Science, Space, Health & Robotics News - Page 34

All the latest Science, Space, Health & Robotics news with plenty of coverage on space launches, discoveries, rockets & plenty more - Page 34.

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Video releases of China's new space station being pieced together in space

Jak Connor | Sep 2, 2023 5:50 AM CDT

China has recently pieced together its new three-module space station called the Tiangong space station, and now a company has shown the public how it was constructed.

Video releases of China's new space station being pieced together in space

HEO Robotics, an Australian-based company that focusses on using space-based sensors to image objects of interest within Earth's orbit has pointed those sensors at China's newly constructed Tiangong space station. The firm released a collection of images that were turned into a short video that showcases how each of the individual modules came together to form the new floating laboratory.

The firm released the video on August 30 on the platform formerly known as Twitter, X, and wrote, "Using our non-Earth imaging capability, we witnessed a story unfold over an 18-month timeframe. Each stage you see was verified with a photo taken from another satellite in space."

Continue reading: Video releases of China's new space station being pieced together in space (full post)

Pentagon launches official website for UFO reporting and informing the public

Jak Connor | Sep 1, 2023 8:15 AM CDT

The Pentagon has launched a website that's designed for government personnel to report UFO sightings and inform the public of the findings.

Pentagon launches official website for UFO reporting and informing the public

The website was unveiled on August 30 by the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), and according to the office's director Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, government and military personnel will be able to use the website to lodge UFO, or unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) sightings that will then be analysed and depending on their validity, added to the overall historical record of UFO sightings.

The new site states its goal will be to "minimize technical and intelligence surprise by synchronizing scientific, intelligence, and operational detection identification, attribution, and mitigation of unidentified anomalous phenomena in the vicinity of national security areas."

Continue reading: Pentagon launches official website for UFO reporting and informing the public (full post)

NASA's Webb snaps wild photograph of a cosmic 'keyhole' out in deep space

Jak Connor | Sep 1, 2023 7:35 AM CDT

The James Webb Space Telescope has aimed its extremely powerful instruments at Supernova 1987A, or more specifically SN 1987A.

NASA's Webb snaps wild photograph of a cosmic 'keyhole' out in deep space

The supernova is located 168,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud, and over the course of 40 years since its discovery, the supernova has been a target of intense observation. Hubble originally spotted the cosmic structure in 1987, and now, with Webb's new observations, NASA has published what it's calling the "most clear & detailed look yet".

According to a new blog post on NASA's website, the image reveals a central structure like a "keyhole", which is jam-packed with clumps of gas and dust that has been ejected by the supernova explosion. Notably, the dust at the center of the image is so dense that even Webb's infrared instruments are unable to pierce it, which is what they are designed to do.

Continue reading: NASA's Webb snaps wild photograph of a cosmic 'keyhole' out in deep space (full post)

99% of all human ancestors were wiped out 800,000 years ago, says scientists

Jak Connor | Sep 1, 2023 7:12 AM CDT

A group of scientists from multiple countries around the world have penned a new study detailing a catastrophic event that occurred 800,000 years ago that nearly wiped out all of our human ancestors that were walking the planet.

99% of all human ancestors were wiped out 800,000 years ago, says scientists

According to a new study published in the journal Science, written a group of researchers from the United States, Italy, and China, 98.7% of population of human ancestors was wiped out between 800,000 and 900,000 years ago. This dramatic drop in population count was discovered through a fast infinitesimal time coalescent process (FitCoal), or the analysis of human genomic sequences from 3,154 people.

The researchers discovered what is called a "severe bottleneck" in human diversity, which indicates a drop in population reproduction. According to the study, the massive population drop is due to a variety of different factors, but mostly from severe changes in climate. Global temperatures were changing drastically during this period, with widespread droughts killing not only human ancestors but many other species as well, such as mammoths, mastodons and giant sloths.

Continue reading: 99% of all human ancestors were wiped out 800,000 years ago, says scientists (full post)

Lunar rover discovers hidden structures beneath the moon's surface

Jak Connor | Aug 30, 2023 7:14 AM CDT

While the moon is a dead rock floating in space, there is much more that's interesting, at least to researchers, than meets the eye.

Lunar rover discovers hidden structures beneath the moon's surface

At first glance, the Earth's closest neighbor may seem boring, but underneath the surface, researchers have found something quite interesting. China's China's Chang'e-4 rover became the first spacecraft to land on the dark side of the moon when it touched down in 2019, and since then, it has been conducting valuable research, in particular, with an instrument called the Lunar Penetrating Radar (LPR).

Researchers have taken the data acquired by the LPR and published findings in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, where they outline hidden structures beneath the lunar surface. According to the researchers, the first 130 feet beneath the surface of the moon is comprised of various layers of soil, dust, and broken rocks. Beneath those layers are volcanic rocks that are believed to have been created by meteor and asteroid impacts that caused lava flows.

Continue reading: Lunar rover discovers hidden structures beneath the moon's surface (full post)

NASA releases a cosmic 'feast for the eyes' snapped by the Webb telescope

Jak Connor | Aug 29, 2023 10:15 AM CDT

NASA and the European Space Agency's (ESA) James Webb Space Telescope have released a new gorgeous image of a distant galaxy.

