NASA has ended a Mars simulation in Hawaii, where a team of six people lived in near isolation for a year.
Since August 2015, the group lived in close quarters in a dome, without fresh air, fresh food or privacy.
Experts estimate that a human mission to Mars could take between one and three years.
The NASA-funded study run by the University of Hawaii is the longest of its kind since a Russian mission that lasted 520 days.
Having survived their year in isolation, the crew members said they were confident a mission to the Red Planet could succeed.
Cyprien Verseux, a crew member from France, told journalists: “I can give you my personal impression which is that a mission to Mars in the close future is realistic.
“I think the technological and psychological obstacles can be overcome.”
Mission commander Carmel Johnston said the lack of privacy over the past year had been difficult: “It is kind of like having roommates that just are always there and you can never escape them so I’m sure some people can imagine what that is like and if you can’t then just imagine never being able to get away from anybody.”
Tristan Bassingthwaighte, a doctor of architecture at the University of Hawaii, praised research done into the human element of space travel: “The research going on up here is just super vital when it comes to picking crews, figuring out how people are going to actually work on different kinds of missions, and sort of the human factors element of space travel, colonization, whatever it is you are actually looking at.”
The team consisted of a French astro-biologist, a German physicist and four Americans – a pilot, an architect, a journalist and a soil scientist.
The NASA experiment dealt with the human element of exploration.
Whilst conducting research, the six had to live with limited resources, wear a space-suit when outside the dome, and work to avoid personal conflicts.
They each had a small sleeping cot and a desk inside their rooms. Provisions included powdered cheese and canned tuna.
Missions to the International Space Station (ISS) normally only last six months.
President Barack Obama has announced the expansion of Hawaii’s Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.
Therefore, the monument has become the world’s largest marine reserve, the White House says.
Barack Obama’s announcement on August 26 quadruples in size a monument originally created by President George W. Bush in 2006.
The Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument will now span 582,578 sq miles, more than twice the size of Texas.
Photo Flickr
The designation bans commercial fishing and any new mining.
The White House says the marine reserve’s expansion is helping to protect more than 7,000 species and improves an ecosystem affected by ocean acidification and warming.
A fact sheet previewing the announcement also states that the expanded area is considered a sacred place for Native Hawaiians.
The expansion was welcomed by environmental campaigners.
Joshua Reichert, an executive vice president at the Pew Charitable Trusts said: “By expanding the monument, President Obama has increased protections for one of the most biologically and culturally significant places on the planet.”
Greenpeace also hailed what it called a “bold decision” that will ban commercial fishing and mineral extraction in the region.
However, some fishing groups have voiced concerns.
Sean Martin, the president of the Hawaii Longline Association told the Associated Press: “We are disappointed that the president has made a decision to close an area nearly the size of the entire state of Alaska without public process.”
“This action will forever prohibit American fishermen from accessing those American waters. Quite a legacy indeed,” he added.
The area is also known for its many shipwrecks and downed aircraft from the Battle of Midway, which marked a major shift in World War Two.
Barack Obama, who was born in Hawaii, will travel to the Midway Atoll next week.
With this announcement, President Obama will have created or expanded 26 national monuments during his time in office.
In 2014, Barack Obama extended the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument south-west of Hawaii, which now covers 490,343 sq miles.
Solar Impulse 2 has landed in Hawaii after making a historic 7,200km (4,470 miles) flight across the Pacific from Japan.
Pilot Andre Borschberg brought the sun-powered plane gently down on to the runway of Kalaeloa Airport at 05:55 local time.
The distance covered and the time spent in the air – 118 hours – are records for manned, solar-powered flight.
The duration is also an absolute record for a solo, un-refueled journey.
Andre Borschberg’s time betters that of the American adventurer Steve Fossett who spent 76 hours aloft in a single-seater jet in 2006.
He said he looked forward to having a shower and visiting one of the many steakhouses suggested to him on the way into Hawaii’s O’ahu island.
Meeting Andre Borschberg in Kalaeloa was his partner on the Solar Impulse project, Bertrand Piccard.
Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg are sharing flying duties in their quest to circumnavigate the globe – an effort they began in Abu Dhabi, UAE, back in March.
