Spacescifi

Yes... but consider that a rolling wheel is an easier feat than powered humanoid armor because inertia helps it. Also consider that no one has done it even though it is possible. Why? It's slow... slower than wheels, and a few more mobile soldiers with rifles could wreck it. By the time it was armored enough to deflect bullets, it's still slow, and the IC engine is going to have issues with overheating unless you go big, and tanks tend to win out against mechs for mobility and traction.

Yes. Two ways I think this would play out: DC comics writes it: Superman is depressed but uses his DNA to make superman pills that both heal the virus and make people super strong for a limited amount of time. Some of the cured go rogue and Superman feels needed once he has to use his fists on temporary rogue supers. Ultimately the whole plan is called off as a bad idea, and they find out Lex or some other villain made COVID-19, they (his hero team) beat him up and take the antidote cure. I write it: Since I am willing to change the status quo by a lot more than DC comics... Lois dies of COVID-19. Superman's grief causes him to hang up the cape and start working with Luthor for a cure. Supes never becomes evil, and Lex still is Lex, but over time slowly but surely they become friends. Lex and Superman. As Lex sees that they both need each other's help for once... to beat COVID-19 once and for all. After they do all bets are off though LOL. The one thing that will have certainly changed though is that now they at least respect each other far more than they do in canon.

Uhh... thank you?

I find the vanilla version more fascinating... the one who does this:

True. If COVID-19 were a supervillan I am rather certain it's mortality rate is greater than most enemies have actually brought about, Lex included. Yeah... Superman would likely be depressed if he had to live in a COVID-19 world. Lex would find the whole situation part gratifying, part frustrating, since Superman would prove useless for once, giving him the opportunity to outshine him with a cure... if only he could, which is the frustrating part. Even Batman's billions of dollars would'nt stop COVID-19. Only science has a chance here... and we are trying.

I mean... what would he do? 'Punch' it? Thought just came to mind how limited superheroes really are. Since besides punching really hard, all Superman is good for is blowing away fires and storms... and maybe stopping earthquakes. Diseases... the worst nightmare of superheroes. They got nothing on it. What do you say?

Where are the centrifuges? Those two domes are too small to house many

Meant to say the weapons guy. Instead of the trinity that made the original work (hammy Kirk, logical but serious spock, and no nonsense tell you like it is Mcoy), we got initially rookie Captain Archer who knows not what he is doing, a southern american engineer who is just... plain. And a Vulcan who is so obviously a fanservice object that making her Vulcan only makes it worse. Vulcan traditional wear is robes anyway! She should of just worn a starfleet uniform like everyone else.

Never could like it. Characters were meh. Too many were token at best (the british enigineer and black pilot). And Tpol could be taken more seriously without the catsuit, just like Jeri Ryan... even though Jeri's acting was so good it made you not see her as merely an object. Jolene Blalock? Probably did as best she could with a boring Vulcan script. Unlike DS9 which developed EVERYBODY. It was basically ST with a bit more S and V. Unlike Disco and Picard which ramp that up to R rated levels.

So basically this? On the moon?

I tend to agree with you on space habitats being the most viable option for a permanent presence in space. However I also think it is quite possible from an engineering standpoint to create a 1g centrifuge on the moon's surface. However the cons may outweigh the pros due to gravity losses via propellant EVERY time one delivers stuff there. With space habitats you can afford to spend less propellant for shipping since everything is weightless more or less. EDIT: It would be nice if there were a such thing as a thin rad shield. Even if heavy. I once toyed with a scifi idea of fictional engineered metal that could absorb a ton of liquid hydrogen per cubic inch. Called hydron. While spacecraft using it would be incredibly heavy and dense, the propulsion system would be exotic anyway... diametric drive. A theoretical drive that would work very well in scifi.

So add some massive parachutes then? Good idea? Not so much? For Earth landing only since Mars has so sparse air it won't make a difference?

I see. So on earth there is little reason not to reuse reusable boosters. The only place a rotary rocket may prove useful is is visting an Earth clone without infrastructure. But even then a sea lander SSTO would be preferable.

