Science, Space, & Robotics - Page 127

With its recent comeback to the industry, Russia is ready to make sure it remains a dominant force in space tourism.

With the recent launch of and now safe arrival of Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa and his assistant to the International Space Station (ISS), Russia is back in business for space tourism. It was the country's first launch of tourists in 12 years.

Russia's space tourism ventures took a backseat in 2011 after NASA retired its space shuttles, choosing to purchase seats on Roscosmos flights to take astronauts to the ISS. These seats went for $90 million apiece, but with the emergence of SpaceX, NASA has turned to it to take astronauts to the ISS.

With recent successful back-to-back launches, SpaceX smashes a company record by even more than first projected.

The first of the flights was the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket at Vandenberg Space Force Base, taking place at 7:41:40 a.m. EST. The flight was initially scheduled to take place at 4:24 a.m. EST. The payload launched was 52 Starlink satellites and also set a record for the most flown Falcon 9 booster thus far at 11 flights and recoveries total. You can re-watch the launch here.

The second Falcon 9 flight launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 10:58:39 p.m. EST, on time for the scheduled 10:58 p.m. EST launch time. The payload for this mission was a Turksat 5B satellite, being delivered to an geostationary orbit. You can re-watch the launch here.

BLUETTI has just unveiled its next-gen Power Na+ battery packs that make truly amazing use of sodium-ion batteries, marking a big shift away from the LiFePO4 battery cells used in BLUETTI batteries.

The new BLUETTI Power Na+ see the company being the first in the world to debut sodium-ion batteries in a new product, after chemical lithium-ion batteries have been used across the planet since 1991. There's 1000x more sodium in the crust of the Earth than there is lithium, so BLUETTI is capitalizing on that fact.

BLUETTI already has its AC200P, EP500, and AC300 systems with batteries and solar for some truly off-grid living, but then the company announced the world's first sodium-ion solar generator -- the new NA300, with its new B480 battery pack -- which will look and feel like the previous EP500 Pro, but it's very different.

A new study has been accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal, exploring how black holes born during the Big Bang could make for an alternative model of the universe's growth.

A team of researchers proposes that "primordial black holes" could be the answer to the origin of both supermassive black holes and dark matter. Black holes that formed immediately following the Big Bang could have begun merging in the early universe, forming progressively more massive black holes from its inception.

Data from ESA's Gaia suggests there may also be very small black holes, too small to have formed from dying stars. The team suggests these small primordial black holes could be dark matter itself. This model of the universe suggests black holes permeating its entirety, and the potential for stars and solar systems to form around these clumps of dark matter.

SpaceX aims to break another company record before the year's end, with its fastest ever back-to-back Falcon 9 missions.

On December 18th, SpaceX will launch a Falcon 9 shuttling 52 Starlink satellites into orbit with a scheduled liftoff at 4:24 a.m. EST (09:24 UTC). The B1051 booster will be used, marking its eleventh space flight, and is SpaceX's most flown first-stage booster. One other booster has made it to ten flights, and two more have made it to nine flights.

Approximately 18 and a half hours after the Starlink mission, another Falcon 9 mission carrying a Turkish Turksat 5B geostationary communications satellite will fly, with its launch window opening at 10:58 p.m. EST Saturday (03:58 UTC Sunday). The booster for that mission will be the B1067, making its third space flight.

Researchers have shown a new experimental vaccine's success in eliminating aging cells in mice, prolonging their lives and helping reverse age-related disease.

Over the past decade, scientists have developed "senolytic therapies," drugs designed to clear senescent cells from the body. Senescent cells have stopped multiplying but haven't died and instead start accumulating. As we age, the immune system cannot clear these cells as efficiently.

Senescent cells can damage nearby healthy cells by releasing compounds that trigger inflammation. The build-up of senescent cells is associated with many age-related diseases, including cancer, Alzheimer's, and atherosclerosis. Dozens of drugs that have been developed thus far have entered human clinical trials.

