If I am elected I will work to the best of my ability to ensure Asgardia is becomes an efficient, recognized and fully operational nation.

I believe that if we conduct ourselves professionally,we will prove our nation to be a worthy and beneficial addition to the collection of states that are recognized now by other states. I further believe that recognition will come in short order.

To that end, I pledge to carry out my duties to help this nation run efficiently,work with all the matters at hand within the best of my ability and do my best to always present a positive impression of both of myself on a personal basis and of our nation Asgardia.

I would do everything in my power to ensure that we don't fall from our good path of becoming a fully recognized and independent Space Nation.

It is my hope that I am able to do my part to ensure that Asgardia is and always will be free from racism of any kind and serve as an exemplar in providing equal opportunities regardless of gender, race, religion or origin. I would make my own decisions accordingly and do my best to encourage others by my example, not only through my words, but through my actions.

Forming and maintaining useful connections both to Asgardians and citizens of earthly nations is a very important component the diplomatic efforts of a space nation and I'd do my best to ensure I'm doing my share.

I would also, of course, do my best to ensure that any resources Asgardia has would be used the best way possible. We would work to get the most results from what we have. As a growing nation we need to make good decisions about what we try to achieve and how, so we don't waste what we have on too big projects on a early stage or on the other hand, waste too much of our time in projects so small they don't bring us the return we need in a terms of success.

I think that it is important that we always act polite and respectful towards others in all of our interactions so that we present a positive impression about ourselves and Asgardia as a whole.

I would be happy to see Asgardia become a leader in the field of scientific achievements. In addition, I hope that we also inspire other nations, corporations, organizations and individuals to work hard in the field of science so that we'd make this world a better place for everyone.

To achieve that, we should provide the best possible environment for scientists to work in. As Asgardians we want to encourage others to work in the field of science for a better tomorrow.

For Asgardia to success, we mustn't forget the revenue factor from our budget. We need to make money in order to spend it. That is why the whole project of encouraging start-up corporations is one of the key issues we must keep in mind right from the start. Given the change, I would do my best to ensure that we have the best possible environment for such a activity and that the companies can also grow without facing unnecessary obstacles on their way,thus making sure we'd have the best business environment possible and we gain a good reputation, bringing us more corporations and individuals to further strengthen Asgardia.

As we are new nation undergoing our first elections, we will see many things for the first time after the elections are over and those elected take their seats. We do not have the luxury of Old Earth nations in working from an established template, but must remain flexible in plans, but resolute in guiding principles.

These are the principles I would like in place from the start that we can build upon as we move forward.

Cosmic debris such as meteors pose a significant threat — how is technology shaping up to meet it?

For the inhabitants of the Russian city of Chelyabinsk, the events of 15 February 2013 will never be forgotten. Just after 9.00am, a 20m-diameter meteorite exploded above the city with a force equivalent to 30 Hiroshima bombs. Amazingly, no one was killed. But the resulting shockwave and shower of cosmic debris wreaked havoc over a wide area.

The Chelyabinsk meteor was thought to be the largest object of its kind since the so-called 1908 Tunguska event, when an asteroid of around 40m in diameter devastated a 2,000km ² area of remote Siberian forest.

https://www.theengineer.co.uk/protecting-planet-large-meteor-strikes/

Clouds moving in the martian sky have been observed previously by Curiosity and other missions on the surface of Mars, including NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander in the martian arctic nine years ago.

WASHINGTON: NASA's Mars Curiosity rover has captured its most clearly visible images of wispy, early-season clouds on the red planet which resemble the Earth's ice-crystal cirrus clouds.

Clouds moving in the martian sky have been observed previously by Curiosity and other missions on the surface of Mars, including NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander in the martian arctic nine years ago.

http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/nasas-curiosity-sends-most-clearly-visible-images-of-clouds-above-mars-1736591

If you're a little bored of life on Earth, have no fear; scientists have discovered two potentially habitable planets orbiting a sun just 12 light-years away.

The team of astronomers which includes researchers from the UK's University of Hertfordshire and the University of California Santa Cruz, revealed that four Earth-size planets in total have been detected orbiting the sun-like star, known as the tau Ceti.

They dubbed two of the four planets "super-Earths," so-called because they have masses of around 1.7 Earth mass, larger than Earth but among the smallest planets ever detected around the nearest sun-like stars.

"[The habitable zone] is the 'Goldilocks' region around a star where the planet is not too hot or too cold and thus is able to sustain liquid water on its surface," Dr Fabo Feng, the study's lead researcher, told CNN.