I was observing Elon's problem with landing his massive SSTO, and I wanted to know how helpful chemically powered air augmented helicopter blades would be? I am not an engineer, but I am supposing that the blades could be foldable against the sides at launch, and unfurl while trying to land. Using a mix of chemical and air augmentation could power the blades, as we already know chemical has high thrust to weight ratios. Air intakes downward could lead to helping the helicopter blades above somehow. That's my two cents. What do you think? Any advantages to this? Or is it worth the risks? Or is it if it can be made to work? EDIT: I do not imagine the helicopter blades alone can land StarshipX. Rather they are to assist the rockets for a softer landing that WON'T break tiles and landing gear every time. This is to be for Earth to orbit only, basically an SSTO that ferriers orbiters and satellites to Earth orbit and goes back down. This is NOT for Mars.

The Manul is not as agile as normal cats, but it typically waits outside where prey lives (burrows or caves or tunnels), and just ambushes them before they can run away. Strictly speaking, cat-humanoids are not evolved cats as I envision them. They are literally humanoids with some cat features and traits thrown in for good measure. We could speculate to no end over their ethics, but they actually have none. The closest they come to that is following their instincts, and beyond that if they like you, fear you, or not. Ethics completely different from what we know? Unlikely... as I can only write what I know. Ultimately the choices are finite, hardly infinite: 1. Beastly ethics. Less human, more animalistic, which does not jive with civilization either. 2. Human/cat swapped modified ethics: An aversion to eating... anyone you don't know? Animals are fair game though. Weird I know. Funerals? Ugh... humans won't want to attend that. Ewww. Such a custom would be normal to them though. Part of the reason it's so absurd for us is that we are not kitted out for that, like a cat's teeth and tongue are literally made for for hunting and devouring recently killed prey. Cooking is purely optional for them. Their digestive systems can handle raw and actually prefers it. If I made their digestion require cooking their meat first? That could work perhaps... although without an instnctual drive to cook their food there will be serious problems early on, unless someone guided and told them that from the start. Cooking is part of what separates man from beast.

Funny thing is... cats do stuff that is also... disturbing. Enough that I am honestly not sure if I would want to write cat themed humanoid race with the cat predator trait... for this reason among several others. https://twocrazycatladies.com/cat-behavior/cat-cannibalism-its-a-thing/ Like seriously... the line between man and beast, civilization and pure instinct without want or need for conscience prickling has to be drawn somewhere.

Thanks... I thought I spelled it right!

Every government on the planet has it's own particular behavior and quirks, which makes both friends and enemies of them across the globe. Although what some governments do is disturbing and questionable at times, I finally understand that whatever they do has a cause. Cause and effect. Casualty if you will. What is the number one priority of ANY government? To ensure it's continued existence that's what! All else comes secondary. I did a bit of research and learned that a certain country is surrounded on all sides by allies of it's main rival. With that knowledge, now I can understand at least why they do what they do more. Continued threats to their existence and what not. I think General Zod could be a good stand-in for just about any government on Earth. Since like him they do what they do to continue their form of government, and also I would expect that some really do think they are doing it for the greater good... of their people that is. Which can mean a group of specific supporters, or commoners, and less likely... everyone. Of course, in scifi, especially when writing non-human civilizations, the purpose of a said government need not as always be it's continued existence. It could easily be something more... conceptual, like promoting an ideal or philosopy or something. Actually... I forgot, Earth has that too. It's this: So that makes all scifi civilizations a mere human can dream up as merely stronger or weaker imitations of...

