In this video interview Marco Ostini gives some insight into why Lunar Numbat chose to partner with Google Lunar X PRIZE team White Label Space.
He also gives details and on the great work that his team are doing with the Australian Space Research Institute (ASRI) that also benefits White Label Space's Google Lunar X PRIZE mission.
Apr 1, 2011
Mar 31, 2011
Video Producer Needed - Students Welcome
Are you thinking of a leadership career in the film and media industry?
White Label Space is looking for a volunteer to coordinate the production and editing of video material in support of our Google Lunar X PRIZE efforts. Our team is increasing its output of video content and urgently needs a motivated individual to help maintain a steady flow of video for distribution over the web.
Roles and Responsibilities:
This role would suit a media or film student, but applications are welcome from people from all backgrounds and ages.
Please send application letter with CV to: careers@whitelabelspace.com
White Label Space is looking for a volunteer to coordinate the production and editing of video material in support of our Google Lunar X PRIZE efforts. Our team is increasing its output of video content and urgently needs a motivated individual to help maintain a steady flow of video for distribution over the web.
Roles and Responsibilities:
- Liaise with team members to obtain raw video input in a timely manner
- Direct the editing team, dividing up workload according to resources and availability
- Manage and maintain information system for storing video data at all stages of editing
- Publish the finished video products on the web
- Monitor the audience engagement and follow-up on audience responses
This role would suit a media or film student, but applications are welcome from people from all backgrounds and ages.
Please send application letter with CV to: careers@whitelabelspace.com
***
Mar 30, 2011
Lander Mock-Up Disassembly Instructions
This video shows the process for disassembling the lander mock-up and stowing it in the transport container. Thanks Aad and Marco!
Mar 29, 2011
Video of Mock-Up Final Assembly
Aad Eggers and Marco van Duijn have been doing some great work on getting the lander mock-up ready for Rio Tinto. This video is a quick look at what they've accomplished.
Mar 28, 2011
Lander Mock-Up En Route to Austria
Below are some photos of the shipping container for our lander mock-up, which is now on it's way to the Austrian Space Forum (OEWF) home base in Innsbruck. After some testing, it will then be transported to Rio Tinto (Spain) to support the field trials (see this earlier blog post).
Mar 17, 2011
Dr Andrew Barton to Present at University of Queensland
Dr Andrew Barton, chairman of White Label Space will speak at the University of Queensland next Wednesday on the challenges provided by the Google Lunar X PRIZE, and how his team with help from their partners will meet and overcome them, ushering in a new era of space innovation.
Date: Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Time: 6:30pm - 9:30pm
Location: University of Queensand, Hawken building (Num 50), Room T105, Brisbane, Australia
For more information, contact events@whitelabelspace.com.
Date: Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Time: 6:30pm - 9:30pm
Location: University of Queensand, Hawken building (Num 50), Room T105, Brisbane, Australia
For more information, contact events@whitelabelspace.com.
***
Mar 13, 2011
All Team Members Reported Safe After Sendai Earthquake
After the devastating earthquake in the Sendai area, we are relieved to report that all White Label Space team members in Japan have been contacted and are safe. Below is a message written by John Walker, who was in Sendai at the Tohoku University Space Robotics Lab when the quake struck. He describes his experiences of the disaster.
Our hearts go out to the tens of thousands of people who were more severely affected by this powerful and tragic natural disaster.
Message from John Walker;
We are OK in Sendai, as is everyone I know here. Nathan and I were in the lab during the earthquake and Prof Yoshida was abroad.
They are already starting to restore power and water to the city of Sendai.
The earthquake itself was pretty scary but afterwards everything is very well organized; we waited outside after the earthquake and eventually were allowed to grab our stuff from the lab. We left quickly after an aftershock and possible gas leak. At my dorm we are staying together in a group.
Where I am located in the city I don't have running water or power but we are safe with lots of food and water.
Although the shaking was quite violent, there are no buildings in the city itself that collapsed and flooding was confined to the subway system as far as I know. We knew it was serious right away as it was the first time we heard the early warning detection alarm (3 seconds before) and it was impossible to stay standing.
