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When giving radiation therapy, SpaceOAR hydrogel has been part of the standard treatment for the last decade to reduce unnecessary radiation exposure to the rectum. In rare cases, SpaceOAR may be placed but the patient cannot go through with radiation.

Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy after SpaceOAR Placement.

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SpaceOAR

Meet the Winners of Startups in North and Central America

Spacefaring Requires Advancing Space Propulsion 

It’s easier to write about the engineering of space tech than it is about the complex and nuanced areas of national and international laws. I am not an attorney or a legal scholar. I parse on occasion about space. In February 2021, for example, the Dubai International Financial Centre -DIFC Courts announced a to focus on commercial disputes. The DIFC Courts and the Dubai Future Foundation - DFF followed the announcement shortly after creating an international working group for legal scholarship and thought leadership. The working group seeks the creation of a Space Dispute Guide for commercial space-related activities. some of the conversations among legal circles Courts of Space Initiative It surprises me that although most legal discussions diverge on the actual issues, they converge on the need for urgency. National and international legal frameworks do not advance at the same pace as space technologies and commercial enterprises. Fundamental legal questions continue to intersect and remain unaddressed. These legal gaps are especially evident for in-orbit satellite servicing, in-situ resource utilization - ISRU, removal of space debris, space traffic management, deep-space robotic exploration, and many other areas for space travel, research, and exploration. There’s a noticeable stickiness in space jurisprudence at the international and national levels across the globe. This stickiness pales compared to the type of legal frameworks that currently facilitate and accelerate public-private alliances in other deep-tech industries. I cannot help but ask myself, why isn’t there a renewed sense of commitment across the world to address the legal issues about space business and exploration? Fortunately, I had the opportunity to sync up with two accomplished experts this month in space law who offered insights about the cost of sticky space laws in their geographies. This article sums up our conversations. I hope that by reading it, you can also notice some of the gray areas and ultimately the upside of sound legal frameworks to help us embrace our future in outer space. is an attorney, legal scholar, writer, commentator, and analyst with a doctorate in law from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, focusing on space law. Originally from Madrid, Elisa serves as President of the (Spanish Association of Aeronautics and Space Law). She is also Co-President of the International Aeronautics and Space Law Division at the (Illustrious Bar Association of Madrid), whose creation dates back to 1596. Elisa González Ferreiro Asociación Española de Derecho Aeronáutico y Espacial - AEDAE Ilustre Colegio de Abogados de Madrid Elisa has a visceral understanding of the nuts and bolts of space law as a frequent speaker and scholar. , including being a founding member of the European Space Agency - ESA and one of its top significant contributors and supporters of space exploration missions and Earth observation programs. Elisa undertook her doctoral dissertation about the international legal aspects of the International Space Station as it was undergoing construction. Spain has a long history in space activities Elisa González. Madrid, Spain. April 2021. is an attorney, legal scholar, and policy analyst with a master’s degree in International Trade and Investment Law. Calling Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second-largest city, as home and base, Ruvimbo works as a Consultant for the recently established Zimbabwe National & Geospatial Space Agency - ZINGSA and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa - UNECA. She has been awarded prominently for her leadership in the emerging African space economy. Ruvimbo was part of the first African team and , which dealt with planetary defense issues and liability for damages caused in outer space. Ruvimbo Samanga winner of the 2018 International Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Competition Ruvimbo is also currently a Research Fellow at the Open Lunar Foundation. She co-hosts the podcast and blog . She volunteers at the and the Subcommittee of New Technical Regulations. newmoon IAF Space Traffic Management Technical Committee TC.26 Ruvimbo Samanga. Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. April 2021. What are the challenges and sticky legal situations in your respective countries? Elisa: Many countries have their national space frameworks and policies, especially a National Space Law, with laws, regulations, and licenses that support national exploration and usage of outer space, including public and private actors. The principal concern among legal scholars and practicing attorneys in Spain right now is the suitability of our national legal framework for activities in outer space and having a national space agency. Space activities are channeled by different ministries and inter-ministerial commissions. The Spanish government can conduct activities in outer space. Still, there is no national framework to regulate local and foreign commercial stakeholders seeking to conduct space-related activities in the national territory. We don’t have a National Space Law for space activities and we don’t have clarity about which Ministry could grant licenses and contracts. I participated, for example, in a draft bill at the Spanish Ministerio de Fomento (Ministry of Development). Although the draft was met early on with interest, it didn’t pick up as it could. It is unfortunate because mainland Spain and the Canary Islands are both situated nearby bodies of water and may offer competitive geographic locations for suborbital spaceflights and small satellite launches. Based on the recent release of data about the national budget in Spain, I trust that we will see progress towards a National Space Law in due course. Ruvimbo: Many of the first-generation space laws were drafted with two countries in mind, mainly the United States and the former Soviet Union. And the stakeholders were primarily governments even for many decades after. These treaties and laws could not envision or anticipate private actors, space tourists, lunar mining, etc. In Africa, the power of enabling national space policy is left out from many legal discussions. In particular, why it’s essential to start the road towards a space program and space policy, especially one that speaks to the private sector and education. How do we make sure that we’re upskilling and reskilling the population and creating a critical mass of individuals that benefit and contribute to this new industry? I favor the countries that begin with a policy because it informs internal and external stakeholders. As a startup entrepreneur, I would like to know the specific needs of the space agency, for example, geographic information services, and how my startup can provide innovation to those services. We don’t cater to deep space exploration in our policy issues. There are few African countries interested in lunar or planetary exploration. This type of exploration will have spin-off benefits that we might miss out on if not taken seriously. What are some of the areas in the space industry that are under looked by the legal community? Elisa: Legal scholars bring to the table a profound analysis of what national frameworks should include to resolve and anticipate conflicts while still respecting international frameworks such as that of the United Nations Outer Space Treaty. Space debris is becoming a huge legal problem. From the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee - IADC, the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space - COPUOS, the European Code of Conduct, we have international mandates, which should be incorporated more readily into national frameworks. States and commercial stakeholders worldwide could be more conscious of the best practices and conduct for a sustainable space economy. Planetary protection is also profoundly overlooked among legal scholars. This principle of safety and awareness should guide interplanetary missions to prevent harm to extraterrestrial life, biological contamination on the target planet, or upon return on Earth. The best practices from the Committee on Space Research - COSPAR, for example, are not legally binding. Planetary defense is also sorely missing in legal circles. A serious asteroid or comet impact can have disastrous consequences on several nation-states at once. National legal frameworks should contemplate more seriously the regulations and ramifications of massive civilian evacuations. I've noticed that mining rights on the Moon and permanent settlements are still considered a far away scenario among certain legal professionals in Spain and worldwide. There will come a time when the Moon will start getting busy with business and research. In this same vein, I can't entirely agree with those professionals who regard the Moon Treaty of 1979 as the foundation for discussing the common heritage of humankind. There is no internationally accepted definition of the common heritage of humanity. The concept of common heritage that applies the seabed and ocean floor cannot be extrapolated to outer space. How can we speak of an international regime that divides resources if we find ourselves with a company investing its capital upfront in conduct such enterprise? The Outer Space Treaty already demarcates that space is open for exploration and use by nations. Ruvimbo: I noticed that the satellite industry is becoming better integrated into the policy and legal frameworks at a global level. People are looking more towards human and robotic space exploration in deep space. There are so many issues that we haven't yet tackled. One of the main ones is ownership of property in outer space, space mining, in situ resource utilization - ISRU. To what extent do you own any material you derive or part of the Moon that you land on? Even the infrastructure you use, is there a duty to share it with other spacefaring states? At the moment, we don't really know how ownership and property rights are going to work in outer space, which presents us with a significant challenge in the coming ten years. The current discourse with property rights looks at delineating first what property rights are, tangible vs. intangible. From that, who owns these rights? We have an exciting industry with a global commons that belongs to everyone. But you also have individuals investing money, figuring out and exploring this commons, and conducting research beneficial to all of us. There's the interplay between respecting global sovereignty and deriving property, innovation, finances, prestige. You have intellectual property rights where you have a right to derive income from your innovations and inventions, but the Outer Space Treaty doesn't delineate whether you can or cannot derive income from the Moon. This terrain is unregulated. As long as it is unregulated, anything goes. We're now in a decision quagmire of whether we need a whole new body of laws that will then germinate into second or third-generation space laws, or we simply take the first-generation space laws as they are. The best we can do is find as many analogy regimes and best practices from a multitude of regimes as we can. The law of the seas is one often that we use. The seas are both a global commons and where countries also have clear sovereignty over their maritime boundaries. Some scholars have veered away the law of the seas precisely for this very same reason, though. It promotes appropriation to a certain extent, and it's also been used to justify cultural protection of heritage sites on the Moon, which is another murky area that we're trying to figure out. It's really difficult. What is the future of space law, and what are some of its misconceptions? Elisa: I see a greater sense of urgency in Spanish academia to educate young students in international space law. I recall sitting in my international law class and being told by my instructor to skip the textbook pages about space law. This dismissal of space law disturbed me deeply. I read the lesson anyways, and I fell in love with it since my early days at school. Space law is a dynamic field that will continue to change as technologies and applications change. It keeps you on your toes. I advocate in my different roles of the pivotal role of legal frameworks for space activities and how in Spain, for example, it could be a game-changer. We just launched a course about aeronautics and space law , including a commercial focus. Activities in outer space are becoming part of our modern lives. In addition to scientists and engineers, we need to prepare the new generations of young lawyers, politicians, economists, advocates to pay attention to this. Ruvimbo: Many people who hear about space law or the space industry assume that it’s highly technical and outside of our scope of understanding. I found out that I didn’t require all that much new knowledge. Space law is the application of terrestrial law to a more technical field. With minor technical adjustments, you’re dealing with the everyday practical dealings of what attorneys focus on: contractual negotiations, intellectual property, dispute resolution, and the management of the legal and political issues that one might encounter with the stakeholders in other sectors. If you’re in the private sector, different laws apply to you, and a space lawyer can assist you with that. In Africa, a lot of the work for space lawyers is analyzing the political terrain and looking at policy, as well as creating a regulatory environment that supports emergent space programs. You find that space lawyers have gone beyond that in other spacefaring nations by beginning to actively influence global policy, commercial policy, and human exploration in spaceflight policy. In the next five to ten years, space law will be one of the top legal careers, especially in the growing satellite market. In Africa, policy analysts will be the career of the next five to ten years because it’s an emerging market. After all, they need a lot of policy building and capacity building. In the global space industry, we’ll need many alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and experts because we’re moving to the more commercial use of outer space. It makes sense to conduct business quicker. Commercial disputes and arbitration will never fall short, whether it’s contractual negotiations, intellectual property, or any other kind of liability. Key takeaway: We're already at a tipping point Legal scholars, practicing attorneys, and policymakers agree on the challenge to define and resolve many of the new conflicts in the growing space economy. Elisa and Ruvimbo pointed out some of the grey legal areas that remain under the radar due to outdated treaties and frameworks. We're already at a tipping point in our space era. As public-private alliances and commercially-driven space missions sprint towards a stronger spacefaring generation, space laws cannot continue to be sticky. Adaptable space legal frameworks could facilitate business operations in ways that foster collective interest at the local, national, and international levels. Flexible frameworks could also anticipate some of the thorny issues stakeholders will experience in the next few years. I hope that this conversation continues to pique your curiosity. I will continue to be on the lookout for the bold and visionary legal initiatives. // is the artist featured at the top with his work titled Big (2018). Based in the city of Lagos in Nigeria, John has created sci-fi and space concept art for approximately seven years to date. John Zino On his creative process, John offered the following: This work is one of my favorites. I was inspired by some of the popular video games I played back in the days. I also got some inspiration from the African goddesses, such as  Ọ̀ṣun  (Oshun). I always imagined her to be huge.

Sticky Space Laws: Why Versatile Legal Frameworks Can Accelerate Our Spacefaring Era