It is Bertrand Piccard who will now fly the next leg from Hawaii to Phoenix, Arizona.
That will not be quite as far as the leg just completed, but it will still likely take four days and nights.
From Phoenix, Solar Impulse 2 will head for New York and an Atlantic crossing that would eventually see the plane return to Abu Dhabi.
First, the Solar Impulse ground crew in Kalaeloa will need a few days to check over the aircraft.
During this servicing, meteorologists will once again take on the tricky task of finding a suitable flight window.
Getting Solar Impulse 2 to Hawaii proved more problematic than anyone could have imagined.
The project was stuck in Nanjing, China, for five weeks before the first attempt to cross the ocean was made.
Solar Impulse 2’s slow speed, light weight and 72m wingspan put significant constraints on the type of weather the vehicle can handle, and that first sortie was aborted after just one day in the air because of a fast developing cold front ahead of it.
Andre Borschberg diverted to Nagoya, and then had to wait a further month before being given the green light on Monday to again take off for Kalaeloa.
Even so, he has had to cross two weather fronts this week and has endured some uncomfortable turbulence as a consequence.
The Swiss team is using the various stopovers on its round-the-world journey to carry a campaigning message to local people on the topic of clean technologies.
The Solar Impulse 2 plane is not really intended to be a vision of the future of aviation. Rather, it is supposed to be a demonstration of the current capabilities of solar power in general.
The vehicle is covered in 17,000 photovoltaic cells. These either power the vehicle’s electric motors directly, or charge its lithium-ion batteries, which sustain the plane during the night hours.
PGA golfer Robert Allenby says he was kidnapped from a bar in Honolulu, Hawaii, robbed and beaten, before being dumped in a park.
Robert Allenby, 43, says he may have been drugged before he was taken from the bar on January 16.
The Australian was helped back to his hotel by a retired military man.
“I didn’t think I was going to survive this one,” he told the AAP news agency.
Robert Allenby had been planning to fly out of Hawaii after missing the cut at the PGA Tour’s Sony Open.
Local television said the incident was being investigated as second-degree robbery.
“I was separated from my friend in the bar after we had paid the tab at 22:48 and he went to the bathroom and next thing you know I’m being dumped in a park miles away,” he said.
Robert Allenby said a homeless woman spotted him being dumped from a car, after being robbed of his phone and wallet.
The military veteran paid for a taxi for him back to the hotel, he said.
Pictures shown on the Golf Channel showed Robert Allenby with cuts on his nose and forehead and bruising around his eye.
His caddie Mick Middlemo told the channel Robert Allenby woke up groggy with no initial recollection of what happened to him.
Robert Allenby is ranked 271 in the world and has won four titles on the elite PGA [Professional Golfers’ Association] TOUR.
Hurricane Ana is approaching Hawaii, producing high waves along some shorelines, heavy rains that prompted a flood advisory, and winds strong enough for officials to urge caution.
The center of the powerful Pacific storm was about 155 miles southwest of the Big Island as it passed late Friday night and about 245 miles from Honolulu, the National Weather Service said.
There was little chance for hurricane conditions on the islands, but a tropical storm watch remained in effect throughout the archipelago and winds were expected to reach nearly 40 mph, forecasters said.
Waves were expected to crest to 10 to 15 feet on both the North and South shores of Hawaii’s islands late Saturday and to remain tall through Sunday.
Late Friday, the National Weather Service issued a flood advisory for parts of the Big Island until shortly after midnight, saying rain was falling in some areas at a rate of 2- to- 3-inches an hour.
Ana became a Category 1 hurricane earlier in the day when it was about 230 miles south of Hilo.
Hurricane Ana is approaching Hawaii with heavy rains that prompted a flood advisory (photo AP)
Shortly before midnight, it had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph and was churning along its course at 13 mph.
Swells were picking up on the Big Island’s south shores Friday afternoon, with 15-foot waves seen in Pohoiki Bay.
About 6 to 8 inches of rainfall were expected, although some isolated areas could get up to a foot of rain.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie proclaimed an emergency to help the state respond to the storm.