It was much worse to the West where the ground is different and to the East where tsunamis hit. We weren't aware of how serious things were until we heard news reports.
In the city yesterday, restaurants were giving free food and people were in good spirits, although you can see smoke from fires near the coast and there are smaller fires reported in the city.
Local groups are also making rice and soup for people. Basically the same food we've been eating in our cafeteria, but it is served hot!
Convenience stores were open yesterday, where people patiently lined up in the dark to buy a couple of day's worth of food each. I got food there, and was also given food by the school, as well as flashlights and batteries. Today, as new convenience stores open, people are lined up outside.
Amazingly, a handful of stores and even two bars were by open the main station yesterday afternoon.
There are buildings designated as refuges where people in tall and evacuated buildings can stay.
The international news images are not from Sendai city, they are from surrounding areas. The aftershocks were quite large and frequent until yesterday morning but have subsided now.
The nuclear reactors are not posing a serious risk according to local media, and despite the recent explosion widespread fallout is not a risk for this type of plant and failure. The current evacuation radius is 30km. The total radiation output is 0.5mSv per hour and under control. Normal human absorption from background radiation is 3.5mSv per year. Even the worst-case-scenario is not a risk for short term exposure.
We are not sure when we can go back to the lab. Many experiments were damaged but our rover was OK when we left it.
Our plans to send a camera/mirror system to Europe for testing are snagged but we think we can still put together a similar system using parts we have.
It's possible to find power and Internet. Many business owners are helping people charge phones and laptops. I should be able to update occasionally directly and via friends (email is sporadically working on my phone).
I want to stress that we are OK and in a relatively safe place. As a precaution, Nathan may travel to Yamagata, and I may travel to Tokyo to stay with our friends.
Nathan and I are currently standing in line to for lunch and were able to pre-order dinner. We are going to investigate the possibility of bus travel today, and see if it is possible to retrieve the rover.
John Walker
Our hearts go out to the tens of thousands of people who were more severely affected by this powerful and tragic natural disaster.
Message from John Walker;
 |
| Tohoku University Students and Staff at an Evacuation Zone |
They are already starting to restore power and water to the city of Sendai.
The earthquake itself was pretty scary but afterwards everything is very well organized; we waited outside after the earthquake and eventually were allowed to grab our stuff from the lab. We left quickly after an aftershock and possible gas leak. At my dorm we are staying together in a group.
Where I am located in the city I don't have running water or power but we are safe with lots of food and water.
Although the shaking was quite violent, there are no buildings in the city itself that collapsed and flooding was confined to the subway system as far as I know. We knew it was serious right away as it was the first time we heard the early warning detection alarm (3 seconds before) and it was impossible to stay standing.
It was much worse to the West where the ground is different and to the East where tsunamis hit. We weren't aware of how serious things were until we heard news reports.
In the city yesterday, restaurants were giving free food and people were in good spirits, although you can see smoke from fires near the coast and there are smaller fires reported in the city.
Local groups are also making rice and soup for people. Basically the same food we've been eating in our cafeteria, but it is served hot!
Convenience stores were open yesterday, where people patiently lined up in the dark to buy a couple of day's worth of food each. I got food there, and was also given food by the school, as well as flashlights and batteries. Today, as new convenience stores open, people are lined up outside.
Amazingly, a handful of stores and even two bars were by open the main station yesterday afternoon.
There are buildings designated as refuges where people in tall and evacuated buildings can stay.
The international news images are not from Sendai city, they are from surrounding areas. The aftershocks were quite large and frequent until yesterday morning but have subsided now.
The nuclear reactors are not posing a serious risk according to local media, and despite the recent explosion widespread fallout is not a risk for this type of plant and failure. The current evacuation radius is 30km. The total radiation output is 0.5mSv per hour and under control. Normal human absorption from background radiation is 3.5mSv per year. Even the worst-case-scenario is not a risk for short term exposure.
