Elon Musk wants to reach Mars with carbon capture

A UK startup successfully flight-tested its flying car prototype in Dubai, the ESA successfully drop-tested the largest parachute to ever go to Mars Dec 17, 2021 [View on browser]( Good morning. Billionaire Elon Musk is onto something again: SpaceX is starting a program to take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and turn it into rocket fuel. And, believe it or not, it’s not really as crazy as it sounds. Speaking of space and flying vehicles, the European Space Agency completed the first successful high-altitude drop-test of the largest parachute ever to fly on the Red Planet, while a startup conducted the first untethered test flights of its two-seat Volar aircraft prototype in Dubai. This is The Blueprint. Keep reading. INNOVATION [Elon Musk Wants SpaceX to Reach Mars Using Carbon Capture. Here's How It Could Work]( [Elon Musk pointing a finger (left), and a commercial Mars lander (right).]( Elon Musk [says his plans for Mars can coincide]( with the global push to lower the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, if you can believe it. - This is the way. "SpaceX is starting a program to take CO2 out of [the] atmosphere & turn it into rocket fuel," tweeted the CEO and tech billionaire on Monday. "Please join if interested." In a reply to himself, Musk added: "Will also be important for Mars.” And, it turns out hope might not be totally unmerited, since there are already ideas in-play about how we might convert CO2 into rocket fuel on the surface of Mars. - A new technique, called "direct air capture," would enable SpaceX to absorb thousands of tons of CO2, and convert it into a kind of rocket fuel. In fact, [the country behind the best Zuckerberg satire ever]( (Iceland) has already begun operations of its DAC plant, which, sucking in 4,400 tons of CO2 annually, also happens to be the world’s largest. This comes on the heels of Musk announcing a $100 million prize for whoever could bring a world-historic-level carbon removal technique to the global table. Still, we can only hope that carbon capture technology can absorb enough pollution from rocket launches such that the space adventures of tomorrow don't come at the expense of the Earth's habitability. [Read More]( TRANSPORTATION [A UK Startup Successfully Flight-Tested Its Flying Car Prototype in Dubai]( [The Volar eVTOL aircraft.]( Bellwether Industries, a U.K.-based eVTOL startup, [successfully completed the first untethered test flights]( of its two-seat Volar aircraft prototype in Dubai. - The Volar aircraft is designed to provide intercity flying car travel. The final version will be roughly 10.5 ft (3.2 m) wide, but the prototype model for the recent test flights was roughly half that size. The current Volar aircraft prototype is a two-seater, while the final machine will include space for four to five seats. What does it offer? During the recent trial flights, the remotely piloted prototype flew up to 13 ft (roughly 4 m) at a speed of about 25 mph (40 km/h). The full-scale version will cruise at altitudes of roughly 3,000 ft (914 m), reaching speeds of 135 mph (217 km/h). The battery duration is estimated to be roughly 90 minutes, which is similar to many flying taxi designs currently in the works. Bellwether aims to bring Volar to market by 2028, and it's specifically positioning its aircraft as a private flying car, so it will be interesting to see [if public urban air mobility]( truly takes off before the company releases its flying machine. [Read More]( INNOVATION [ExoMars: The ESA Successfully Drop-Tested the Largest Parachute to Ever Go to Mars]( [Two different versions of the subsonic parachute.]( The ESA [completed the first successful high-altitude drop test]( of the ExoMars mission parachute, which will be the largest to ever fly on Mars. - Where we are. Both the first- and second-stage parachutes have flown this year, which means the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover mission is on course to launch for the Red Planet in Sept. 2022. What to expect. After nearly nine months in space, the mission will land on Mars at speeds of roughly 13,048 mph (21,000 km/h), and a thermal shield and two main parachutes will help the lander slow down. While the descent module travels at supersonic speeds, the 49-ft-wide (15-m-wide) first stage parachute will deploy, and the 115-ft-wide (35-meter-wide) parachute will deploy once it has slowed to subsonic speeds. Then, 30 seconds before touchdown, a retrorocket propulsion system will kick in. If this sounds similar, that’s because it is: Remember the ["seven minutes of fear" that NASA's Perseverance rover experienced]( on its way to Mars in February this year? It’s a lot like that. Also, much like the Perseverance mission, the ExoMars rover's main aim will be to investigate whether life ever existed on the Red Planet. [Read More]( MAIL & MUSINGS Do you think that we will find life as we know it in our solar system? Be sure you check back tomorrow for the results! [Yes, it’s too vast to be empty.]( [No. It’s just us.]( [Not in our solar system.]( [Microbes, bacteria… Bring them in!]( Yesterday’s Results We asked how we can make the global cargo industry greener. And according to the majority of you, we need environmentally friendly vehicles to save us from the ever-increasing carbon emissions which are destabilizing and destroying our climate. We need new, environmentally friendly vehicles. 63% We have other stuff to worry about first. 19% Carbon taxes are key. 12% What’s the point? Game over, man. 6% QUOTE OF THE DAY “ Man armed with science is like a baby with a box of matches. ” J.B.S. Haldane in 'Daedalus' [Video]VIDEO OF THE DAY [How Sustainable Is Renewable Energy All Things Considered?]( Things may not be as bright as they seem. [How Sustainable Is Renewable Energy All Things Considered?]( AND ANOTHER THING... - A man accidentally threw out a hard drive worth $357 million in Bitcoin, and he’s been searching for it for a decade. This is [a nightmare scenario that might become increasingly common]( in the world of digital currency. - Mutant bacteria accidentally [recreated one of Van Gogh’s most iconic paintings]( and it’s a sight to behold. (ScienceAlert) - A propulsion engineer from NASA used 3D-structured light scanning and CAD modeling [to compare the different stages of his wife’s pregnancy](. - Turns out, we really [did buy more alcohol during the early pandemic](. No surprises there. (CNN) - Clothes [can be re-designed with the aid of technology]( to change colors, block sunlight, collect medical data, emit vibrations, or even display custom messages. - Human roads have utterly fragmented the world of wild animals, but [the engineering to reconnect the pieces is in our grasp](. (Aeon) - A new “paper battery” [can power a small fan for 45 minutes]( and it’s only as thick as two human hairs. [Share to Win]SHARE TO WIN [All products]( Share The Blueprint! Give your friends deeper insights into engineering and tech, and win exclusive IE swag for free. [Read Details]( Share your link Copy & share your referral link with others. 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