The latest issue of global space magazine ROOM - The Space Journal is published this week and is a must-read for anyone interested in space and the future.

Printed copies delivered either by mail direct to your home or electronic digital versions for download are available on subscription from the ROOM website - www.room.eu.com

In this issue of ROOM there are exclusive articles on ‘Sky-fi - the dawn of the space internet era’, ‘Surviving radiation for space colonisation’, ‘Growing plants without gravity’ and ‘Recipe for success on flights to Mars’, looking at how food will be more than just nourishment on future journeys to the red planet.

In his opinion piece ‘Could Brexit blow a hole in UK’s space ambitions?’, Dr. Mike Leggett suggests Britain’s decision to leave the EU might have unanticipated effects on the long-established cooperation of the UK and Europe in space.

Swift progress towards deployment of large satellite constellations also point to serious issues in the space environment - not just for the future but for now - and these are eloquently addressed in articles ‘Mega challenges for mega constellations’ and ‘Urgent action needed to keep satellites safe in orbit’ by Holger Krag and Mark A. Skinner.

In ‘Spaceplane rationale - a new way of thinking’, David Ashford argues that a choice made by NASA four decades ago probably led to a very different future for the global launcher industry - and can we change it?

The latest issue of ROOM also highlights the search for a new system of space governance - a globally agreed system of laws and codes of conduct for the benefit of all humanity, not just those with the power and might to muscle their way to the front.

Articles in a special Space Security section come from a definitive new study contributed to by more than 80 lawyers and space professionals from around the world.

Other articles look at ‘How to build a Moon base cheaply’, differences between ‘Automated and human-operated systems’, Bepi-Colombo’s forthcoming mission to Mercury and ‘Hunting for neutrinos in the ice of Antarctica’.

“Important choices and decisions lie ahead, not only for our national and global politicians but also for those at the heart of the international space community,” suggests Managing Editor Clive Simpson in the issue’s challenging Foreword.

“Does humanity take the well-trodden path of least resistance or do we head intelligently and wisely into a brave new world of cooperation and togetherness - and go daringly and boldly into the future?”

Want to read more? Then order your own copy of ROOM now - visit: www.room.eu.com

1. 180000 Asgardians from 233 countries have passed the second verification and received the Certificate of Asgardia;

2. The website asgardia.space, which will become Asgardia's official government site, and forum  have been launched;

3. The domain for asgardia.com has been purchased, and will soon become Asgardia's commercial site;

4. Asgardia Flag contest, which featured 2852 participants from 124 countries and 7372 flags, has been completed;

5. Asgardia Insignia contest, which featured 414 participants from 86 countries and 6426 insignias, has been completed;

6. Asgardia Anthem contest, which featured 328  participants from 63  countries and 487 anthems, has been completed;

7. The Asgardian calendar has been introduced;

8. Asgardia Declaration of Unity has been created and published for community discussion;

9. Asgardia Constitution content has been drafted and presented for review;

10. Unified Voting Day  has been set for June 18, 2017 (Asgard 1st, 0001);

11. Three Asgardian national holidays have been announced;

12. Non-commercial, non-government organization (NGO) “Asgardia” has been registered as a prototype of the future full-fledged state. The acceptance of charitable donations has begun;

13. "Asgardia" AG has been registered,  shares can now be purchased by all Asgardians;

14. Trademarks of Asgardia, AsgardiaSpace, Asgardia Space have been officially registered in the European Union in the appropriate classes.  Trademark Asgardia has been registered in the appropriate classes in the United States.  Trademark applications for other classes  have been submitted.

15. Asgardia has teamed up with BOINC, which will allow to donate unused CPU power to the advancement of scientific research;

16. New groups have been set up on Facebook. There are now four official groups, including Voice of Asgardia Radio and Asgardia TV, and fifty regional groups with approximately 145000 followers. There are also about 10000 followers on Twitter.

17. Volunteer groups have been established in various countries;

18. Asgardia sponsored  a musical festival held in Gagarin, Russia on the International Day of the First Human Space Flight;

19. Many international meetings have been held to discuss the issues surrounding Asgardia's official recognition by the UN, as well as other matters of organizational and legal nature;

20. Asgardia team members gave numerous media interviews explaining Asgardia's primary objectives.

There are more exciting news coming soon! Be ready for the announcement of Igor Ashurbeyli's upcoming press conference,  which will be held in Hong Kong on June 13, 2017 (June 24th, 0001).

