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Sorry Elon Musk, but it's now clear that colonising Mars is unlikely![]() London, UK (The Conversation) Aug 06, 2018 Space X and Tesla founder Elon Musk has a vision for colonising Mars, based on a big rocket, nuclear explosions and an infrastructure to transport millions of people there. This was seen as highly ambitious but technically challenging in several ways. Planetary protection rules and the difficulties of terraforming (making the planet hospitable by, for example, warming it up) and dealing with the harsh radiation were quoted as severe obstacles. Undeterred, Musk took a first step towards his aim in ... read more |
Russia Plans to Send Capsule With Microorganisms to MarsMoscow (Sputnik) Aug 06, 2018 Russian scientists plan to send a capsule containing microorganisms to Mars' natural satellite Phobos and then get it back to Earth in order to study the possible mutations during the space flight, ... more
VLA Detects Possible Extrasolar Planetary-Mass Magnetic PowerhouseCharlottesville VA (SPX) Aug 06, 2018 Astronomers using the National Science Foundation's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) have made the first radio-telescope detection of a planetary-mass object beyond our Solar System. The object ... more
New photodetector camera to deploy during Robotic Servicing Demonstration MissionGreenbelt MD (SPX) Aug 03, 2018 Testing tools and technologies for refueling and repairing satellites in orbit won't be the only demonstration taking place aboard the International Space Station during NASA's next Robotic Refuelin ... more
Mars Dust Storm May Have PeakedPasadena CA (JPL) Aug 03, 2018 The planet-encircling dust storm on Mars is showing indications of peaking and perhaps decaying. Dust lifting sites have decreased in extent and some surface features are starting to become vi ... more |
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| Previous Issues | Aug 03 | Aug 02 | Aug 01 | Jul 31 | Jul 30 |
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Scientists looking for ways to grow crops on Red PlanetMoscow (Sputnik) Jul 31, 2018 While humans prepare to land on Mars and eventually colonize it, the question about what people will eat on the Red Planet looms large. Indeed, generating a stable supply of food poses a major ... more
At 60, NASA shoots for revival of moon glory daysTampa (AFP) July 27, 2018 Sixty years ago, spurred by competition with the Soviet Union, the United States created NASA, launching a journey that would take Americans to the moon within a decade. ... more
Exoplanets where life could develop as on EarthCambridge UK (SPX) Aug 03, 2018 Scientists have identified a group of planets outside our solar system where the same chemical conditions that may have led to life on Earth exist. The researchers, from the University of Camb ... more
Exoplanet detectives create reference catalog of spectra and geometric albedosIthaca NY (SPX) Aug 02, 2018 Earthbound detectives rely on fingerprints to solve their cases; now astronomers can do the same, using "light-fingerprints" instead of skin grooves to uncover the mysteries of exoplanets. Cor ... more
Workshop advances plans for coping with disruptions on ITERPlainsboro NJ (SPX) Aug 06, 2018 The sixth Annual Theory and Simulation of Disruptions Workshop at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) made substantial progress toward planning a system ... more |
![]() Chip labour: Robots replace waiters in China restaurant
Research identifies key weakness in modern computer vision systemsProvidence RI (SPX) Aug 03, 2018 Computer vision algorithms have come a long way in the past decade. They've been shown to be as good or better than people at tasks like categorizing dog or cat breeds, and they have the remarkable ... more |
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West Lafayette IN (SPX) Aug 03, 2018 Replacing traditional computer chip components with light-based counterparts will eventually make electronic devices faster due to the wide bandwidth of light. A new protective metamaterial "c ... more
Optical fibers that can feel the materials around themLausanne, Switzerland (SPX) Aug 02, 2018 In recent years optical fibers have served as sensors to detect changes in temperature, like a thermometer, and pressure, like an artificial nerve. This technique is particularly useful in structure ... more
Mars makes closest approach to Earth in 15 yearsLos Angeles (AFP) July 31, 2018 Earth's neighboring planet, Mars, is closer than it has been in the past 15 years, offering unusually bright views of the Red Planet's auburn hues. ... more
US Army selects Lockheed Martin as integrated systems developer for autonomous convoy programDallas TX (SPX) Jul 31, 2018 Lockheed Martin was selected by the U.S. Army's Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) as the Integrated Systems Developer for its Expedient Leader Follower (ExLF) pro ... more
High-Altitude Jovian CloudsWashington DC (SPX) Jul 30, 2018 his image captures a high-altitude cloud formation surrounded by swirling patterns in the atmosphere of Jupiter's North North Temperate Belt region. The North North Temperate Belt is one of Ju ... more |
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Sorry Elon Musk, but it's now clear that colonising Mars is unlikely London, UK (The Conversation) Aug 06, 2018
Space X and Tesla founder Elon Musk has a vision for colonising Mars, based on a big rocket, nuclear explosions and an infrastructure to transport millions of people there. This was seen as highly ambitious but technically challenging in several ways. Planetary protection rules and the difficulties of terraforming (making the planet hospitable by, for example, warming it up) and dealing with the ... more |
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MIDAS cameras spot pair of lunar flashes caused by meteoroid impacts Washington (UPI) Jul 30, 2018
New images from the European Space Agency showcased a pair of recent lunar flashes.
Photographs of the flashes were captured using CCD cameras at a trio of observatories in Spain, which make up the MIDAS project. CCD stands for "charge coupled device."
