Guest:  John Jossy; Topics:  Current articles on John's excellent blog, SpaceSettlementProgress, sex in space, reproduction in space, the GRx, companies working on spin gravity, where to go when we return to the Moon, SpaceX Boca launch improvements, the PGM market &more.

Please direct all comments and questions regarding specific Space Show programs & guest(s) to the Space Show blog which is part of archived program on our website, www.thespaceshow.com.  Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm. 

We welcomed John Jossy back to the program and thanked him for a last minute fill in as the scheduled guest, Riley Harrison, was ill and had to cancel.  John did a superb job of filling in, brought us many important and interesting topics that we discussed both with listener calls and emails.  While much of our discussion centered on John's research, findings, and discussions from the recent ISDC Conference, he also brought us current news items of interest, including an astronomical discovery of a weird two-faced star.  As I have done with many other past program summaries, I will rely on the tags to concisely summarize the program and the major topics that we talked about.  In addition to the tags, John posted articles from his excellent blog on our blog for this program, so be sure to check those stories out.  I've repeated the tags below so they will be an easier reference for you.

Tags:  John Jossy, SpaceSettlementProgress blog, space tourism, gravity RX (GRx), sex in space, liability concerns, reproductive scientists, Dr. Jim Logan, Dr. Zubrin, neutral buoyancy for fetal development, living in centrifuges on Mars, reproductive negative effects of lower gravity,  1 g space stations, no family reproduction protocols, JAXA study, Vast, Above, Gravitics, rodent and small mammal studies, chimp studies, PGM and asteroid mining, PGM market size, Vast and spin gravity, Orbital Assembly Corporation evolves to Above Space, determining lunar gravity for humans first, lunar derived propellant, Tranquility Base or the Lunar South Pole for first Artemis lunar mission, SpaceX water deluge system, the Lockheed Space vision 2050, AI, quantum computing and nuclear technologies, private fusion industry raises $6 billion, continued SSP interest, ISDC poster session, Strange two-faced dying star Janus discovery (one side hydrogen, the other helium),. age of the universe twice as old as previously thought.

For me, an important part of John's discussion centered on the GRx (gravity prescription), human reproduction in space, responsible sex in space (if possible), fetal development and comments by Dr. Zubrin and Dr. Jim Logan. This part of the discussion was early in our program and resulted from John meeting and talking with Dr. Alex Layendecker who spoke about these topics at ISDC but also met with John and others in the halls in-between sessions.  John has a terrific interview with Alex on his blog which he kindly posted on TSS blog so check it out as it goes into far more details on key issues and topics than we had time for during our program.  Please make a note that Alex is scheduled to be The Space Show guest on Sunday, August 27. For our program discussion, John highlighted fetal development in microgravity and the concept some space advocates hold, that since a fetus is in neutral buoyancy on Earth, it would be OK in microgravity. That of course remains to be seen. John talked about complications that could arise during gestation in less than 1g and the concern Alex put forth of sex in space happening with serious adverse consequences. We also don’t know if contraception will work in microgravity.  This brings up liability concerns and more for such accidents.  John had much to say about this as will Alex on August 27. Give it some thought and if you have ideas about it, both post them on our blog and make a list so you can ask Alex your questions when he is our guest. This sex in space discussion led to commentary about space tourism.  Several listeners, myself included, thought the issues being raised by Alex as reported on by John for this program were far into the future so not so urgent.  John and Alex thought that the problem was more urgent and that we should start preparing for these problems now lest they overwhelm us later. You should read John’s interview with Alex on his blog and the green paper linked in the article that provides more context on the urgency of the issue. Your thoughts are welcome on our blog. 

John talked about another post on his blog highlighting research by Kevin Cannon and the founders of the startup AstroForge regarding asteroid mining and PGM (Platinum Group Metals). This brought back discussions with Dennis Wingo re the Moon and PGM years and years ago when Dennis wrote his book and was a Space Show guest back then.  The talk about the value and markets for PGM have been on and off again for decades. I would guess that market estimates would still be a big question.  In addition, bringing PGM back to Earth seems expensive but since most of these items are cartels such as diamonds, the price would be controlled if suddenly the supply expanded to include PGM from space.  People advocating the PGM market and asteroid mining for them and other materials, in my opinion, need to be very cautious about estimating markets and values if these items come back to Earth.  The blog post on SpaceSettlementProgress addresses this issue, so check it out.

John mentioned several companies working on some form of spin gravity or artificial gravity. He mentioned Vast, Above Space which was Orbital Assembly Co, and Gravitics. Charles Lurio called to mention that Jon Goff, who has been on The Space Show previously when at Altius Space Machines (now part of Voyager Space Holding), handles business development at Gravitics.  The gravity market is a hot one for development and solutions. New companies are coming on the scene almost like clockwork. Let's hope there are good counter strategies for microgravity problems for humans in space. Good solutions are needed that don't involve hours of exercise per day.  Plus, as mentioned earlier, there is the question of mammalian reproduction in less than 1g, the answer to which could bend the arc of the direction of space settlement, i.e. planetary surfaces or free space settlements.