The Hawaii chapter of the American Red Cross planned to opened evacuation shelters on the Big Island at noon. Island Air planned to suspend its Maui and Lanai flights Saturday afternoon and all flights Sunday, but airports remained open.
On Oahu, buses and trash pickup remained on their normal schedule. Less rain was expected than previously predicted, but officials remained concerned about high surf, storm surge and flooding, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said.
Camping permits on Oahu were revoked for the weekend, but most parks remained open except for Hanauma Bay, which will be closed on Sunday.
The weather service issued a flash flood watch for the entire state from Friday through Sunday, indicating flooding is possible anywhere in the archipelago.
Ana (AH – nah) is expected to lose power as it moves northwest along the island chain.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly bought two adjacent chunks of land in Hawaii for more than $100 million.
Mark Zuckerberg bought part of Kauai, the fourth largest of the Hawaiian islands, Forbes magazine reported.
The 700 acres on the north shore of the island includes Pila’a Beach – an isolated 393-acre swathe of land with a pristine white sand beach – and the adjacent 357-acre Kahu’aina Plantation, and an organic farm reports the Daily Mail.
Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly bought two adjacent chunks of land in Hawaii for more than $100 million
The Pila’a Beach property consists of five separate parcels, each which could be developed into private homes.
However, according to Forbes, Mark Zuckerberg, 30, plans to build just one home.
Facebook chief executive plans to create a private getaway for his family but the beach will have to remain open to public as the state has no private stretches of sand.
Mark Zuckerberg, who is worth around $33 billion, is the second Silicon Valley billionaire to buy up part of Hawaii, reports the Telegraph.
Photographer Aja Oxman, who claims he was assaulted by Justin Bieber’s bodyguard on a Hawaii’s Shipwreck Beach last year, is suing the pop singer for assault and negligence.
Aja Oxman sued Justin Bieber, 20, and bodyguard Dwayne Patterson on August 20 in Los Angeles.
The photographer is seeking unspecified damages for injuries and mental and emotional distress that he claims are a result of being attacked on Hawaii’s Shipwreck Beach in November.
Photographer Aja Oxman is suing Justin Bieber for assault and negligence (photo Getty Images)
Aja Oxman’s suit accuses Justin Bieber of ordering Dwayne Patterson to force Oxman to hand over his camera memory card.
Dwayne Patterson was arrested on suspicion of assault after confronting Aja Oxman, who shot photos of Justin Bieber jumping off a cliff.
According to court records, Dwayne Patterson pleaded no contest to harassment and criminal property damage and has paid $6,000 in restitution to Aja Oxman.
Hurricane Iselle is poised to roar across Hawaii on Thursday, blasting the island paradise with heavy rains, damaging winds.
Hurricane Iselle is 245 miles east of Hilo and is expected to make landfall on Thursday afternoon.
Hawaiian officials have urged residents to stock up on emergency supplies in the remote US state.
Hurricane Iselle is 245 miles east of Hilo and is expected to make landfall in Hawaii
Another Pacific storm, Hurricane Julio, strengthened overnight but is too far out to determine whether it will hit the islands in the next few days.
Julio is now a category two storm, with maximum sustained winds of 105mph, as of Thursday morning.
The last cyclone to hit Hawaii, Hurricane Iniki in 1992, killed six and caused $2.4 billion in damage.
Hawaii County, the state’s largest island, is under a hurricane warning. The rest of the state remains on a tropical storm warning.
Iselle had maximum sustained winds of 80mph as of early Thursday morning.
Five to eight inches of rain are forecasted, along with heavy winds and potential flash flooding in some parts of the state.
Wave swells of up to 15ft to 25ft were expected on the Big Island, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.
National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Cantin said the size and terrain of the Big Island would help weaken Iselle into a tropical storm as it passes Maui and Oahu.
The state’s department of emergency management has asked residents to prepare a seven-day emergency kit, including non-perishable food and water.
Hawaii’s remoteness from the mainland makes it hard to get emergency supplies to the state. Stores have had to quickly restock bottled water and other supplies.
Some tourists did not let the threat keep them from enjoying their vacation.
