Science, Space, & Robotics - Page 10

Hurricane Milton has reached landfall in Florida and as resident protect their homes as much as they can one meteorologist was honored for his contributions to the field by having his ashes poured into the eye of the monsterous Milton.

That lucky scientist was Peter Dodge, a radar scientist and hurricane hunter who worked with the National Hurricane Center and Aircraft Operations Center and an avid participant of hurricane aircraft missions where he served as an onboard radar scientist. Dodge passed away on March 3, 2023, and during a hurricane reconnaissance flight of Hurricane Milton, Dodge was dropped into the eye of the historic Category 5 hurricane, as reflected by the Vortex Data Message, which is a log of in-flight observations made by hurricane reconnaissance aircraft.

The Vortex Data Message captures important details about the hurricane, such as its location, wind speed, pressure, storm's center location, intensity, and other meteorological data. The below image shows the Vortex Data Message, and at the bottom reads a tribute to Dodge, "PETER DODGE HX SCI (1950-2023) 387TH PENNY." The tribute message was translated by Ars Technica, who wrote "HX SCI" means "hurricane scientist," and "387TH PENNY" refers to the term "penny," which means "hurricane penetration," or the act of entering a hurricane during a hurricane reconnaissance mission.

Hurricane Milton is closing in on Florida's west and as residents in the affected area prepare for its impact an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) passed safely by overhead and captured the monstrosity of a storm from space.

That NASA astronaut was Matthew Dominick, who took to his personal X account to share an incredible image and timelapse of Hurricane Milton as the International Space Station floated safely overhead at an altitude of approximately 250 miles. Both the image and the video showcase the immense scale of Milton and just how big of a hurricane Florida is about to get hit with.

It was only yesterday the National Weather Service Tampa Bay Area announced that if Milton kept its pace and reached landfall at its current intensity it would be the worst storm to hit the Tampa Bay area in the last 100 years. As for the footage from space, Dominick explained the ISS flew over Milton approximately 90 minutes before the image was uploaded.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk announced on X that communities hit by the devastating Hurricane Helene were able to get Starlink "without need for payment," or according to SpaceX's own statement, "Starlink is now free for 30 days".

However, it doesn't appear to be as simple as that as "free" comes with a few undisclosed caveats that were unfurled by The Register, which published a report detailing users attempting to sign up for Starlink in Helene disaster-stricken zones were being prompted for a $350 payment for the Starlink terminal. SpaceX discounted the terminals for users within the affected areas down to $299, which, after shipping and taxes, lands a Hurricane Helen victim attempting to sign up to Starlink with a bill approximating $400.

Starlink explains on its help page that qualifying Hurricane Helene victims will receive 30 days of free Starlink internet access, and after those 30 days, the user will be moved to a $120-a-month subscription. As for existing Starlink customers who wish to take advantage of the free 30 days of Starlink are required to lodge a support ticket with that will then be evaluated by Starlink and if qualifying, issue a waiver for an upcoming monthly payment.

SpaceX has taken to its website to post an update on when it plans to launch Starship again, the world's largest and most powerful rocket.

The Elon Musk-led company took to its website to state its targeting no earlier than October 13 for the fifth flight of Starship, and that after the success of Flight 4, where SpaceX conducted its first-ever booster soft landing in the Gulf of Mexico, the company is ready to take another step toward achieving full and rapid reusability. SpaceX explains Flight 5's primary objective will be attempting the "first ever return to launch site and catch of the Super Heavy booster."

SpaceX will be attempting to land and catch the 233-foot-tall booster on the Starbase launch pad with "chopstick" arms attached to the Mechazilla tower. While sounding like a sci-fi movie, SpaceX writes its engineers and various teams have "spent years planning and months testing". As for the Super Heavy booster going up in Flight 5, SpaceX says it has implemented new hardware and software into the booster to improve chances of success, and that infrastructure at Starbase has also been significantly improved.

The National Weather Service Tampa Bay X account has been firing off continuous warnings of the approaching Hurricane Milton, which is expected to cause a widespread loss of power across the west coast of Florida.