Guest:  John Jossy; Topics:  Current articles on John's excellent blog, SpaceSettlementProgress, sex in space, reproduction in space, the GRx, companies working on spin gravity, where to go when we return to the Moon, SpaceX Boca launch improvements, the PGM market &more.

Please direct all comments and questions regarding specific Space Show programs & guest(s) to the Space Show blog which is part of archived program on our website, www.thespaceshow.com.  Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm. 

We welcomed John Jossy back to the program and thanked him for a last minute fill in as the scheduled guest, Riley Harrison, was ill and had to cancel.  John did a superb job of filling in, brought us many important and interesting topics that we discussed both with listener calls and emails.  While much of our discussion centered on John's research, findings, and discussions from the recent ISDC Conference, he also brought us current news items of interest, including an astronomical discovery of a weird two-faced star.  As I have done with many other past program summaries, I will rely on the tags to concisely summarize the program and the major topics that we talked about.  In addition to the tags, John posted articles from his excellent blog on our blog for this program, so be sure to check those stories out.  I've repeated the tags below so they will be an easier reference for you.

Tags:  John Jossy, SpaceSettlementProgress blog, space tourism, gravity RX (GRx), sex in space, liability concerns, reproductive scientists, Dr. Jim Logan, Dr. Zubrin, neutral buoyancy for fetal development, living in centrifuges on Mars, reproductive negative effects of lower gravity,  1 g space stations, no family reproduction protocols, JAXA study, Vast, Above, Gravitics, rodent and small mammal studies, chimp studies, PGM and asteroid mining, PGM market size, Vast and spin gravity, Orbital Assembly Corporation evolves to Above Space, determining lunar gravity for humans first, lunar derived propellant, Tranquility Base or the Lunar South Pole for first Artemis lunar mission, SpaceX water deluge system, the Lockheed Space vision 2050, AI, quantum computing and nuclear technologies, private fusion industry raises $6 billion, continued SSP interest, ISDC poster session, Strange two-faced dying star Janus discovery (one side hydrogen, the other helium),. age of the universe twice as old as previously thought.

For me, an important part of John's discussion centered on the GRx (gravity prescription), human reproduction in space, responsible sex in space (if possible), fetal development and comments by Dr. Zubrin and Dr. Jim Logan. This part of the discussion was early in our program and resulted from John meeting and talking with Dr. Alex Layendecker who spoke about these topics at ISDC but also met with John and others in the halls in-between sessions.  John has a terrific interview with Alex on his blog which he kindly posted on TSS blog so check it out as it goes into far more details on key issues and topics than we had time for during our program.  Please make a note that Alex is scheduled to be The Space Show guest on Sunday, August 27. For our program discussion, John highlighted fetal development in microgravity and the concept some space advocates hold, that since a fetus is in neutral buoyancy on Earth, it would be OK in microgravity. That of course remains to be seen. John talked about complications that could arise during gestation in less than 1g and the concern Alex put forth of sex in space happening with serious adverse consequences. We also don’t know if contraception will work in microgravity.  This brings up liability concerns and more for such accidents.  John had much to say about this as will Alex on August 27. Give it some thought and if you have ideas about it, both post them on our blog and make a list so you can ask Alex your questions when he is our guest. This sex in space discussion led to commentary about space tourism.  Several listeners, myself included, thought the issues being raised by Alex as reported on by John for this program were far into the future so not so urgent.  John and Alex thought that the problem was more urgent and that we should start preparing for these problems now lest they overwhelm us later. You should read John’s interview with Alex on his blog and the green paper linked in the article that provides more context on the urgency of the issue. Your thoughts are welcome on our blog. 

John talked about another post on his blog highlighting research by Kevin Cannon and the founders of the startup AstroForge regarding asteroid mining and PGM (Platinum Group Metals). This brought back discussions with Dennis Wingo re the Moon and PGM years and years ago when Dennis wrote his book and was a Space Show guest back then.  The talk about the value and markets for PGM have been on and off again for decades. I would guess that market estimates would still be a big question.  In addition, bringing PGM back to Earth seems expensive but since most of these items are cartels such as diamonds, the price would be controlled if suddenly the supply expanded to include PGM from space.  People advocating the PGM market and asteroid mining for them and other materials, in my opinion, need to be very cautious about estimating markets and values if these items come back to Earth.  The blog post on SpaceSettlementProgress addresses this issue, so check it out.

John mentioned several companies working on some form of spin gravity or artificial gravity. He mentioned Vast, Above Space which was Orbital Assembly Co, and Gravitics. Charles Lurio called to mention that Jon Goff, who has been on The Space Show previously when at Altius Space Machines (now part of Voyager Space Holding), handles business development at Gravitics.  The gravity market is a hot one for development and solutions. New companies are coming on the scene almost like clockwork. Let's hope there are good counter strategies for microgravity problems for humans in space. Good solutions are needed that don't involve hours of exercise per day.  Plus, as mentioned earlier, there is the question of mammalian reproduction in less than 1g, the answer to which could bend the arc of the direction of space settlement, i.e. planetary surfaces or free space settlements.

Please post your comments/question on our blog for this program.  You can reach John through me or his own blog referenced. above.