After being forced to reschedule, NASA has confirmed the James Webb Space Telescope launch will now take place on December 24th, Christmas Eve.

Previously slated for December 18th, the launch was postponed due to a few issues. Initially, a clamp jolted the telescope during launch preparations, resulting in a four-day setback. A faulty communication link on the European Ariane rocket the telescope is flying aboard followed up this issue, which required another two days to fix.

After completing a final round of tests, officials from NASA and the ESA have officially signed off on Friday, December 24th, as the launch date. Lift-off is scheduled for 7:20 a.m. EST (12:20 p.m. UTC). If the launch is successful, we will all have to wait another month before the mission can be deemed successful, as the telescope takes on its final form to begin operation.

Following a decline in usage over the previous two years, a new report shows coal consumption is set to bounce back big time.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) reports an expected jump in coal-derived electricity generation by nine percent compared to last year. The IEA stresses the threat posed to a 2050 net-zero global carbon emissions target.

The United States and European Union increased coal use by about twenty percent each, India by twelve percent, and China (the world's largest consumer of coal) by nine percent. As economies recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, the energy demand exceeds that which low-carbon energy sources can provide.

A killer tornado that ripped through several US states has been photographed by NASA satellites, drawing a stark image of the destruction it caused.

On December 10, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee felt the intense power of a tornado that has now killed at least 70 people. The storm cell was tracked across the US, and reports indicate that it traveled for more than 250 miles, leaving behind a wake of destruction that has now been captured from space.

According to the National Weather Service (NWS), more than 100 warnings were issued the night of the tornado, a record number for any day in December. The image captured by NASA's Aqua satellite using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) showcases the tornado damage in Mayfield, Kentucky. Additionally, the NWS reported wind speed during the tornado was between 158 - 206 miles per hour.

NASA has taken to its YouTube channel to add a new video to its collection of "We Asked a NASA Scientist" series.

In this week's episode Mars Geologist Eva Scheller answers, "is there water on Mars?", and says that in short, "yes", but it really comes down to how water is defined. Scheller goes on to explain that water has one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms and that the water on Mars isn't like the water on Earth and comes in the form of ice. This is a mixture of CO2 and water, and it's found at Mars' poles and on the surface.

Additionally, Scheller says that water can also be trapped within rocks and that a variety of different missions by NASA have measured the contents. The last form of water that has yet to be found on Mars is liquid water, but there are theories that it could be present. Researchers suspect that dark streaks called "Recurring Slope Lineae" spotted in some hillsides could be caused by liquid water, but there are other explanations on the table as well. So, is there water on Mars? Yes, but not like on Earth.

An investigative filmmaker has appeared in an interview to discuss how the US government is reportedly hiding information on unidentified flying objects (UFO) from the public.

Jeremy Corbell appeared on "Fox News Primetime" following a showcase of the recent UFO sightings video obtained and released by TMZ. Corbell states that UFO sightings have increased from both the public and the military and that no one can confirm if the flying objects are extraterrestrial, but there is a universal concern for objects of unknown origin flying in restricted US airspace. Corbell added that at the moment, the US government doesn't know the intent of the objects, and that is of serious concern.

The investigative filmmaker says that the US military has confirmed that there has been an increase in UFO sightings, and as legislation is being pushed through, that is aimed at bringing more transparency to the topic. Corbell goes on to say that analysis of the data that has already been acquired suggests that some of the UFOs are trans-medium, meaning that they can travel in air, sea, and space. If you are watching the video of the interview for yourself, check out this link here.

A new species of millipede, Eumillipes persephone, was discovered in the Eastern Goldfields in Western Australia, and a new study has been published in Scientific Reports about it.

The millipede was found sixty meters underground by Paul Marek and colleagues, sporting a total of 1,306 legs. The name of the newly discovered species, Eumillipes persephone, derives from the Greek word eu- (true), the Latin words mille (thousand) and pes (foot), while 'Persephone' references the Greek goddess of the underworld.