2022 featured far too many fun video games for anyone to play, as it does every year. Even professional game reporters don't have enough time to cover them all. Big-budget, 50+ hour epics like , , and can be too easy to become engrossing. Elden Ring God of War Ragnarok Xenoblade Chronicles 3 You undoubtedly have a backlog of games to last you well into January or February after finishing this list. In this thread, our community discussed about the Top 10 games that you may or may not have played in 2022. This Slogging thread is by Valentine Enedah, Teri, Mónica Freitas, Sara Pinto, Moses Concha, Seye Yemi-Olowolabi and Marco Sullivan occurred in slogging's official #gaming channel, and has been edited for readability. Slogging Valentine Enedah Dec 14, 2022, 2:02 PM Top 10 games you may have not played in 2022! https://mashable.com/article/10-best-games-you-may-have-missed-2022 Valentine Enedah Dec 14, 2022, 2:20 PM The Top 10 games: You play as Nobody, a nondescript little fella who gets a magic wand that lets him transform into a bunch of different forms, including a rat, a slug, a dragon, and much more. Each form has its own abilities that level up as you mow down hordes of enemies in the game’s top-down dungeons, and levelling up also unlocks new forms. Nobody Saves the World Eventually, you'll be mixing and matching abilities from multiple forms at once and unleashing screen-filling devastation on hapless enemies. If you like games about watching numbers go up while meters fill in the background, is about as satisfying as it gets. Nobody Saves the World Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S Valentine Enedah Dec 14, 2022, 2:23 PM is probably best experienced with as little information going in as possible. It’s also on my personal backlog. However, given what damn near everyone I know has been saying about this game all year, it seems like a can’t-miss proposition for fans of compelling, branching narratives in games. Citizen Sleeper Citizen Sleeper Set on a space station that’s become a sort of lawless nation, follows a worker android who’s escaped from the job they were built for. It’s all about going through a daily routine of trying to survive, making friends, taking on odd jobs, and doing anything else you can do with a dice roll. Citizen Sleeper Like a tabletop role-playing game, uses dice rolls to determine the outcome of your actions and the narrative can branch depending on what happens. Oh, and get this: It’s on Game Pass, too. Citizen Sleeper Platforms: PC, Mac, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S Valentine Enedah Dec 14, 2022, 2:29 PM The original made big waves in 2014, within its first hour on sale. Its gameplay loop of entering a shapeshifting castle, fighting until you die, and spending the money you earned on upgrades that your offspring could use next time around was hard to resist. You never knew what would happen on any given run, but the steady upgrade incline made each progressive run a little less scary. The good news about its 2022 sequel is that it’s even better than the original. takes the first game’s formula and adds a ton of new classes with their own unique weapons, new spells to use in combat, and movement abilities that make getting around the castle much more fun than before. It’s never been more satisfying to hit enemies with a scalding frying pan. Rogue Legacy Rogue Legacy exactly Rogue Legacy 2 Platforms: Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Mac Valentine Enedah Dec 14, 2022, 2:32 PM Continuing down the road of narrative-heavy adventure games that have something to say about the real world, has been heralded as by people who actually got around to playing it. It was PC-only for much of the year, but as of mid-November, you can play it on consoles, too. is a point-and-click adventure game with stunning pixel art that’s used to draw you into Norco, Louisiana, a fictionalized version of a real town with the same name. It’s rare for any game to be set in the deep south and much more rare for any game to directly confront the realities of capitalism, climate issues (the real Norco has experienced and everything else that kind of sucks about living in America right now. Norco Norco Norco Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC Valentine Enedah Dec 14, 2022, 2:35 PM Remember the golden age of 3D platformers? Back in the late 1990s, it seemed like every other video game starred a plucky mascot who was real good at jumping on things. and were the kings of gaming. Sadly, Mario is the only one still putting in the work on a consistent basis. Enter . This Game Pass diamond-in-the-rough is a charming little platformer where you play as a shrunken little guy running around a regular home. I the “little character in a gigantic version of a mundane room” trope. Your character quickly learns how to catch and command the titular tinykin, color-coded creatures who can perform different tasks on your behalf. It’s essentially a mix between and , to put it simply. You can finish it in a weekend and I highly recommend doing so. Tinykin Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon Tinykin love Super Mario 64 Pikmin Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, PC Valentine Enedah Dec 14, 2022, 2:37 PM Do you like solving mysteries? Of course you do. Right now, you’re here to solve the mystery of “which games to play while I’m on vacation.” Consider giving a shot, in that case. This PC-only adventure game has wickedly cool pixel-based visuals to go along with a murder mystery involving 12 cases that may or may not be related. It’s all about interviewing suspects, picking out the right words from their testimony and related evidence, and slotting those words Mad Libs-style into a chain of events until you figure out what the heck happened. is definitely a game where you may want to keep your own notes. It may also just be the answer to your holiday gaming mystery. The Case of the Golden Idol The Case of the Golden Idol The Case of the Golden Idol Platforms: PC Valentine Enedah Dec 14, 2022, 2:39 PM A futuristic racer in the same vein as or , is about speeding very quickly down, up, over, and around wild sci-fi racetracks. There’s a good degree of technique involved here, as boosting too much can overheat your vehicle and end a race prematurely. If you’re like me, you’ll ride the line between “going faster than everyone else” and “exploding horribly.” It’s a great time, even you are terrible at it. Redout 2 F-Zero Wipeout Redout 2 constantly Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, PC is about beating the holy hell out of enemies. It’s devastatingly simple at first, but quickly gives way to something much more dynamic and varied. Don’t get me wrong, it’s never about beating dudes up, but the ways in which you can do that keep expanding as you play. At first, you just button mash through combos. Within a couple of missions, however, you’ll be pulling off counters, finishers, using folding chairs as throwing weapons, sticking dudes with knives, and even engaging in some gunfire. It’s easy to pick up, but leaves plenty of room for high-level mastery. Oh, and the bass-y, electronic soundtrack is . Midnight Fight Express Midnight Fight Express not sick Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, PC Valentine Enedah Dec 14, 2022, 2:45 PM Ever wanted to run a laundromat? I know, I know, it almost sounds too exciting to handle, but in , it’s the key to success. is a game where you can play 35 different original games inspired by arcade games of the 1980s and ‘90s, but it’s also more than that. It’s about managing a laundromat until it becomes a successful enough arcade to grow into something . With a unique blend of management sim mechanics and good old-fashioned arcade fun (some of the games even have multiplayer), there’s nothing else quite like . Arcade Paradise Arcade Paradise Arcade Paradise more Arcade Paradise Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, PC Valentine Enedah Dec 14, 2022, 2:47 PM is a cozy little spacefaring adventure about coming-of-age as one of just a few human colonizers on a faraway planet. Playing as the titular teenage exocolonist through 10 in-game years (from ages 10 to 20), you’ll encounter alien plants and animals, build relationships with your fellow humans, and try to determine your place in the world. It’s a game about choices, friendship, romance, and the struggle to survive. There’s also a card game mechanic that you can become fully invested in or turn off entirely. This is your adventure, after all. I Was a Teenage Exocolonist I Was a Teenage Exocolonist Platforms: PS4, PS5, Switch, PC, Mac Valentine Enedah Dec 14, 2022, 2:51 PM Ahhhhhhhhh. That's the sound of your brain being massaged by the dopamine-releasing thrills of . There isn't a lot to say about because there isn't a lot to it. You move a little guy around the screen and he attacks automatically at set intervals. Enemies slowly encroach upon you and fall victim to said attacks. Defeated enemies drop experience points and every time you level up, you get a choice of three random enhancements, like upgraded damage, a new projectile that gets added to your base attack, or more armor. And it just keeps going like that until you're a walking merchant of death with like 19 different weapons and projectiles flying out of you every half-second. is not only the most satisfying game of 2022. It might be the game of 2022. Vampire Survivors Vampire Survivors Vampire Survivors Vampire Survivors best Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Mac, iOS, Android Valentine Enedah Dec 14, 2022, 2:53 PM These games are so cool! What do you think? Would you love to try them? Teri Dec 14, 2022, 7:15 PM I can't remember the last time, I played a game. Maybe someday, I will want to try it out. Valentine Enedah Dec 14, 2022, 9:36 PM Teri Really! You should play games. They are really good for recreation. 🙈 1 Mónica Freitas Dec 15, 2022, 2:11 PM Nobody saves the world seems fun. Have you played any of these yet? Sara Pinto Dec 15, 2022, 2:33 PM Valentine Enedah, this list sounds pretty cool. However, I'm not sure I have the commitment to go through a whole game. I'm been playing the same one for about a year 😅 Valentine Enedah Dec 15, 2022, 3:19 PM Mónica Freitas Yes, I have played the Redout 2! The game is really cool and also a bit difficult.😞 Valentine Enedah Dec 15, 2022, 3:20 PM Sara Pinto I totally understand! What game have you been playing so far? Moses Concha Dec 15, 2022, 3:27 PM Mónica Freitas Nobody Saves the World is incredibly underrated! It's an excellent co-op experience where you have to tactfully transform into different characters on the fly to defeat hordes of unique enemies. The game’s plot and writing id wildly hilarious, and never takes itself too seriously. It takes place in a densely packed open world that is both sprawling and fun to explore, with a variety of silly and equally menacing dungeons filled to the brim with creative enemies and bosses to beat - alone or with a friend to boot! It also has soft RPG mechanics where you can upgrade your favorite characters' special abilities that will make it easier to continue munching through waves of monsters. I highly recommend it 😄 💚 1 Sara Pinto Dec 15, 2022, 3:57 PM Valentine Enedah, I'm still trying to finish It Takes Two! What about you? What are you playing? Valentine Enedah Dec 15, 2022, 4:04 PM Moses Concha Amazing! It has a touch of Fortnite to it. I will definitely check it. Valentine Enedah Dec 15, 2022, 4:07 PM Sara Pinto Interesting game! What console do you play games on? Well so far I have been playing Redout 2, God of War Ragnarok and a mobile arcade game called Clash Royale. Sara Pinto Dec 16, 2022, 4:46 PM Valentine Enedah, I've been playing on PC, I haven't played any game in a actual console in years, but still use a console controller to play haha. Do you also play on PC? Valentine Enedah Dec 16, 2022, 7:21 PM Sara Pinto Not really! I prefer playing on console. I have a PS4 Seye Yemi-Olowolabi Dec 16, 2022, 7:21 PM anybody playing mobile?👀 Valentine Enedah Dec 16, 2022, 7:22 PM What mobile games are you playing? Seye Yemi-Olowolabi Dec 16, 2022, 7:24 PM Call of Duty Mobile and hopefully Warzone mobile when it comes out Valentine Enedah Dec 16, 2022, 7:25 PM Interesting! I think we need to settle this debate. PUBG or COD? Seye Yemi-Olowolabi Dec 16, 2022, 7:27 PM Man I was a pubg supporter before then when I started playing COD, I had to be honest with myself 💀 Seye Yemi-Olowolabi Dec 16, 2022, 7:28 PM None of them comes close to COD at all Valentine Enedah Dec 16, 2022, 7:28 PM Funny how, I prefer PUBG to COD. What features on COD do you think makes them stand out? Seye Yemi-Olowolabi Dec 16, 2022, 7:39 PM The player movement is a lot smoother and more enjoyable It has more gun customisation features Valentine Enedah Dec 16, 2022, 7:46 PM I see. This is a good point. What console-only game would you love them to create a mobile version for it? Teri Dec 18, 2022, 11:05 PM Yeah, 2023 will be different as I will probably get the PS5 console Valentine Enedah 💚 1 Mónica Freitas Dec 19, 2022, 11:54 AM Moses Concha that seems like a tricky game. Have you tried any other game from this list? Valentine Enedah Dec 19, 2022, 4:14 PM Teri Wow, Amazing. I hope you do get FIFA 23 or 24 as well.😊 Seye Yemi-Olowolabi Dec 19, 2022, 4:55 PM Valentine Enedah the one which I wanted was warzone and it's already coming to mobile , it'll be released next year I would also love it if PES mobile adds controller support 😏 Valentine Enedah Dec 19, 2022, 5:40 PM The PES mobile feature would make more sense. It will be like Dream league with better features. Marco Sullivan Dec 23, 2022, 5:41 PM Valentine Enedah Amazing list of games! I'm looking forward to trying Arcade Paradise. 💚 1

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Banks in the are looking pretty stupid right about now. It’s very much a case of “you were so preoccupied with whether or not you could that you didn’t stop to think if you should.” #metaverse UK bank HSBC was the first provider to enter the virtual world The Sandbox, following in the footsteps of JPMorgan which set up shop in Decentraland. But judging from the screenshots below they’re all a hot mess with no real strategy behind them. HSBC said it wanted to “create innovative brand experiences for new and existing customers” but to do what exactly? Wander around a branded virtual stadium? KB Kookmin Bank is said to be developing a VR branch test, enabling its customers to access banking services in the metaverse and be used for education and training. The training I get, but banking services in the metaverse? Come on, I wrote about why the metaverse is becoming a very poor carbon copy of the real world built with digital bricks and mortar instead. If you really wanted to create something then partner with Hasbro and build an immersive Game Of Life — Banking Edition experience that leads would-be customers on a financial and educational journey about money (free idea, knock yourselves out) Make it fun. Don’t build a bloody bank branch with a poorly animated tiger and expect people to engage in it. JFC did we learn nothing from Second Life (please, please look at the Dell video I posted last week!) And on that note about history — here are a few headlines from the early 2000s. Bank Failure in Second Life Leads to Calls for Regulation Virtual Banking Banned in Second Life Suggestions that Second Life’s virtual banking industry faces collapse are raising eyebrows Entropia Universe gets a real-world banking license In fact, according to update ToS, Second Life pulled all virtual banking facilities offered and banned them entirely. Such was the state of virtual banking that became an unregulated scam fest. “The Second Life Terms of Service prohibit offering interest or any direct return on investment (whether in L$ or other currency) from any object, such as an ATM, located in Second Life, without proof of an applicable government registration statement or financial institution charter.” Where there is a virtual economy there is the opportunity to bend the rules and with all its promise of decentralization and disintermediation offers the chance for ‘banks’ to enter and get away with quite a lot more than they would in the real world — especially where they use the cryptocurrencies native to the platforms. #web3 Even as far back as 2009 that stalwart virtual world called EVE Online had its own bank (of sorts!) An EVE Online player set up a fully-functional bank before going on to become the CEO and rob it, exchanging the funds for real-life currency. Given the game has an extremely strong virtual world goods and services economy that mirrors real-world economics, it was no surprise that some particularly apt spacefarers managed to put together a fully-functioning bank a few years back, complete with intricate interest repayment systems and (almost) airtight liquidity failsafe. The only issue was the bank’s in-game CEO, who had plans of his own - specifically, planned to embezzle over 200 billion ISK (EVE's in-game currency) and convert it into real-life Australian dollars. “Some ingenious players created a bank back in 2009 called the E-Bank, I was a customer of E-Bank myself, just to see how they were doing it. They basically created a vostro account system, kind of like what exists in the central bank of a country.” “They were issuing loans out of the common pool and paying interest as a result,” Pétursson says. “They had a board and it was extremely well done. It takes a lot of ingenuity both to have the idea and to execute it - but then the CEO of the bank made a run [for it]. So we’ve been here before, and we’re here once again. Will HSBC lend $SAND? Can you mortgage a plot of land in Decentraland by borrowing $MANA from JP Morgan? Will their lending interest rates be astronomical to offset crypto volatility? Right now there are no regulations governing banking in the metaverse and financial institutions would be well to heed and research what happened 15 years ago before falling for the slick consultancy pitches or the savvy who can pull the rug as they did in EVE. Also published . here

Banking in the Metaverse has been a Huge Disaster

Creating Custom Widgets in Flutter: App Bar, Drawer, and Bottom Navigation Bar

In this short blog series, we will define a global theme for our applications.  We'll mainly work on two aspects colors and fonts. Check out the style guide below. Welcome back to the 3rd part of the series " ". So far, we implemented and .  Please find the source code for the progress so far from . Flutter App Development Tutorial Splash Screen Onboard Screen here Now, since this application is for Hindus, I tried to apply a few holy colors like Saffron as the primary color, red as an accent/secondary color, and Green as the background color of the app. The text colors are the result of experimenting with color contrast. For the font, I am using Proxima Nova. You can download your fonts from . here Styling Your Flutter App Alright, now that we've seen what our app's roughly going to look like, let's create a folder and a file inside the globals folder. theme app_theme #on the root of project
mkdir lib/globals/theme

# Create file
touch lib/globals/theme/app_theme.dart Defining Themes With ColorScheme Now, inside the file, let's define the colors that our app is going to use. app_theme app_theme import 'package:flutter/material.dart';

// Instantiate new  theme data
final ThemeData asthaTutorialTheme = _asthaTutorialTheme();

//Define Base theme for app
ThemeData _asthaTutorialTheme() {
// We'll just overwrite whatever's already there using ThemeData.light()
  final ThemeData base = ThemeData.light();

  // Make changes to light() theme
  return base.copyWith(
    colorScheme: base.colorScheme.copyWith(
 
      primary: const Color.fromARGB(255, 255, 153, 51),
      onPrimary: Colors.white,
      secondary: const Color.fromARGB(255, 223, 27, 12),
      onSecondary: Colors.white,
      background: const Color.fromARGB(255, 228, 243, 228),
      onBackground: Colors.black,
    ),
  );
} Flutter can be used to define the colors of many components. Copying the theme leaves us less work to do. However, if you've tried the theme, you're gonna need to experiment a little bit cause some colors might get overwritten. The primary color is for navigation/app bars while the secondary is the accent color. We must define styles for buttons separately with the respective classes. ColorScheme Light dark ButtonTheme Defining Text Theme As mentioned before, we'll be using font. Create a folder inside the assets folder and download the font if you'll be using the same one. Now, as we've done previously, we need to tell flutter to look for the font by adding a path on the pubspec file. ProximaNova fonts The fonts section should be commented on in the pubspec file, uncomment it if you want, and add the following instructions. fonts:
    - family: Proxima Nova Rg Regular
      fonts: 
        - asset: assets/fonts/ProximaNovaRegular.ttf Let's now head back to our theme and begin writing instructions for what our texts are gonna look like. We'll create a separate function to keep our main function lean. _asthaTutorialTextTheme // Outside of _asthaTutorialTheme function  create another function

TextTheme _asthaTutorialTextTheme(TextTheme base) => base.copyWith(
// This'll be our appbars title
      headline1: base.headline1!.copyWith(
          fontFamily: "Proxima Nova Rg Regular",
          fontSize: 30,
          fontWeight: FontWeight.w500,
          color: Colors.white),
// for widgets heading/title
      headline2: base.headline2!.copyWith(
        fontFamily: "Proxima Nova Rg Regular",
        fontSize: 26,
        fontWeight: FontWeight.w400,
        color: Colors.black,  
      ),
// for sub-widgets heading/title
      headline3: base.headline3!.copyWith(
        fontFamily: "Proxima Nova Rg Regular",
        fontSize: 24,
        fontWeight: FontWeight.w400,
        color: Colors.black,
      ),
// for widgets contents/paragraph
      bodyText1: base.bodyText1!.copyWith(
          fontFamily: "Proxima Nova Rg Regular",
          fontSize: 20,
          fontWeight: FontWeight.w300,
          color: Colors.black),
// for sub-widgets contents/paragraph
      bodyText2: base.bodyText2!.copyWith(
          fontFamily: "Proxima Nova Rg Regular",
          fontSize: 18,
          fontWeight: FontWeight.w300,
          color: Colors.black),
    ); In flutter, is a material design class for text. I've tried to provide font size and font weight to maintain a hierarchy and be less bland. TextTheme After defining the function, we'll need to pass it to our main function: . _asthaTutorialTheme // Inside the base.copyWith method 
....
  return base.copyWith(
    colorScheme: base.colorScheme.copyWith(
   // Leave it as it is
      ....    ),
    // Add text theme
    textTheme: _asthaTutorialTextTheme(base.textTheme),
  ); Elevated Button Theme in Flutter is a button style that overrides the default appearances of ElevatedButtons. Like previously, we'll create a separate function to define the button style. ElevatedButtonThemeData ElevatedButtonThemeData _elevatedButtonTheme(ElevatedButtonThemeData base) =>
    ElevatedButtonThemeData(
      style: ButtonStyle(
        backgroundColor: MaterialStateProperty.all<Color>(
          const Color.fromARGB(255, 223, 27, 12),
        ),
        foregroundColor: MaterialStateProperty.all<Color>(Colors.white),
      ),
    ); contains the state of a widget's material. Button like elevated, text or outline consists of many material state properties such as background color, that's why we're defining color property like in our code above. With that out of the way, let's pass this function to the property inside a copy of the base theme. Material StateProperty elevatedButtonTheme // below text theme add this
    // Define styles for elevated button
    elevatedButtonTheme: _elevatedButtonTheme(base.elevatedButtonTheme), Styling Input Widgets in Flutter We're going to be using input forms for authentication later on in the series. We'll need to add a few styles for that as well. InputDecorationTheme _inputDecorationTheme(InputDecorationTheme base) =>
    const InputDecorationTheme(
// Label color for the input widget 
      labelStyle: TextStyle(color: Colors.black),
// Define border of input form while focused on 
      focusedBorder: OutlineInputBorder(
        borderSide: BorderSide(
          width: 1.0,
          color: Colors.black,
          style: BorderStyle.solid,
        ),
      ),
    ); We've made input such that when focused on, it'll have a solid border with a width of 1px. Similarly, colors for both text and border will be black. Can you add the function to our main function? I'll leave it to you then. Now, putting it all together: _inputDecorationTheme app_theme import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
// Kinda like a getter to import theme from other files
final ThemeData asthaTutorialTheme = _asthaTutorialTheme();

