Ambassador Qiu Guohong warned that basing the US-made THAAD missile system in South Korea would irreparably damage relations between the countries, The Chosunilbo </span><a href="http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2016/02/24/2016022401747.html">reported</a><span>.</span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>THAAD deployment, Qiu </span><a href="http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2016/02/24/2016022401747.html">said</a><span>, "would break the strategic balance in the region and create a vicious cycle of Cold War-style confrontations and an arms race, which could escalate tensions."</span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>During his most recent visit to Beijing, </span></span></span></span><span><span><span><span>Secretary of State John Kerry explained that the US was "<span>not hungry or anxious or looking for an opportunity to deploy THAAD," CNN <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/23/politics/u-s-china-kerry-wang/" target="_blank">reported</a>.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><span>"<span>THAAD is a purely defensive weapon. It is purely capable of shooting down a ballistic missile it intercepts. And it is there for the protection of the United States," Kerry said.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><span><span>"If we can get to denuclearization, there's no need to deploy THAAD," he added.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><h2>How THAAD's 'hit to kill' lethality works</h2><p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p><span>THAAD's first line of defense is its radar system.</span></p><p><span><span>"We have one of the most powerful radars in the world," US Army Capt. Kyle Terza, a THAAD battery commander, told Business Insider.</span></span></p><p><span>Raytheon's </span><a href="http://www.raytheon.com/capabilities/products/antpy2/" target="_blank"><span>AN/TPY-2 </span>radar</a><span> is used to </span><span>detect, track, and discriminate ballistic missiles in the terminal (or descent) phase of flight.</span></p><p><span>The mobile radar is about the size of a bus and is so powerful that it can scan areas the size of entire countries, according to </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IveFdVsiJg&amp;app=desktop" target="_blank">Raytheon</a><span>.</span></p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p>Once an enemy threat has been identified, THAAD's Fire Control and Communications (TFCC) support team kicks in. If there is a decision to engage the incoming missile, the launcher fires an interceptor to hunt <span>for its target.</span></p><p>Here's what the launch looks like from far away:</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div><p>While in flight, the interceptor will track its target and obliterate it in the sky.</p><p>The following infrared imagery shows THAAD demolishing the target:</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div><p>By the end of 2016, the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is scheduled to deliver an additional 48 THAAD interceptors to the US military, bringing the total up to 155, according to a <a href="http://www.mda.mil/global/documents/pdf/ps_syring_031915_hasc.pdf" target="_blank">statement</a> from the MDA's director, Vice Admiral J.D. Syring, given before the House Armed Service Committee.</p><p>According to the MDA, there are more than 6,300 ballistic missiles outside of US, NATO, Russian, and Chinese control.</p><p>While other US partners around the globe are interested in purchasing THAAD, the United Arab Emirates is the sole <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/lockheed-martin-wants-to-sell-more-missiles-abroad-fewer-to-the-pentagon-2014-9" target="_blank">foreign buyer</a> after signing a deal with the Department of Defense for $3.4 billion.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/thaad-missile-defense-systems-south-korea-usa-2015-10">Meet America's THAAD: One of the world's most advanced missile-defense systems that has China spooked</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="95Zm44eDqXqjOFS4KtUG-tSZsvP__qLW" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

The world's most advanced missile system has China spooked - and we got an up-close look

<p><div class="image-container float_right click-to-enlarge" style="width:400px"><div class="image"><a title_source="NASA" title_caption="Using the lunar module as a " lifeboat.="" class="zoomin" href="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/516713b46bb3f76e2800001c-960/liveboat_lg.gif"><span class="click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a></div><p class="source"><keyword id="6360409" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="NASA">NASA</keyword></p><p class="caption">Using the lunar module as a "lifeboat."</p></div>Forty-three years ago, on April 11, 1970, <a href="http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/history/apollo/apollo-13/apollo-13.html" target="_blank">Apollo 13</a> blasted off from Kennedy <keyword id="41531" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="space">Space</keyword> Center. Destination: the moon. </p>