An inter-island airline has cancelled flights on Thursday between Maui and Lanai islands and all flights on Friday.
Schools on the Big Island, Maui, Molokai and Lanai will be closed on Thursday.
A Hawaii woman whose last name is 36 characters long has finally gotten the whole thing to fit on her driver’s license and state identification card.
Janice “Lokelani”, 54, has a surname that consists of 35 letters plus an okina, a mark used in the Hawaiian alphabet. She received her new license and ID after her campaign to get her full name on the cards prompted the state Department of Transportation to change its policy to expand the number of characters that can appear.
Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele (KAY’-ee-hah-nah-EE’-coo-COW’-ah-KAH’-hee-HOO’-lee-heh-eh-KAH’-how-NAH-eh-leh) said Monday that she’s happy she was able to help fix the problem of identification cards lacking sufficient space for long names.
“Now, in the state of Hawaii, we are no longer second class citizens because of the length of our name,” she said.
Janice Lokelani Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunael finally got her ID
Hawaii driver’s licenses and ID cards previously had room for names totaling up to 35 characters. The new policy allows 40 characters for last names, 40 for first names and 35 for middle names.
Janice Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele got the name when she married her Hawaiian husband in 1992.
He used only the one name, which his grandfather gave him after it came to him in a dream.
Under the old policy, Hawaii County issued Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele her driver’s license and state ID with the last letter of her name chopped off. And it omitted her first name.
Janice “Lokelani” told news media about the issue earlier this year after a policeman gave her a hard time about her driver’s license during a traffic stop.
Last month, the state Department of Transportation announced it expanded the character limits.
Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele is now hoping to get the Social Security Administration to allow more characters on its identification cards.
The agency’s cards have two lines for names. The first line has 26 spaces for first and middle names while the second line has 26 spaces for a last name and suffix.
President Barack Obama and his family opened their annual Hawaii vacation on Saturday.
Every year, Barack Obama and his family prepare to return to his birth state on the sun-scorched shores of Oahu. And every year congressional squabbling has forced the Obamas to delay their trip.
This year, Barack Obama was cleared for an on-time departure by Congress, which defied pessimistic expectations last week by passing a bipartisan budget deal, all but ensuring the government won’t shut down over the next two years. It was a far cry from presaging a new era of cooperation, to be sure, but a silver lining for Barack Obama a day earlier as he acknowledged a year of frustrating “ups and downs” in an end-of-year news conference.
President Barack Obama and his family opened their annual Hawaii vacation
President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, daughters Sasha and Malia, and first dogs Sunny and Bo hopped an overnight flight Friday aboard Air Force One to Honolulu, where they were whisked by motorcade to a beachside home in Kailua, a sleepy suburb with a five-mile stretch of beach popular among windsurfers and tourists.
On Saturday afternoon, Barack Obama headed to the golf course at a nearby Marine Corps base. Joining the president for the round of golf were Sam Kass, the White House chef; Marvin Nicholson, Obama’s trip director; and presidential friend Bobby Titcomb, the White House said.
President Barack Obama has no public events scheduled during his vacation, which is expected to last through January 5.
Heidi Klum helped save her son Henry and two nannies from a terrifying riptide in Hawaii over Easter.
Supermodel Heidi Klum, 39, was relaxing in Hawaii on Easter Sunday with her children and boyfriend Martin Kristen when their holiday took a frightening turn for the worse.
She and her bodyguard lover were forced to rescue her 7-year-old son Henry and two of the family’s nannies when they got swept away in the ocean.
Heidi Klum was running towards to the water and dragging them from the surf to safety, moments after her boyfriend had pulled them from the waves.
Heidi Klum, her bodyguard turned boyfriend Martin Kristen and her four children had been holidaying in Honolulu for several days over the Easter break
The supermodel was walking along the sand before she realized that Henry was in trouble.
Breaking into a run, she started to point frantically at the water.
Wasting no time Martin Kristen immersed himself in the treacherous waves and began to pull Henry and the terrified looking nannies to safety.
It wasn’t long until Heidi Klum herself was at the water’s edge and dove right in to get stuck in with the rescue.