//Define Base theme for app
ThemeData _asthaTutorialTheme() {
  final ThemeData base = ThemeData.light();

  return base.copyWith(
    colorScheme: base.colorScheme.copyWith(
      primary: const Color.fromARGB(255, 255, 153, 51),
      onPrimary: Colors.white,
      secondary: const Color.fromARGB(255, 223, 27, 12),
      onSecondary: Colors.white,
      error: Colors.red,
      background: const Color.fromARGB(255, 228, 243, 228),
      onBackground: Colors.black,
    ),
    textTheme: _asthaTutorialTextTheme(base.textTheme),
    // below text theme add this
    // Define styles for elevated button
    elevatedButtonTheme: _elevatedButtonTheme(base.elevatedButtonTheme),

    // Set Themes for Input Your homework
    
    // Define theme for text input
   
  );
}

// Outside of _asthaTutorialTheme function  create another function

TextTheme _asthaTutorialTextTheme(TextTheme base) => base.copyWith(
// This'll be our appbars title
      headline1: base.headline1!.copyWith(
          fontFamily: "Proxima Nova Rg Regular",
          fontSize: 30,
          fontWeight: FontWeight.w500,
          color: Colors.white),
// for widgets heading/title
      headline2: base.headline2!.copyWith(
        fontFamily: "Proxima Nova Rg Regular",
        fontSize: 26,
        fontWeight: FontWeight.w400,
        color: Colors.black,
      ),
// for sub-widgets heading/title
      headline3: base.headline3!.copyWith(
        fontFamily: "Proxima Nova Rg Regular",
        fontSize: 24,
        fontWeight: FontWeight.w400,
        color: Colors.black,
      ),
// for widgets contents/paragraph
      bodyText1: base.bodyText1!.copyWith(
          fontFamily: "Proxima Nova Rg Regular",
          fontSize: 20,
          fontWeight: FontWeight.w300,
          color: Colors.black),
// for sub-widgets contents/paragraph
      bodyText2: base.bodyText2!.copyWith(
          fontFamily: "Proxima Nova Rg Regular",
          fontSize: 18,
          fontWeight: FontWeight.w300,
          color: Colors.black),
    );

InputDecorationTheme _inputDecorationTheme(InputDecorationTheme base) =>
    const InputDecorationTheme(
// Label color for the input widget
      labelStyle: TextStyle(color: Colors.black),
// Define border of input form while focused on
      focusedBorder: OutlineInputBorder(
        borderSide: BorderSide(
          width: 1.0,
          color: Colors.black,
          style: BorderStyle.solid,
        ),
      ),
    );

ElevatedButtonThemeData _elevatedButtonTheme(ElevatedButtonThemeData base) =>
    ElevatedButtonThemeData(
      style: ButtonStyle(
        backgroundColor: MaterialStateProperty.all<Color>(
          const Color.fromARGB(255, 223, 27, 12),
        ),
        foregroundColor: MaterialStateProperty.all<Color>(Colors.white),
      ),
    ); Adding Theme to GoRouter We're using class for declarative routing. It provides a field to define a global theme for its children. So, in our file where we call upon this class, let's add the theme we just defined. MaterialApp.router theme app app // import theme at top
import 'package:temple/globals/theme/app_theme.dart';

//In MaterialApp.router
          return MaterialApp.router(
              routeInformationParser: router.routeInformationParser,
              theme: asthaTutorialTheme, // add our theme here.
              routerDelegate: router.routerDelegate); A kind reminder, your package name can be different while importing* Test  Theme I've changed the screen a little bit, to test our theme. Please feel free to experiment on your own. Home import 'package:flutter/material.dart';

class Home extends StatefulWidget {
  const Home({Key? key}) : super(key: key);

  @override
  State<Home> createState() => _HomeState();
}

class _HomeState extends State<Home> {
  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      appBar: AppBar(
        leading: Icon(Icons.person),
        title: Text(
          "This is appbar",
          style: Theme.of(context).textTheme.headline1,
        ),
      ),
      body: SafeArea(
        child: Container(
            padding: const EdgeInsets.all(20),
            color: Theme.of(context).colorScheme.background,
            child:
                Column(mainAxisAlignment: MainAxisAlignment.start, children: [
              Card(
                child: Container(
                  width: 300,
                  height: 200,
                  padding: const EdgeInsets.all(4),
                  child: Column(
                      crossAxisAlignment: CrossAxisAlignment.start,
                      children: [
                        Text(
                          "Hi",
                          style: Theme.of(context).textTheme.headline2,
                          textAlign: TextAlign.left,
                        ),
                        Text(
                          "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Eu id lectus in gravida mauris, nascetur. Cras ut commodo consequat leo, aliquet a ipsum nulla.",
                          style: Theme.of(context).textTheme.bodyText1,
                        )
                      ]),
                ),
              ),
              Row(
                mainAxisAlignment: MainAxisAlignment.spaceAround,
                children: [
                  TextButton(
                    child: const Text("Text Button"),
                    onPressed: () {},
                  ),
                  ElevatedButton(
                    child: Text(
                      "Hi",
                      style: Theme.of(context).textTheme.bodyText1!.copyWith(
                            color: Colors.white,
                          ),
                    ),
                    onPressed: () {},
                  ),
                ],
              )
            ])
           ),
      ),
    );
  }
} The code yielded the following screen. Homework Do me a favor, I've forgotten to add the text theme in the code, can you add it by yourself? Summary In this blog series: We defined a set of colors for our app. We also added font and then defined styles for texts. We gave a border to the input form that our app will use. Then we also tested the theme with a mock page. If you want to learn more, visit Google Shrine App Tutorial, . MDC-103 Support Us Many things are yet to be done like Authentication Using Firebase, Firebase Firestore, and Functions. Find the list of all the blogs in this series . here I hope this blog was worth your time. If you have any queries let us know in the comment section. Don't forget to like and share them with your friends. Please do to get email updates. subscribe This is Nibesh Khadka from Khadka's Coding Lounge, a freelancing agency. We make high-value mobile apps, websites, and google workspace add-ons at a reasonable price. Also published here

How to Define a Flutter Theme?

You have many rights. You - exactly the way you are and just because you exist. They seek to protect your freedom, equality, and dignity. This is a very powerful and comforting idea. That each of us is entitled to these universal human rights. Or at least we should be. The comforting idea is an uncomfortable reality. Our rights as humans are not universal and are not protected everywhere. This is nothing new, but with the pervasiveness of the internet comes a new layer to this discussion. Discussions bring more visibility to issues and can lead to insights and actions. One initiative that brings a lot of visibility to what is going on is : RightsCon RightsCon is the world’s leading summit on human rights in the digital age RightsCon RightsCon started in 2011 hosted by , a platform that "defends and extends the digital rights of users at risk around the world". Access Now The conference has been growing steadily over the years and recently started taking place online. It gives a dynamic insight into what is currently happening at the intersection of human rights and technology. When it comes to improving our lives as a species, we humans have always been taking many steps forward and many steps backward. It is essential to observe human rights infringements and improvements around the globe - both in real life (IRL) and online. Taking part in RightsCon makes these issues even more tangible. IRL Human Rights This is how the UN starts telling the : history of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 December 1948, was the result of the experience of the Second World War. With the end of that war, and the creation of the United Nations, the international community vowed to never again allow atrocities like those of that conflict to happen again. The Declaration includes rights such as Article 1: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood." Article 3: "Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person." If you haven't, take a look at the (or check out the or the ). 30 Articles of the declaration illustrated version audio version This is an important document. were created with this Declaration as a foundation. Many laws Digital Human Rights As our digital experiences are a part of our lives, human rights must also be considered in that realm. Both offline and online they are often (so often) not upheld. These infringements need to be visible so they can be addressed. The United Nations created a , that reports on the state of technological challenges like global connectivity, digital capacity-building, digital trust, and security, and also explicitly digital human rights among many more. It also defines some action points the UN intends to take. Roadmap for Digital Cooperation Reading that document - and also other calls for digital human rights - is a good way to gain an overview of current technological challenges. However, they might not bring these issues to life like an active conversation between real people presenting real situations would. The Conference RightsCon includes many parallel tracks in different formats. There are speakers from all over the world, from several kinds of organizations and focusing on different topics. It is incredibly diversified, just as you would expect when it comes to “human rights in the digital age“. I attended it this year and knew from the start it would be impossible to participate in all sessions, even if some of them were pre-recorded - there were 560! No matter what sessions I picked, they brought me forward in understanding more: how our rights are being breached, ideas of how they can be secured proactively, and how they are being respected using technology. Here’s a very brief taste of that, which hopefully will spark your curiosity! The Good, the Breached and the at Risk Breached Human Rights came up in many sessions, for example when Pegasus was discussed. From , “Pegasus is spyware developed by the Israeli cyber-arms company NSO Group that can be covertly installed on mobile phones“. This has been controversial because just as it can be used to gather information on terrorists, it can be used to watch people fighting corruption, for example. its Wikipedia entry Having spyware on your phone when your work depends on communication hinders you (and your contacts) in unimaginable ways. Even if we are not directly targeted, living in a world where journalists and activists can't do their work without endangering their lives makes it everyone's business. Speaking about endangering one’s life, this is what whistleblowers do: they bring facts to public attention that have been kept within an organization. They do it at their own peril. You can see the RightsCon session with Sophie Zhang (whistleblower), John Githongo (CEO, Inuka Kenya Ni Sisi!), Delphine Halgand-Mishra (Executive Director, The Signals Network), and facilitator Itika Sharma Punit (South Asia Editor, Rest of World) in . It’s a very informative and interesting conversation. As Delphine says: this video Without the whistleblowers we have no idea what's happening inside the tech companies who know so many things about us. Basically the whistleblowers are the emergency brakes. An example of Human Rights that are at risk relates to outer space. All nations need to participate in creating space policies and space laws. Currently, however, there are only a few big players with resources for space exploration, which means there’s a danger of colonial ideologies taking over. Why is this a problem? What are the challenges smaller countries have? Why is space exploration relevant if we have so many other problems on our planet? Watch the RightsCon between Lama Aloraiman (Ignition Kuwait, Space Generation Advisory Council) and facilitator Victoria Heath (Space Generation Advisory Council) for an introduction to this fascinating topic. Here’s a quote from Lama: conversation about the participation of emerging spacefaring nations in the "New Space Race" (Decolonization in space is) all about deconstructing colonial ideologies that we carried from our past and could possibly make their way into our future in space - specifically the Moon, which is the destination to build settlements for most space-faring nations. We simply cannot have a moon with posts that declare that country x or company y owns this region. A glimpse of seeing Human Rights supported by technology is given by a session about between Nick Allardice ( ’s CEO) and Melissa Chan (RightsCon studio host and journalist) called “ ”. change.org change.org technology as a tool for unlocking people-power for the future of organizing They discuss the value of online petitions and what happens after we sign, data protection in countries that aren't fully democratic, how activism campaigning demands a lot of time and commitment, how sometimes campaigns make huge leaps when the context shifts and more. As the CEO at says: change.org Most people may not realize but signing petitions is the most popular civic action second only to voting. Another good way human rights are supported by technology is through apps and podcasts that share information. Many of us might take them for granted, but these tools can be a powerful way of getting information to people that do not have a support system or experts around them when they are vulnerable. I have added links to the sessions above that were recorded. For other videos that were made available, look at . It also includes some cultural events that were streamed. Be aware that this is a really small sample when you consider the number of sessions that took place. RightCon’s YouTube playlist Check out this from Human Rights Connected for an overview of organizations that participated and their focus. resource roundup Being Aware of Risks and Solutions Over the course of a year, we get in touch with some of the topics discussed. Maybe a whistleblower made the front page for a while. We hear about cybercrime affecting companies and hospitals. The evening news report on how disinformation is spread - or we get a taste of it when a friend shares suspicious articles with us. These are all important ways of keeping up-to-date. In addition to that, participating in this one-week conference brings to our attention how far we are from an ideal digital status. Here’s a (by no means exhaustive) list of digital privileges some might take for granted: being able to use the internet (good connectivity and prices). understanding the language available in the apps and websites we want to use being able to consume the content with our senses feeling addressed by the content encountered online (which includes images, pronouns, …) enjoying freedom of speech and of the press where we live being (reasonably) sure our private messages aren’t being read by others This should be true for everyone. In addition to these, there are issues that affect all of us, like the way our personal data can be used by and through social media. Or how activists and journalists can be targeted when they investigate certain topics/people. Being aware of both risks and solutions to human rights infringements allows us to have a better understanding of the world, as events that take place in real life and online are often tightly coupled. It also helps us advance the solution by - at least - behaving responsibly and supporting causes we find worthwhile any way we can. Save the Date The conference will take place next year in person and online on June 5-9, 2023.