The National Hurricane Service has issued a warning for a Category 5 cyclone as the post states, "Milton Explosively Intensifies with 175-mph Winds" as it begins to approach on the west coast of Florida. Unfortunately, the wind speed increase has meant Milton has reached the top end of the hurricane intensity scale, with the hurricane jumping from Category 1 to Category 5 in just 24 hours due to "extreme rapid intensification". Kathryn Prociv, a meteorologist with NBC news, explained online. "Extreme RI defined as a 58mph+ increase in 24 hours. Milton has gone 90mph."

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) used weather satellites to capture the below footage of Milton. The footage showcases the increasing size of the storm over such a short duration. Officials estimate Milton will reach landfall on the west coast of Florida, specifically around the Tampa Bay region, on Wednesday. If it does reach landfall at its current speeds, it will be the worst storm to impact the Tampa area in over 100 years, according to the National Weather Service.

Mother nature truly is remarkable when you look closely enough, and a team of researchers has stumbled across another example of that as explained in a recently published study in the journal Current Biology.

The team was carrying out standard research on comb jellies, a group of more than 100 species of marine invertebrate creatures that inhabit seawaters around the world. The team discovered one of the test subjects was missing from its tank and then noticed the significant size increase of another test subject. The team further inspected the suspiciously large comb jelly and found it was made up of two individual jellies but didn't have any noticeable "separation between them."

The scientists began testing to see if they could replicate the previously unknown quality of the jellies. The team removed small sections from the bodies of 20 individual comb jellies and paired each of the pieces up. Out of the 20, nine pairs successfully fused. Researchers found the fusion process doesn't even take long either, as jellies were fully combined within 24 hours. More specifically, after just two hours some jellies bodies were completely fused and their nervous system demonstrated synchronicity.

SpaceX has launched the Hera mission on the back of a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on October 7.

The Hera mission is the European Space Agency's first planetary defense spacecraft that is on route to the crash site of NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) that proved a kinetic impactor, or high-speed spacecraft, can generate enough energy to alter the orbit of an asteroid. The success of the DART mission unlocked Earth's first planetary defense weapon against asteroids, and now the ESA is sending a spacecraft to go inspect the crash site in hopes of gathering more data to unravel some of the remaining mysteries surrounding the event.

Hera will be conducting deep-space technology experiments such as the deployment of two twin shoebox-sized "CubeSats" which will be tasked with flying closer to the asteroid and hovering in ultra-low gravity before eventually landing on the asteroid's surface. One of the CubeSats will be attempting "self-driving" navigation around the asteroids based on its visual input.

The time has finally come to switch off one of the instruments aboard one of the greatest ongoing scientific achievements of the human race.

NASA officially launched the Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1977, and since then, it has been sending valuable scientific data back to Earth from interstellar space or beyond our solar system. NASA has been receiving Voyager 2's scientific data for 47 years, which makes the spacecraft the oldest active space probe. So far, Voyager 2 has traveled 12.8 billion miles away from Earth, and throughout its journey, it used several scientific instruments to measure the giant planets in the 1980s.

After completing that mission NASA switched off those instruments as they weren't useful in Voyager 2's new mission which was and still is to measure interstellar space. Voyager 2 is powered by plutonium, and it decays every year. NASA explained that Voyager 2's power source loses about 4 watts of power each year and that NASA teams have been working to postpone the time when more instruments aboard Voyager 2 would need to be shut down to conserve power for the overall mission.

It was back in March this year that Arthur "Jack" Schubarth pleaded guilty to the breeding and selling of giant hybrid sheep, which authorities described as an "audacious scheme".

Initial reports stated Schubarth purchased parts of the Marco Polo argali sheep, which can weigh as much as 300 pounds. These parts were purchased from Kyrgyzstan and imported into the United States. However, Schubarth didn't declare the imported parts, and for good reason, as that particular species of sheep is protected both internationally and domestically by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

Schubarth extracted DNA samples from the parts and took them to a lab to create embryos, of which he received 165 in November 2016. Schubarth then created a pure genetic Marco Polo argali that he named "Montana Mountain King," which was milked for its semen to create herds of these hybrid sheep, which authorities said were then sold and hunted for trophies.

The closest known star to Earth is called Barnard's star, and it's located just six light years away, which is a very small distance in astronomical terms.

In the world of astronomy, six light years is the equivalent of Earth's neighbor, and now a team of researchers has discovered a planet orbiting our closest known star. That planet has been named Barnard b. According to a new study published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, the planet is considered a sub-Earth as its substantially less massive than Earth and Venus. Planets such as Mars and Mercury are considered to be sub-Earth planets.

