Who’s going to win the space war?

Earth is too small now! The world is currently engaged in a silent war to colonize other planets and dominate the unknown universe. The more the winners of the Newspace War become apparent, the more it becomes obvious. The courageous challenges of space startups are changing the world, and they are bringing about tremendous change and innovation for humanity.

The world’s first 3D printed rocket engine

Rocket engines are what propel space launch vehicles into the air. An India startup called ‘Agnikul Cosmos’ has successfully tested the world’s first 3D printed rocket engine. The advantage of this engine is that it can be printed as a single piece on a 3D printer, as opposed to the complexity of assembling hundreds of modules. This reduces the manufacturing process and lowers the cost. Using the same principle, if we were to build a community in space, could we easily 3D print houses, buildings, bridges, and other infrastructure? “The Sims” in space is on the horizon.

Two-armed, four-legged robots

A centaur-like robot will crawl across the lunar surface, taking over human labor. With arms equipped with state-of-the-art artificial intelligence systems, the robot can dig into the lunar soil for resources and assemble solar panels. Its sturdy legs allow it to move freely up and down the bumpy lunar surface, and its wheels can rotate 360 degrees. The Japan’s company that developed it, ‘Gitai’, plans to launch a lunar rover by 2025 to begin full-scale lunar exploration with this robot. Before that, their state-of-the-art robotic arm has already successfully demonstrated its technology outside the International Space Station. The day is not far off when robots resembling creatures from myths will explore the moon.

A massive space blockchain consortium

The Singapore-based startup ‘SpaceChain’ aims to create a new economic system by merging the space economy with a blockchain system. This move would entail a shift away from the Earth’s state-centered economic system. The proposed system would be characterized by decentralization, distributed ownership of space resources, and the ability for anyone to use applications with non-fungible tokens. Using small satellites known as CubeSats as nodes, the plan is to launch satellites and establish digital assets in space.

Don’t forget the trash bags

Humanity’s curiosity about the universe and our advancing technology have led to a concerning issue – space trash. Every time we launch a satellite or spacecraft, we contribute to the accumulation of space debris. This debris can interfere with orbits and potentially fall back to Earth, posing a threat. To address this problem, a South Korea startup called ‘Kairo Space’ has developed a bag designed to contain space debris. The concept involves a device on a satellite opening the bag at the end of its mission, causing it to de-orbit and safely burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere. This innovation is crucial for future space travel when we will need to navigate around space debris. In the future, when we can travel in private spacecraft, we may see more people “plogging” space debris.

The first key to building a lunar base: oxygen

It’s common knowledge that humans need oxygen to breathe, whether they’re on Earth or the moon. Israel startup ‘Helios’ is venturing into space exploration by creating a technology to extract oxygen from metals for use on the moon. This method involves electrolysis, which not only separates oxygen from lunar soil but also processes metal byproducts and helps in building infrastructure. This development, along with the recent news of oxygen generation on Jupiter’s moon Europa, raises expectations for potential human migration to space. Now, really, Earth is so cramped.