RightsCon: Visibility for Human Rights in the Digital Age

RightsCon: visibilidad de los derechos humanos en la era digital

RightsCon : Visibilité des droits de l'homme à l'ère numérique

राइट्सकॉन: डिजिटल युग में मानव अधिकारों के लिए दृश्यता

RightsCon: デジタル時代の人権の可視化

RightsCon: visibilidade dos direitos humanos na era digital

RightsCon: Tầm nhìn về Quyền con người trong Kỷ nguyên Kỹ thuật số

RightsCon：数字时代人权的可见性

For decades, scientists and engineers have emphasized the hazards of accumulating in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and geosynchronous orbit (GEO). Even small-sized debris flying at high speeds can harm crew and infrastructure. The increase in space launch traffic has increased space debris orbiting near Earth. The April 2022 released by the European Space Agency’s Debris Office estimates more than 31K objects being regularly tracked by Space Surveillance Networks, with approximately 130 million objects greater than 1 mm not being tracked. space debris Space Debris Environment Report Space debris is becoming more than pesky junk. In , an old rocket stage that had been orbiting for seven years smashed into the Moon’s far side, leaving a surprising double crater. Although the rocket’s origins remain unclear, it is the first documented Lunar crater from human activities. The blast that blew up the Russian satellite Cosmos 1408 into thousands of shrapnel and residue forced astronauts and cosmonauts in the International Space Station (ISS) to shelter in escape vehicles. , the Russian Progress MS-20 freighter (robotic transport ship), which had been docked at the ISS, conducted an unplanned thruster burn (Pre-Determined Debris Avoidance Maneuver, or PDAM) for 4 mins, 34 seconds to move the station further away from lingering residue from the blast. March 2022 November 2021 In mid-June With ambitious plans to increase humanity’s presence in cislunar orbit and Mars, the problems with space debris in our corner of the Solar System will continue to complicate. Therefore, I was inspired to experiment with a creative medium while bringing attention to it. I decided to produce and conceptualize an experimental video game, “ ,” in partnership with Texas-based indie game designers and . This free browser desktop game on the popular indie gaming platform Itch.io explores how robots and humans collaborate in space as the threat of space debris grows. Spacing Out with R-Capek Annie Wu David Martinez Why A Video Game? On Inspiration I had no prior experience producing video games, nor did I have the luxury of a sizable discretionary budget. So why did I choose to experiment and explore a different medium? Because games are, by definition, escapist settings to play, grow, and learn with quicker feedback loops than in real life. Some games can be exceptionally resourceful in approaching seemingly intractable problems. In fact, playing games compares to how excellent science fiction encourages us to ask hard questions and use our imagination to understand the bigger picture. Some of the most thought-provoking that research and development of new robotic technologies must add value to our existence on Earth and in space. science fiction reminds us in creative ways, like playing games, I also discovered along the way that designing games with indie creators, much like writing or creating art, is a fascinating process of introspection and self-discovery. On one hand, I continued to research the latest developments in space science and engineering, including novel ideas being proposed worldwide such as to a different orbit (EOS Space Systems, Australia), or through autonomous spacecraft (Astroscale, Japan). On the other hand, I learned what gaming strategies worked and what is consistent with a good experience for the player. Much has been written about the psychology of video games. At its core, designing and playing games requires a different approach to problem-solving and a high degree of situational awareness. high-powered lasers to move debris debris docking and removal Jane McGonigal, a well-renowned US game designer, inventor, and researcher, has been a strong advocate for using online collaborative games to solve the world’s most urgent problems, for example, poverty, hunger, climate change, among others. In an older but popular Ted talk, McGonigal goes to great lengths to explain how games can change perceived limitations of what we’re capable of due to the positive emotion epic wins bring about. An epic win is defined as a victory so overwhelmingly incredible in the eyes of the gamer that they discover just how much they’re truly capable against the odds of what was previously seen as impossible. McGonigal also points out that younger generations worldwide are becoming increasingly sophisticated at playing and developing online games. Some statistics estimate more than three billion gamers worldwide, which presents an exciting opportunity to crowdsource some of the most challenging problems — like space debris. Jonathan Blow is another veteran programmer and recognized indie video game developer in the United States. Blow’s Youtube channel is rich with his presentations explaining his views about using video games to improve education. In addition, he advances the positive net value of learning and discovery through online games. In particular, there’s a July 2020 presentation where he points out that games should be taken seriously as a medium, especially as it relates to experimenting with different iterations, scenarios, and configurations in the same game and from contrasting angles and points-of-view. According to McGonigal and Blow, games can encourage one to become a better thinker. By developing deep expertise in the pursuit of a win, gaming forces you to formulate your ideas and experiments and test them alone or in collaboration with others. I also found this accurate when conceptualizing the game with a unique character robot as a partner. The Need to Change the Main Narratives About Robots “R-partner” Monica Hernandez. 2022. I knew I wished to pay tribute to the history of robots for a robotic-inspired video game tackling space debris. “Robota” means forced labor and hard work in the Czech language. The term was first coined by the Czech artist Josef Capek and popularized by his brother Karel Capek - a writer - in his 1920 science fiction play Rossum’s Universal Robots. (R.U.R). In Capek’s play, robots were human-made synthetic organic beings — possibly the predecessor to our understanding of modern androids. The robots in Capek’s R.U.R were initially happy to work for humans but eventually revolted. Death and destruction followed, leaving a bleak impression of human-robotic co-existence and collaboration. Since R.U.R., an abundance of dystopian narratives continues to predominate in the mainstream news, films, and literature, popularizing doomsday narratives. In contrast, I believe we’re missing more of the positive outlooks for a future with autonomous robots, especially for long-term space research, travel, and exploration. I’ve , but I often come back to the vital partnership between humans and robots in space in my writing as I’m fascinated by it. written about this for Hacker Noon before If you think about it, given our present knowledge about life on Mars, only this alien planet. So how does this reality expand our vision of what it means for humanity to become multiplanetary? With robots becoming more like ambassadors of society, I’m reminded of a recent trip to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Journey to Mars exhibit. There’s a message on one of the Journey to Mars exhibit halls, “bots before boots,” to remind visitors about these incredible machines traveling to the Solar System on our behalf. robotic landers and rovers inhabit NASA Kennedy Space Center (Monica Hernandez 2022). So, I wanted to spin a hopeful alternative to Capek’s R.U.R and many mainstream narratives about robots. Humans and robots must work as partners in space to survive and thrive. Our understanding of this symbiosis will be vital to becoming a multiplanetary species. BONUS: A conversation with the indie game designers: Annie Wu and David Martinez. What inspires you about space exploration and space research? The future depends very much on space exploration and research. My concern is mainly with the focus on the environmental state of the Earth. Research that brings us some insight on how to cultivate energy better, find alternatives or even inhabit other planets is extremely critical information. But in addition, innovation in space technology has always been the source of important resources for humanity. For example, MRI scanners, smoke detectors, and even portable vacuum cleaners have roots in space research. Wu: Artistically, I see space as colorful an ecosystem as any other on Earth. I love to imagine the different life forms that potentially exist and their varied ways of living. In addition, there is an element of mystery to space. I am sure there must be things we could not even possibly try to conceive within our current framework and intelligence. Space exploration fascinates me because of the thought-provoking questions relating to its many mysteries. Honestly, if I weren’t an electrical engineer, I would likely pursue space science and research as I imagine there is still much research to be done over astronomical objects and bodies. However, the cosmic phenomena I am most interested in reading about in the future are black holes and newly discovered planets with the ability to support life. Martinez: Another thing that entices me about space research is how our planet is affected when we take resources out and into another world. For example, our ecosystem is driven by an algorithm that involves recycling materials, so what will happen to Earth’s resources when space research expands farther? Questions like these inspire me to learn more about space. How long have you been designing/working on games? I have been designing games for approximately four years now. I mainly manage the graphics department, including the visual concept & storytelling, animation, and 3-D modeling if needed. I started on Roblox with Fluent_Lua, creator of the racing game Accelerate, and eventually moved into smaller, indie game development. Wu: I have designed games in Unity and Unreal Engine for four years. If I had realized how fun it is to use both these engines, I would have probably started developing games much younger. Documentation, interviews, and journal articles have really pushed me to learn more about games and how to make reasonable decisions to make games a fascinating, rewarding experience for the player. I plan to continue this trend in the future. Martinez: What can games provide/offer to popularize space science and engineering? Space science and engineering are often intimidating areas of study. Games provide a form of tangible interaction that is not only graphically simplistic but can convey complex messages with an element of fun! Wu: Games can pique gamers’ interest by placing them in moody, exciting environments in space. The amount of detail to grasp up there is almost overwhelming, so developers have plenty of options and places to put a player in. One of the most potent questions players can ask during their play-through is “what’s that?” when traversing through a level. By seeing how this body looks and interacts in space, their interest has been piqued, and they’ll likely think about this experience more as they continue to play the game. Martinez: What have you learned about the space industry working in this particular game? I learned that robots’ role in the space industry would become increasingly essential. As exemplified by “Spacing Out with R-Capek,” a particular sort of symbiotic relationship will need to develop with the advancement in technology and robotics/AI. Wu: I learned of the various methods spaceships use to acquire energy and the forms of energy they use to make space travel possible. While outlets on a spacecraft are not ideal for charging a robot, it does bring into perspective how useful it would be if a group of charging stations were set up around the ship to allow multiple robots to charge simultaneously. Martinez: Lessons Learned Games can advance the broader conversation about the topics currently being discussed at the highest levels in space agencies, research organizations, and companies. Moreover, I suspect some of the most complex solutions to space debris can be derived from gaming. Some key takeaways and lessons I learned from the production and creation of “Spacing out with R-Capek” are: 1) Autonomous robots and AI technologies are critical for any serious spacefaring ambitions. 2) Online gaming is rising, and so is space debris. Regardless of budget, there’s always an opportunity to raise awareness and visibility through creative media. The solutions to a growing junkyard above Earth and beyond will need to be crowdsourced to the many bright minds. 3) Indie gamers, designers, writers, and creators bring unique skill sets and perspectives to space science and engineering. It is healthy to offer contrast to mainstream narratives about deep tech R&D. 4) Feedback and ideas are always welcome. Everything can always be streamlined and improved. So be sure to play and share it with others! We can find solutions to the toughest problems if we collaborate and incorporate our robotic partners.

Tackling the Growing Threat of Space Debris with Robot-Inspired Gaming

Salesforce developers have contributed much to the open-source community. Among their many contributions is an important, but perhaps lesser-known, project named oclif. The was announced in early 2018 and has since grown to become the foundation for the Salesforce CLI and the Heroku CLI. Open CLI Framework In this post, we will provide a brief overview of oclif, and then we’ll walk through how to build a simple CLI with oclif. A Brief History of oclif Oclif started as an internal Heroku project. Heroku has always been focused on developer experience, and its CLI sets the standard for working with a service via the API. After all, Heroku is the creator of for deployment—a standard now widely used across the industry. git push heroku If you've ever run or , then you've used oclif. From the start, oclif was designed to be an open, extensible, lightweight framework for quickly building CLIs, both simple and complex. heroku ps sfdx auth:list More than four years after release, oclif has become the authoritative framework for building CLIs. Some of the most popular oclif components see more than a million weekly downloads. The oclif project is still under active development. Some examples of high-profile companies or projects built via oclif include: Salesforce Heroku Twilio Adobe Firefly Stream Why would a developer choose oclif today? There are many reasons one might want to build a CLI. Perhaps your company has an API, and you'd like to make it easier for customers to consume it. Maybe you work with an internal API, and you'd like to run commands via the CLI to automate daily tasks. In these scenarios, you could always write Powershell or Bash scripts or build your own CLI from scratch, but oclif is the best option. Oclif is built on Node.js. It runs on all major operating systems and has multiple distribution options. Along with being fast, oclif is also self-documenting and supports plugins, allowing developers to build and share reusable functionality. As oclif rapidly gains adoption, more and more libraries, plugins, and useful packages are becoming available. For example, comes pre-packaged with the package and provides common UX functionality such as spinners and tables, and progress bars, which you can add to your CLI. cli-ux @oclif/core It's easy to see why oclif is a success and should be your choice for building a CLI. Introduction to Our Mini-project Let’s set the scene for the CLI you will build. You want to build your own CLI for one of your passions: . space travel You love space travel so much that you watch every SpaceX launch live, and you check the page more than you care to admit. You want to streamline this obsession by building a CLI for space travel details, starting with a simple command that will show you the number of people currently in space. Recently, you discovered a service called that has an API endpoint for this purpose. HowManyPeopleAreInSpaceRightNow.com Open Notify We'll use the command to create our project, which will scaffold a new CLI project with some sensible defaults. Projects created with this command use TypeScript by default—which is what we'll use for our project—but can be configured to use vanilla JavaScript as well. oclif generate Creating the Project To start, you’ll need Node.js locally if you don’t already have it. The oclif project requires the use of an active . LTS version of Node.js You can verify the version of Node.js that you have installed via this command: / $ node -v
v16.15.0 Next, install the oclif CLI globally: / $ npm install -g oclif Now, it’s time to create the oclif project using the generate command: / $ oclif generate space-cli

     _-----_
    |       |    ╭──────────────────────────╮
    |--(o)--|    │  Time to build an oclif  │
   `---------´   │    CLI! Version: 3.0.1   │
    ( _´U`_ )    ╰──────────────────────────╯
    /___A___\   /
     |  ~  |
   __'.___.'__
 ´   `  |° ´ Y `

Cloning into '/space-cli'... At this point, you will be presented with some setup questions. For this project, you can leave them all blank to use the defaults (indicated by the parentheses), or you can choose to fill them out yourself. The final question will ask you to select a package manager. For our example, choose . npm Starting with oclif’s hello world command From here, oclif will finish creating your CLI project for you. In the folder, you'll find some node scripts that you can run to test out your CLI while you're developing. These scripts will run the command from the built files in the folder. If you just run the script as is, you'll see something like this message: bin/ dist/ / $ cd space-cli/
/space-cli $ ./bin/run
oclif example Hello World CLI

VERSION
  space-cli/0.0.0 darwin-arm64 node-v16.15.0

USAGE
  $ space-cli [COMMAND]

TOPICS
  hello    Say hello to the world and others
  plugins  List installed plugins.

COMMANDS
  hello    Say hello
  help     Display help for space-cli.
  plugins  List installed plugins. By default, if you don’t specify a command to run for the CLI, it will display the help message. Let’s try again: /space-cli $ ./bin/run hello
 >   Error: Missing 1 required arg:
 >   person  Person to say hello to
 >   See more help with --help This time, we received an error. We’re missing a required argument: We need to specify who we’re greeting! /space-cli $ ./bin/run hello John
 >   Error: Missing required flag:
 >    -f, --from FROM  Whom is saying hello
 >   See more help with --help We received another helpful error message. We need to specify the greeter as well, this time with a flag: /space-cli $ ./bin/run hello John --from Jane
hello John from Jane! (./src/commands/hello/index.ts) Finally, we’ve properly greeted John, and we can take a look at the hello command’s code, which can be found in . It looks like this: src/commands/hello/index.ts import {Command, Flags} from '@oclif/core'

export default class Hello extends Command {
  static description = 'Say hello'

  static examples = [
    `$ oex hello friend --from oclif
hello friend from oclif! (./src/commands/hello/index.ts)
`,
  ]

  static flags = {
    from: Flags.string({char: 'f', description: 'Whom is saying hello', required: true}),
  }

  static args = [{name: 'person', description: 'Person to say hello to', required: true}]

  async run(): Promise<void> {
    const {args, flags} = await this.parse(Hello)

    this.log(`hello ${args.person} from ${flags.from}! (./src/commands/hello/index.ts)`)
  }
} As you can see, an oclif command is simply defined as a class with an method, which unsurprisingly contains the code that is executed when the command runs. In addition, some static properties provide additional functionality, although they're all optional. async run() The and properties are used for the help message. description examples The property is an object which defines the flags available for the command, where the keys of the object correspond to the flag name. We'll dig into those a bit more later. flags Finally, is an array of objects representing arguments the command can take with some options. args The method parses the arguments and flags and then prints out a message using the argument and flag using (a non-blocking alternative to ). Notice both the flag and argument are configured with , which is all it takes to get validation and helpful error messages like those we saw in our earlier testing. run() person from this.log() console.log required: true Creating our own command Now that we understand the anatomy of a command, we’re ready to write our own. We’ll call it , and it will print out the number of people currently in space. You can delete the hello folder in , since we won't need it anymore. The oclif CLI can help us scaffold new commands, too: humans src/commands /space-cli $ oclif generate command humans

     _-----_
    |       |    ╭──────────────────────────╮
    |--(o)--|    │    Adding a command to   │
   `---------´   │ space-cli Version: 3.0.1 │
    ( _´U`_ )    ╰──────────────────────────╯
    /___A___\   /
     |  ~  |     
   __'.___.'__   
 ´   `  |° ´ Y ` 

   create src\commands\humans.ts
   create test\commands\humans.test.ts

No change to package.json was detected. No package manager install will be executed. Now we have a file we can edit, and we can start writing our command. The Open Notify API endpoint we will use can be found at the following URL: humans.ts http://open-notify.org/Open-Notify-API/People-In-Space/ As you can see in the description, the endpoint returns a simple JSON response with details about the humans currently in space. Replace the code in with the following: src/commands/humans.ts import {Command} from '@oclif/core'
import {get} from 'node:http'

export default class HumanCommand extends Command {
  static description = 'Get the number of humans currently in space.'

  static examples = [
    '$ space-cli humans\nNumber of humans currently in space: 7',
  ]

  public async run(): Promise<void> {
    get('http://api.open-notify.org/astros.json', res => {
      res.on('data', d => {
        const details = JSON.parse(d)
        this.log(`Number of humans currently in space: ${details.number}`)
      })
    }).on('error', e => {
      this.error(e)
    })
  }
} Here’s a breakdown of what we’re doing in the code above: Send a request to the Open Notify endpoint using the package. http Parse the JSON response. Output the number with a message. Catch and print any errors we may encounter along the way. For this first iteration of the command, we didn’t need any flags or arguments, so we’re not defining any properties for those. Testing our basic command Now, we can test out our new command. First, we’ll have to rebuild the files, and then we can run our command just like the hello world example from before: dist/ /spacecli $ npm run build

> space-cli@0.0.0 build
> shx rm -rf dist && tsc -b


/spacecli $ ./bin/run humans
Number of humans currently in space: 7 Pretty straightforward, isn’t it? You now have a simple CLI project, built via the oclif framework, that can instantly tell you the number of people in space. Enhancing our command with flags and a nicer UI Knowing how many people are currently in space is nice, but we can get even more space data! The endpoint we’re using provides more details about the spacefarers, including their names and which spacecraft they are on. We’ll take our command one step further, demonstrating how to use flags and giving our command a nicer UI. We can output our data as a table with the package, which has been rolled into (as of version ). To ensure we have access to , let’s update our packages. cli-ux @oclif/core 1.2.0 cli-ux /spacecli $ npm update We can add an optional flag to our command to print out this data in a table. We use the function for this pretty output. --table humans CliUx.ux.table() import {Command, Flags, CliUx} from '@oclif/core'
import {get} from 'node:http'

export default class HumansCommand extends Command {
  static description = 'Get the number of humans currently in space.'

