Russia could detach its ISS engine

Plus: You’ve got orbital deliveries from outer space Mar 11, 2022 [View in browser]( Despite all hopes to the contrary, the International Space Station (ISS) is not above world politics. As the war in Ukraine continues, the growing fear that Russia might abandon the ISS is meeting wider attention. Now the threat is supported with official footage. A bizarre new video posted by state-controlled media RIA Novosti seems to suggest that Russia will leave the last remaining U.S. astronaut, Mark Vande Hei, aboard the ISS, as the Russian module detaches from the rest of the station. Needless to say, the U.S. is racing against the clock to figure out what an ISS without its longtime partner in space would look like. Before we pivot to the ISS and explore the war's ramifications for space, let this fascinating video of how LPG tanks are made soothe your brain. Good morning. I’m Derya, an editor at IE. This is The Blueprint. Let’s get started. [Video]VIDEO OF THE DAY [Here's how common LPG tanks are made from sheets of metal]( This is how LPG tanks are made in a factory. [Here's how common LPG tanks are made from sheets of metal]( SCIENCE [Could Russia's space agency be hinting at a detachment from the ISS?]( [The ISS.]( For 24 years, the International Space Station (ISS) has been a shining light for international scientific collaboration. In the past few years, relations have soured, and now they are at an all-time low, following the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces. - A new video [posted by state-controlled media RIA Novosti]( seemingly threatens to leave the last remaining U.S. astronaut, Mark Vande Hei, aboard the ISS, as the Russian module detaches from the rest of the station. Caught in the crosshairs. The video is composed of recontextualized reel footage and CGI animations, but the move seems provocative at best. The plan was for Vande Hei to join the remaining two Russian cosmonauts on a return journey that would land in Kazakhstan, but this seems to have been put on hold given the situation on the ground. Collapsing space cooperation. The U.S. and Russia's space collaboration was already strained before President Joe Biden levied sanctions against Russia targeting high-tech imports. Russia also previously turned down an invitation to participate in the U.S.'s Gateway lunar orbit station, instead [opting to build a separate lunar space station with China](. [Read More]( INNOVATION [A new lunar device can pull 70 percent of the oxygen from the Moon's surface]( [The ESA logistics lander.]( The European Space Agency (ESA) [selected the team that will design]( and build the first experimental payload to extract oxygen from the surface of the Moon. - The team, from Thales Alenia Space in the U.K., was selected following a competition for the best oxygen extraction device. They will develop a small piece of equipment that will help the ESA evaluate whether larger models might be feasible for the Moon. Breathe easy. The team's design will be able to extract 50 to 100 grams of oxygen from lunar regolith, which is the fine, powdery material that covers the Moon. From that, the team plans to extract roughly 70 percent of all available oxygen. For reference, 5 grams of oxygen is enough for approximately 10 minutes of breathing time for astronauts. Such devices can help to provide future missions with breathable oxygen and rocket propulsion. In fact, in April last year, NASA achieved a historic first by extracting oxygen from Mars via [a device called MOXIE]( that flew to the red planet aboard the Perseverance rover. [Read More]( SCIENCE [A company is planning to give you orbital deliveries from outer space]( [Inversion Space.]( A U.S.-based startup called Inversion Space [wants to make payloads rain down]( from Earth's orbit by transporting small payloads up to space via traditional rocket launches, where they’ll then be stored in a small orbital case. Shooting star-like space suitcases. The concept would essentially create a library of on-demand payloads in orbital space. When the contents of those space cases are required, they are quickly deployed back into Earth's atmosphere, like a comet. A parachute then deploys before touchdown, enabling a smooth landing in a designated region. - The technology could one day be used to quickly deploy artificial organs to hospitals, since the low-gravity conditions of space are ideal for delicate organs. It could also store small mobile hospital units in space for quick deployment in areas hit by natural disasters or humanitarian crises. It's a far-fetched proposition, but the outlandish nature of the procedure is also endemic of proposals seen in the budding private space sector. Space tourism is now a thing, and so are [medieval-style catapulted rockets]( for example. [Read More]( MAIL & MUSINGS Choose your fighter. Which out-there space technology would you most like to see come to life first? Be sure you check back tomorrow for the results! [A colossal elevator to space. Just hold onto your lunch.]( [Stellar engines. Let’s move the sun.]( [A magnetic space train. Some space travelers prefer the train.]( [Dyson spheres. It would solve everything.]( Yesterday’s Results We asked what you think about the metaverse, and the majority of you think it’s too early to say anything, while a good proportion also thinks Big Tech is pushing it too hard. It’s too early. Look before you leap. 41% Big tech needs to stop trying to make it happen. It won't. It can’t. 25% It was already here. Hello, gamers? 19% Metaverse is the next big thing. 15% QUOTE OF THE DAY “ If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable. ” Seneca in "Epistulae Morales Letters to Lucilius" AND ANOTHER THING... - SpaceX launched yet [another batch of Starlink internet satellites]( despite a recent warning from NASA that they might impede its ability to detect a catastrophic asteroid heading toward Earth. - Worries about cyber attacks have been around for years, but understanding the actual threat remains difficult. [Here’s what a cyberwar with Russia]( may actually look like. (Bloomberg $) - A supermassive black hole [is playing a deadly "billiards" game]( with three others. - A long-running dispute between two groups that claim to have invented the revolutionary CRISPR–Cas9 gene-editing tool [is likely to remain unresolved]( for years to come. (Nature) - The Turkish government [wants to build another Bosphorus](. The project Canal Istanbul would be 30 miles long and cost between $15 billion and $35 billion. - They were once a symbol of devastation: black conical mountains rising in strange symmetry from the flat landscape of Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. Today the coal slag heaps [symbolize something else](. (National Geographic) - The Drake Equation is one of the most famous equations in all of science, but it’s also [one of the more controversial](. [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. [ [Referral Program Terms and Conditions]( Prepared by Derya Ozdemir and Brad Bergan Enjoy reading? Don't forget to forward to a friend! Was this email forwarded to you? 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