OceanGate founder now wants to send people to least hospitable planet in the galaxy
The co-founder of the OceanGate is now planning to send 1000 people to Venus despite the bad press the company has received following the doomed Titanic submersible trip in June which killed five people. Despite the tragedy, which saw the submersible implode killing everyone onboard, including the company's co-founder Stockton Rush, his colleague Guillermo Söhnlein is not deterred and has told Insider that he now has ambitions for space. According to Söhnlein he now wants to see 1000 people living on the surface of Venus, the hottest planet in the solar system, by 2050. The American businessman born in Argentina said: "I think it is less aspirational than putting a million people on the Martian surface by 2050. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter "You're absolutely right that when you talk about going to Venus, it would raise eyebrows outside the space industry. And it even raises eyebrows inside the space industry." "I think I've been driven to help make humanity a multi-planet species since I was 11 years old, I had this recurring dream of being the commander of the first Martian colony." This all sounds well and good and after all Elon Musk has similar aspirations for Mars but Venus is an odd one as at this moment in time its one of the least hospitable planets in the galaxy. Aside from being the hottest planet in the solar system, as mentioned, its atmosphere is made up of greenhouse gases and its clouds contain sulphuric acid which make Venus so hot that temperatures can reach 475 °C. Regardless of this, Söhnlein thinks it is "very doable" that a floating space station could withstand the harsh conditions on Venus but will likely be met with skepticism. Söhnlein's Humans2Venus project has been co-founded with researcher Khalid Al-Ali and will strive to develop technologies that will reduce launch costs and fund space projects without government money. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-07-30 16:15
The Texas town caught in the middle of America's border battle
Eagle Pass is the front line in a showdown over migrants between Texas and the federal government.
2023-07-30 08:16
Why it's getting easier to be a single mum in China
How rule changes and financial independence is helping unmarried women to keep their babies.
2023-07-30 06:48
Nine killed in Thailand fireworks warehouse explosion
At least three children have died and 115 seriously injured after a warehouse blast on the Malaysian border.
2023-07-30 00:58
Wagner troops moving towards Polish border and could try sneaking across, PM says
More than 100 troops from the Russian mercenary group Wagner are moving towards a thin strip of land between Poland and Lithuania, Poland's prime minister says, who warned they could pose as migrants to cross the border.
2023-07-30 00:46
New ocean discovered that is beginning to split Africa in two
Since the break up of Pangea that formed the world, we have been taught that there are seven oceans. But now, scientists believe a brand new ocean is currently forming as the continent of Africa is slowly beginning to split in half. Researchers have found two large parts of the land within Africa have begun to separate and it's believed a whole new ocean will form in the divide. Africa is the second-largest continent in the world, with a landmass of more than 30 million square kilometres, and is also the second-most populous. Many of its 54 countries are landlocked, however for some that could be about to change. Geologists believe countries such as Uganda and Zambia could come to have their own coastlines if the two land masses continue to separate. In the peer-reviewed journal, Geophysical Research Letters, experts have confirmed that the split in the African continent is creating a way for a new ocean to form. Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter Scientists have identified the exact location where the continent first started to split, very deep underground. The crack first began to appear in 2005 in Ethopia’s deserts. The crack is known as the East African Rift and is 35 miles long. The start is positioned at the meeting point of three tectonic plates which have been gradually pulling apart from each other. Christopher Moore, a Ph.D. doctoral student at the University of Leeds, told NBC News: “This is the only place on Earth where you can study how continental rift becomes an oceanic rift.” Moore and other researchers have used satellite radar to monitor the volcanic activity in East Africa as this is associated with tectonic shifts. Despite being able to monitor movement, the split is a very gradual process, and scientists believe it will take another 5 to 10 million years for the new ocean to fully form. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-07-29 23:57
Aiden Aslin: Newark ex-soldier captured by Russia set for Ukraine return
Aiden Aslin says he will be moving back to the country with his fiancée "pretty shortly".
2023-07-29 20:25
Wagner could help migrants cross into Poland, PM Morawiecki warns
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has been accused of facilitating the migrant flow into the EU.
2023-07-29 19:55
South Africa's Julius Malema celebrates 10 years of the EFF
Julius Malema divides opinion like few other politicians but he is celebrating his party's 10th anniversary.
2023-07-29 11:45
Australia helicopter crash: Four military aircrew missing
A search and rescue mission is under way after the military aircraft crashed off Lindeman Island.
2023-07-29 07:51
Bidens publicly acknowledge their seventh grandchild for the first time
President Joe Biden on Friday publicly acknowledged a daughter of his son Hunter for the first time, breaking a long-held silence on the matter by describing the situation as a "family matter."
2023-07-29 06:22
The other American women's team at World Cup
A shock win by Philippines over New Zealand was forged thousands of miles away in the US.
2023-07-29 02:20