  static examples = [
    '$ space-cli\nNumber of humans currently in space: 7',
  ]

  static flags = {
    table: Flags.boolean({char: 't', description: 'display who is in space and where with a table'}),
  }

  public async run(): Promise<void> {
    const {flags} = await this.parse(HumansCommand)

    get('http://api.open-notify.org/astros.json', res => {
      res.on('data', d => {
        const details = JSON.parse(d)
        this.log(`Number of humans currently in space: ${details.number}`)
        if (flags.table) {
          CliUx.ux.table(details.people, {name: {}, craft: {}})
        }
      })
    }).on('error', e => {
      this.error(e)
    })
  }
} In our updated code, our first step was to bring back the property. This time we're defining a boolean flag—it's either there, or it isn’t—as opposed to string flags which take a string as an argument. We also define a description and a shorthand -t for the flag in the options object that we're passing in. flags Next, we parse the flag in our method. If it’s present, we display a table with . The first argument, , is the data we want to display in the table, while the second argument is an object that defines the columns in the table. In this case, we define a and a column, each with an empty object. (There are some for the table columns, but we don't need any in this case.) Oclif will look for those properties on the data object that we pass in and take care of everything else for us! run CliUx.ux.table() details.people name craft configuration options We can build and rerun the command with the new table flag to see what that looks like: /spacecli $ ./bin/run humans --table
Number of humans currently in space: 10
 Name                   Craft    
 ───────────────── ──────── 
 Oleg Artemyev          ISS      
 Denis Matveev          ISS      
 Sergey Korsakov        ISS      
 Kjell Lindgren         ISS      
 Bob Hines              ISS      
 Samantha Cristoforetti ISS      
 Jessica Watkins        ISS      
 Cai Xuzhe              Tiangong 
 Chen Dong              Tiangong 
 Liu Yang               Tiangong Beautiful! Add some more functionality on your own At this point, our example project is complete, but you can easily build more on top of it. The Open Notify service provides an API endpoint to get the of the International Space Station. You might add that functionality, too, with a command such as to return the location when run. current location space-cli iss What about distribution? You might be thinking about distribution options for sharing your awesome new CLI. You could publish this project to npm via a simple command. You could create a tarball to distribute the project internally to your team or coworkers. You could also create a Homebrew formula if you wanted to share it with macOS users. Oclif can you with any of these options. help Conclusion We started this article by reviewing the history of oclif, along with the many reasons why it should be your first choice when creating a CLI. Some of its advantages include speed, extensibility, and a variety of distribution options. We learned how to scaffold a CLI project and add new commands to it, and built a simple CLI as an example. Now that you’ve been equipped with knowledge and a new tool, go out and be dangerous. Also Published Here

Building a Simple CLI with oclif

Pre-hispanic America birthed sophisticated theories in ancient astronomy. The Mayas, Aztecs, and Incas possessed tables, calendars, and exquisitely precise systems to describe and determine the movement of planets, stars, celestial objects, and constellations. Even the Olmecs, which predated all three ancient empires, left artifacts that stump one and many archeologists about their precise knowledge about the stars. Today, modern-day scientists and engineers remain puzzled about the architectural and technical feats of the ancient empires in the Americas, which mirrored an unprecedented astronomical precision. Despite the rich cultural, astronomical, and engineering legacies from three powerful pre-hispanic empires, a testament to the creative achievement across the region, only a handful of scientists and engineers in Latin America have participated in modern space missions beyond low-Earth orbit. Time Machine (2017). Marco Vargas. This story is about the rekindling of the fire in Latin America that can be traced for millennia. This story is about those daring to deploy a small propellantless mission to reach Jupiter in less time. Currently, any round trip to Jupiter , so the success in reaching Jupiter quickly and without propellant could change our understanding of what it means to travel across vast distances in our Solar System at a fraction of the cost. would take numerous years and deeper pockets and budgets JOVE: A Trailblazing Propellantless Mission The is a novel solar-powered mission that will use the solar wind's momentum, speed, and direction as the propulsive thrust to reach the Jovian system in 30 days. Solar winds are the surges of plasma and ionized (charged) gas continuously emitted by the Sun, which vary in intensity, density, and composition but are always present across the expanse of the solar system. Jupiter Observing Velocity Experiment (JOVE) JOVE is proposed by an interdisciplinary team of scientists and engineers in the United States and Latin America (Ecuador and Costa Rica). They compose the Practical Interplanetary Propulsion group at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Nuclear Future Flight Propulsion Committee. JOVE rendering. Image credits: B. Freeze, J. Greason, R. Nader et al. JOVE will be designed with a compact 16U micro satellite architecture that includes two high-temperature superconducting coils 9-meters in diameter. These coils are responsible for engaging the “Wind Rider” propulsion system. The Wind Rider system has been experimentally demonstrated on the ground. For the mission, the spacecraft would use the superconducting coils to generate a large rotating magnetic field (RMF) that interacts with the solar wind for thrust and Jupiter’s dense magnetosphere for deceleration. Most of JOVE’s hardware will be built by the , which has ample experience designing powerful and compact hardware for the Cubesat market, including (350Whr). This type of battery will operate the telemetry beacon to measure and transmit data. In addition, the small scientific payload will include the SPAN-Ai sensor developed at the University of California, Berkeley, to study the solar wind’s velocity and the dense plasma in Jupiter’s magnetosphere. It will also include a rearview camera to capture Jupiter. Ecuadorian Civil Space Agency (EXA) one of the highest energy density batteries for Cubesats JOVE’s schematics. Image credits: B. Freeze, J. Greason, R. Nader et al. JOVE’s launch must occur when Jupiter is directly in opposition to the Sun on November 2, 2023, or December 7, 2024, to engage the Wind Rider propulsion system without a gravitational slingshot (gravity assist). After that, JOVE can get deployed into cis-lunar orbit or from an apogee of 60 - 90K km Sun-side by a traditional rocket launcher. Once in space, JOVE activates the RMF inside the two coils and deploys the solar panel arrays and the sunshade (to protect the coils at a certain distance). The team expects JOVE’s Wind Rider to speed up the spacecraft to a velocity close to 300 km s-1. JOVE rendering. Image credits: B. Freeze, J. Greason, R. Nader et al. Ronnie Nader There is no shortcut to becoming a spacefaring species. Advancing in-space propulsion is at the heart of becoming multiplanetary. According to Commander Ronnie Nader, we need to start building and testing practical propulsion systems that can take us to the outer planets in considerably less time and at substantially less cost. Commander Nader is Ecuador's first and only cosmonaut, the first civilian in modern history to complete the cosmonaut training at the GCTC ( ) with the support of the Ecuadorian Air Force (FAE). He founded the Ecuadorian Civil Space Agency (EXA) with headquarters in Guayaquil after his training in 2007 and has served as its Space Operations Director. Nader holds multiple senior memberships at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) Space Security Committee, and the International Academy of Astronautics, among many others. ASA / T degree - Advanced Suborbital Astronaut Trained In 2019, Nader created the Practical Interplanetary Propulsion working group at the AIAA Nuclear and Future Propulsion Committee to develop advanced propulsion systems with realistic timeframes. Nader's inspiration stemmed from his professional and entrepreneurial experience in Latin America. Without the million-dollar budgets and infrastructure for advanced scientific pursuits in space, Nader has had to be resourceful and creative with what's available. Nader recruited the rest of the Practical Interplanetary Propulsion Group team at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. They started working on different concepts and followed specific rules. The group's rules can be summarized as follows: any revolutionary concept must be mathematically proven and built on precedents that have been simulated, made, or tested on the ground and in space. But, more importantly, the group must use the proven laws of modern physics. “It’s important to point out that the planets do not grow. The population does,” said Nader. “Furthermore, everything the planet produces is the limit of human ambition. But this doesn’t have to be true. The solar system’s riches could change how we live from a single-planet economy to a multiplanetary one. These riches could redefine the concept of poverty until it becomes obsolete, but only if we could reach it. In practical terms, the current challenge of the space business is that it takes a decade for any roundtrip. We need to make it affordable so that it’s possible to finance it. So, as a growing species that will soon be fully occupying its ecological niche, why don’t we consider the treasures in the Solar System within our reach? A single mineral could greatly impact Latin America’s economic development.” Nader points out the obvious. Businesses may quickly go out of business without any profit. For even the most open-minded investors, entrepreneurs, and potential customers, the long-term mindset implicit in a multiplanetary economy might still be too far out. JOVE’s test in space will be a stepping stone for the team seeking to reframe the conversation from deep space as a luxury to deep space as a necessity for an increasingly energy-hungry civilization. This reframing will require adjusting the perceptions that only traditional space agencies and large, well-funded corporations can deploy complex science missions beyond low-Earth orbit. For the Latin America region rich in finite natural resources and precious minerals, including lithium, and salt, among many others, the opportunity to venture into the vast beyond at an affordable rate would seem like an easy sell. Unfortunately, however, it is not necessarily the case. “Rocketry has always been considered the default solution for interplanetary travel. However, throughout humanity's space history, many technical and engineering decisions have had political connotations or interests tied to it at the expense of practicality. We want to remain loyal to the engineering and scientific design as initially intended, and with the freedom of choosing to stay independent.” The team expects to fund JOVE’s launch with funds from the private sector. Jaime Jaramillo For Jaime Jaramillo, making an interplanetary science mission for Latin America practical is vital. Jaramillo is the Space Operations Deputy Director of the , and the CEO of the with its base in Quito. EXA Quantum Aerospace Research Institute – QAS “It’s an honor to work in this group, specifically looking at practical propulsion systems for the Solar System. Consider how we could develop quicker the mining exploration missions bringing minerals back to Earth. It can be a great business for anyone in the region who wants to invest in it.” Jaramillo has already witnessed the value of transferring knowledge by working on JOVE. “Currently, deep space telecommunications are spearheaded by just a couple of systems tied to established space agencies, for example, NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN) and Near Space Network (Near Space Network). But booking and scheduling in these systems, which traditionally have served only a handful of missions, presents a logistical nightmare as they don’t scale well. The waiting times for booking a slot often translate into many decades. So, a practical application of interplanetary travel means we must start working independently on ground systems independent of these large and established systems. That is something we have already learned just by working on JOVE’s design because, at EXA, we go all the way when we get involved. The lessons learned are already useful for the future, making our focus on this mission significant.” Adolfo Chaves Jiménez Adolfo Chaves Jiménez, a space systems engineer, professor, and researcher in Costa Rica, is part of JOVE’s navigation team — an essential and challenging mission component. The spacecraft’s orientation directly and profoundly influences its dynamics, navigation, and control. Without propellant, JOVE will navigate at high speeds with the solar wind’s varying parameters making JOVE’s maneuverability particularly difficult to anticipate. Many parameters necessary to generate practical navigation will only be known when the mission is launched. Chaves has expertise in both spacecraft orientation and orbital dynamics. Despite the unknowns, his role as part of the navigation team is to develop and monitor the onboard sensors that will determine direction throughout the mission and orbital mission software to ensure JOVE reaches its final destination. “There are many things that we have to solve from the conceptual and technological point of view,” explained Chaves. “But we're using the proven principles and systems that already exist to apply an efficient design mindset and test it.” For Chaves, the Internet and the advancements in computation, software, and simulation have changed how space professionals collaborate and get trained. Proximity is no longer a deterrent to working effectively with others. “I believe that skill and capacity for high-level space missions are evenly distributed worldwide. JOVE shows that many professionals in Latin America possess the same levels of competitive expertise as in other geographies. In fact, problem-solving for many of us in Latin America requires being highly creative and extremely practical, given the limitations in budgets and access to infrastructure. So there is a lot of scope in design and creativity because this type of efficient design is aimed at some particular aspects, and working on it will not be deterred by your nationality as in the case of working for only space agencies or in certain localities.” Chaves spoke about a deeply ingrained cultural and financial block that prevents space science and research from flourishing in the region. Part of this block, according to Chaves, relates to the feelings of being ill-equipped or unprepared in comparison to the more established spacefaring nations. However, and ’s history shows how forward-thinking scientists and engineers pioneered critical advances early in the 1950s, given the tools and equipment available at the time and sometimes alongside those in the United States. Argentina Brazil “I believe it’s innately human to explore. It’s a dream come true to work on shortening the distances between planets and influence humanity’s understanding of access to the solar system. The field, for me, has always been a demonstration test that reflects a society’s development at a particular time. In Latin America, we can be at the same level as others in industrialized nations because we can be very creative and do innovative things beyond solving beautiful technical problems.” Key takeaways: Daring to Plan Boldly Time Machine (2017). Marco Vargas. I have noticed that although the region’s space footprint still suffers from the silos in the financing, a lack of talent is not the problem. Nader, Jaramillo, and Chaves have been pioneering multiple regional efforts to make space research and development accessible. I have written about their plans to launch an all-Latin American suborbital flight crew ( ) and a . LATCOSMOS-C quantum network in space The JOVE team, including Nader et al., and the recognized researchers in the United States, will be uniquely positioned to leverage their expertise and broader networks to make this mission happen. Everyone can dream, but only those who dare to achieve will execute their plans. // Artist from the Santo Domingo province in Ecuador has been designing for more than seven years. Inspired by the mysteries and novelty of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the known universe, Vargas created the short motion graphics, . Marco Vargas Time Machine (2017) “It’s awe-inspiring to see how art and technology go hand in hand,” said Vargas. “Art offers a disruptive and prophetic vision of how the future will be while possibly anticipating countless possible scenarios in which science and technology are part of that reality written or illustrated by the artist. I would love to see a revolution in the space and technology fields in Latin America so that the region becomes more involved in proposing, developing, and creating technological assets that help accelerate growth and add value to this growing industry.” Full disclosure: I don't have any vested financial interests in the companies or projects discussed in this article at the time of publication (June 2022). I don't entertain affiliate marketing offers or paid endorsements that would influence my research for the article. If you've enjoyed reading this work, allow me to invite you to my indie space blog MONI-07B . It's ad-free, supported by readers like you, and, more importantly, showcases original research and artwork. Read more about why this is important . Be inspired by the possibilities of our future in space! Subscribe today .

Latin America Seeks its Riches in Space by Reaching Jupiter in 30 Days

América Latina busca sus riquezas en el espacio al llegar a Júpiter en 30 días

L'Amérique latine cherche ses richesses dans l'espace en atteignant Jupiter en 30 jours

लैटिन अमेरिका 30 दिनों में बृहस्पति तक पहुंचकर अंतरिक्ष में अपनी दौलत चाहता है

ラテンアメリカは 30 日で木星に到達し、宇宙での豊かさを求めています

América Latina busca suas riquezas no espaço atingindo Júpiter em 30 dias

Châu Mỹ Latinh Tìm kiếm sự giàu có trong không gian bằng cách chạm tới sao Mộc trong 30 ngày

