Science, Space, & Robotics - Page 114

A new study published in the journal Cell Reports describes the process.

Most living cells require vitamin B12 to function, including the bacterial cells found in your gut microbiome. Researchers from the University of California Riverside (UCR) have found that beneficial gut microbes can share the ability to acquire vitamin B12 with one another through bacterial sex, or bacterial conjugation.

Bacteroides were the beneficial gut bacteria used in this study, which reside in our large intestines. They break down complex carbohydrates and form a barrier that restricts access to other pathogens to our gut. Individual Bacteroides that do not have the genes to acquire and transport B12 were able to receive that gene from those that did via a sex pilus.

The megaflash occurred in the United States on April 29th, 2020.

The lightning flash spanned 768 kilometers (447.2 miles) across Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. The United Nation's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) noted that this distance is equivalent to that between New York City and Columbus, Ohio, or between London, England and Hamburg, Germany.

This flash breaks the previous world record set in southern Brazil on October 31st, 2018, by approximately 60 kilometers. Another world-record was also certified in the latest WMO statement for the longest duration flash. The flash that broke the previous record occurred over Uruguay and northern Argentina on June 18th, 2020, and lasted for 17.1 seconds, breaking the previous record by 0.37, which was also set in northern Argentina, on March 4th, 2019.

A study confirming the asteroid's existence has been published in the journal Nature Communications.

The asteroid is dubbed 2020 XL5 and is the second confirmed transient Earth Trojan asteroid. These asteroids are found orbiting the L4 or L5 Lagrangian points, highly gravitationally stable points in space. Newton's laws of gravity result in five of these points in the Earth-Sun system, where the gravitational forces acting on an object cancel out.

The asteroid is expected to stay at the L4 Lagrangian point for four thousand years. 2020 XL5 is estimated to be approximately 1.2 kilometers (0.75 miles) in diameter, compared to the first-identified Earth Trojan 2010 TK7, which has a diameter of ~380 meters. The shared orbit between the L4 point and Earth could allow spacecraft to visit the asteroid with a low energy budget.

NASA's Curiosity rover has been scouring the Martian surface since 2012.

The rover has detected a rich carbon signature associated with biological processes on Earth amongst samples collected from the Gale Crater. The samples were analyzed using the Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS) and Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instruments, but the detection doesn't directly point to any ancient life on Mars.

Curiosity collected twenty-four samples from five geologically diverse regions in the area of the Gale Crater, which were then heated in SAM's ovens to approximately 850 degrees Celsius (1562 degrees Fahrenheit). This released gases inside the samples, allowing the TLS to measure the carbon isotopes present in the samples. Half of the samples were found to contain a large amount of the carbon-12 isotope.

NASA has taken to its Perseverance Twitter account to post an image of a rock that was recently sampled by the Mars rover.

At the end of last month, NASA explained that its Mars rover named Perseverance was "constipated" with nasty martian pebbles causing numerous problems for collecting new samples. After some time, the Perseverance team decided it would perform rotational tests of the carousel to dislodge the rocks, and those rotational tests were a success. Additionally, the space agency also emptied the contents of Sample Tube 261.

Now that those hurdles have been overcome, Perseverance is back at the same location where the hurdles arose. As NASA writes in the above Twitter post, "this rock almost looked surprised that I was coming back!", referring to discarded contents of Sample Tube 261. Perseverance has successfully collected a sample from what could be one of the oldest rocks that the rover samples. For more information on this story, check out this link here.

NASA has taken to its blog to provide an update for the world's most powerful space telescope - the James Webb Space Telescope.

In a recent statement from the space agency, now that the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has arrived at its destination of Lagrange Point 2 (L2), a specific point in space that keeps the Earth in between the Sun and the telescope at all times, the months-long process of getting all of JWST's instruments up and running can begin.

NASA writes that the JWST team is currently preparing to turn off its heaters that have been keeping its extremely sensitive instruments nice and warm throughout its journey. JWST's Mid-Infrared Instrument has an operating temperature of -449 Fahrenheit, as its designed to observe the middle of the infrared spectrum. If an object is warm on JWST, it may interfere with the observations made by the telescope, hence the operating temperature being so low.

Officials reported that a big sunspot group erupted on January 30, causing a long-duration M1-class solar and a coronal mass ejection to be hurled towards Earth.

SpaceWeather.com reports that the eruption happened during the early hours of Saturday morning and caused a large explosion on the surface of the Sun. It should be noted that the M1-class solar flare is a medium-sized solar flare and isn't going to wipe out the human race. However, flares of this power can cause communications issues for satellites as well as radio blackouts on Earth.