NASA releases a cosmic 'feast for the eyes' snapped by the Webb telescope

The Webb telescope has pointed its powerful instruments at the grand spiral galaxy called M51, or officially called NGC 5194, which is located 27 million light years away from Earth within the constellation Canes Venatici. M51 is known for its disrupted spiral arms, which can be partly attributed to its relationship with its close neighbour, a dwarf galaxy known as NGC 5195.

The gravity of this dwarf planet is believed to have influenced the size and prominence of M51's spiral arms. So, what does the image actually show? Red regions in the image represent reprocessed light from complex molecules that are forming on dust grains. Orange and yellow regions represent ionised gas that was recently formed by star clusters. For more information on this image, check out this link here.

Continue reading: NASA releases a cosmic 'feast for the eyes' snapped by the Webb telescope (full post)

NASA explains untethered Earth-size planets are wandering the Milky Way alone

Jak Connor | Aug 29, 2023 9:44 AM CDT

New research from scientists from NASA and Japan's Osaka University has explored the idea that there are rogue planets wandering interstellar space waiting to be discovered by lucky astronomers.

NASA explains untethered Earth-size planets are wandering the Milky Way alone

The study, which NASA writes is expected to appear in a future issue of The Astronomical Journal, used data from a near-year survey conducted at the Mount John University Observatory in New Zealand. According to a NASA press release, the team estimates that there are 20 times more rogue planets than stars within the Milky Way galaxy. Rogue planets are worlds that aren't gravitationally tethered to a local star, and are just wandering through interstellar space completely alone.

Using microlensing techniques, which is the process of observing stars for any change in brightness levels. If an object passes directly between the star and the observer's line of sit, the gravity of that object warps space-time and creates a natural lens. This lens briefly amplifies the brightness of the star, giving a clue to astronomers about the nature of the intersecting object.

Continue reading: NASA explains untethered Earth-size planets are wandering the Milky Way alone (full post)

Historic lunar rover takes temperature of the moon after gracefully gliding across the surface

Jak Connor | Aug 29, 2023 8:37 AM CDT

India made space history on August 23 by becoming the fourth country to successfully land on the surface of the moon and deploy a rover.

Historic lunar rover takes temperature of the moon after gracefully gliding across the surface

Since the landing, the Chandrayaan-3 mission has deployed its rover named Pragyan, and as shown in the above video, we can see Pragyan gliding across the surface of the moon to begin its scientific operations. The rover has already imaged its surroundings, even dodging a nasty hazardous crater that could have been catastrophic for the future of the mission.

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has been posting constant updates on the Chandrayaan-3 mission on its X account, with an August 27 post detailing the results of Pragyan checking the surface temperature of the moon in its location near the moon's south pole, or what the ISRO officially now call the Shiv Shakti Point.

Continue reading: Historic lunar rover takes temperature of the moon after gracefully gliding across the surface (full post)

Watch SpaceX's Dragon and Crew-7 dock with the International Space Station

Jak Connor | Aug 28, 2023 4:29 AM CDT

SpaceX has ferried four astronauts to the International Space Station on the back of its Falcon 9 rocket that was recently launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

Watch SpaceX's Dragon and Crew-7 dock with the International Space Station

The launch took place on August 26 and is officially called the Crew-7 mission, as it's SpaceX's 7th flight to the ISS featuring astronauts. The astronauts took the Dragon capsule Endurance to the ISS, which is a journey that took approximately 30 hours to complete. SpaceX took to its official X account to share incredible footage of the Dragon capsule docking with the ISS. After arriving, the four astronauts will begin a 6-month stint of science-focussed investigations that are combined with typical ISS maintenance tasks.

Crew-7 commander Jasmin Moghbeli of NASA radioed to SpaceX mission control following the successful docking with the floating laboratory, saying, "Thank you so much. I have to keep reminding myself that this is not a dream." Crew-7 pilot Andreas Mogensen from the European Space Agency (ESA) said to SpaceX that the first step of the journey has now been completed, and "the real mission begins now". Adding, "Aboard the International Space Station, we have a lot of work ahead of us that we look forward to."

Continue reading: Watch SpaceX's Dragon and Crew-7 dock with the International Space Station (full post)

NASA JPL director comments on UFO hearings and seeing life outside of Earth

Jak Connor | Aug 21, 2023 3:36 AM CDT

NASA and CalTech's director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has commented on the recent UFO hearings and asked if she has seen any spacecraft made from outside of this world.

NASA JPL director comments on UFO hearings and seeing life outside of Earth

Laurie Leshin, the director of NASA and CalTech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, has sat down for an interview with a reporter from Fox 10 to answer some questions regarding space travel and the recent events surrounding UFOs. Leshin was asked directly if she had ever seen a spacecraft that was made from outside of this world, to which she replied, "Absolutely not". The reporter followed up by asking if anyone had ever spoken to her about that with her, to which she replied, "No".

Furthermore, the reporter asked what Leshin makes of the recent UFO hearings that revealed some key details about purported secret government programs regarding crashed UFOs and backward engineering of alien technology. Leshin recognized that there is clearly a lot of interest in these topics, and that NASA JPL is more so focussed on following the scientific evidence when looking for life elsewhere.

Continue reading: NASA JPL director comments on UFO hearings and seeing life outside of Earth (full post)