拉丁美洲通过在 30 天内到达木星寻求其在太空中的财富

Entering the world of mechanical keyboards can be a daunting task with so many options becoming more available by the day. The first step in finding the right fit for you is deciding which layout fits your needs best. Let’s dive in! Layouts You Should Consider Layouts are one of the most important aspects of a keyboard’s function, as well as creating a pleasing aesthetic. Whether you’re a casual gamer, data entry expert, or just the average PC user, discovering the perfect landscape of keys at your fingertips can open a world of productivity and comfort. Let’s look at the most popular offerings from major peripheral companies. Full size - 1800/96% keyboards are, and have been, the office standard for years. Featuring a full function row (F1, F2, etc.) and a number pad, this layout has been a favorite of the accountant and data entry fields because of the efficiency a number pad brings to productivity. However, full-size keyboards aren’t the most compact in terms of desk space; that’s where the full-size’s little brother, the 1800/96% comes in. Full size boards feature most of the same keys as a full size, meaning it won’t impact productivity much, while freeing up a little desktop real estate. These keyboards very well may be the future of most office, cutting down on simple costs like material by making the cases smaller, and offering more desk room for other projects. 1800/96% Best for; office work, accounting Tenkeyless (TKL) - 75% (also known as TKL) keyboards usually have ~87 keys, and feature the function row, arrow keys, and some of the special and cursor control keys (for example Print Screen, Page up/down) you’d find on a full-size keyboard. Where the TKL differs, however, is the lack of a number pad. Tenkeyless This is also, generally speaking, where more of the high-end or enthusiast boards start coming into play, with much of the community preferring to forego the number pad. And to be honest, most people probably won’t have much use for one unless you’re doing large amounts of numerical work. For those that can’t do without that feature, many keyboard companies have started producing stand-alone number pads to match their respective models, so you’d never have to sacrifice aesthetics for performance. As we slim down even further, we come across the 75% board. keyboards feature roughly the same amount of keys and functions as a tenkeyless layout but save a little bit of space by organizing the home keys into a neat, vertical row. 75% models also have arrow keys placed a little bit more efficiently, making the right shift key smaller to accommodate. These are your last chance to enjoy that function row, so keep that in mind! 75% Best for office work, gaming, the middle ground of full size and smaller models 65% - 60% Here is where things really start slimming down. The boards trade the function row for a function modifier key, making your top number row act as function keys while it’s pressed. These models are great for anyone who wants portability. Keep in mind that functions and key combinations may differ from company to company, making memorizing some of the combinations a little more tricky. Moving down even further in scale, we have the 60%. 65% The is the smallest keyboard we’ll look at today, usually sporting 66-68 keys, much less than the 104 on a full-sized model. These boards are usually the go-to for most gamers, especially FPS players, where accessing a function row isn’t a necessity. Featuring the smallest case, lightest weight, and increasing availability, eSports players have gravitated highly to using the 65%/60% offerings. 60% The 60% lacks the arrow keys, however, so if you’re a programmer, you might become a little annoyed using layered key binds to navigate lines of code with these in particular. Some 60% boards have truly gone the extra mile into thoughtfully crafting their layers for dedicated purposes, namely HHKB (Happy Hacking Keyboard), which are designed with programming in mind and have created a very dedicated following and fanbase. Best for gaming, word processing, small setups Switches Mechanical keyboard switches are truly in their golden days. With innovation taking place almost nonstop, it’s hard not to be impressed with how far this once niche hobby has come in the last decade. Some of the larger producers like Cherry have been producing switches and keyboards for 40 plus years,  creating icons such as Cherry Black and the more recent Cherry Yellow. Challenging their reign, however, newer companies like Zeal, Novelkeys, and C3 are trying to push the industry even further, catering to the most die-hard of enthusiasts by coming up with groundbreaking designs, using the highest quality of materials. With 3 main types of switches (linear, tactile, and clicky) you’re bound to find the perfect feel and sound for your enthusiast-grade board. switches (think Gateron Yellow, Cherry Red, Novelkeys Cream) will have a smooth travel and actuation, and the only feedback you’ll feel from the switch is the stem bottoming out in the housing. Linear switches are one of the more sought-after for modding as well, as a coating of lubricant, such as krytox 205g0, will make these switches feel undeniably smooth. Linear switches (think Holy Panda, Cherry Brown, Durock T1’s) feature a nice, responsive “bump” at some point in the keystroke. Tactile switches can vary on feel though, so don’t expect a Cherry Brown to feel the same as a Glorious Panda switch. Many of these switches also benefit from a coating of lubricant, with some preferring to use a thinner mixture such as Tribosys 3204 and skip the lubing on the front of the stem’s legs in order to keep maximum tactility. Tactile switches (think Cherry Blue, Kailh Box White, Zeal Clickiez) are closer to tactile switches in terms of feel, but offer an audible “click” when actuating a key. This type of switch doesn’t have the same level of fandom as the other two, but with more companies trying to reinvent the clicky switch and how it works, such as Zeal did with their “Clickiez”, the landscape could soon be changing. Just remember, these probably wouldn’t be your roommate’s first pick of switches, so keep noise level in mind. Clicky Other Considerations ABS plastic has been the standard for keycaps in terms of thermoplastics, boasting the widest assortment of colors. These caps will be more prone to shining over time, however. These caps generally are slightly higher priced than PBT. GMK is one of the most sought-after, collectible keycap manufacturers in the industry, and only produces caps with ABS Keycap material: plastic. PBT is seeing more and more use in keycap manufacturing, with companies specializing in increasing the once-limited color palette associated with the plastic. These caps will have a rougher texture but are more resistant to shine, and generally have a deeper pitch. due to the arrow keys being placed more inwards on the board, the right shift key will generally be 1.75u instead of 2.25u on a TKL. Make sure when purchasing keycaps that they come with the right modifier keys, including shift, control, windows key, and spacebars in some cases. 65% and 75% right shift: Keyboards with a north-facing LED will have interference with Cherry profile keycaps, causing odd noise and feel on the 3rd row of keys. North-facing/south-facing switches: Conclusion Finding the right keyboard, switches, and keycaps can be quite the journey, so always make sure to check resources like Youtube in regards to sound. Many of the content creators also have very well-thought-out and detailed reviews, making buying a model in any of these sizes much easier. Whatever you decide, customizing it with different switches, keycaps and cables can make it truly one-of-a-kind, so have some fun!

Finding the Perfect Keyboard Size

Mexico is a country I love. Visiting it often, I’m always fascinated by its history, food, culture, and people. According to pre-hispanic indigenous mythologies in Mexico and Central America, the jaguar was a divine being revered and feared for centuries. So it is no surprise that some of the most innovative efforts in the Mexican space sector are named after its rich past, combining its roots with its future. Pioneering Lunar Space Robotics is the only space startup in Latin America exclusively focused on space robotics. Their nearest target is a Lunar exploration mission scheduled for 2022. Seeking to offer an accessible entry point to space exploration, the first generation of space robots, , is designed with the dimensions and standard for a 2U CubeSat and integrated chip set, which is rare for space robots worldwide. In addition, Dereum Labs uses standard electronic components to decrease overhead mission costs, allowing the team to focus on the mechanical engineering, design, and programming needs of their semi-autonomous modular robots. Dereum Labs Jaguar-1 Prototype of Jaguar-1 (Credit: Dereum Labs) , CEO of Dereum Labs, an engineer by training, is keen on making space robotics more affordable and interoperable using the CubeSat standard, which can integrate any module from any manufacturer. They’re at technology readiness level 5, having passed the clinical design reviews of the prototyping, simulations, and basic tests. Now, they are beginning to manufacture the hardware for space environment tests. Dereum Labs has an agreement with one of the largest public research universities in Mexico and Latin America, the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), to certify its components for space flight. Carlos Mariscal “Interoperability between different providers is a key issue to consider,” said Mariscal. “Everyone is competing, which is healthy for a vibrant industry. But doing so with distinctive technologies and ideas at the expense of making them compatible will create more operational challenges. So we made a conscious business decision to use the CubeSat standard, which gives us interoperability, and we can integrate any module from any manufacturer. We can integrate it into the robots because it is already standardized and it is one of the keys to achieve sustainability in space exploration. We plan to design our robots as fully autonomous in the future.” Dereum Labs focuses on developing the Lunar economy by tapping the private sector in Mexico not traditionally related to the space industry. Mariscal mentioned the challenge of convincing others about the importance of investing in it now. “When we say space in Mexico, it is something that people see very far away and it has cost us a lot of work to make people aware that the space era is already here. In fact, we know that we’re going to have people living on the Moon and in off-Earth colonies in some decades. So we’re counting on the reality that industries and services will be needed in space in the coming decades. Our innovative business model foregoes the need to become experts in everything and instead forecasts equipping mature industries on Earth, such as mining and construction, with what they need to expand their operations off Earth. Unlike other robotics providers worldwide that focus on scientific payloads for space agencies, we target from the outset companies currently not involved in the space industry.” Dereum Labs has the endorsement of the Mexican Space Agency (AEM) and they with Airbus Defence and Space. The Jaguar-1 mission will primarily gather basic data for companies. The company also sells billboard space in the lander’s exterior starting at USD$ 1 million to help the first companies establish their brand in the nascent Lunar future. recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding “There are many professionals in Mexico who I know are dedicating themselves to the space industry or who are curious about it, especially the younger generations. However, there’s isn’t a developed sector, so I believe that the main challenge for countries like Mexico and across Latin America is the idiosyncrasy of investors, clients, stakeholders, because we have noticed a great deal of interest in our business but with the expectations for a return on investment in three to four years. The space sector doesn’t work like that. Missions require a longer-term time frame.” Mariscal is joined by an interdisciplinary team of professionals, including a Chief Designer, a C-level in the space industry. Mariscal wished to be an astronaut in his youth, but he put aside his aspirations due to a lack of access to information and opportunities. role still rare “I was always interested in space, but it seemed completely inaccessible in Mexico. I didn’t know I could dedicate myself to space.” A 2013 NASA robotics competition advertised at his university campus was the spark that lit up his childhood dreams with a renewed sense of urgency. Institutional Foundations is a veteran of international diplomacy and international politics, registering almost three decades in the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE). Inspired early in his childhood by science communicators such as Carl Sagan, he’s always liked science and technology. He enjoyed studying space law as he pursued his university studies in international relations. Fermin Romero Romero’s been involved in the various institutional endeavors in Mexico dating as far back as the 1990s, spearheading the space industry. One of them is a Regional Center for Space Science and Technology Education for Latin America and the Caribbean affiliated with the United Nations ( ). Their management and leadership reside primarily in Mexico, with a satellite campus in Brazil. The CRECTEALC is supported by Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Council of Science and Technology in Science and Technology (Conacyt), and the National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics, and Electronics (INAOE). CRECTEALC has supported Mexican and Latin American students to pursue specialized studies in remote sensing and satellites, among other areas of focus in the space industry. CRECTEALC Romero has been part of numerous international summits, including the Space Conference of the Americas (CEA), held every couple of years since 1990, and many other space-focused conferences affiliated with the United Nations. He also collaborated with Mexican legislators and policymakers to create the (AEM) in 2010. Mexican Space Agency “I have recently participated in the creation of a , a consortium founded by companies in Ecuador, Argentina and Mexico to promote space development in the region from the private and social sectors. However, the biggest challenge,” explained Romero, “has been the lack of space diplomacy and technical dissemination that limited cooperation for decades. So, despite the institutional foundations to support new generations to enter the workforce, the lack of visibility and awareness across all levels, coupled with limited budgets, kept many potential students and researchers uninformed about the opportunities. However, I believe with this new orientation coming from the higher levels, the space industry will become more critical in the national and regional agenda because space is not exclusive to developed countries or companies.” Latin American Space Cluster According to Romero, the Mexican Federation of the Aerospace Industry (Federación Mexicana de la Industria Aeroespacial or FEMIA) is reaching out to entrepreneurs interested in Earth Observation projects. Most recently, Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Mexican Space Agency in 2020’s virtual gathering of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), an intergovernmental mechanism for dialogue and political agreement. As a result, an agreement has been signed to create the Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency (ALCE). called for a regional cooperation plan for space “And although we have seen so far collaboration in small, localized space missions, the new missions are going to take on a slightly more medium-sized dimension collaborating with more countries. This high level of visibility gives us a new vision for the future where the manufacturing of space components, satellites, and missions can occur locally in Mexico and regionally. In my experience, most governments in the region are interested in the benefits offered by space science and technology. However, cooperation often lacks the political will and has not yielded the expected results to overcome the technological dependencies on space issues with other spacefaring nations. So, as long as the region cannot make joint decisions that positively impact regional economic development, the space development plans will migrate from the public to the private sphere.” Conclusion The global space industry is booming with a spike in private-public partnerships and venture capital to inspire young entrepreneurs and startups such as Dereum Labs to innovate. However, it is yet to be seen if all of these institutional initiatives in Mexico coalesce into the support network needed for advanced research and development, rapid prototyping, iteration, and a more extended time frame. Nevertheless, one lesson is clear—space science communications must raise the space agenda’s profile in Latin America because the risk of not supporting the new generations of researchers and entrepreneurs will be a missed opportunity to expand beyond Earth’s economy. “ ” (May 2021) featured in the header is by the Mexican artist who is originally from the city of Chihuahua. Since 2017, she has exhibited her artwork. Covarrubias is preparing for her first solo exhibit to obtain her university degree in fine arts. Mining site Sarahí Covarrubias About this piece, Covarrubias explained, “I use the structural elements of underground mines because I see architectural and industrial structures as something that can be exported or built in space. We seek the exploration and possibly conquest of other planets and right now we exploit one. I imagine a mine on the moon or our civilization adapting to the configuration of space stations.” A longtime fan of science fiction, cyberpunk aesthetic, and brutalist architecture, Covarrubias shared her perspectives about the space industry in the region. “Currently, Mexico and Latin America are developing satellites for telecommunications. It would be a great step if countries cooperated more to develop space and research centers. The Mexican Space Agency (AEM), for example, with the University of Arizona to develop satellites focused on telecommunications. However, many professionals in the region continue to migrate to other countries because they lack the opportunity to practice their profession. And the reality is that many countries are currently experiencing pressing social problems that ultimately hinder progress in research and technological development despite the various efforts to address them. ” recently made an alliance Speaking about her role as an artist, “Art and science go hand in hand in an infinity of specialties that involve the conceptualization, development of new technologies, and knowledge in search of understanding reality. I like to think about the literary work of Isaac Asimov that forecasted the technology we use today, as well as the creative foreight in films, like in the movie Interstellar with the . I have recently seen how has put together a simulation and the data obtained by the Chandra X-ray Observatory of a black hole in the center of the Perseus galaxy. This interconnection between art and science is extremely interesting to me.” visualizations of the black hole Gargantua Hashem Al-Ghaili Editorial disclosure: I don't have any vested financial interests in the companies or projects discussed in this article at the time of publication (May 2022). I don't entertain affiliate marketing offers or paid endorsements that would influence my research. If you've enjoyed this article, allow me to invite you to my indie space blog MONI-07B . It's ad-free, funded by readers like you, and, more importantly, showcases original research and artwork. Read more about why this is important and be inspired by the possibilities of our future in space. Subscribe today .