The solar flare came from sunspot group AR2936, and the burst lasted four hours, hence the name "long-duration". As for the coronal mass ejection (CME) - charged particles ejected from the Sun's corona - the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predict that the blast will hit Earth on Wednesday, February 2, and may cause G2-class geomagnetic storms which are "low hazard". On a more positive note, the CME from the Sun could cause auroras to appear in the sky from the Arctic Circle to the northern United States.

A new study published in Nature Climate Change has modeled the future of floods in the United States.

Researchers have estimated that the annual cost of flood damage in the U.S. will increase by 26.4 percent by 2050. The average annual flood losses amount to about $32 billion and are estimated to increase to $40.6 billion in 2050, based on 2021 dollar values. Their research emphasizes that the brunt of this financial hit will fall on disadvantaged communities.

The researchers have warned these are "essentially locked in climatically," meaning even a dramatic reduction in emissions would likely not affect the flood projections. With growing populations and migration to areas more prone to flooding, they expect the average population exposed to floods annually will increase by more than 7 million people by 2050, a 97 percent increase from current levels.

The missile launched was the Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM).

North Korea conducted the launch on January 30th, and South Korean and Japanese officials estimated it reached a maximum altitude of about 1,240 miles (2,000 kilometers). It flew for roughly 30 minutes, flying over Japan and landing in the Pacific Ocean to the east as it completed an approximately 500 mile (800 kilometers) journey.

The test marks North Korea's biggest launch since November 2017, when it launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which reached a maximum altitude of around 2,800 miles (4,500 kilometers). The Hwasong-12 launch is the seventh missile test of the month for North Korea, with all previous launches using much smaller missiles.

A paper by the European Space Agency (ESA) has investigated the potential for hibernation in Mars-bound journeys.

Engineers have to account for about two years worth of food and water to keep an astronaut crew alive on a mission bound for Mars and back. Animals typically enter a state of torpor during hibernation, reducing their metabolic rate and conserving energy. With a 25% reduction in metabolic rate, engineers could reduce the size of a spacecraft carrying the crew and the number of supplies necessary considerably.

Soft-shell pods have been proposed to hibernate in that would be quiet, with dim lights, a temperature below 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit), and high humidity. Wearable sensors would measure the astronauts inside the pods, tracking their posture, temperature, and heart rate. The astronauts would not move much and wear clothing that avoids overheating.

A study recently published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences describes the new estimate.

More than a hundred scientists have used global forestry datasets from the Global Forest Biodiversity Initiative and TREECHANGE to estimate that there are approximately 73,724 tree species on Earth. This number is roughly 14% higher than the current number of known tree species in these datasets, which amounts to 64,100 documented species.

The researchers estimate that there are about 9,200 currently undiscovered species', roughly 40% of which they believe are found in South America. The undiscovered species' are likely rare, with small populations and restricted to relatively confined regions, making these trees particularly vulnerable to human disruptions such as deforestation or climate change.

A newly published study in the journal Matter describes the RNA pill.

A research team from MIT has developed a capsule containing RNA to administer vaccines, hoping to bypass the need for injections such vaccines usually require. They were able to deliver up to 150 micrograms of RNA into the stomach of pigs, an amount greater than the 30 to 100 micrograms of mRNA found in COVID-19 vaccines.

The capsule has been used previously to deliver solid drugs like insulin and liquid monoclonal antibodies into the stomach lining. To administer the nucleic acids found in RNA and DNA, the researchers paired them with protective nanoparticles and detected successful uptake of the RNA into the stomach cells.

Actor Tom Cruise has sat down with NASA astronaut Victor Glover to talk about the experiences of being an astronaut and what it's like to spend extended periods of time aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Cruise is interviewing Glover ahead of his scheduled time aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to film a movie. Glover was a part of the first operational crew mission to the ISS in November 2020 that used SpaceX's, now frequently used, Crew Dragon spacecraft. Cruise and Glover discussed what it's like to experience the g-forces created by the rocket launch, as well as what it's like to sleep aboard the floating laboratory.

Another topic discussed was the smell of the International Space Station, where Glover says that the ISS smells very much like a hospital, with it similarities being that it smells like a sterile, antiseptic, germ-free environment. Additionally, the NASA astronaut says that the smells are localized, but the module on the space station that houses all of the workout equipment as well as the bathroom smells like a "locker room".

China's space agency has released a stunning video of its first Mars probe orbiting the Red Planet in celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year.

The China National Space Administration has released the footage of the Tianwen-1 Mars orbiter making its journey around the Red Planet. The video is a selfie of the spacecraft and displays its body, engines, solar array as well as some of the surface of Mars making an appearance in the background.

After launching from China in July 2020 and arriving at Mars in February 2021, the Tianwen-1 probe has been observing the Red Planet for a whole year along with its lander and rover counterparts that are exploring the Martian surface.