Exoplanet has a 'glowing water vapor' atmosphere

Feng added that the planets are likely made "made of rocks rather than ice" which would increase the chances of them supporting life.

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/10/world/super-earth-planets-discovered/index.html

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft may double its pleasure during its next deep-space flyby 16 months from now.

On Jan. 1, 2019, New Horizons is scheduled to have a close encounter with a body called 2014 MU69, which lies 1 billion miles (1.6 billion kilometers) beyond Pluto in the distant, frigid Kuiper Belt. (The probe famously zoomed past Pluto in July 2015 , returning the first-ever up-close images of that mysterious world. This second flyby is the key component of New Horizons' extended mission.)

Not much is known about 2014 MU69, so the New Horizons team planned out a campaign to watch the object pass in front of background stars. Such "occultations" can reveal a great deal about the foreground body, including its size and shape. [ Destination Pluto: NASA's New Horizons Mission in Pictures ]

https://www.space.com/37713-nasa-pluto-probe-flyby-target-two-objects.html

A huge, superhot alien planet has a stratrosphere, like Earth does, a new study suggests.

"This result is exciting because it shows that a common trait of most of the atmospheres in our solar system — a warm stratosphere — also can be found in exoplanet atmospheres," study co-author Mark Marley, of NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley, said in a statement .

"We can now compare processes in exoplanet atmospheres with the same processes that happen under different sets of conditions in our own solar system," Marley added. [ Gallery: The Strangest Alien Planets ]

https://www.space.com/37705-exoplanet-stratosphere-detected-wasp-121b.html

''The Orion Nebula is one of the most heavily studied astronomical targets in the night sky, but that doesn't mean it has stopped surprising astronomers. In fact, new work suggests that its many young stars formed in three distinct waves, over just a few million years.

As the active star-forming region that's nearest to Earth, located around 1,350 light-years away in the constellation of Orion, the nebula is known to contain a bevy of young stars that occupy the Orion Nebula cluster . Now, astronomers using the OmegaCAM instrument on the VLT Survey Telescope (VST), located at the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) Paranal Observatory in Chile, have revealed previously unknown detail in this population of stars.''

https://www.space.com/37666-orion-nebula-three-ages-star-formation.html

''During the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21 , skywatchers will direct most of their attention to the sun, but don't forget about the moon: Its slow progress away from Earth means these celestial events won't keep happening forever.

Next month's total solar eclipse will sweep across the continental U.S. from Oregon to South Carolina along a stretch of land about 70 miles (113 kilometers) wide. A total solar eclipse occurs only when the disk of the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, briefly blocking the sun's bright light and casting a long shadow on the planet. ''

https://www.space.com/37627-total-solar-eclipse-earth-moon-alignment-future.html

''The Cassini spacecraft at Saturn recently observed a light show on the planet's southern hemisphere: auroras, glittering in the gaseous atmosphere.

Similar to auroras on Earth, Saturn's auroras are formed by charged particles raining down on the planet, colliding with the atmosphere and creating light, according to a statement from NASA. The charged particles come from the solar wind, a steady stream of material emanating from the sun. ''

https://www.space.com/37667-saturn-ghostly-aurora-cassini-photo.html

''We all have stars in our eyes. And in our hearts, our fingers … right down to our toes.

And we all may have come from a galaxy far, far away.

A groundbreaking new study suggests that half the atoms that make up the human body literally sailed here from beyond the Milky Way.

These atoms, researchers at Northwestern University say, were violently vented into space from exploding stars, or supernovae, in other corners of the universe. Hurtling at astounding velocities, they may have escaped the gravitational clutches of their own galaxy.''

https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/space/stories/atoms-human-body-galaxy

''An ultrapowerful, superfast explosion in space is providing new insight into how dying stars turn into black holes.

An international team of researchers looked at a gamma-ray explosion called GRB 160625B that brightened the sky in June 2016. Gamma-ray bursts are among the most powerful explosions in the universe , but they are typically tough to track because they are very short-lived (sometimes lasting just a few milliseconds). ''

https://www.space.com/37634-dying-star-collapse-gamma-ray-burst.html

This could be relevant to Asgardia as well.

''Ancient volcanic deposits on the moon reveal new evidence about the lunar interior, suggesting it contains substantial amounts of water.