The Mexican Edge for Space Exploration

History of Gaming Gaming has not always been the highlight of technology, but it has evolved over the years to become one of the most significant industries in the tech world. The was unveiled by nuclear physicist Dr. Edward Uhler Condon at the New York's world fair in 1940. The game was called Nimatron, and it was based on the ancient mathematical game of Nim, and it was played by 50,000 for a six-month display period. The game was won by the gaming machine more than 90% of the time and then there were no known commercial home games. first recognized example of a gaming machine In or noughts and crosses as part of his doctoral dissertation at the University of Cambridge. Subsequently, in 1962 Steve Russell at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology invented Spacewar! as a computer-based space combat video game. Spacewar! was found mostly at universities and used on the Programmed Data Processor-1 (PDP-1). It was the first video game that could be played on multiple computer installations. 1952, British professor A.S Douglas created OXO In the 1980s, there was a boom in the rise of arcade games, Japanese console games as well as casino-based games. as a gaming package that included Blackjack, Baccarat, Video poker, Keno and Roulette. In the 1990s, gaming had a larger user base than before. Games like Sonic 06, Super Mario Sunshine, Yoshi's Cookie drew the attention of gamers. In due to concerns from parents about the increasing violence in video games. 1982 saw the release of a Casino game from Datamost 1993, Sega announced a game rating system and set up a parent hotline The 2000s brought about a shift in the gaming industry with different changes such as the 3D effect, social media gaming, the use of smartphones, voice chat services and used subscriptions. In and the industry is expected to generate more than $260 billion by 2025. This shows that the gaming industry has transcended over time to being more significant in the technology industry and more corporations will be willing to invest in the gaming industry. 2020, the gaming industry generated $155 billion in revenue Innovations in the Gaming Industry The is estimated to be worth more than $300 billion with 2.9 billion players worldwide. This is a wild jump from when gaming was introduced in the 1940s and 1950s: this is due to the many innovations that the gaming industry has provided for users. global gaming industry 1. : involves the use of responsive and adaptive gaming experiences. These artificial intelligence-powered interactive experiences are usually generated by non-player characters(NPCs) that act intelligently as if controlled by human players. Artificial intelligence has over the years, improved the gaming experience. The creation of unique experiences on mobile devices, consoles and wearable devices by developers with the use of artificial intelligence has made gaming more popular. Artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence in gaming 2. Virtual reality gaming to create a real-world environment for the gamer. The use of equipment like Virtual reality(VR) headsets, wrap-around display screens and VR rooms equipped with wearable computers and sensory components have helped improve the gaming experience. There are different types of VR games available for games and they range from individual, multiplayer to online games. Virtual reality games often place players in combat environments, but some could involve simple tasks like moving objects. Virtual reality: involves the use of a three dimensional artificial environment 3. : Cloud computing is one of the miracles of today's gaming: , while being streamed to the gamer's device. The high demands of processing power then shift from the device to the cloud: that means that gamers do not need the most recent hardware to enjoy their gaming experience. It is predicted that cloud gaming revenue will exceed $1 billion for the first time since 2021 and that the global gaming market size will reach $7.24 billion by 2027. Cloud gaming will give gamers the opportunity to play the games they want, with the people they want, whenever they want, wherever they are and on any device that they want. Cloud computing games can now run on remote servers 4. : Blockchain gaming gives gamers the opportunity to earn while enjoying their gaming experience. over the digital assets they earn or gain through their participation in games. If players pay real money for their digital assets in traditional games, they lose access to these assets if the servers are turned down. The assets then go to the publisher or developer. In blockchain gaming, players have an advantage: they retain full ownership of their digital assets. This allows them to trade digital assets with other players, sell these digital assets for money and potentially use their assets across multiple game universes. Blockchain based gaming Blockchain based gaming also gives players complete ownership Gaming and the Metaverse The gaming metaverse is one of the most discussed topics in the gaming industry: this is partly because the itself is one of the trending topics in the technology industry. The Metaverse is a digital world that is created to connect users with a shared platform for socialization. The is that gamers are not required to switch on or exit the gaming platform, the metaverse also exists after the players finish their session. The gamers can also interact with other gamers, trade in-game assets and experience a sense of the real world by using haptic gloves and jackets. Metaverse unique quality of the gaming metaverse provides the opportunity for gamers to add to the virtual world, create their own content, build sub-games within a game and treat the gaming platform as a platform-like space for other activities. The metaverse is purely a social platform, so it encourages socialization by enabling players to invite friends from the real world and interact with other gamers in the gaming metaverse. The Play-to-Earn gaming feature is part of the gaming Metaverse and there are speculations that mixed reality gaming will be made easily available on the gaming Metaverse. The Gaming Metaverse is designed to capture the attention of gamers all over the world while giving these users a unique gaming experience. It is to give the gamers an impression of another reality by making available a 3D world where gamers can interact more personally with the elements around them. The combination of gaming, augmented reality, play-to-earn, NFT minting and trading, life streaming and value exchange with cryptocurrency provides a gaming experience that no other gaming platform has provided yet. The Gaming Metaverse In addition to the unique experience that the gaming metaverse provides, it . Gamers do not have to sit for hours, tapping on consoles and staring at large screens. The game can even involve bodily movement, eliminating the backaches that come from the sedentary lifestyle that gamers often have. The gaming metaverse also provides a more traditional gaming experience where gamers can observe the gestures and body movements of their opponents, as opposed to regular online gaming. reduces the toll that gaming has on the human body Play-to-Earn Gaming Play-to-Earn Gaming offers users the opportunity to earn while playing: a good example of a play-to-earn gaming platform is . is an online gaming multiplayer platform that gives its users access to numerous online games like Tunnel Tournament, Candy Boo-Tournament Edition and Crash n Win. Megafans Megafans with digital cash or non-fungible tokens. Over the years, these blockchain-backed games have become mainstream, constituting a core component of the gaming metaverse. Each gaming platform has its unique currency, enabling the payment of gamers for time spent playing games. Games such as The Sand Box, Star Atlas, Zed Run, Axie Infinity and Decentraland are popular play-to-earn games that gamers love and enjoy. Play-to-Earn games usually reward players Although people made money from gaming in the past through practices such as and unofficial marketplaces for in-game items, the emergence of blockchain technology and the use of non-fungible tokens(NFTs) has changed the world of gaming. These NFTs help gamers to own the digital assets that they purchase and sell these digital assets outside the gaming platform. y on the NFT marketplace and they are usually valuable due to scarcity. The Play-to-Earn model provides an incentive for gamers to play and it also generates income for these gamers. In addition, it creates more awareness on cryptocurrency within the gaming community and encourages non-gamers to be interested in playing games. It also builds the growth of the NFT and DeFi sectors of the cryptocurrency industry. gold farming These NFTs can be sold for any currenc The Play-to-Earn model has its : it does not foster inclusion because experienced gamers tend to win all the contests. It creates room for bad players to take advantage of other players. There is also the risk of flooding the market with NFTs, reducing the value of NFTs and indirectly the growth of the NFT industry. The Play-to-Earn model could also : players would play for hours for the sole purpose of making money. The Play-to-Earn games also have higher costs of entry which may run into thousands of dollars and result in losses for those who want to make a profit from playing games. disadvantages defeat the fun purpose of gaming The Future of Gaming: An Observant Prediction The gaming industry has grown over the years and the potential for expansion seems limitless: the has predicted that in 2024, the gaming industry will hit $218.7 billion with a sustained growth of 8.7% per year. In addition, the report stated that the number of gamers globally had increased by 5.3% year on year, being about 3 billion players. A large percentage of these players (2.8 billion) were predicted to play on a mobile device as against 1.4 billion players on PC and 0.9 billion on console. 2021 Newzoo Global Games Market Report revealed the future possibilities for gaming. Dr. Jethro Shell, Senior Lecturer in Games and Information Systems at De Montfort University and Dr. Edward Powley, Associate Professor at Falmouth University Games Academy shared their thoughts on the future of gaming. Dr. Powley praised "Main Assembly" for its problem-solving approach and stated that mainstream games could rival cinema in their storytelling approach. Dr. Shell says "The Witcher 3" and "Red Redemption 2" combine high-quality graphical content that allows the player to decide against achieving goals, while developing strong relationships with characters. Both professors see artificial intelligence taking a major part of game development. They see mixed reality taking the big cut, with future games combining the virtual and augmented reality features. A Forbes 2020 interview with two UK prominent gaming professors As an observer, I see blockchain gaming becoming bigger as a subset of gaming, with gamers taking more advantage of the Play-To-Earn games. I believe that in the near future, the gaming industry will be taken more seriously with the development of more careers in the gaming industry. There will also be some who spend long hours gaming: however, the gaming industry will make many people rich in the future. This time, it will not be only game developers or designers, the gamers will largely benefit from gaming. health and social implications for gamers

The Future of Gaming: An Observant Prediction

Webflow gives us tremendous acceleration in transcoding design. At least that's my main use case. From the first site I built (even made it onto the homepage) to sites like the that I occasionally make for fun, Webflow gave me a warm welcome in the development world. hacker news spacebar counter If the code editor scares you, I highly recommend this tool if you want to start building from somewhere. It has various other features such as CMS and e-commerce. I even heard that the Membership feature will be announced soon. Anyway… Developers usually convert their beautiful designs into sharp code with Webflow, then export them and add the necessary functions. So, can a web app be made by hosting it with Webflow? Below are some examples that show this is possible. Let's explore! 1. Scoop is a platform that helps you manage your employees and their work by handling time tracking, skills management, location tracking, communication, and workforce management all in one place. This easy-to-use software platform empowers teams to coordinate their time and work location while tracking the employee's daily productivity at the same time. Scoop provides businesses with a flexible desk system that makes it easy for employees to adjust where they work. Scoop 2. Thisopenspace is a website that helps you find creative spaces for your events. Whether you're hunting for a venue for a last-minute corporate meeting or planning a month-long art exhibition, their goal is simple: they want to take the burden off your shoulders so you can focus on what really matters – your event. Thisopenspace 3. Mo is a place for you to connect with your team and celebrate the moments that matter. With Mo, you can tell your story: share moments, feedback and ideas with the members of your team. Mo Capture moments on-the-go through their mobile app, then deepen it with additional sites with a rich text editor. You can share information where and when it's convenient with their iOS and Android apps or via the browser extension MeetMo. This brings context and conversations to where they happen in real-time: WhatsApp, email, Skype, Slack, Trello, Twitter, etc. 4. Freeplay is a mobile fitness app that provides live, in-person classes from elite personal trainers and coaches in your area. From yoga to kickboxing, pilates to power-clefting, Freeplay has classes for every fitness activity under the sun. Freeplay 5. Flow is a decentralized content marketplace that enables you to buy, exchange and sell digital goods in an easy, fun, fast and private manner. Flow is a decentralized digital goods platform that leverages blockchain technology for the purposes of creating an open market for the buying and selling of NFTs and digital assets efficiently. An upcoming initial coin offering will introduce FLO tokens, a unit of currency for trading on the Flow platform. Flow 6. Yesware makes it easy to track email outreach and see if your emails are being read or not. It easily logs email outreach activity to your CRM. You can join thousands of happy users who are now able to close more deals. Yesware 7. Tribute is an online service that allows you to make a group video gift for any occasion. After uploading a message & selecting the people who will appear in the video, Tribute automatically creates a video with music and photos of your friends. Each participant gets the footage in their inbox, so there are no files to send or download. Tribute 8. Snappr is a photo booth rental service that allows you to book a professional photographer on-demand. With their easy-to-use platform, you can find a professional photographer for any occasion. It only takes 90 seconds to book; all you need to do is turn up and take your photos. Snappr 9. Canvas is a diversity recruiting platform that uses self-reported diversity data to build complete profiles of job applicants and connect companies with diverse candidates through an online hiring process. Canvas helps companies create more diverse teams by capturing the most complete candidate profiles to date, engaging candidates throughout their entire hiring journey, and automating their sourcing activities—all with world-class recruiting software at their fingertips. Canvas That’s all for now. When I explore new Webflow sites, I will share under this series.

9 Web Apps You Won't Believe Were Made with Webflow

Poland has talent. And loads of it. Scientists, engineers, developers, researchers, and entrepreneurs across the spectrum make Poland a nation with a highly prepared workforce in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In addition, the Polish gaming industry is not far from reaching records as one of the largest exporters of video game and showing the versatility of this nation’s workforce. Only a small minority of Poles, however, have worked in the space industry. In fact, in the post-Soviet era, a handful of companies in Poland have collaborated with space agencies. However, many of these companies are not fully dedicated to space sciences and engineering but support missions as part of a branch or division. And yet, if you tune in and listen very carefully, there is a subtle shift in the winds of change. The business of space in Poland is gradually undertaking a new direction. The was established in 2014 and the Artemis Accords this October 2021. Mobile gaming producers founded SatRevolution, a startup that launched its first nanosatellites in 2019 and is now working on a constellation. Astronika, established in 2013, developed the for NASA’s Martian lander. Polish Space Agency (POLSA) signed HP3 instrument’s hammering mechanism InSight Poland’s new generations are preparing to sail outward and onward to new alien worlds. And a superbly skilled workforce is already working for our future in space. I brought to the forefront two case studies that reflect exactly how talent is shifting the winds for Poland’s space scene. Autonomous Powered Systems for Space Missions There’s massive debate and engagement as to who is flying and less so on the systems to make us truly spacefaring. Autonomous systems and AI-powered software are crucial components for our future in space. Not everything essential for our survival in space will be crewed by humans. Our bodies are fragile. We cannot withstand the dangers in space. And yet, autonomous space systems don’t get as much attention as the world of space rockets and crewed spaceflight. is one such new space startup in Poland thinking ahead of this future in space. It delivers hardware and software for autonomous satellite missions in what they codify as a smart mission ecosystem. AI-powered algorithms and built-in hardware features work in tandem to make missions increasingly self-sufficient. Satellites can self-detect anomalies and conduct preventative maintenance. KP Labs KP Lab’s business model is to be self-sustaining by serving payloads for B2B customers. KP Labs also supports bold missions for the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Polish National Centre for Research and Development (NCRD, in Polish). The startup collaborates with the Polish government, ESA, and other space agencies, including the Canadian Space Agency and the National Aeronautics Space Agency (NASA). I had at the The Quantum Daily about one of their ESA-projects in collaboration with Quantum Cosmos Lab. Narodowe Centrum Badań i Rozwoju already written Founded in 2016, KP Labs is located in Gliwice at the south of Poland. The KP Labs team was primarily composed of seasoned software developers in the IT / outsourcing sectors during the first years. Some have already transitioned to leadership, operations, and new division roles. Curious if this professional transition occurs for many in Poland, I had the opportunity for a 1:1 with , Chief Operating Officer at KP Labs. Michał Zachara Michał Zachara connected with me from Gliwice. 2021. “At the beginning of the company, developers who had been hunting for bugs for major insurance companies and working directly with clients started building software for satellites at KP Labs. Therefore, they translated the values and lessons learned in such a competitive and client-oriented sector to the space industry. It is quite unusual in the broader space industry to find technical talent that can also participate in client calls, communicate directly with the customer, and deliver high-quality software. Similarly to outsourcing and IT, we need to convince our clients that we are the best company to work with. We need to build those relations by focusing on quality and bringing value.” “Our team at KP Labs currently has a strong scientific background from the universities. We are hiring people with Ph.D. degrees who are very talented in their particular area of interest. For example, 10 or 15% of the staff has Ph.D., who are very open about sharing their knowledge with the broader community. In 2020, our team published roughly 20+ papers in the scientific literature about machine learning and deep learning. We need to gather information for our customers but also try to support the broader community.” With an on-board computer (OBC), is such an example in their portfolio. KP Labs’ Antelope has a built-in data processing unit (DPU) to execute AI-powered algorithms for predictive satellite maintenance. By collecting the satellite’s state, operators can detect anomalies. Antelope “By delivering the hardware, software, and libraries combined, we create great synergy because each part of the ecosystem brings value to another. And similarly, those pieces can be treated separately. So we are helping our clients not only with one of those areas, but we can also help with the knowledge and experience in all of them,” said Michal. KP Labs is already undergoing the testing campaign at technology readiness level (TRL) six. The system prototype is being demonstrated in a relevant environment for space. For their first payload mission scheduled for late 2022 or early 2023, KP Labs with Glasgow-based AAC Clyde Space - a worldwide famous provider of cubesats and nanosats. The launch provider is still to be determined. will partner “Not everybody thinks about the small components that will power autonomous missions. So, for the next couple of years, most of the Polish companies will stay competitive by focusing on delivering the electronics and software components for the bigger missions. However, the new space companies are not emerging quickly. Space is still something very hard and unusual in Poland. There are not many private investors in Poland investing in the space sector. And in many ways, we are still a developing country. The government always has other big-ticket expenses than space.” I’ve found that personal testimonies of how people get involved in space open doors for others. Someone can identify with a story and receive the inspirational nudge to continue knocking on doors. Michal’s path to the space industry is interesting because the opportunity met him mid-career when he wanted a change in life. He ascended quickly on the career ladder after more than a decade in an IT company. “I was making more revenue for the company by making the work more efficient. However, it didn't affect my life personally. So I got tired, and I decided to change my life by traveling around the world with my wife and small daughter. As I visited Central America and South America, KP Labs approached me for a job as a product manager. And it was just something totally different. There was this company, creating great products, creating great value. So when I started working with KP Labs initially, I failed with a couple of projects. It was of great value to me because I learned a lot about them. And finally, I became COO of the company after a year and a half. I still need to figure out how to increase revenue and afford to pay our employees every month, but the final goal is just much more motivating. Young people in Poland shouldn’t be afraid that they do not have a proper skill set because there’s a very limited group of people who are experienced with the space sector. The space economy will continue to snowball. What was just a dream for most of us now can be a regular career path. I say this often; young graduates shouldn’t be afraid of starting in this career path. Apply for the jobs. At KP Labs, we are open to newbies to learn how to work with the space sector.” Cybersecurity in Space: Proofing Satellite Systems With satellite constellations increasing every year, securing systems in space might seem a top priority. Paradoxically, it isn’t the case. Despite great strides in technological innovations, the global space industry hasn’t paid enough attention to cybersecurity. As a result, critical knowledge and infrastructure gaps are among professionals. raising the alarm The United States Air Force Research Laboratory and the Department of Defense Digital Service partnered in 2020 to bring visibility to this problem by innovating. They launched an international Capture the flag (CTF) competition - the Space Security challenge . Hack-A-Sat Teams worldwide participated in grueling qualifiers seeking security vulnerabilities for a grand prize. The second iteration - Hack-A-Sat 2, is underway. Led by the U.S. Air Force and Space Force, the finals are scheduled for December. Hack-A-Sat. Promo. The Polish team emerged victorious at the final round of Hack-A-Sat 1 in 2020, earning second place. The team brought together renowned Polish CTF teams - and - for the Hack-A-Sat 1 challenge. Roughly 20+ hackers, developers, and cybersecurity engineers, primarily between the ages of 25 - 30 years old, united for the win against 2K+ registered teams. Poland Can Into Space p4 Dragon Sector Poland Can Into Space. Hack-A-Sat 1. 2020. This year, the team is already laying the groundwork for another successful competition. Their progress looks promising. They in the qualifiers. scored first place An old internet meme - Polandball - inspired the team’s name. The Polandball comics often joked about the lack of a Polish space program with the phrase “Poland cannot into space.” The Hack-A Sat Polish team’s mission was to prove this joke wrong from the start. They work with space-rated software and hardware used for missions and science research, for example, specific CPU architectures such as Sparc LEON, and data protocols like the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) for critical space architecture. As they progress over several qualifiers exploiting vulnerabilities in satellite systems, they earn “flags” (proofs of solution). As finalists in the Hack-A-Sat 1, Poland Can Into Space competed virtually at DEF CON 29 - one of the most significant cybersecurity events in the world held every year in Las Vegas. The competition scenario was based on a mock-up stolen satellite-in orbit where contestants were challenged to regain control and reorient the satellite's camera to capture the Moon. Then under strict time constraints, they had to create an actual command set that would be broadcast to space to direct an existing satellite to the Moon. The team developed the best solution for this on-orbit challenge, so their code was broadcasted to space via a live satellite at 6:30 pm PT. They successfully captured an actual photo of the Moon - a moonshot. The Polish team’s was received on Earth at about 1:00AM PT. moonshot photo Animation of Poland's Can Into Space moonshot. Thanks to a couple of my Polish friends who passed on my request with their tight-knit networks, I interviewed some team members about their 2020 win and this year’s competition. Their responses showcased what’s at stake for cybersecurity in space and how Poland’s skilled engineers and programmers can leverage this market opportunity. Only a couple of members in the Polish team had experience working in the space industry, so initially, some of the challenges meant working with a different sense of scale and complexity. Due to their preferences, I will sometimes use their aliases. First, said [msm], “space is big.” Unless you’re specifically trained to think with this mindset, learning to work and program for space can prove daunting. Secondly, [pi3] chimed in, “It must be a miracle that satellites are working and not constantly crashing through the random software exception error.” pi3 noted being surprised about the lack of attention to the quality of critical satellite code. Stanisław Podgórski is one of the Polish engineers with several years of experience in the space industry. He explained that although it’s easy to hack a satellite because the industry doesn’t regard cybersecurity with the same sense of urgency as other components in the exploration missions, it’s also surprisingly hard. “I think there is generally little regard for security in space systems, at least for non-military or critical ones. This is partly due to the fact that most people involved in those projects are not security engineers. Traditional software engineers are often not very good at securing their own applications because you can't be an expert in everything,” said Stanisław. “Although we didn't work on classified material, some people did not expect to see how few security measures are actually in place,” he explained. “Space systems are generally designed as a ‘whole package’ and expected to work exactly in that configuration. Since security, in most cases, is still not an essential part of the project, you might not even consider involving such an additional security expert. So, this package mindset allows you to cut corners. For example, suppose your student-led cubesat will have a camera. In that case, you might need someone to understand optics and forego security because you know your ground station system only sends valid [data] packets. Thus, there is no clear incentive to design a security system to make complex validations, except for transmission issues. However, we also don’t hear so much about some spectacular space hack because it’s very hard. For example, it’s hard to make proper calculations to predict line-of-sight or to set up a simple communication link or encode/decode a transmission.” Stanisław’s analysis played out during the 2020 competition. The team accidentally crashed multiple times due to malformed data packets because their software didn’t anticipate it could happen. Looking ahead this year, I asked the members about their thoughts about the growing space industry at home and abroad. [msm] “There are a few promising startups in Poland, but we don't know them well enough to judge their potential.” Stanisław offered the following: “In terms of advantages, speaking more broadly about the whole former Eastern Bloc, there seems to be an overrepresentation of people in top competitive programming contests. I believe it might have something to do with the education system. Many schools can’t afford special equipment for simulations or experiments, so lots of stuff has to be done on paper. As a result, people become somewhat proficient at picking up details, drawing conclusions, and figuring stuff out. The space industry jobs often require knowing very particular technologies. But overall, the publicity of such challenges helps build awareness among space project managers. This visibility might prompt them to consider security as one of the key aspects to think about in space missions.” Conclusions: Are You Paying Attention Yet? Something is shifting in the winds for Poland’s space scene. I suspect it has to do with this generational capacity to bootstrap and figure it out along the way. Rockets and launch pads may not be built in Poland at the moment, but slowly, new space companies are emerging and are strategically leveraging decades of experience as leaders in the software, IT, and the gaming sectors. KP Labs is an example of an innovative startup building cutting-edge hardware and AI-powered software for autonomous space missions. Polish cybersecurity teams are already competing and winning in the world stages, bringing to light the importance of proofing satellite systems. Their wins reflect opportunities for growth in cybersecurity for space. What needs to catch up now is the capital and the public support at home and worldwide. Poland can do space. // The artist featured in the article is . Oleg is originally from Ukraine with strong Polish roots. A self-taught artist, Oleg is currently based in Kraków. He created this artwork in March 2021. Oleg Danylenko About his inspiration, Oleg responded: “Actually, art and design allow us to create and show the audience things that don’t present in our daily life or even don’t exist. The universe has no limits, neither does imagination. That is how we can compare them. A long time ago, tribes were building ships to sail deep unknown waters, and nowadays, many geographical places on Earth have been discovered. Now we can rotate our planet using Google Earth and instantly get to nearly everywhere. But we know nothing about what lies beyond the Earth. Like our ancestors knew nothing about what lies there, after the horizon, looking at the ocean. We are only at the very beginning of sailing oceans of space. But imagination and art help us to see this goal crystal clear and make this dream closer to reality.” // Editorial disclosure: I don't have any vested financial interests in the companies or projects discussed in this article at the time of publication (November 2021). I don't entertain affiliate marketing offers or paid endorsements that would influence my research. // update. 11.20.21. Since you’ve enjoyed this article, allow me to invite you to my new space blog - recently launched! It’s designed to be ad-free, independently published, and, more importantly, showcasing original research and artwork. Be inspired by the possibilities of our future in space. Continue reading and subscribe to: moni-07b.space