We are not sure when we can go back to the lab. Many experiments were damaged but our rover was OK when we left it.
Our plans to send a camera/mirror system to Europe for testing are snagged but we think we can still put together a similar system using parts we have.
It's possible to find power and Internet. Many business owners are helping people charge phones and laptops. I should be able to update occasionally directly and via friends (email is sporadically working on my phone).
I want to stress that we are OK and in a relatively safe place. As a precaution, Nathan may travel to Yamagata, and I may travel to Tokyo to stay with our friends.
Nathan and I are currently standing in line to for lunch and were able to pre-order dinner. We are going to investigate the possibility of bus travel today, and see if it is possible to retrieve the rover.
John Walker
***
Mar 9, 2011
Luke Weston LCA2011 Talk Online
As we posted earlier, Luke Weston from our open source partner Lunar Numbat recently gave a talk at lac2011 (the Linux of Australasia).
You can now watch his complete talk online at this link.
During his talk Luke gave an update on some of Lunar Numbat's ongoing developments, and in particular, his latest progress on the throttle control avionics and radar altimeter.
Lunar Numbat is currently developing hardware for AUSROC 2.5, a sounding rocket of the Australian Space Research Institute (ASRI). After demonstrating the designs on the rocket, space-qualified versions will be developed for use on the White Label Space lunar lander.
You can now watch his complete talk online at this link.
During his talk Luke gave an update on some of Lunar Numbat's ongoing developments, and in particular, his latest progress on the throttle control avionics and radar altimeter.
Lunar Numbat is currently developing hardware for AUSROC 2.5, a sounding rocket of the Australian Space Research Institute (ASRI). After demonstrating the designs on the rocket, space-qualified versions will be developed for use on the White Label Space lunar lander.
***
Mar 6, 2011
Rover Prototype Body Complete
John Walker just sent this photo of the completed body assembly of the WLS Rover prototype.
John expects the rover prototype to be driving around and taking photos by early April. The prototype is a full-scale and full-functionality model of the GLXP rover, and will be used for intergrated testing with the WLS lander mock-up.
John expects the rover prototype to be driving around and taking photos by early April. The prototype is a full-scale and full-functionality model of the GLXP rover, and will be used for intergrated testing with the WLS lander mock-up.
Mar 5, 2011
Feb 26, 2011
GLXP Lander Mock-Up Construction Video
Getting hardware built is a key goal for our GLXP team.
The video embedded below shows some of the team's early work on a mock-up of the lander - a full scale and accurate representation of the current White Label Space mission design.
The lander mock-up work started in summer 2010 with a simple cardboard design, which soon after was upgraded to a stronger wooden box. Steel legs and mock-ups of the externally mounted equipment were also added in late 2010.
Work is continuing now on adding functionality to the key equipment onboard the lander and integrated testing with our Japanese rover prototype is planned for later this year (the rover appearing in the video is just a placeholder).
The video embedded below shows some of the team's early work on a mock-up of the lander - a full scale and accurate representation of the current White Label Space mission design.
The lander mock-up work started in summer 2010 with a simple cardboard design, which soon after was upgraded to a stronger wooden box. Steel legs and mock-ups of the externally mounted equipment were also added in late 2010.
Work is continuing now on adding functionality to the key equipment onboard the lander and integrated testing with our Japanese rover prototype is planned for later this year (the rover appearing in the video is just a placeholder).
***
Feb 13, 2011
Adriaan Rijkens
Adriaan is a Masters student studying at the Nyenrode Business Universiteit. In 2010 he completed his Bachelor of Engineering in Industrial Engineering & Management at the Professional University of Amsterdam.
Adriaan has a great fascination for the space industry and the commercial space industry in particular. He has set up the Givemeaspaceflight.com foundation and helped with the establishment of the International Space Transport (ISTA).
Adriaan has an entrepreneurial attitude that can underlined by his personal motto: 'Just Do It'.