<p>But about 56 hours into the mission something went terribly wrong.  </p>
<p>"Okay, Houston, we've had a problem here," commander module pilot Jack Swigert said to mission control. </p>
<p>"This is Houston. Say again please." </p>
<p>Commander Jim Lovell repeated: "Houston, we've had a problem. We've had a main B bus undervolt."</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/Timeline/apollo13chron.html">real conversation</a> from the <keyword id="138314" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Apollo-13">Apollo 13</keyword> disaster provides a detailed chronology of what happened in the five minutes after an oxygen tank exploded, crippling the command service module, and placing astronauts Swigert, Lovell, and lunar module pilot Fred Haise in serious danger. </p>
<p>The transcript will give you chills. </p>
<p>Within three hours of the malfunction, the astronauts lost the ability to generate water and power. They also lost their oxygen stores. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, back in Houston, mission control was working frantically to get their men quickly and safely back to Earth. </p>
<p><div class="image-container float_left" style="width:400px"><div class="image"></div><p class="source">NASA</p><p class="caption">The makeshift filter system that ultimately saved the astronauts' lives. </p></div>The crew had to abandon the command module and use the lunar module — which they would have used to land on the moon — as a "lifeboat."</p>
<p>But because the module was only built for two people, and there were three astronauts, the canisters used to absorb the gas from the air were quickly used up, leading to a potentially lethal build-up of carbon dioxide.</p>
<p>The crew could use the canisters from the command module, but there was one problem: The command module used square canisters, while the lunar module used round ones.</p>
<p>Using only the materials on the craft, NASA engineers had to find a way to shove a square shape in a round hole.  </p>
<p>This lead to one of the more remarkable feats during the rescue effort. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_13/return/">According to NASA,</a> "following instructions from mission control, it took the astronauts about 1 hour to build the device out of plastic bags, cardboard, parts from a lunar suit and a lot of tape." </p>
<p>It worked!</p>
<p>This was just one of the many challenges NASA faced during an intense four days.  </p>
<p>But all ended well. </p>
<p>The crew splashed down into the South Pacific on April 17, 1970.  </p>
<p>They had missed the moon, but the mission was <a href="http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a13/a13ov.html">classified as a "successful failure"</a> because the three astronauts safely returned to Earth. </p>
<p>Below is the <a href="http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/Timeline/apollo13chron.html">full transcript</a>, recording the events up to about 5 minutes after the accident.</p>
<p>(Times are given are in Ground Elapsed Time (G.E.T.), or the time elapsed since liftoff of <keyword id="6382967" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Apollo">Apollo</keyword> 13 on April 11, 1970, at 2:13 p.m EST. 55:52:00 G.E.T. is equal to 10:05 p.m. EST on April 13, 1970). </p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span>55:55:20 — Swigert: "Okay, Houston, we've had a problem here." </span><br /><br /><span>55:55:28 — Lousma: "This is Houston. Say again please." </span><br /><br /><span>55:55:35 <span>—</span> Lovell: "Houston, we've had a problem. We've had a main B bus undervolt."</span><br /><br /><span>55:55:42 <span>—</span> Lousma: "Roger. Main B undervolt."</span><br /><br /><span>55:55:49 <span>—</span> Oxygen tank No. 2 temperature begins steady drop lasting 59 seconds indicating a failed sensor.</span><br /><br /><span>55:56:10 <span>—</span> Haise: "Okay. Right now, Houston, the voltage is — is looking good. And we had a pretty large bang associated with the caution and warning there. And as I recall, main B was the one that had an amp spike on it once before.</span><br /><br /><span>55:56:30 <span>—</span> Lousma: "Roger, Fred."</span><br /><br /><span>55:56:38 <span>—</span> Oxygen tank No. 2 quantity becomes erratic for 69 seconds before assuming an off-scale low state, indicating a failed sensor. </span><br /><br /><span>55:56:54 <span>—</span> Haise: "In the interim here, we're starting to go ahead and button up the tunnel again."</span><br /><br /><span>55:57:04 <span>—</span> Haise: "That jolt must have rocked the sensor on — see now — oxygen quantity 2. It was oscillating down around 20 to 60 percent. Now it's full-scale high."</span><br /><br /><span>55:57:39 <span>—</span> Master caution and warning triggered by DC main bus B undervoltage. Alarm is turned off in 6 seconds.