Science, Space, Health & Robotics News - Page 1

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

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NVIDIA's new Project GROOT: fully humanoid robot to compete against Tesla Optimus AI robot

Anthony Garreffa | Mar 18, 2024 6:11 PM CDT

NVIDIA had plenty to announce during its GPU Technology Conference (GTC) event, with the launch of Project GROOT: a new foundational model that helps in the development of robots for industrial use (and more).

NVIDIA's new Project GROOT: fully humanoid robot to compete against Tesla Optimus AI robot

The new Project GROOT stands for "Generalist Robot 00 Technology," with NVIDIA CEO and founder Jensen Huang teasing robots powered by Project GROOT during GTC 2024, which have been designed to understand natural language and emulate movements made by humans by watching them.

Huang said: "Building foundation models for general humanoid robots is one of the most exciting problems to solve in AI today. The enabling technologies are coming together for leading roboticists around the world to take giant leaps towards artificial general robotics".

Continue reading: NVIDIA's new Project GROOT: fully humanoid robot to compete against Tesla Optimus AI robot (full post)

SpaceX is building 100s of 'no one can hide' spy satellites for the US government

Jak Connor | Mar 18, 2024 12:15 AM CDT

The Department of Defense's National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) has signed a $1.8 billion contract with SpaceX for the creation of hundreds of spy satellites that will be used for US intelligence, according to a report from Reuters.

SpaceX is building 100s of 'no one can hide' spy satellites for the US government

The new report states the NRO has signed a $1.8 billion contract with Elon Musk's SpaceX for the development of hundreds of spy satellites that will be designed to continuously take photographs of the Earth. These satellites will be a mixture of large imaging satellites designed to collect data and relay satellites designed to transmit the collected data.

According to one source who spoke to Reuters, the new web of spy satellites, which is reportedly called Starshield, will be so vast in its capabilities that "no one can hide". Notably, neither SpaceX nor the NRO directly confirmed the $1.8 billion contract or the development of the purported satellites, but an NRO spokesperson responded to the publication, "The National Reconnaissance Office is developing the most capable, diverse, and resilient space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance system the world has ever seen."

Continue reading: SpaceX is building 100s of 'no one can hide' spy satellites for the US government (full post)

SpaceX releases epic video of Starship blasting off in slow motion

Jak Connor | Mar 16, 2024 12:02 AM CDT

SpaceX has recently conducted the third orbital test flight for Starship, launching the world's largest and most powerful rocket from Starbase, Texas, on March 14.

SpaceX releases epic video of Starship blasting off in slow motion

The launch was deemed an overall success as Starship, with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk taking to his personal X account to announce "Starship reached orbital velocity". Notably, the launch of Starship occurred on 22nd anniversary for the founding of SpaceX. While the third orbital test flight was a success, both the Super Heavy booster and Ship didn't make it back down to Earth, where it was scheduled to splash down in the Indian Ocean.

SpaceX decided to execute its RUD protocol, or Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly, or boom, due to communications with the rocket being severed. The nearly 400-foot rocket fired all 33 first-stage Raptor engines in the early morning hours on March 14, creating a massive plume of smoke and then a speedy ascent into the clouds.

Continue reading: SpaceX releases epic video of Starship blasting off in slow motion (full post)

Man pleads guilty to trying to create a giant hybrid sheep species

Jak Connor | Mar 15, 2024 3:15 AM CDT

When you think you have either read or heard it all a story such this one surfaces, revealing one man's quest to create a giant hybrid sheep species.

Man pleads guilty to trying to create a giant hybrid sheep species

Arthur "Jack" Schubarth, an 80-year-old man from Montana has pleaded guilty to two felony wildlife crimes that authorities are calling an "audacious scheme" to create a giant hybrid sheep species that was going to sold and hunted as trophies. Schubarth began conspiring with several other individuals in 2013 to create the new species, and according to reports the Montana man purchased parts of the Marco Polo argali sheep, that can weigh as much as 300 pounds, from Kyrgyzstan into the United States.

Schubarth didn't declare the importation and this particular species of sheep is protected both internationally and domestically by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, and the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Schubarth then took genetic material from the Marco Polo sheep parts and sent it to a lab to create embyros, paying a deposit of $4,200 to the lab back in 2015.

Continue reading: Man pleads guilty to trying to create a giant hybrid sheep species (full post)

SpaceX hits milestone with successful Starship launch in its quest to land on Mars

Jak Connor | Mar 15, 2024 2:16 AM CDT

SpaceX has conducted its third orbital test flight of the world's largest and most powerful rocket, Starship, flying further and higher than it ever has before.

SpaceX hits milestone with successful Starship launch in its quest to land on Mars

Starship blasted off from the launch pad at the Starbase facility in South Texas on March 14 and went on to accomplish many mission objectives before the vehicle experienced a RUD, which SpaceX calls "rapid unscheduled disassembly," or boom. Starship executed its second hot-stage separation, which is when Super Heavy disconnects from the ship. Additionally, SpaceX's crown jewel of launch vehicles became the first Starship rocket SpaceX has built to complete its full-duration ascent burn and reach orbit.

The nearly 400-foot-tall rocket hit orbit, and then upon its re-entry back to Earth, where it was going to splash down in the Indian Ocean, communications were lost, resulting in the boom. Despite the RUD, SpaceX has described the launch as a "phenomenal day," as all of the objectives that were completed during the third orbital test flight will assist SpaceX in its next test flight, which it plans to do very soon.