Members of the media can contact Adriaan at: Adriaan.Rijkens@whitelabelspace.com
***
Feb 11, 2011
Jeremy Fielding
Dr Jeremy Fielding is the Lead System Engineer the White Label Space lunar lander.During his 15 years working as a system engineer in the UK aerospace and electronics sectors, Jeremy worked on numerous advanced engineering projects. Some of his more notable roles included being the lead mission systems engineer for penetrator design studies for the Jovian moons and Mars, as well as managing bids and small studies for lunar and deep space missions.
Jeremy received his PhD in 2004 from the Surrey Space Centre on the topic of Mars exploration possibilities using an airborne VTOL (VTVL) platform.
In 2008 Jeremy reached the Level-3 applicant pool of the ESA astronaut programme selection.
***
Feb 9, 2011
emxys Developing Minature Intertial Measurement Unit
Our electronics partner emxys is developing a minature lightweight Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) for our mission in the Google Lunar X PRIZE (GLXP). The video embedded below shows a prototype being demonstrated by emxys director, .
The IMU will be a key component for the WLS mission, helping the lander to achieve its soft touchdown on the lunar surface. It is designed to be an accurate and reliable instrument within a minimum volume.
The target performance is to achieve a resolution better than 1º in attitude estimation with a power consumption under 1W. Its minimized mass and volume will enable small satellite missions to achieve unsurpassed attitude estimation capabilities.
The GLXP presents a fantastic technology demonstration opportunity for such technology, and emxys intends to transform the IMU into a commercial product for the space market.
The IMU will be a key component for the WLS mission, helping the lander to achieve its soft touchdown on the lunar surface. It is designed to be an accurate and reliable instrument within a minimum volume.
The target performance is to achieve a resolution better than 1º in attitude estimation with a power consumption under 1W. Its minimized mass and volume will enable small satellite missions to achieve unsurpassed attitude estimation capabilities.
The GLXP presents a fantastic technology demonstration opportunity for such technology, and emxys intends to transform the IMU into a commercial product for the space market.
Feb 8, 2011
Mars is About to Get a Bit Closer
The Austrian Space Forum (ÖWF) is going to Mars, and some of the steps on that journey are taking place here on Earth very soon.
Stay tuned for more information, including how our White Label Space GLXP team will be involved...
Rio Tinto 2011 from Austrian Space Forum on Vimeo.
Stay tuned for more information, including how our White Label Space GLXP team will be involved...
Rio Tinto 2011 from Austrian Space Forum on Vimeo.
***
Feb 2, 2011
How to colonise the Moon with a 3D printer
IT'S one thing to land on the Moon and trundle a rover around, but another thing entirely to build something when we get there.
If we're to mine the lunar surface for silver or tap its water supplies, we'll need infrastructure.
Considering it's taken 13 years to bolt the International Space
Station together piece by piece, it's not hard to imagine what kind of timeframe we're looking at to establish an entire working community on the Moon.
But here's a thought - can we print everything we need?
Wait, stay with me here.
What can you make with a 3D printer? Up until now, it's been mainly small items. Models, ceramics, small mass-produced components.
But several advances lately strongly suggest 3D printing will be anything but a cottage industry in the future.
In a nutshell, 3D printers work like a regular old-fashioned dot matrix printer, but instead of laying down ink, they lay down particles which build up to form an object.
Some machines start with a solid block of gel or vat of polymer and use lasers to harden it layer by layer into the shape required before washing away the excess.
A couple of years ago, a team at Bowling Green State University created a system which bonded ceramic powders into a type of clay which could be fired.
So how about a 3D printer in which it's big enough to print a brick house or a laboratory?
It certainly cuts down on lugging large amounts of materials to the Moon. Basically, we just need to transport a few tanks of polymer each trip.
Weight's not exactly an issue on the Moon. It could trundle around happily until it found a suitable site, run off off a small neighbourhood and give us a bell back on Earth when it's time to call the removalists.
"Sea of Tranquility, sir? Fine choice. Will that be hi-res or lo-res?"
What about transport? That's been done too. Just last year in the US, Kor Ecologic ran off the first hybrid vehicle ever to be completely drawn by a 3D printer.