Do not forget to vote on June 18, 2017 (Asgard 1st, 0001) to receive special bonuses!

Electronic, instrumental and space music festival “108 Minutes” took place in Museum of the First Flight at Gagarin City, the homeland of the first cosmonaut of the planet Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin, on April 12 at the International Day of First Human Flight.

This year the world's first festival of electronic space music was supported by Igor Raufovich Ashurbeyli, the founder of the first space state of Asgardia.

The Space Music Festival is created and organized by our fellow Asgardian living in Russia, a man with a passion for space exploration themes in musical creativity - musician and producer Anjei Kravtsov.

The forum, which was held for the third time, was dedicated this year to the 110th anniversary of the birth of Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, Chief Designer of rocket and space systems.

Before the beginning of the musical part, the guests and participants of the festival heard Igor Ashurbeyli's welcome words and got acquainted with the ideas of Asgardia. It was symbolic that exactly six months before, on October 12, 2016,  the creation of the first space state had announced by Dr. Ashurbeyli in Paris.

Why did the founder of Asgardia decide to support festival “108 Minutes”? The answer is that International Festival of electronic space music meets the concept of Asgardia. First space state considers culture and art as necessary elements of constructing harmonious state regardless it is located on Earth or in Space. Gagarin City dwellers and the guests of the city learned how to become Asgardians, how to take part in the formation of a new nation and where you can know more about it.

The festival was attended by composers and performers from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Pervouralsk and the Republic of Belarus.

Maria Stepanova, the director of the Museum of Gagarin, expressed the opinion that Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin could be considered as the first Asgardian as he was the first human who escaped from the planet and flew to Space.

Many Asgardians are dreaming of the day they will fly to space and live on an orbital Asgardian station. Watching stars, developing scientific research or spacewalks… these all sound very adventurous and challenging, however, the heroic halo of space explorer can become tarnished by day-to-day life on the orbital station.

Becoming an astronaut is not simple. You must have the proper education, an excellent professional background and perfect health. Each candidate must pass several tests that give the agency an overall portrait of each individual: their fitness level and physical suitability for training, critical and analytical thinking skills, their behavior in group settings, and so on. All are tested rigorously.

Immediately after recruitment, astronaut candidates undergo a one-year basic training that begins with the basic knowledge of space engineering. Electrical engineering and science disciplines are explored afterwards. Another training block deals with the major systems of the International Space Station and transportation systems such as the Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Basic training concludes by focusing on specific topics such as underwater diving for spacewalk training, robotics, rendezvous and docking, the Russian language, human behavior and performance.

Advanced Training takes another year and provides astronauts from Space Station partners with knowledge and in-depth skills to operate, service and maintain the station’s modules, systems, payloads and transport vehicles. It includes specialization in some functions, such as resource and data operations, robotics, navigation, maintenance, spacewalks, medical aspects and payloads. Lessons are conducted at all partner sites to allow first-hand familiarity with flight elements and operations for all partner candidates.  The final stage is Increment-Specific Training that gives astronauts the specific knowledge and skills required for their mission. This job is very difficult, both physically and mentally. It requires a candidate to be separated from their loved ones most of the time.

Space is a harsh environment for humans, as we have not been created to live there. Systems throughout our body have developed to function under the stresses of gravity. The longest continuous amount of time a human has spent in space is 437 days, which is definitely not long enough to conquer it. The only way to create a human friendly environment in space is to have some form of gravity inside the spaceship. There are many theoretical calculations starting from rotational gravity, linear acceleration, magnetism and finishing by sci-fi gravity generators. NASA had a closed approach to this issue in the Nautilus-Х project, however, due to lack of fundings, this project did not go further than drawings and theoretical calculations. Humankind must still solve a lot of problems prior to the exploration of our solar system and beyond.

Before Asgardia reaches its main global goal of building an orbital station acceptable for continuous human habitation it must integrate itself into the global space exploration community and be recognized by wider scientific community. Asgardia has great plans ahead which will be introduced over the coming months and years. Currently, the Asgardia team is working hard to create a brand new site for community and arrange the requirements for Unified Voting Day. This day is of great importance in our efforts to create a nation, and gain further recognition as a space state. With this approach Asgardia will be a part of the great scientific breakthroughs which we can see are coming soon.