Continue reading: SpaceX hits milestone with successful Starship launch in its quest to land on Mars (full post)

Watch Japan explode its first private satellite just seconds after launch

Jak Connor | Mar 13, 2024 6:45 AM CDT

A 59-foot-rocket designed by Japan's first private space company to launch a satellite has exploded just seconds after getting off the launch pad.

Watch Japan explode its first private satellite just seconds after launch

Space One, the company behind the rocket conducted its inaugural launch on Wednesday in an attempt to become the Japan's first private company to put a satellite into orbit. However, the flight of the rocket was "interrupted" seemingly seconds after the go button was pressed as the 59-foot, four-stage solid-fuel rocket exploded just seconds after lift off. The rocket explosion resulted in a plume of smoke, multiple fires, and fragments landing on and around the launch pad.

At the moment, it remains unclear if anyone was injured as a result of the explosion, but typically, during a time of launch, the pad where the rocket is stationed is completely cleared of any people - for this exact reason. Additionally, it remains unclear why the rocket called Kairos exploded, but what is known is that it was carrying an experimental government satellite designed to temporarily replace Japan's intelligence satellites if they happened to be knocked offline.

Continue reading: Watch Japan explode its first private satellite just seconds after launch (full post)

Scientists unveil PC breakthrough that gives 2x speed without hardware upgrades

Jak Connor | Mar 13, 2024 1:33 AM CDT

A team of researchers from the University of California, Riverside, say they have stumbled onto a groundbreaking PC breakthrough technology that may be able to give up to twice as much performance to all existing PCs.

Scientists unveil PC breakthrough that gives 2x speed without hardware upgrades

The team of researchers presented their findings, which have been published online, detailing a new system called simultaneous and heterogeneous multithreading, or SHMT. So, how does it work? Modern computers are currently made up of multiple processors, such as a CPU, GPU, and TPU. Due to different parts of the PC being dedicated to carrying out different workloads through instructions, there are bottlenecks and latency between the data moving between each of the different processors.

However, SHMT can solve this issue, as the technology enables a single task to be carried out across multiple processes simultaneously. Not only does this reduce the workload per processor, but it also speeds up the efficiency of the task and costs less energy to run. According to the recently published paper the team found that SHMT implementation in tests resulted in processing speeds increasing up to 1.95x, with energy usage dropping by close to 51%.

Continue reading: Scientists unveil PC breakthrough that gives 2x speed without hardware upgrades (full post)

A nuclear reactor built 'without humans' may arrive on the surface of the Moon

Jak Connor | Mar 13, 2024 1:17 AM CDT

In just over 10 years the Moon will be home to a nuclear reactor that is completely build without humans, and it will be used to power a lunar base.

A nuclear reactor built 'without humans' may arrive on the surface of the Moon

Russia's space agency Roscosmos has announced its considering sending an autonomous nuclear reactor to the surface of the Moon in a joint effort with China National Space Administration (CNSA). Both space agencies plan on constructing a lunar base together called the International Research Station (ILRS), which they claim will be open to "all interested countries and international partners".

However, it isn't likely that US astronauts will be able to visit the ILRS due to growing tensions between the US and China and the recent sanctions placed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Roscosmos announced on March 5 that it may build a nuclear reactor with the CNSA and it will be delivered to the lunar surface "somewhere at the turn of 2033 - 2035," according to Roscosmos director general Yury Borisov.

Continue reading: A nuclear reactor built 'without humans' may arrive on the surface of the Moon (full post)

NASA telescope captures star cluster birth from five and half million years ago

Jak Connor | Mar 12, 2024 11:56 PM CDT

NASA has shared an incredible image on its social channels as a reminder of the awesome power of the Hubble Space Telescope, a space telescope that is more than 30 years old.

NASA telescope captures star cluster birth from five and half million years ago

The Hubble Space Telescope captured a star cluster officially called NGC 6611, and the above image is from the space agency's "Hubble Classic" catalog, with it originally uploaded to the database on June 26, 2018. However, NASA has taken to its social channels to repost the image and explain via a link to its blog that NGC 6611 is an open star cluster that formed approximately 5.5 million years ago within the Eagle Nebula, or Messier 16.

In astronomical age, NGC 6611 is considered to be a "very young cluster" as it contains many hot blue stars that cause the Eagle Nebula to glow brightly. NASA writes on its blog that the Eagle Nebula is predominately made of hydrogen gas that will eventually disperse and will be assisted by shockwaves caused by supernova explosions as the young stars end their lives.

Continue reading: NASA telescope captures star cluster birth from five and half million years ago (full post)

SpaceX may use a sci-fi concept to create artificial gravity aboard Starship

Jak Connor | Mar 12, 2024 3:45 AM CDT

A long-standing science fiction concept for space travel is to create artificial gravity aboard the spacecraft to create a more suitable environment for astronauts.

SpaceX may use a sci-fi concept to create artificial gravity aboard Starship

Artificial gravity in sci-fi movies and TV shows has multiple benefits for passengers aboard the spacecraft, such as feeling more at home aboard the spacecraft, leading to psychological improvements. There are also physical improvements, such as being able to move around the spacecraft more effectively. What isn't typically considered with artificial gravity, or the lack of gravity throughout space travel, is the impact zero gravity has on astronauts' bone density levels.

Astronauts returning from tours aboard the International Space Station (ISS) were found to have shocking decreases in bone density that can lead to health problems such as frail bones that can easily shatter, and if humans want to travel to distant locations within the solar system, artificial gravity is going to have to be implemented into the spacecraft so they don't arrive at the location with weak bones, or more importantly, return back to Earth with major health problems.

Continue reading: SpaceX may use a sci-fi concept to create artificial gravity aboard Starship (full post)