Using satellite data, scientists from Brown University studied lunar pyroclastic deposits, layers of rock that likely formed from large volcanic eruptions . The magma associated with these explosive events is carried to the moon's surface from very deep within its interior, according to a study published today (July 24) in Nature Geoscience.''

https://www.space.com/37596-moon-interior-could-have-water.html

''It looks like a glowing speck or star moving swiftly around the surface of Mars. The tiny moon Phobos orbits the red planet in a new time-lapse video released by NASA. The Hubble Space Telescope captured a series of 13 images of Mars over the course of 22 minutes on May 12, 2016—at a time when the red planet was 50 million miles from Earth—and Phobos unexpectedly stole the spotlight.''

http://www.newsweek.com/nasa-mars-moon-phobos-orbits-red-planet-beautiful-time-lapse-captured-hubble-640386

Scientists have discovered mystery signals coming from a star 11 light-years away. The “very peculiar” pulses appear to be unique to the red dwarf, scientists say, with observations of similar nearby stars showing no similar behavior.

Researchers at the Arecibo Observatory, in Puerto Rico, were observing a group of red dwarf stars in a bid to identify planets and other objects orbiting them. In April and May, the team recorded information coming from Gliese 436, Ross 128, Wolf 359, HD 95735, BD +202465, V* RY Sex and  K2-18.

http://www.newsweek.com/mystery-radio-signals-ross-128-star-637682

''Landing on the Red Planet is one of the biggest challenges in spaceflight, so hard that the problem is referred as the Great Galactic Ghoul.''

''NASA's Journey to Mars might be officially dead. That is, the agency doesn't seem likely to land an astronaut on the Red Planet in the 2030s, and NASA's associate administrator for human exploration, William H. Gerstenmaier, recently said that NASA does not have the funding for a crewed Mars mission in the current timeline. Gerstenmaier also addressed the underlying problem: The agency just doesn't know how to land something as heavy as a crewed spacecraft on Mars.''

http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/moon-mars/news/a27304/nasa-wont-put-astronaut-on-mars-2030s/

''A new telescope in La Palma, in Spain's Canary Islands, coordinates with gravitational-wave detectors to track down optical signals of the colossal collisions that cause them.

The Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO), built as an international collaboration led by the U.K.'s University of Warwick and Australia's Monash University, was officially inaugurated July 3.

The ripples in space-time called gravitational waves can be detected on Earth when they're created by extremely large-scale events in the universe — like when two ultradense neutron stars or black holes orbit each other and merge. (Massive stellar explosions called supernovas can also cause detectable gravitational waves.) The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) first detected distortion caused by those waves in 2016. [ 'We Don't Planet' Episode 8: Gravitational Waves ]''

https://www.space.com/37412-optical-telescope-gravitational-wave-sources.html

''The frigid, faraway body that NASA's New Horizons spacecraft will zoom by 18 months from now may actually be a cluster of small objects, new observations suggest.

New Horizons — which performed the first-ever flyby of Pluto in July 2015 — will have another close encounter on Jan. 1, 2019, this time with a little-studied object called 2014 MU69.

The frigid, faraway body that NASA's New Horizons spacecraft will zoom by 18 months from now may actually be a cluster of small objects, new observations suggest. New Horizons — which performed the first-ever flyby of Pluto in July 2015 — will have another close encounter on Jan. 1, 2019, this time with a little-studied object called 2014 MU69. ''

https://www.space.com/37415-new-horizons-second-flyby-target-surprises.html

''The Martian surface may be even less hospitable to life than scientists had thought.

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation streaming from the sun "activates" chlorine compounds in the Red Planet's soil, turning them into potent microbe-killers, a new study suggests.

The Martian surface may be even less hospitable to life than scientists had thought. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation streaming from the sun "activates" chlorine compounds in the Red Planet's soil, turning them into potent microbe-killers, a new study suggests.''

https://www.space.com/37402-mars-life-soil-toxic-perchlorates-radiation.html

''The speediest stars zipping through the Milky Way galaxy are runaways from a small neighboring galaxy, according to a new study.

Scientists said they suspect that around 10,000 of these so-called "hypervelocity" stars in the Milky Way were born in a small satellite galaxy known as the Large Magellanic Cloud. Each of those stars was once half of a binary star system , in which two stars orbit one another. But explosive breakups sent the stars flying away so fast that they escaped the gravitational pull of their home galaxy and ventured off into the Milky Way, the study suggests.''

https://www.space.com/37389-fastest-runaway-stars.html