Eh... consider what resources the moon has to offer. Then afterward, consider what it DOES NOT OFFER. Then you know all. Lunar surface chemical composition[11] Compound Formula Composition Maria Highlands silica SiO2 45.4% 45.5% alumina Al2O3 14.9% 24.0% lime CaO 11.8% 15.9% iron(II) oxide FeO 14.1% 5.9% magnesia MgO 9.2% 7.5% titanium dioxide TiO2 3.9% 0.6% sodium oxide Na2O 0.6% 0.6% 99.9% 100.0% Solar power, oxygen, and metals are abundant resources on the Moon.[12] Elements known to be present on the lunar surface include, among others, hydrogen (H),[1][13] oxygen (O), silicon (Si), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), aluminium (Al), manganese (Mn) and titanium (Ti). Among the more abundant are oxygen, iron and silicon. The atomic oxygen content in the regolith is estimated at 45% by weight.[14][15] Solar powerEdit Daylight on the Moon lasts approximately two weeks, followed by approximately two weeks of night, while both lunar poles are illuminated almost constantly.[16][17][18] The lunar south pole features a region with crater rims exposed to near constant solar illumination, yet the interior of the craters are permanently shaded from sunlight, and retain significant amounts of water ice in their interior.[19] By locating a lunar resource processing facility near the lunar south pole, solar-generated electrical power would allow for nearly constant operation close to water ice sources.[17][18] Solar cells could be fabricated directly on the lunar soil by a medium-size (~200 kg) rover with the capabilities for heating the regolith, evaporation of the appropriate semiconductor materials for the solar cell structure directly on the regolith substrate, and deposition of metallic contacts and interconnects to finish off a complete solar cell array directly on the ground.[20] The Kilopower nuclear fission system is being developed for reliable electric power generation that could enable long-duration crewed bases on the Moon, Mars and destinations beyond.[21][22] This system is ideal for locations on the Moon and Mars where power generation from sunlight is intermittent.[22][23] OxygenEdit The elemental oxygen content in the regolith is estimated at 45% by weight.[15][14] Oxygen is often found in iron-rich lunar minerals and glasses as iron oxide. At least, twenty different possible processes for extracting oxygen from lunar regolith have been described,[24][25] and all require high energy input: between 2-4 megawatt-years of energy (i.e. 6-12×1013 J) to produce 1,000 tons of oxygen.[1] While oxygen extraction from metal oxides also produces useful metals, using water as a feedstock does not.[1] WaterEdit Main article: Lunar water Play media Images by the LCROSS orbiter flying of the lunar south pole show areas of permanent shadow. The image shows the distribution of surface ice at the Moon's south pole (left) and north pole (right) as viewed by NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) spectrometer onboard India's Chandrayaan-1 orbiter Cumulative evidence from several orbiters strongly indicate that water ice is present on the surface at the Moon poles, but mostly on the south pole region.[26][27] However, results from these datasets are not always correlated.[28][29] It has been determined that the cumulative area of permanently shadowed lunar surface is 13,361 km2 in the northern hemisphere and 17,698 km2 in the southern hemisphere, giving a total area of 31,059 km2.[1] The extent to which any or all of these permanently shadowed areas contain water ice and other volatiles is not currently known, so more data is needed about lunar ice deposits, its distribution, concentration, quantity, disposition, depth, geotechnical properties and any other characteristics necessary to design and develop extraction and processing systems.[29][30] The intentional impact of the LCROSS orbiter into the Cabeus crater was monitored to analyze the resulting debris plume, and it was concluded that the water ice must be in the form of small (< ~10 cm), discrete pieces of ice distributed throughout the regolith, or as thin coating on ice grains.[31] This, coupled with monostatic radar observations, suggest that the water ice present in the permanently shadowed regions of lunar polar craters is unlikely to be present in the form of thick, pure ice deposits.[31] Water may have been delivered to the Moon over geological timescales by the regular bombardment of water-bearing comets, asteroids and meteoroids [32] or continuously produced in situ by the hydrogen ions (protons) of the solar wind impacting oxygen-bearing minerals.[1][33] The lunar south pole features a region with crater rims exposed to near constant solar illumination, where the craters' interior are permanently shaded from sunlight, allowing for natural trapping and collection of water ice that could be mined in the future. Water molecules (H 2O) can be broken down to its elements, namely hydrogen and oxygen, and form molecular hydrogen (H 2) and molecular oxygen (O 2) to be used as rocket bi-propellant or produce compounds for metallurgic and chemical production processes.[3] Just the production of propellant, was estimated by a joint panel of industry, government and academic experts, identified a near-term annual demand of 450 metric tons of lunar-derived propellant equating to 2,450 metric tons of processed lunar water, generating US$2.4 billion of revenue annually.