Lena De Winne,

CEO, NGO Asgardia

Professor Ram Jakhu,

Director, Institute of Air and Space Law

at McGill University

Lena De Winne, CEO, NGO Asgardia, will be attending the Fifth Manfred Lachs International Conference on Global Space Governance and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which will take place on May 5-6, 2017 in Montreal, Canada. She will give presentation about Asgardia in front of the international aerospace law experts.

To mark the occasion, Asgardia will hold a gathering on May 8, 2017. The event will be hosted by Professor Ram Jakhu, Director of Institute of Air and Space Law  at McGill University and Asgardia's international legal consultant.  Both Lena De Winne and Prof. Ram Jakhu will give presentations.

Time and location: 4:30 pm (GMT -5) at McGill University Faculty of Law, located at 3660 Peel Street, Room 312,

Montreal, Canada.

Entrance is free.

Administrative Team of Asgardia will arrange a webcast and radio broadcast of presentation for community.

On April 12, 1961, the era of human spaceflight began when the Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the Earth in the Vostok I spacecraft. The flight lasted 108 minutes. Twenty years later, on the morning of April 12, 1981, two astronauts sat strapped into their seats on the flight deck of Columbia, a radically new spacecraft known as the space shuttle.

In the years following Yuri Gagarin’s first spaceflight, over 500 people from almost 40 countries have flown into space. New opportunities in space were created in the year 2000 when the first crew boarded the International Space Station (ISS), a joint space project involving 15 countries.

Since the start of its operation, the ISS has gradually turned into a huge laboratory in near-Earth space.

In spite of more than 50 years of space exploration, there remains much skepticism and doubt about humankind’s need to invest into space. Why explore space? Every time something amazing is accomplished in space, someone will make the comment “Why spend so much money, time, and effort in space or on Mars or in orbit when there are many equally important issues here on Earth, such as poverty, disease, and famine?’

The space industry is not a financial black hole; no agency launches a bucket with cash into  space. The majority of the money spent on space exploration goes toward the salaries which pay thousands of skilled workers who make each mission successful. This industry creates diverse jobs all over the world, supports scientific research at various universities, and helps people to stay employed. Moreover, rough calculation shows that, on average, the expenses for space exploration cost approximately $5 to every person living on Earth (or 0.05% of world GDP per year).

Space exploration stimulates the creation of many tangible and intangible benefits for humanity.  New devices and services enter the global marketplace as a direct result of innovations within the space industry. Space exploration leads to advances in science and technology; it furthers workforce development and pushes industrial capabilities, thus leading to an overall stimulation of private companies;all of which contributes significantly to the economic progress of space‐faring nations. Space exploration is known to attract young people into careers in science and technology, adding  to the general benefit of society and the economy.

Exploring space has several intangible effects. Due to its inherent social and philosophical dimensions, delving into the unknown helps us to address the nature and meaning of human life. This leads to more enriched cultures, more inspired citizens, and greater international  understanding as a result of cooperation among space‐faring nations.

To be a human is to be an explorer - reaching into space is but an expansion of a basic human nature engrained deep within us since the first tribes left the African savanna and spread into Europe and Asia. Our ancestors had a need to explore the unknown. Now, humans have visited or settled every corner of the globe. The instinct to explore is still active, but there are very few outlets. Some people seek out extreme or exotic places to satisfy this need, others look to the skies. It may be an old cliche, but Star Trek had it right: Space is the Final Frontier, and it calls to the Explorer in all of us.

Civic.Asgardia Team reports on progress in BOINC project.

Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Networked Computing (or BOINC for short) is a scientific decentralised network that allows people from all over the world to help the advancement of science.

A user downloads a program and the research institute sends small amounts of data to your machine for analysis. Your computer does all the hard work, so you don’t have to worry about having any scientific knowledge. It works when your computer is not, so there is no significant slowing down of your computer.

Asgardia has created a team on the BOINC Servers where you can donate your unused computers processing power to the advancement of scientific research. The team was launched seven weeks ago, and the members that have signed up have done an awesome job!

We have climbed 96,192 places and are currently ranked 7,464th in the world.

Between all 318 computers on the Asgardia team, we are processing days worth of information, EVERY HOUR!

If you want to join our team and help with cutting edge science use the following links for information and participation.

BOINC Project Information

Forum