</span><br /><br /><span>55:57:40 <span>—</span> DC main bus B drops below 26.25 volts and continues to fall rapidly.</span><br /><br /><span>55:57:44 <span>— </span>Lovell: "Okay. And we're looking at our service module RCS helium 1. We have -- B is barber poled and D is barber poled, helium 2, D is barber pole, and secondary propellants, I have A and C barber pole." AC bus fails within 2 seconds. </span><br /><br /><span>55:57:45 <span>—</span> Fuel cell 3 fails.</span><br /><br /><span>55:57:59 <span>—</span> Fuel cell current begins to decrease.</span><br /><br /><span>55:58:02 <span>—</span> Master caution and warning caused by AC bus 2 being reset.</span><br /><br /><span>55:58:06 <span>—</span> Master caution and warning triggered by DC main bus undervoltage.</span><br /><br /><span>55:58:07 <span>—</span> DC main bus A drops below 26.25 volts and in the next few seconds levels off at 25.5 volts.</span><br /><br /><span>55:58:07 <span>—</span> Haise: "AC 2 is showing zip."</span><br /><br /><span>55:58:25 <span>—</span> Haise: "Yes, we got a main bus A undervolt now, too, showing. It's reading about 25 and a half. Main B is reading zip right now."</span><br /><br /><span>56:00:06 <span>— </span>Master caution and warning triggered by high hydrogen flow rate to fuel cell 2.</span></p>

The Transcript From The Apollo 13 Disaster Will Give You Chills

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Sadiq Khan</span></p><p class="caption">Sadiq Khan standing in front of the housing estate where he grew up.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Labour's candidate to be the next Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is <a href="http://www.politics.co.uk/news/2016/01/07/sadiq-khan-on-course-for-landslide-victory-over-zac-goldsmit">dominating his Conservative rival</a> Zac Goldsmith in the polls at the moment. Business Insider met up with Khan at a cafe in London's famous Borough Market to find out more about the man who could become London's third Mayor.</p><p>He started off by telling BI a well-rehearsed version of his life-story. Khan, a London-born son of immigrants, wants to be seen as a true Londoner who has experienced the best and worst of the city. By pointing out that he grew up on a council estate, went to a state school, and his dad was a bus driver, Khan is highlighting the difference between himself and his son-of-a-billionaire rival Zac Goldsmith:</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">My family story is the London story, my parents came to this country in the 1960s, actually my grandparents, immigrants, they left India for Pakistan after the partition. My parents were immigrants as well, they came from Pakistan to London. My dad was a bus driver for more than 25 years and my mum sewed clothes to help support the family.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Sadiq Khan</span></p><p class="caption">A young Sadiq outside the estate where he grew up.</p></div><p></p></div></div>We lived in a council estate in Earlsfield in south London. The council estate gave my family the security of knowing that they had a tenancy as long as they needed it and also the rents were affordable. So my parents were able to raise a family, put money aside for a deposit for their own home - which they were able to buy.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">We all went to good local state schools where the teachers pushed us to work hard. All of us who wanted to go to university were able to do so. One of my brothers, who wanted to be a mechanic, got a good quality apprenticeship as a mechanic. It's the London story where you work hard and you get out what you put in.</p><p>Khan doesn't only use the polished story of his childhood set him apart from Goldsmith, he also uses it to show what has informed the thinking behind many of his policies. For instance, as the coffee arrived, Khan told the story of how he was able to buy a house in his mid-20s, despite only being a trainee solicitor <span>- something that would be impossible today.</span> He later told me that fixing the housing crisis in London was his top priority:</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">The problem with today's London is that there are too many Londoners who aren't able to fulfill their potential, they haven't got a secure affordable home, they haven't got a good local state school, they don't go to university based on their grades, they can't get good quality apprenticeships. After university, after law school when I was a trainee solicitor, moved back home with Mum and dad, slept on the top bunk of my old bedroom, put money aside for a deposit. My wife and I bought out property with the mortgage and that when we were in our mid-20s. Today's Londoners. The average age of a first-time buyer is 39.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Sadiq Khan</span></p><p class="caption">Sadiq and his brothers.