[23] HydrogenEdit The solar wind implants protons on the regolith, forming a protonated atom, which is a chemical compound of hydrogen (H). Although bound hydrogen is plentiful, questions remain about how much of it diffuses into the subsurface, escapes into space or diffuses into cold traps.[34] Hydrogen would be needed for propellant production, and it has a multitude of industrial uses. For example, hydrogen can be used for the production of oxygen by hydrogen reduction of ilmenite.[35][36][37] MetalsEdit IronEdit Common lunar minerals[38] Mineral Elements Lunar rock appearance Plagioclase feldspar Calcium (Ca) Aluminium (Al) Silicon (Si) Oxygen (O) White to transparent gray; usually as elongated grains. Pyroxene Iron (Fe), Magnesium (Mg) Calcium (Ca) Silicon (Si) Oxygen (O) Maroon to black; the grains appear more elongated in the maria and more square in the highlands. Olivine Iron (Fe) Magnesium (Mg) Silicon (Si) Oxygen (O) Greenish color; generally, it appears in a rounded shape. Ilmenite Iron (Fe), Titanium (Ti) Oxygen (O) Black, elongated square crystals. Iron (Fe) is abundant in all mare basalts (~14-17 % per weight) but is mostly locked into silicate minerals (i.e. pyroxene and olivine) and into the oxide mineral ilmenite in the lowlands.[1][39] Extraction would be quite energy-demanding, but some prominent lunar magnetic anomalies are suspected as being due to surviving Fe-rich meteoritic debris. Only further exploration in situ will determine whether or not this interpretation is correct, and how exploitable such meteoritic debris may be.[1] Free iron also exists in the regolith (0.5% by weight) naturally alloyed with nickel and cobalt and it can easily be extracted by simple magnets after grinding.[39] This iron dust can be processed to make parts using powder metallurgy techniques,[39] such as additive manufacturing, 3D printing, selective laser sintering (SLS), selective laser melting (SLM), and electron beam melting (EBM). TitaniumEdit Titanium (Ti) can be alloyed with iron, aluminium, vanadium, and molybdenum, among other elements, to produce strong, lightweight alloys for aerospace. It exists almost entirely in the mineral ilmenite (FeTiO3) in the range of 5-8% by weight.[1] Ilmenite minerals also trap hydrogen (protons) from the solar wind, so that processing of ilmenite will also produce hydrogen, a valuable element on the Moon.[39] The vast flood basalts on the northwest nearside (Mare Tranquillitatis) possess some of the highest titanium contents on the Moon,[29] harboring 10 times as much titanium as rocks on Earth do.[40] AluminiumEdit Aluminium (Al) is found with a concentration in the range of 10-18% by weight, present in a mineral called anorthite (CaAl 2Si 2O 8),[39] the calcium endmember of the plagioclase feldspar mineral series.[1] Aluminium is a good electrical conductor, and atomized aluminum powder also makes a good solid rocket fuel when burned with oxygen.[39] Extraction of aluminium would also require breaking down plagioclase (CaAl2Si2O8).[1] SiliconEdit Photo of a piece of purified silicon Silicon (Si) is an abundant metalloid in all lunar material, with a concentration of about 20% by weight. It is of enormous importance to produce solar panel arrays for the conversion of sunlight into electricity, as well as glass, fiber glass, and a variety of useful ceramics. Achieving a very high purity for use as semi-conductor would be challenging, especially in the lunar environment.[1] CalciumEdit Anorthite crystals in a basalt vug from Vesuvius, Italy (size: 6.9 × 4.1 × 3.8 cm) Calcium (Ca) is the fourth most abundant element in the lunar highlands, present in anorthite minerals (formula CaAl 2Si 2O 8).[39][41] Calcium oxides and calcium silicates are not only useful for ceramics, but pure calcium metal is flexible and an excellent electrical conductor in the absence of oxygen.[39] Anorthite is rare on the Earth[42] but abundant on the Moon.[39] Calcium can also be used to fabricate silicon-based solar cells, requiring lunar silicon, iron, titanium oxide, calcium and aluminum.[43] MagnesiumEdit Magnesium (Mg) is present in magmas and in the lunar minerals pyroxene and olivine,[44] so it is suspected that magnesium is more abundant in the lower lunar crust.[45] Magnesium has multiple uses as alloys for aerospace, automotive and electronics. Rare-earth elementsEdit Rare-earth elements are used to manufacture everything from electric or hybrid vehicles, wind turbines, electronic devices and clean energy technologies.[46][47] Despite their name, rare-earth elements are – with the exception of promethium – relatively plentiful in Earth's crust. However, because of their geochemical properties, rare-earth elements are typically dispersed and not often found concentrated in rare-earth minerals; as a result, economically exploitable ore deposits are less common.[48] Major reserves exist in China, California, India, Brazil, Australia, South Africa, and Malaysia,[49] but China accounts for over 95% of the world's production of rare-earths.[50] (See: Rare earth industry in China.) Although current evidence suggests rare-earth elements are less abundant on the moon than on earth.[51] NASA views the mining of rare-earth minerals as a viable lunar resource[52] because they exhibit a wide range of industrially important optical, electrical, magnetic and catalytic properties.[1]

