In 7.8 billion years, by current solar models, the unadulterated Sun will be a white-dwarf corpse. No longer fusing hydrogen or helium, the Sun will become a cooling mass of carbon/oxygen. In 2011 Eric Agol posited that white-dwarf stars might have Earth-like planets in their habitable zone for longer than the Sun will be hospitable

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Dennis Tito, space-tourist and uber-rich dude, is planning a Mars Fly-by. The 2018 Launch promises a 501 day Free-Return trajectory – a great big loop past Mars (ain’t stopping) and return to Earth for a high-speed re-entry. Such a mission – if successful – will be a proof of concept that Mars flights aren’t impossible

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Dennis Tito, Space Tourist, and colleagues are holding a press-conference and a quick search of talks at the IEEE Aerospace Conference in Montana brings up Tito’s “8.0105 Feasibility Analysis for a Manned Mars Free Return Mission in 2018″, which discusses (probably) a 501 day Free-Return mission to fly-by Mars, launching in 2018. Of course the

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