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Today, Khan is the MP for Tooting, an area his family moved to when he was a child. He went to the local Fircroft<span> primary school, the school he sent his daughters to, followed by the local Ernest Bevin comprehensive school. While most of his classmates from Ernest Bevin did go to university, Khan secured a place to study law at the University of North London, which is now called London Metropolitan University (ranked last year as the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2014/jun/02/university-league-tables-2015-the-complete-list">worst university in the UK).</a> </span></p><p>He had originally wanted to become a dentist until his maths teacher told him "<span>you're always arguing, why don't you become a lawyer?"</span></p><p>He was also inspired by the TV show L.A. Law, which glamorised the life of lawyers. He wasn't alone, the show led to an increase in law school applications in the US with law school dean Dr. Michael J. Kelly <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/1987-08-31/entertainment/ca-3287_1_law-schools">concluding that show</a> was a hit among young law students because of "the inspiration it gives them for the infinite possibilities for sex." Khan himself was inspired by the character Victor Sifuentes, a character that turned actor <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/1987-08-07/entertainment/ca-1054_1_victor-sifuentes">Jimmy Smits into a sex-symbol</a>.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">You're probably too young to remember L.A. Law. L.A. law was about lawyers in LA who do great cases, act for the underdog, drove nice cars, look great and I wanted to be Sifuentes. Sifuentes, played by Jimmy Smits ... so I did a law degree rather than dentistry and loved law.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Sadiq Khan</span></p><p class="caption">Sadiq Khan's graduation picture</p></div><p></p></div></div>Khan's law career took off, by the age of 27 he was an equity partner in his firm and he represented broad range of clients, from people who had been unfairly dismissed from work to victims of police misconduct.He's proud of the impact his work had, particularly when he was able to set legal precedents. BI asked him for the highlights from his previous career:</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Well there's lots of cases, if you're a law student you will know about some of my cases. I was fortunate to win a case at the European Court of Human Rights, I was fortunate to win a case in the House of Lords. I've won cases in the Court of Appeal … If you're a lawyer and you're blessed and you're lucky, you have a landmark case and you set a precedent, which I was able to do a number of times, the impact your case has on your client of course, but if you set a precedent other people can benefit from the case law you set.</p><p>But Khan didn't always represent innocent victims. On one occasion he represented <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/feb/13/timeline-ali-dizaei">corrupt police officer</a> Ali Dizaei. Khan admits he had some "unsavoury characters" as clients, but points that everyone is entitled to good legal representation.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">I loved being a lawyer, great, great job. You literally get to change lives and lots of lots of my clients that I acted upon, I'm really proud of. Some clients I acted for, frankly speaking, not very nice people, unsavoury characters. One of the great things about this country is we've got the rule of law, we've got due process, everyone's entitled to you know, good representation.</p><p>So, what made Kahn give up a job he clearly loved when a House of Commons seat became available in Tooting? Khan says it was the chance to change the lives of millions of people.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">The way I saw it is, if you're lucky and have a brilliant case and set a precedent, you can improve the quality of life for your client and for a handful, a dozen, a hundred people. But if you are a parliamentarian, making legislation, changing legislation, you can potentially affect the lives of millions of people.</p><h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Sadiq Khan</span></p><p class="caption">Sadiq Khan drinking coffee.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Housing</h2><p>If he does become Mayor, Khan really will have the power to influence millions of lives and he would start by shaking up London's housing market. Khan has three big policies that his says will ease the soaring cost of renting accommodation in London.</p><p>The first will be to get developers to make 50% of new homes "genuinely affordable." This is what he says genuinely affordable means:</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Genuinely affordable means homes with either a social rent - council rent - and, or a London living rent. London living rent will be a third of average earnings in an area, so not linked to market value of the property, but average earnings, so a third of that. And or homes to buy, rent to buy or shared ownership - half will be genuinely affordable, the other half will be market value.