Organ-printing's an interesting one that might also come in handy.
Research suggests that our bodies don't take too well to life in microgravity.
Kidney disease and urinary tract problems are among those noted in astronauts and there's an ongoing study into the possibility that bacteria are more resistant to antibiotics in space.
Certainly, bone density is a major issue, but organ printing is already well advanced here on Earth.
Instead of laying down powders, 3D printers deposit living cells onto gel structures, making the possibility of printing entire organs very real indeed.
All we need is someone who knows how to fix the paper jams.
If we're to mine the lunar surface for silver or tap its water supplies, we'll need infrastructure.
Considering it's taken 13 years to bolt the International Space
Station together piece by piece, it's not hard to imagine what kind of timeframe we're looking at to establish an entire working community on the Moon.
But here's a thought - can we print everything we need?
Wait, stay with me here.
What can you make with a 3D printer? Up until now, it's been mainly small items. Models, ceramics, small mass-produced components.
But several advances lately strongly suggest 3D printing will be anything but a cottage industry in the future.
In a nutshell, 3D printers work like a regular old-fashioned dot matrix printer, but instead of laying down ink, they lay down particles which build up to form an object.
Some machines start with a solid block of gel or vat of polymer and use lasers to harden it layer by layer into the shape required before washing away the excess.
A couple of years ago, a team at Bowling Green State University created a system which bonded ceramic powders into a type of clay which could be fired.
So how about a 3D printer in which it's big enough to print a brick house or a laboratory?
It certainly cuts down on lugging large amounts of materials to the Moon. Basically, we just need to transport a few tanks of polymer each trip.
Weight's not exactly an issue on the Moon. It could trundle around happily until it found a suitable site, run off off a small neighbourhood and give us a bell back on Earth when it's time to call the removalists.
"Sea of Tranquility, sir? Fine choice. Will that be hi-res or lo-res?"
What about transport? That's been done too. Just last year in the US, Kor Ecologic ran off the first hybrid vehicle ever to be completely drawn by a 3D printer.
Organ-printing's an interesting one that might also come in handy.
Research suggests that our bodies don't take too well to life in microgravity.
Kidney disease and urinary tract problems are among those noted in astronauts and there's an ongoing study into the possibility that bacteria are more resistant to antibiotics in space.
Certainly, bone density is a major issue, but organ printing is already well advanced here on Earth.
Instead of laying down powders, 3D printers deposit living cells onto gel structures, making the possibility of printing entire organs very real indeed.
3D printing our entire lives on the Moon? You know it makes sense.
All we need is someone who knows how to fix the paper jams.
Jan 29, 2011
Samsung Success - High Altitude Paper Planes Descend on Germany
Earlier this month we blogged about the Samsung-sponsored Project Space Planes, which among other things, was a low-budget attempt to show that SD Samsung memory cards are tough enough to survive the environment at the edge of space.
Well, as you can see in the picture below, the mission was successful. The balloon was launched from the German town of Wolfsburg and reached an altitude of 37,339m, where it burst and a specially designed bag automatically released its payload of 200 paper planes.
Each plane carried a memory card with user-generated content uploaded via the web during the lead-up to the mission. Some of the paper planes have already been found across Germany.
The balloon and its attached equipment for video, GPS and telemetry was recovered by the launch team shortly after in a forest. The structure holding the equipment was made from foam, glue and duct tape, and thus did not cause a safety risk.
People who find planes are invited to report their find on the project's website at; http://projectspaceplanes.com/ask
Project Space Planes is led by Joel Veitch, a freelance producer of viral web content based in London and owner of the rathergood.com website.
Well, as you can see in the picture below, the mission was successful. The balloon was launched from the German town of Wolfsburg and reached an altitude of 37,339m, where it burst and a specially designed bag automatically released its payload of 200 paper planes.
Each plane carried a memory card with user-generated content uploaded via the web during the lead-up to the mission. Some of the paper planes have already been found across Germany.