Lunar flashes occur when space rocks collide with parts of the moon facing away from the sun. Because these parts of the moon are ... more |
New Horizons team prepares for stellar occultation ahead of Ultima Thule flyby Washington DC (SPX) Aug 02, 2018
Successfully observing an object from more than four billion miles away is difficult, yet NASA's New Horizons mission team is banking that they can do that-again.
Preparations are on track for a final set of stellar occultation observations to gather as much information about the size, shape, environment, and other conditions around New Horizons' next flyby target, the ancient Kuiper Belt ... more |
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VLA Detects Possible Extrasolar Planetary-Mass Magnetic Powerhouse Charlottesville VA (SPX) Aug 06, 2018
Astronomers using the National Science Foundation's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) have made the first radio-telescope detection of a planetary-mass object beyond our Solar System. The object, about a dozen times more massive than Jupiter, is a surprisingly strong magnetic powerhouse and a "rogue," traveling through space unaccompanied by any parent star.
"This object is right at th ... more |
First SLS Core Stage flight hardware complete, ready for joining Huntsville AL (SPX) Aug 01, 2018
The first major piece of core stage hardware for NASA's Space Launch System rocket has been assembled and is ready to be joined with other hardware for Exploration Mission-1, the first integrated flight of SLS and the Orion spacecraft. SLS will enable a new era of exploration beyond low-Earth orbit, launching crew and cargo on deep space exploration missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond.
T ... more |
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Growing US unease with China's new deep space facility in Argentina Moscow (Sputnik) Aug 01, 2018 |
What Looks Like Ceres on Earth Pasadena CA (JPL) Jul 30, 2018
With its dark, heavily cratered surface interrupted by tantalizing bright spots, Ceres may not remind you of our home planet Earth at first glance. The dwarf planet, which orbits the Sun in the vast asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, is also far smaller than Earth (in both mass and diameter). With its frigid temperature and lack of atmosphere, we're pretty sure Ceres can't support life as w ... more |
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Raytheon contracted to develop laser for U.S. Army Washington (UPI) Jul 6, 2018
Raytheon has a received a $10 million contract to develop the US Army's High Energy Laser Tactical Vehicle Demonstration program.
The program is part of the Army's Indirect Fire Protection Capability Increment 2 initiative designed to counter incoming aerial threats such as drones, cruise missiles, artillery rounds and rockets.
The system will mount a 100 kilowatt laser, making i ... more |
Romania minister under fire over 'ballistic' gaffe Bucharest (AFP) Aug 1, 2018
Romania's defence minister on Wednesday faced calls to resign after he said the US missile defence system in the south had ballistic missiles, apparently confirming Russian concerns of a security threat near its border.
"How could president (Vladimir) Putin be thrilled that we have the military base at Deveselu with ballistic missiles", Mihai Fifor said Tuesday during a live interview with a ... more |
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Cassini data yields super sharp infrared images of Titan Washington (UPI) Jul 19, 2018
Cassini disappeared into Saturn's atmosphere late last year. But the spacecraft continues to yield impressive images.
This week, NASA shared a series of super sharp infrared images of Saturn's moon Titan, compiled using 13 years of data collected by the probe's Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer, or VIMS instrument.
The moon's hazy atmosphere prevents clear observations of ... more |
Nanotube 'rebar' makes graphene twice as tough Houston TX (SPX) Aug 06, 2018
Rice University researchers have found that fracture-resistant "rebar graphene" is more than twice as tough as pristine graphene.
Graphene is a one-atom-thick sheet of carbon. On the two-dimensional scale, the material is stronger than steel, but because graphene is so thin, it is still subject to ripping and tearing.
Rebar graphene is the nanoscale analog of rebar (reinforcement bar ... more |
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GRAVITY Confirms Predictions of General Relativity Near Galactic Center Paris, France (SPX) Jul 27, 2018
Observations made with the Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) have, for the first time, detected the effects of general relativity predicted by Einstein, in the movement of a star passing into the intense gravitational field of Sagittarius A*, a massive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way.
These results were obtained by the GRAVITY consortium, led b ... more |
Black holes are fuzzy balls of string with an endless appetite for matter Washington (UPI) Jul 31, 2018
A trio of physicists at Ohio State University believe black holes are like "fuzzballs" with an insatiable appetite for matter. And according to their latest research, these fuzzballs are not surrounded by a "firewall."
Classical general relativity presents the black hole as an object with a horizon, beyond which nothing can escape. This dichotomy between something and nothing is referre ... more |
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Chip labour: Robots replace waiters in China restaurant Shanghai (AFP) Aug 5, 2018 The little robotic waiter wheels up to the table, raises its glass lid to reveal a steaming plate of local Shanghai-style crayfish and announces in low, mechanical tones, "Enjoy your meal."
The futuristic restaurant concept is the latest initiative in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba's push to modernise service and retail in a country where robotics and artificial intelligence are increasing ... more |
An insect-inspired drone deforms upon impact Lausanne, Switzerland (SPX) Jul 26, 2018
In recent years, robotics experts have taken a page from the traditional Japanese practice of origami and come up with light and flexible - and highly innovative - robots and drones. Two types of origami-inspired structures have emerged: rigid structures that have a certain weight-bearing capacity but that break if that capacity is exceeded, and flexible yet resilient structures that cannot carr ... more |
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