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Compare and contrast my definition of affordable with Boris Johnson's and Zac Goldsmith's. Boris Johnson says affordable homes are 80% of market value. Do the maths, Zac Goldsmith says affordable homes are homes costing £450,000.</p><p>The contrast between what Khan thinks "affordable means" and what he says his main rival Goldsmith thinks it means is becoming central to his campaign. At the first mayoral hustings held at the London School of Economics on February 28, Khan repeatedly attacked Goldsmith for not saying on stage what he thought an affordable house was.</p><p>Khan's second big housing policy is to give Londoners "first dibs" on sales of within new developments that are being sold "off-plan," meaning sold from the construction plan before they are even built. This would prevent properties being sold to foreign investors without being advertised in the <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword> first. "First dibs" means that Kahn will give Local Authorities the right to negotiate with developers to make them advertise their off-plan properties in London.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">My London plan will also say "first dibs to Londoner's" developers can't sell off-plan overseas anymore, Londoners need to have first dibs.</p><p>The final policy, and this is a huge one, is that Khan will set up his own letting agency that will undercut all the private lettings agencies in London. He says this is necessary to combat "rip-off" fees.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">I'll be saying to you as a Londoner, look, you can have a three-year tenancy with my not-for-profit letting agent. No rip-off fee. So, in three years, the rent only goes up by inflation.</p><p>It sounds great for renters, but how on earth will Khan get landlords to sign up? He reckons that six months rent up front would do it:</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">And I say to you as a landlord, give me your property for three years, I'll give you six months rent up-front. I'll look after the property and do all the checks that need to be doing.</p><p>In addition, Khan says bad landlords need to be "named and shamed." He didn't give any specifics on how this would be done, but did highlight the example of New York where lists of bad landlords are published online.'</p><h2>Transport</h2><p>Transport is another area where Sadiq is drawing on his past to try and convince voters that he's the right man to be mayor. He says that because of his bus driver father, he has transport in the blood; he's also doing his best to remind people that under Gordon Brown he was the Transport Minister.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">I'm the only one of the candidates who's got any experience of running the transport system, I was the Minister of State for transport, responsible for TFL, the Minister for Crossrail. So aside for having transport in my blood with my dad, I've got a bit of experience running transport.</p><p>Khan is clearly very passionate about London's transport infrastructure and didn't need much encouragement to talk rapid-fire about the policies he wants to introduce. It was hard to get a word in edgeways:</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">The chancellor needs to announce in his budget in spring serious funding for Crossrail 2. We need to start thinking about Crossrail 3, we need to start thinking about expanding the tram in parts of London, we need to start thinking about expanding the DLR, expanding the Bakerloo line, we need to think about and start talking about having the next generation of buses that are properly hybrid, or electric cell, or hydrogen powered cell, we need to be talking about getting people to cycle more, segregated cycle lanes that are safe, fixing the junctions which are dangerous, making sure there are quietways that are working, but also encouraging young people to be confident cycling by cycling proficiency, pedestrianising Oxford Street.</p><p>But the huge flagship transport policy that Londoners are talking about, is Khan's promise to freeze Tube and bus fares till 2016:</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">I will freeze fares on the buses, on the tubes, on the DLR, so that in 2020, you will be paying the same fares as you were paying in 2016. And also, in the week before the Mayoral elections in 2020, when I'm hopefully going for my second term, the fairs you pay will be the same fares you pay in 2016.</p><p>Khan says he will pay for the price freeze by ending what he calls "vanity projects." These include subsidising the Greenwich cable car, buying new £300,000 double decker buses, clamping down on fare evasion and, intriguingly, making TFL "sweat its assets." Basically, he wants TFL to be able to bid for contracts outside of the country; this could mean that TFL could end up running the part of the transport infrastructure in another city and the profits from that could be used to freeze fare prices in London.