As for Barnard b, the paper states the newly discovered planet orbits its star at an extremely close distance, with one year on the planet, or one full orbit, taking just three Earth days. Notably, Bernard b has a mass less than half of Venus, and with its distance of six light years away from Earth, Bernard's star is the second closest stellar system following Alpha Centauri's three-star group and the closest known star to Earth Proxima Centauri at 4.25 light years away.

SpaceX has been pouring millions of dollars into the development of Starship, the company's rocket that is slated to be the transportation method humans will use to touch down on the surface of Mars.

Starship is the world's largest and most powerful rocket and is shaping up to be the rocket that will finally realize the company's dream, sourced from Elon Musk, of making humans a multi-planetary species. With a few Starship launches under its belt SpaceX is full steam ahead to achieving its goal, but it appears its being blocked by US regulators more than necessary, at least according to SpaceX.

Despite its goals, we have now learned an approximate figure SpaceX has spent on Starship's development, with the company's Chief Operating Officer, Gwynne Shotwell, saying in front of the Texas Appropriations Committee for Texas Space Commission that SpaceX has invested $3 billion into developing Starship and its surrounding facilities. Shotwell also pointed out SpaceX is about to break through the four million mark for Starlink customers and that as the network grows, it plans to expand its facilities and put more Starlink satellites in orbit.

NASA has highlighted an interestingly shaped near-Earth asteroid that recently made a close approach to our planet, and during its fly-by, a powerful radar system analyzed it.

The space agency published the results of the analysis on the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) website, where it explained the oddly-shaped asteroid is officially called 2024 ON. According to the report, Deep Space Network's Goldstone Solar System Radar was used to capture the above images of the asteroid, which passed safely by Earth at a distance of 620,000 miles, or approximately 2.6 times the distance between the Moon and Earth. The asteroid was originally discovered on July 27, 2024, and despite 600,000 miles being an immense distance on Earth, it's actually quite close in astronomical terms.

600,000 miles falls within the range of 2024 ON, being categorized as a near-Earth object or an NEO. However, NASA and other researchers aren't interested in its proximity to Earth but instead in its shape, as 2024 ON resembles a peanut, with one lobe being at least 50% larger than the other. According to the images gathered by the radar, 2024 ON is approximately 1150 feet long with features on its surface that have a diameter of 12.3 feet, which are likely boulders. The images also show the asteroid rotates about 90% over the course of six hours.

NASA's Mars rover named Perseverance has been exploring the surface of the Red Planet since February 2021, and with such valuable scientific exploration taking place it unfortunately comes at a cost.

Nothing lasts forever. Not even the engineering achievements made to create NASA's Curiosity rover and place it on the surface of the Red Planet. Since 2012, the rover has been documenting its exploration of the Red Planet, capturing valuable scientific data in the form of images. Curiosity's main objective is to search for any evidence of ancient microbial life once living on Mars, and if proven correct, the discovery would truly be one of the most significant scientific achievements in human history as there would now be evidence of life existing outside of Earth.

NASA has taken to its blog to showcase the costs that come with this exploration, and seemingly, the price of traversing Mars' terrain is that you will eventually get holes in your tires. The rover has endured Mars' harsh environment for many years now, and of its six wheels, some are in better shape than others. NASA points out that the right-middle wheel is probably in the worst shape out of the bunch as it has a hole so big you can see the mechanisms inside the wheel.

NASA has taken to its blog to share a discovery by its Mars rover that has piqued the interest of researchers for its uniqueness.

The space agency writes its Mars rover named Perseverance, which has been exploring the Jezero Crater since 2021, snapped an image of a black-and-white striped rock. According to NASA, this is the first time a rock with a striped pattern such as this has been discovered on Mars, with the space agency writing the rock is "unlike any seen on Mars before."

NASA writes in its blog post that the rock is called "Freya Castle" which is a nod to the Grand Canyon for its appearance. Additionally, NASA explains that after further inspection with the rover's instruments it was determined Freya Castle measures around 7.87 inches across and has alternating black and white stripes. NASA writes researchers believe the rock as a texture unlike any seen in the Jezero Crater before, and even all of Mars.

Samsung could be working on a pet-centered version of Ballie, the prototype robot companion the company showcased at CES 2024.