The Shift in the Winds for Poland’s Space Scene

Here’s a beautiful paradox. Our bodies have elements found in stars, yet we’ve not evolved to survive in the extremes of space. Sheltered by the crown jewel in our Solar System, a permanent multi-planetary presence forces us to re-think the most basic assumptions about our physiology, psychology, basic functioning, and emotional needs. How can we test prototypes, technologies, and human dynamics for space settlements? A sustained presence in space requires more than a hardware fix. on Earth have been serving as a “petri dish” for decades, informing scientists about the human dimensions for spaceflight and exploration. Of course, the scope and breadth of these field missions vary. Still, at its core, they set out to simulate space-like environments in extreme areas to assess how we respond accordingly. Analog missions I’ve noticed the widening gap between the increased commercialization of the space industry and analog work on Earth for space. Only a few space agencies, research institutions, and private initiatives undertake the challenge of analog work, simulating space-like conditions and experiences for research and development (R&D). These initiatives remain relatively siloed, forcing scientists, explorers, and organizers to often scramble for additional sponsorship sources. I met with two seasoned analog researchers to further understand the dynamics of this current scenario. Ladakh: A Petri dish for Mars in the Himalayas Based in Mumbai, Ph.D. is the Head of two major divisions at Amity University Mumbai- part of India’s largest non-profit private educational group. Siddharth leads the . With a doctorate in aerospace engineering, Siddharth has a breadth and depth of experience in the space industry. He currently also serves in an advisory capacity to several space organizations and he's the project coordinator for the Spaceward Bound India Program. Siddharth Pandey Amity Space Centre and India’s first Centre of Excellence in Astrobiology (ACoeA) The Spaceward Bound Program started at NASA Ames Research Center in 2006. This annual educational program unites astrobiologists, scientists, and students in extreme environments for research and study. Earlier expeditions were conducted in remote areas in the Mojave Desert, Idaho, North Dakota, Australia, New Zealand, and the Polar regions. Ladakh, India was the site for the Spaceward Bound Program in August 2016. Ladakh Spaceward program 2016. (Photo credits: Siddharth Pandey) Ladakh is located in the easternmost section of the Himalayas (3500 - 5500 meters above sea level). With cold temperatures and high ultraviolet exposure due to its elevation, Ladakh has unique topological features that are of particular interest to scientists and analog explorers alike. For example, it has natural hot springs filled with microbial organisms adapted to reduced oxygen levels and atmospheric pressure. Salty lakes coexist with arid desert, making Ladakh in many ways possibly similar to ancient Mars. Data sourced by rovers points that liquid water and warmer temperatures were maybe present on the Martian surface. Despite this rich “petri dish'' for research and development, Ladakh is a lesser studied region for human space exploration. Siddharth co-authored the paper about the 2016 expedition. The International Journal of Astrobiology published this paper. It presents data to prove why Ladakh is an essential place of study for scientists and explorers. “Ladakh: diverse, high-altitude extreme environments for off-earth analog and astrobiology research” “What we see today in Ladakh is helping us build the picture about what Mars was like 2 billion years ago, and also how it changed,” explained Siddharth. “For example, as a result of climate change on Earth, we see that there are several high-altitude lakes in Ladakh, which are slowly receding because the water is evaporating faster than it's getting filled up. Many of these phenomena occurred on Mars over a long time, so this opportunity at Ladakh helps us understand the Martian past in terms of how the surface atmospheric processes enable life and what kind of life forms exist in these harsh conditions? And if such life forms existed on Mars, what kind of environments would they exist in and what kind of byproducts would they have left behind.” Another dimension for the analog work at Ladakh in 2016 includes productivity. Under such extreme conditions, physical and mental fatigue sets in, aggravated by lower oxygen levels. As a result, what would be easy to do based on someone’s given skill set becomes a gargantuan task. These factors forced mission organizers to understand the interplay of individual productivity, health, and emotional well-being with the group dynamics. Siddharth Pandey connected with me from Mumbai. 2021. “During our expedition, we noticed that there were so many cultural nuances that tend to become visible as in how people go about doing their work. And especially when you had researchers from different backgrounds and sciences, as is typical of astrobiology. And there’s also a sequence in which things are done. So, we need to understand that a site like Ladakh can help us train for such kinds of missions.” The Ladakh Spaceward program visit in 2016 received financial support from the publicly-traded automotive company Tata Motors and National Geographic Traveler India.  Researchers collaborated closely with scientists at the in the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) Ladakh Spaceward program 2016. (Photo credits: Siddharth Pandey) Siddharth offered his perspectives on the missed opportunities for the private sector. ”There might not be a clear and immediate return for a space company to invest in analog work unless they have a particular product and service that they would like to market. However, it will be increasingly important to link space research for sustainability on Earth. For example, what are the different technologies for Moon and Mars that can adapt to remote locations in dry environments, which are the usual sites for analog missions? And how can we support the communities that live in these kinds of places? Analog sites can be utilized by companies with applications here on Earth as well, for example, testing low-energy consumption waste management or water filtration systems.” Siddharth explained how his team at the Amity Centre of Excellence in Astrobiology continues to push forward and partner with research and educational institutions for the Mars Amity Research Station (MARS) in Ladakh. For example, they’re planning to build temporary geodesic-dome structures over the next couple of years during specific seasons. Conceptualizing field drills for Moon and Mars with communications lags is another example. The team also wants to democratize the experience and access to the information by opening it up to the broader community of space enthusiasts. Through a new Earth and Space Exploration Program (ESEP) program, enthusiasts apply and partner up for a flat fee with scientists at Ladakh for several days. For the first open call pre-pandemic, more than 100 people had signed up. However, it was scaled down later by the organizers due to social distancing protocols. The Bangalore-based company provided some funding to ESEP 2021, thus showing the dynamism of India’s new space ecosystem. SatSure The first crew of the ESEP 2021 already achieved a major milestone this past July. They tested the Mars Amity Surface Characterization Operations Trainer (MASCOT) in the glacial lake bed of Tsokar at 4600 m above sea level. “Amity University has been very supportive of the work that I do. Space is still not the main focus for universities and especially private ones. I’ve had the opportunity to set up this new center with the freedom to do several things. Building something from scratch presents its challenges, but I’m excited about the prospects for the future.” Analog as Proxy for Imagination and Innovation Ph.D. is a consummate analog researcher and professional explorer. For the past decade, he has specialized in isolated, confined, and extreme environments. Born and based in Paris, France, Benjamin is an elected international fellow of the iconic and a human factor expert at the . He has participated in more than a dozen research expeditions and analog astronaut trainings, including the International MoonBase Alliance missions with the European Space Agency at the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) habitat. The depth and range of Benjamin’s missions have taken him to remote locations in the Arctic circle, Iceland, Hawaii, Chile, among many others. Benjamin Pothier Explorers Club International Astronautical Federation Benjamin dreamed early in his life to become a jet pilot. However, these plans were cut short due to eyesight problems, so he pivoted to the arts as the launching pad for his career and analog research. For more than 15 years, Benjamin worked in various mediums, photography, sculpture, interactive installations, and film. He earned his doctorate in an interdisciplinary research program at the University of Plymouth's Planetary Collegium. One of his recent artworks ISSBM (ISS BLUE MARBLE), will be launched to the International Space Station next year in collaboration with the space company Nanoracks. By 2021, Benjamin has already participated in two analog missions. First, he served as Commander of the Orpheus Mission at the in northwest Poland. An international crew of 5 other analog astronauts lived and worked with Benjamin for two weeks. The research station is located in a modified nuclear bunker at a former military airport. The crew simulated extracurricular vehicular activities (EVA) and tested several tool prototypes. LunAres Research Station Orpheus Mission crew members Alicja Musial and Eduardo Salazar Perez during an EVA. (Photo credits: Benjamin Pothier) Benjamin also participated in the CHILL-ICE Moon mission in Iceland’s underground lava tubes. The mission was conceptualized by - a non-profit analog astronaut organization - under the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG). A lava-tube is a natural volcanic cave formed after the lava has flowed downslope from a vent, hardened, and emptied. The mission simulated the construction of the first Lunar base (CHILL-ICE stands for the Construction of a Habitat Inside a Lunar-Analogue Lava-tube). Several scientists have proposed lunar caves as ideal sites for robotic and human exploration. These caves would serve as natural shelters from cosmic rays and micrometeorites. EuroMoonMars Benjamin Pothier entering the test site CHILL-ICE mission. 2021. (Photo credits: Benjamin Pothier) Benjamin shared how analog missions open up the study of human ecology, which explains how humans relate to their environments. Benjamin Pothier connected with me from Paris. 2021. “When I'm focusing on the human factor, I’m studying it from an anthropology angle. This allows me to distinguish what’s relevant for the future of human spaceflight because there will be a huge difference between selecting crew to the Moon and Mars compared to selecting crews for the Apollo program or for the International Space Station. I anonymize all my notes about the crew because it’s not about specific individuals. Instead, my study is about looking at the fundamentals of human beings living together under these strange conditions,” explained Benjamin. Benjamin described how easily the industry can overlook breakthroughs in the social dimensions of space settlements. Analog missions require significant effort, preparation, and rigor, especially at the psychological level. Often, those who work with tools and technologies without constraints have difficulty adjusting to the conditions in analog work. These restrictions might explain why the simulation's fidelity also requires ample dosages of imagination and creativity. “I have encountered brilliant scientists that cannot go easily along with the simulation of being somewhere else and playing along with a team. So the simulation also becomes part of the research. It’s a very collaborative process,” said Benjamin. “And although you cannot simulate the entirety of the factors in space for a perfect analog mission, you can replicate many, especially the interaction of crew in the ways they are going live and collaborate. There are also geographical, topological similarities on Earth with the Moon that help field tests and proofs-of-concept.” Benjamin noted a gradual increase in the number of private companies undertaking innovative approaches to support analog work. For example, some of these companies - - plan to build modular habitats on Earth in preparation for long-duration spaceflight. However, there is still evidence of a lack of support from the private sector. Throughout many of his missions, Benjamin has encountered dramatic reductions in the availability of commercial pressurized analog suits. Interstellar Lab “I’m quite surprised, to be honest, that SpaceX doesn’t have an analog division by now. If you plan to go to Mars, you should already be working on analog simulations. Furthermore, some studies are too expensive to conduct in the ISS. It's much easier for space agencies and private companies to conduct more experiments on Earth for long duration spaceflight.” Key takeaways Approaching the human dimensions for sustained space exploration requires a paradigm shift that looks beyond the hardware. Space is an unforgiving environment for the unprepared body and mind alike. Siddharth and Benjamin assessed the variety of factors that harness and truncate analog research missions. With increased stressors that can be simulated on Earth, they advocate that analog work equips us with field data and R&D suitable for spacefarers. To continue to focus on a couple of sectors in the space economy at the expense of the human factors will leave us seriously short-staffed for Lunar and Martian settlements. With an industry that continues to thrive year after year, the time has come for us to embrace analog missions with strength and purpose. We need to imagine our future in space and prepare for it. // is the concept artist featured on the header with (2015). Based in Romania, Bogdan has more than 12 years in the game industry. Science fiction books have inspired his artwork. Bogdan Tufecciu Jumpgates “Places, technologies, and stories inspire me,” said Bogdan. // update. 11.20.21. Since you’ve enjoyed this article, allow me to invite you to my new space blog - recently launched! It’s designed to be ad-free, independently published, and, more importantly, showcasing original research and artwork. Be inspired by the possibilities of our future in space. Continue reading and subscribe to: moni-07b.space

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