</p><h2>Terrorism</h2><p>Above everything else, Khan says that keeping Londoners safe is the number one job for a mayor and following the attacks in Paris there is a renewed focus on how to protect London from terrorist attacks. Khan believes that the threat doesn't come from abroad, but is home-grown. His solution to stopping this type of radicalisation is to help people feel proud to be British.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">We've got to do much more in stopping Londoners, stopping British people becoming radicalised … actually young people are now becoming radicalised in their bedroom. I've spoken to experts and studied terrorist attempts in London, terrorist attempts in the UK and actually in Paris. they're radicalised, not in Syria or Iraq, they're radicalised here in this country. And that's why we've got to think about what we can do to give young people pride in being British. Pride in being a Londoner. Making them resilient when somebody tries to brainwash them.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Sadiq Khan</span></p><p class="caption">Sadiq Khan checking out some carrots.</p></div><p></p></div></div>In practical terms, Khan's solutions are surprising and include helping parents chat while waiting for their kids outside school and encouraging neighbours to grow vegetables together.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">So, for example, can I use the office of Mayor to bring people together, getting people playing sports together? Can I use planning to think about having shelters in playgrounds so mums and dads speak to each other, get to know each other. Can we think about community allotments, so friends and neighbours get to know each other?</p><p>As a Muslim, Khan is very proud of how London has treated him. "I've got family who live in Muslim-majority countries, and they tell me they couldn't achieve in their countries, what I've achieved in London," he told BI.</p><p><span>Khan says he recognises that segregation exists and that the government needs to push for integration. For instance, he says it's very important for people to be able to speak English.</span></p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">It's crucial people speak English, it's because I can speak English that I can talk to you, it's because parents can speak English that they can talk to parents in their classrooms, or get to know their neighbours, or apply for jobs.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Sadiq Khan</span></p><p class="caption">Sadiq Khan in front of the National Gallery.</p></div><p></p></div></div>It sounds a bit like he might agree with Prime Minister <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/david-cameron-Muslim-women-learn-english-2016-1">David Cameron's new policy</a> that will deport Muslim immigrants if they don't improve their English within two years of coming to the country. Does he agree with Cameron or does he think that that policy is a bit clumsy? Khan says that Cameron should meet his mum.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">I'm sure David Cameron worries about security, I'm sure that he wants to make sure that there are zero attempts … you can see the response from British Muslim women who were just appalled that he was trying to say that you know, they were kind of subservient - you should meet my mum. I say this to you half seriously, half jokingly. One of the reasons I'd never even think about getting rid of the freedom pass [a pass that allows older Londoners to travel on public transport for free] and why I'm a great advocate of the freedom pass is my mum would kill me if I got rid of the freedom pass.</p><p>With time running out, BI just had time to ask Khan about his relationship with labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and his supporters. Khan answered with a quote from former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">The Labour Party has always been a big tent, we've got people on different parts of the spectrum, and I will seek support from whoever wants to give it to me. It's really important that we understand that you can only change things if you win elections. So, you know, Tony Blair once said "principle without power is futile, but power without principle is barren."... So look, Jeremy Corbyn isn't on the ballot paper on May the 5th, David Cameron isn't on the ballot paper on May the 5th, nor is Boris Johnson. I say with the greatest respect to the other people standing for Mayor of London, it's going to be Goldsmith or me.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-attacks-reporter-megyn-kelly-debate-fox-meet-the-press-abortion-2016-1">Watch Trump go head-to-head with a reporter and attack Megyn Kelly for being a 'lightweight reporter'</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="pkdjNoMDE6dDLcDWcTQPKXkitlp25L3v" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

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