The balloon and its attached equipment for video, GPS and telemetry was recovered by the launch team shortly after in a forest. The structure holding the equipment was made from foam, glue and duct tape, and thus did not cause a safety risk.
People who find planes are invited to report their find on the project's website at; http://projectspaceplanes.com/ask
Project Space Planes is led by Joel Veitch, a freelance producer of viral web content based in London and owner of the rathergood.com website.
***
Jan 24, 2011
Vint Cerf learns what a lunar numbat is
A BIG week for fans of the original open source OS, Linux.It's been 20 years since the first Linux kernel was written by Linus Torvalds, but that's just one thing that's helped make this year's Australian open source conference linux.conf.au a bit special.
The other is the appearance by a man who it seems cannot be named unless it comes with the prefix "founding father of the internet".
Yes, Google's chief evangelist Vint Cerf, who among other things, gave us email and TCP/IP technology, will be appearing at lca2011, starting with a keynote address today.
And the White Label Space Link? Cerf's here because Lunar Numbat team leader Marco Ostini - wearing one of his many other hats as lca2011's speakers and media manager, invited him.
"Google is a very Open Source friendly company and one of the Brisbane paper's committee members worked at their Mountain View office, so we just asked him nicely," Marco said.
"And Vint said yes, nicely."
"Without the protocols that Vint and his colleagues developed, there may still be no internet.
"Many a good thing has been born of the internet, including Linux. Having Vint Cerf at lca2011 gives us a tangible way to express our admiration, and also to learn from him.
"He brings wisdom, experience and the integrity of his consistently good example."
Lunar Numbat itself was born at lca2009 and this year will have its own place, running the Arduino miniconf and helping out with the rocketry miniconf.
Attendees will get the chance send their own rockets to 5000ft and receive telemetry via Lunar Numbat team member Luke Weston's recently released MobSenDat datalogger kit.
(More about MobSenDat and its brilliant Project Horus debut later this week.)
Luke's giving a Lunar Numbat presentation as well, while Jon Oxer's up for an open hardware related presentation.
Marco said Cerf's presence provides plenty of opportunities for Lunar Numbat at lca2011.
"He's worked a little on the problems of interplanetary TCP/IP (the protocol the Internet runs on) and there are some sober and serious considerations that come from that," he said.
"In no small measure Vint will inspire Lunar Numbat people to do what we do simply and well, to plan ahead and to build on it."
Read more about linux.conf.au here
Jan 15, 2011
White Label Space and GLXP in NRC Handelsblad
Major Dutch newspaper, NRC Handelsblad, has published an article about White Label Space and the Google Lunar X PRIZE (GLXP).
The article (right) covers our team's commercial and technical plans, as well as explaining the ways that government finances can (and cannot) be used to support GLXP teams.
Jan 11, 2011
How does your team rate?
A GOOD wrap today on Ars Technica on where the GLXP is at three years in, following the December 31 deadline closure for new registrations.
The report - Fly Me to the Moon: The Google Lunar X Prize Three Years In - includes a refresher on what it's all about, how Google's working to keep interest high in the competition and a link to an interesting blog which attempts to keep a running tally on how each team is faring.
Hosted by Mike Doornbos at evadot.com, who admits it's "completely unscientific", it nevertheless is updated regularly (the last update came just two days ago) and is based, he claims, on "knowledge from interviews, in person accounts, and publicly available information".
As well as overall chances of winning, teams are ranked in nine other categories such as Feeling, Participatory Involvement, Inspiration and Rover/Hopper.
Mike also includes a breakdown of where points can be scored. Check it out at evadot.com/glxpscorecard/if only for an idea on how we're faring from the point-of-view of someone looking in.
He also keeps a pretty nifty blog at http://michaeldoornbos.com/with plenty of GLXP and other space news as well. Worth a look.
Over at space.com, they've started a week-long series about returning to the Moon, starting today with The Case For, which also includes this link to an excellent article last year about why lunar mining should be an irresistible private enterprise proposition.
Tomorrow's post - The Case Against - should be equally intriguing.
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