The International Space Station (ISS) is an incredible vantage point to photograph the surface of the Earth, and some of the images are so beautiful that they could be hung on your wall.

The International Space Station orbits Earth at an altitude of 250 miles, providing a very high position for photography of the Earth's surface. The two images found above and below were recently snapped by European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer and showcase the Arabian Peninsula.

Matthias wrote on Twitter that he wonders what these shapes and lines in the desert are, to which people replied, on the above image, saying the black line is the border between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The image below showcases the stark red sands of the Saudi Arabian desert that Digital Trends reports are apart of the ad-Dahna desert that is located 200 miles northwest of the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh.

A team of researchers have found evidence for a solar storm occurring 10,000 years ago during one of the "quiet" phases of the Sun.

The new study was published in the journal Nature Communications and involves an analysis of ice cores from Greenland and the Antarctic. Researchers explain that the Sun goes through a solar cycle that ranges 11-years, and at the beginning and end of the solar cycle, the Sun is at what is called its "solar minimum". During the middle of the cycle, the Sun is at its "solar maximum". Throughout the solar minimum, the Sun isn't very active, meaning the frequency of energy the Sun emits is reduced compared to the time frame of the solar maximum.

The energy emitted from the Sun can impact Earth and cause geomagnetic or solar storms in Earth's upper atmosphere. These storms can be dangerous for astronauts on missions outside of Earth's protective magnetic field, cause communication problems with satellites, and even disrupt electricity grids across the planet. The energetic particles colliding with Earth's atmosphere produce radioactive isotopes called beryllium-10 and chlorine-36.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk joked about watching people horde toilet paper during the COVID-19 pandemic throughout Tesla's Q4 earnings call.

The topic of hoarding toilet paper was brought up by Musk, who compared the global micro-chip shortage to the toilet paper shortages most people were seeing in their local areas across the United States and other locations around the world. Musk's comparison is between individuals hoarding toilet paper and companies over-ordering micro-chips, which he expects to become less and less of a problem as more fabrication plants are constructed.

It seems that Musk's comparison between toilet paper hoarding and chips makes sense if you are purely considering supply chain problems. Panic-buying equals supply shortages, which then equals scarcity of a product, which then equals more panic buying.

An exoplanet around 322 light-years from Earth orbits one of the hottest stars in the universe, and while it certainly doesn't harbor any life, Earth can still relate to it.

The exoplanet is WASP-189b, and it orbits one of the hottest stars in the universe, HD 133112, at a distance of twenty times closer than Earth is to the Sun. Additionally, during the daytime, WASP-189b is estimated to reach temperatures of 5,791 degrees Fahrenheit. Moreover, the planet is comprised of gas that is estimated to be around 1.5 times the size of Jupiter.

So, how can Earth relate to a scorching hot gas planet hundreds of light-years away? In a new study published in the journal Nature Astronomy, a team of scientists found that WASP-189b may have a more complex atmosphere than previously thought as researchers measured the starlight passing through the gas giant and found unique chemical signatures. These chemical signatures indicated that WASP-189b might have atmospheric layers similar to Earth (troposphere, stratosphere, etc.)

NASA has previously stated that there are currently no dangerous asteroids on their way to impact Earth, but what would happen if one did hit?

It should be noted that asteroids impact Earth regularly, but due to their minimal diameter, they usually burn up in Earth's atmosphere before making it to the surface. Not many asteroids make it to the surface, but if one did and it was large enough, the effects it could cause may be felt across the entire planet. An example of this is the asteroid that finished off the dinosaurs, which is estimated to have been 7.5 miles in diameter and traveling 27,000 mph.

Britt Scharringhausen, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at Beloit College, spoke to Inverse about this topic and said we would experience fires, shockwaves, earthquakes, acid rain, blocking out of the Sun, and a winter that would last around two years. Scharringhausen explained that not all life on Earth would perish if an impact of this scale were to occur, and humans very well could be one of the surviving species.

An analytics firm has claimed that China has displayed an alarming leap in space-based technologies as the firm watched a Chinese satellite pull another satellite from orbit.

In an interview with Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, Vice chief of space operations for the U.S. Space Force, General Thompson predicts that China is a "tremendous threat" when it comes to space and that it could become the "leader in space" by the end of the decade. Gen. Thompson goes on to say that the U.S. needs to "adapt its approach" in order to keep up with and eventually outpace China's space development efforts.

The most recent example of China's space efforts is the Chinese satellite Shijian-21 (SJ-21), performing a "large maneuver" that saw the satellite disappear from its regular position and reappear close to an out-of-commission BeiDou Navigation System satellite. Reports indicate that SJ-21 then latched onto the dead BeiDou satellite and pushed it out into "graveyard orbit", a location in space where objects are less likely to cause any problems for satellites that are still functioning.