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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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There are many types of rocket fuel. Some are more useful on a particular planet. And some can be created by bacteria. A team from Georgia Tech has found a rocket fuel with an interesting mix of those characteristics that might be a focal point of in-situ resource utilization — on Mars. 2.3 butanediol might not be a household name like methane, which is commonly used as rocket fuel on Earth. It’s primarily used in the manufacture of rubber products. But it does pack quite a punch when burned with liquid oxygen. Enough of a punch to be able to lift a spaceship into orbit on the Red Planet. Pamela Peralta-Yahya, associate professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, is part of the Georgia Tech research team. This report was also covered in Brinkwire and Popular Science.
