Space Travelers To Live in Mars' Lava Tubes?

Lava tubes could become the favorite home for space travelers when man-made trips to Mars occur. Similarly, if man were to live on the Moon, a lava tube would be an ideal house!

So, just what is a "lava tube?"

http://www.goodearthgraphics.com/virtual_tube/skylight1.mov

A lava tube is a geological feature associated with volcanoes. Scientists have thought that astronauts may want to live inside lava tubes on Mars and the moon if we can find them.

Check out this website:

http://www.asi.org/adb/06/09/03/02/100/12-questions.html
EXTRA CREDIT

Answer the following questions in complete sentences handwritten ON A SHEET OF PAPER for EXTRA CREDIT!!

1. How is a lava tube formed?

2. Where are they found on Earth?

3. Are lava tubes likely to be on the moon?

4. Are lava tubes on the moon safe or are they likely to collapse? Why?

5. List three reasons why we might want to use lava tubes to live in on the moon.

6. How much space is probably in the lava tubes, if there are any, on the moon?

7. Where else in the solar system are we likely to discover lava tubes?

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International Space Hotel In Full Flight

While the recession may be putting a damper on vacations around the world, companies such as Virgin Galactic are talking seriously about taking vacations out of this world!

And while the price tag ($200,000 a seat) may be out of reach for the cash-strapped general public, Virgin Galactic and the National Space Society have teamed up to offer a FREE ticket if you enter and win yourself a seat aboard the spaceship.

Visit https://www.spaceambassadors.com to sign up.

Whenever you travel you will be in need of a place to stay. British students at the Imperial College London have taken the next step and designed a space hotel. Be sure to step on board if your current Virgin Galactic housing is not to your liking.

EXTRA CREDIT
Answer the following questions in complete sentences handwritten ON A SHEET OF PAPER for EXTRA CREDIT!!

Think of eight difficulties that a space traveler could experience when dealing with Zero gravity, or any other issues that space causes as well as eight solutions. For example, it would making sleeping difficult unless harnessed in uncomfortably. And what could you eat that contains no moisture - freeze-dried beans? How could you shower in zero gravity without the water floating away in globules? These students came up with some solutions (come up with your own and compare):

http://www.imperial.ac.uk/imedia/vid/index.php?vid=315

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Would you trade great life experiences for money and material possessions?

Memories of your HDTV or your lakeside vacation - which do you prefer?

How about hiking a mountain and whitewater-rafting with your loved ones?
Or you could have a few hundred dollars in cash and an expensive lamp.

Which provides the real "light" in your life?

"People still believe that more money will make them happy, even though 35 years of research has suggested the opposite," Howell said. "Maybe this belief has held because money is making some people happy some of the time, at least when they spend it on life experiences."

While your HDTV may satisfy your need for entertainment, your possessions are not going to provide you with the greatest sense of well-being.

A recent study by San Francisco State University shows that buying experiences result in increased well-being because they fulfill much higher order needs than getting that new BluRay DVD or a new couch.

The need for social connectedness and vitality - being alive - trumps the need for more stuff in the house.

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Those participating in the study had been asked to write down reflections and answer questions regarding any recent purchases. The subjects noted that experiential purchases represented money better spent as well as greater happiness for both themselves and others. These findings also show that experiences produce more happiness regardless of the amount of money spent or the income of the consumer.

In the long-term, experiences still outweigh material possessions. "Purchased experiences provide memory capital," Howell said. "We don't tend to get bored of happy memories like we do with a material object."

So, just remember that "money can't buy happiness." Life goes by quickly and you can either choose to spend your time collecting items to surround yourself with at home or spend your time with friends and family experiencing life moments which will live within you always. Just know that the person inside you truly yearns for life experiences, not a new gadget. And your memory knows the difference.

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Source:
San Francisco State University. "Buying Experiences, Not Possessions, Leads To Greater Happiness." ScienceDaily 17 February 2009. 17 February 2009 /releases/2009/02/090207150518.htm>.

What's your favorite planet?

.Without looking at the picture below, which planet would give you the most room to stretch out on? Earth is actually one of the smallest planets in our solar system.

When asked which planet is your favorite, many will respond with an exotic answer like Neptune or Jupiter. Can these planets sustain life as we know it? Theoretically, no. But we weren't asked what's our favorite hospitable planet, were we?

Just like living in South Florida, where many people in the world would consider its beaches and palm trees a paradise, the locals consider it plain and ordinary.

At least, those of us that grew up here see it as ordinary. We know very little of any other places like North Carolina where it gets down to 10 degrees F in the winter or lower. Not the most hospitable environment but to people who grew up in South Florida, that's paradise!

Mountains, streams, log cabins, snow, and towns with a history other than previously being swampland - these are the things we consider a paradise because they are exotic to us. Beaches seem commonplace to us because they are.

Obviously, looking at the picture we can see that Jupiter dwarfs all the other planets easily, with Saturn running a close second. Earth is practically the size of a hood ornament on a Jupiter car comparatively.

Lab Gab's next installment coming soon...
STAY TUNED!
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