First Heidi Klum grabbed her eldest son who was struggling to stay above the surf, while Martin Kristen and one of the nannies crawled back on to the sand, visibly gasping for breath.
Satisfied that Henry was safe, she jumped back into the water and swam to rescue the other nanny.
Once safe, Martin Kristen and the nannies lay on the beach taking the time to catch their breath once again.
Speaking about the incident in a statement to Us Weekly Heidi Klum said: “We got pulled into the ocean by a big wave. Of course, as a mother, I was very scared for my child and everyone else in the water.
“Henry is a strong swimmer and was able to swim back to land. We were able to get everyone out safely.”
Heidi Klum, her bodyguard turned boyfriend Martin Kristen and her four children, Leni, 8, Henry, Johan, 6, and Lou, 3, had been holidaying in Honolulu for several days over the Easter break.
Social network founder Mark Zuckerberg, who is celebrating his first Christmas with wife Priscilla Chan after the couple tied the knot on May 19, laughed and joked during private surfing lessons on the island of Maui.
Priscilla Chan looked relaxed in a sporty, red one-piece while her billionaire husband lugged his own surfboard and worked on his tan in a pair of board shorts.
Mark Zuckerberg, 28, took time out from his role as chairman and CEO of Facebook to relax with his 27-year-old wife on the Hawaiian island, a popular tourist spot for surfing and windsurfing.
The couple chatted easily with other beach-goers before taking to the waves, where Priscilla proved herself to be an accomplished surfer.
The Zuckerbergs married in May with a ceremony in the billionaire’s backyard in Palo Alto, California. It was a joint celebration to mark Priscilla Chan’s graduation from medical school.
They honeymooned in Italy where they were pictured taking in the beauty of Rome’s Sistine Chapel and tucking into pasta in low-key restaurants.
Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan celebrate their first Christmas as married couple in Hawaii
The couple have been dating since 2003 after meeting in line for the bathroom at a frat party at Harvard University.
The beach snaps are a rare glimpse of a notoriously private couple – a luxury which was also accidentally breached by a member of Mark Zuckerberg’s own family last week.
His sister Randi posted a picture of her family jokingly reacting to Facebook’s new Poke application, and someone tweeted the picture out to the public.
She later complained that her privacy was breached on Twitter. The incident comes as Facebook has long been accused of taking advantage of users’ privacy concerns.
In the photo, Randi’s younger siblings and parents are seen in what appears to be their family home in Dobbs Ferry, New York.
After a busy day during which he attended a funeral, nominated his new Secretary of State and stared over the “fiscal cliff”, US President Barack Obama packed his family off to Hawaii for Christmas.
Barack, Michelle, Malia and Sasha Obama departed for Hawaii on Friday evening, shortly after the president had delivered a statement on extended the last Bush administration’s tax cuts.
Barack Obama had told reporters “see you next week” at the end of his appearance in the briefing room, but the White House did not specify when the president would return to Washington. The Obama family have traditionally spent their Christmas holidays in Honolulu.
Earlier in the day President Obama had urged lawmakers to reach agreement on averting tax hikes on the middle class, saying he was ready and willing to do what it takes to get a deal by January 1st.
Barack Obama said he had spoken with Republican House Speaker John Boehner and met with Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid about the fiscal cliff. The president said he was an optimist and believed a deal could be hammered out.
Barack, Michelle, Malia and Sasha Obama headed to Hawaii for Christmas, shortly after the president had delivered a statement on extended the last Bush administration’s tax cuts
One day after House anti-tax rebels torpedoed Republican legislation because it would raise rates on million-dollar-earners, Barack Obama said he still wants a bill that requires the well-to-do to pay more.
Barack Obama also nominated Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, one of Washington’s most respected voices on foreign policy, as his next secretary of state.
The move is the first in an expected overhaul of Barack Obama’s national security team heading into his second term.
As the nation’s top diplomat, John Kerry will not only be tasked with executing the president’s foreign policy objectives, but will also have a hand in shaping them.
This website has updated its privacy policy in compliance with EU GDPR 2016/679. Please read this to review the updates about which personal data we collect on our site. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our updated policy. AcceptRejectRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