Thought you were going to mention self-replicating nanomachines in space, which are a scifi trope that really is pitted against thermodynamics hard. Want performance? Go big? Less? Go small. That's just how it is in space. Since small stuff simply cannot handle performance energies without obliterating. This arricle is also interesting: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_manufacturing

I have never understood what people mean when they speak of self replicating machines that humans will build in the future The closest thing we know of that self replicates are tiny blood cells. They are living things though, AND they rely on fuel to replicate. To build a nonliving thing in the real world that self-replicates is hard enough, to build one that does so in space with questionable fuel sources is harder still. What have we got? Asteroid rock? Space radiation? The orginal replicator? I would. Also point out that the very idea of smelting metals and manufacturing inanimate stuff in space has been well researched. The research indicates that without bringing suitable resources with you from elsewhere, you can never just 'live off the land' so to speak building whatever you want. Like to make many metal that are useful they need to be alloys, and finding a roid with everything you need? You won't know till you dig, and I doubt it will be that convinient either. Given tgat roids are not like earth rock. Like I can't write this off as completely impossible, but it certainly is nigh up there.

Thanks. Who knew?

I will tell you what I would do with a 1g or higher constant acceleration spaceship. 1. Put probes on every world in the solar system that we know about. Recieve video feed and download it and return it back to Earth upon completion. 2. Put a sub on Europa to explore it's rumored ocean beneath the ice. My gut tells me that it is probably just a bunch of watery lakes and not all over. 3. Nuke Mars... put explosion on video feed for later Earth entertainment consumption. Less for science and more just because I have the power to do silly things and will. 4. Explode a nuke in deep space for same reason. 5. Find out how many nukes it takes to blow up a large asteroid rather than just blow it off course. Answer: A lot. Real reason I'm doing this: Besides the awesome nuclear video clips, I will be reducing mankind's nuclear stockpile in the name of entertainment.

Thank you, your real life experiences with cats will prove invaluable to my worldbuilding. Regarding eyes, I was more likely just to use round pupils like lions have (more color variety though). I figure if little cat eyes were advantageous for big cats... they would be equipped with them. Animals are built quite logically to be optimized for whatever they do. Cat eyes are ideal given their high jumping feets, whereas bigger cats hardly ever jump as high by comparison since it would hurt if they did. So in conclusion, a humanoid cannot jump like a cat in 1g, so pure cat eyes are not an advantage, although having round ones with full color vision and night vision mode could prove useful. With the handicap that they are shortsighted since I don't want them to ovetpowered with my worldbuilding. So cat hearing will be a boon, especially in low light situations. Regarding eyesight, I know in darkness they can see quite well due to the 'inner mirrors' their eyes have behind them. Combined with sound location they no doubt could find prey or companions in the low light conditions with ease. Ironically, humanoid cats are not built as killing machines by any measure, any more than human bodies are, what they are naturally built for thanks to greater range of hearing and scent is detection of other life forms. Which means they make excellent scouts and whatever work requires stalking other living things, whether for killing and eating or simply search and rescue or curiousity.

Essentially why cat-people are anything but practical. And the inverse of what twain said is also true... a cat-man ruins the man. A cat's visual acuity is anywhere from 20/100 to 20/200, which means a cat has to be at 20 metres to see what an average human can see at 100 or 200 metres. Cats seem to be nearsighted, which means they cannot see far objects as well. The ability to see close objects would be well-suited for hunting and capturing prey. Which means anything past that blur of a figure. Cat hearing has more range, which also means some sounds are less distinct, while others are more so. And smell? Does a human really want scent that good LOL? That includes knowimg WAYY more about people around you that you may or may NOT wanna know. Like: That person did number 2 not long ago, that person ate mexican food earlier, and I know what that person did earlier. You literally have to cherrypick the abilities you want while leaving out others.