The Korean tech giant filed a new patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and it includes 24 pages of details about the interesting robotic ball. The patent was published on September 19 and describes a spherical mobile robot that has a rotating mechanism that enables its movement, along with a storage space to hold smelly materials. Moreover, the storage space has a passage the robot can use to release the smell with the help of an integrated system that can direct airflow.

Additionally, the robot is equipped with an array of sensors that are designed to detect nearby objects and adjust the smell being released from the robot based on how close it is to the objects. Furthermore, the robot also monitors the weight of the smelly material and its acidity levels. Users can receive alerts from the robot when its time to replace its storage compartment.

A new report has outlined that in the not-so-distant future scientists may be able to translate the languages that are spoken between plants.

Researchers explained in a new report in The Conversation that plants use sophisticated communication systems to communicate and that these communication systems are sensitive to their environment. Researchers discovered that plants fire off electric signals through their root systems, and they believe these electrical signals are the language that needs to be deciphered into interpretable data.

According to the team, due to advancements in crop monitoring technologies, researchers may soon be able to translate these signals fully, granting a new insight into the living world we live in. One way researchers are learning more about these electrical signals is by placing a monitoring device on a plant and measuring the different levels of electrical signals sent through the plant at different stages of its life, particularly during events when the plant is experiencing outside influence.

In June NASA conducted an internal tabletop exercise where it gave a team 14 years to deflect a large asteroid that has a 72% chance of hitting Earth. NASA found it doesn't have clear decision-making processes for such a situation, there is a lack of global coordination infrastructure in place with other space agencies, no asteroid impact disaster management plans in place, and ultimately, a limited readiness to quickly implement needed space missions.

While just being a tabletop exercise and there luckily being no dangerous asteroid on the way, NASA underscored key holes in Earth's planetary defense system, holes that need to be filled with various systems and particularly responses to any potentially threatening asteroids. NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission was one such response that proved Earth is capable of changing the orbit, and therefore trajectory, of an asteroid. When the news was confirmed, Earth just unlocked a new planetary defense weapon.

Unfortunately, there are problems with this method of asteroid prevention, and they are the time it takes for a launch to take place and the costs behind it. Another method has been proposed by Nathan Moore, a postdoctoral researcher at New Mexico's Sandia National Laboratories, who proved on a small scale that a powerful X-ray pulse fired at the surface of two different replica asteroids can alter their speed.

SpaceX is continuing to battle with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and in a new set of events, the Elon Musk-led company has posted a letter outlining what it claims to be "incorrect statements" made by FAA administrator Michael Whitaker.

On September 17, the FAA issued a proposal for a fine of $633,009 for a set of safety violations it claims SpaceX carried out during rocket launches in 2023. The proposal claimed the regulator didn't approve of two requests from SpaceX for a June 2023 launch of a Falcon rocket. According to the regulator SpaceX proceeded with the launch anyway. This violation amounted to $350,000, and the remainder was for a third violation with the Falcon Heavy launch that occurred in July 2023.

According to the FAA, SpaceX used an unapproved fuel farm as the source of the rocket's propellant, adding $283,009 to the total. SpaceX has now responded to these claims, writing it "rejects any allegations from FAA that SpaceX violated any laws." More specifically, SpaceX said it is false that it has launched without a permit, and all the Falcon missions outlined by the FAA the company received did receive licenses for.

A US government regulatory body has issued a proposal to fine Elon Musk's SpaceX more than half a million dollars for safety violations.

The regulator is, unsurprisingly, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the regulatory body that investigates and ultimately grants licenses for flight within US airspace. The FAA has been investigating SpaceX after every launch of its Starship launch vehicle, the world's largest and most powerful rocket.

However, Starship isn't the only SpaceX rocket in the FAA's sights, as the regulator is stringent with making sure the Elon Musk-led company, and any other space-fairing company, is following all the licensing requirements issued to them. 

Neuralink has just received "breakthrough device" designation for its experimental BCI (brain-computer interface) implant that would restore vision to the blind.

Elon Musk's startup received the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) "breakthrough device" designation, which is given to particular medical devices that provide treatment or diagnosis of life-threatening conditions. It's aimed at speeding up the development and review of devices that are currently under development.

The new experimental device is known as "Blindsight" and will "enable even those who have lost both eyes and their optic nerve to see" said Elon.