Four E. persephone millipedes were found, each with bodies up to 0.95mm wide, 95.7mm long, and consisting of up to 330 segments. The previous record-holder for the animal with the most legs is likely a distant relative, named Illacme plenipes. This millipede had been found with up to 750 legs.

A new meta-analysis published in the American College of Clinical Pharmacology confirms MDMA's beneficial impact on patients with PTSD.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects roughly seven percent of people in the United States. Trauma-specific psychotherapy is the foundation of PTSD treatment, but this approach becomes ineffective over the long term for over half of the people afflicted.

The recent meta-analysis studies clinical trials conducted involving MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. Patients are administered a pharmaceutical-grade, carefully dosed amount of MDMA before undergoing a two to three-hour therapy session. Multiple therapy sessions without MDMA are also conducted before and after an assisted session.

New research has found that lightning activity decreased globally by a significant amount during the lockdowns of 2020 due to COVID-19.

Presented at the American Geophysical Union's (AGU) 2021 Fall Meeting in New Orleans, the research shows lightning activity decreased by eight percent during lockdowns resulting from the pandemic. Yakun Liu, a meteorological researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), attributes this to a decrease in air pollution during lockdowns.

Fewer pollutants being put into the atmosphere by daily life processes as they wind down during lockdowns means fewer chances for ice crystals to collect in storm clouds. Liu and other researchers believe the collisions of such crystals are one of the ways thunderheads generate the electrical charges that produce lightning.

The United Nations' World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has confirmed a new highest-ever temperature recorded in the Arctic region.

The temperature was recorded in the town of Verkhoyansk in Siberia in 2020, reaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius). The region's meteorological station measured this temperature at the peak of an extended heatwave during a summer where temperatures averaged up to 18 F (10 C) higher than usual. The UN WMO verified the record in a new report.

Verkhoyansk lies about 71 miles (115 kilometers) north of the Arctic Circle, the line of latitude 66.5 degrees north of the equator. The WMO cites the heatwave as a key factor fueling the recent wildfires that have ravaged Siberia, in addition to driving massive sea ice loss and helping to make 2020 one of the three warmest years recorded.

A new paper has shown that transitioning conferences online or into a semi-online environment can be a viable climate change mitigation strategy.

The new paper found professional conferences moved into a completely online setting reduced their carbon footprint by 94 percent. Shifting the conference to a hybrid model where no more than half of the conventioneers moved online reduced the footprint by 67 percent.

According to the paper, over 1.5 billion participants from roughly 180 countries traveled to attend conferences in 2017. Every ten years, the number of regular, international conventions with more than 50 people doubles. Over the next decade, the convention industry's market size is expected to grow at a rate of 11.2%.

Time Magazine recently awarded SpaceX and Telsa CEO Elon Musk Person of the Year, and during the interview, Musk dropped a rough timeline for when he thinks SpaceX will land on Mars.

During the interview, Musk was asked a wide range of questions that touched on a variety of different topics, ranging from cryptocurrency to his pursuit of Mars. Musk outlined why he backs Dogecoin over Bitcoin, while recognizing the positives and negatives of both assets. The Time article states that Musk's dream is to create a 100-person rocket that is capable of transporting humans from Earth to Mars and back by refueling using resources from the Red Planet.

Musk was asked what he thinks the timeline on that becoming a reality might be. Musk replied after a long pause, "I'll be surprised if we're not landing on Mars within five years." Musk has been a long promoter of interplanetary life, and the next great step for human civilization is colonizing another world. While it certainly would be a monumental milestone for all of humanity, Musk also argues that there is utility in colonizing another world - as Earth may not be around forever.

Researchers have discovered a new massive source of greenhouse gases contributing to the warming of the planet.

A new study published in Nature Communications details the discovery of an abundant type of permafrost called Yedoma. This permafrost is rich in organic material, and in the Northern Hemisphere, it covers more than a million square kilometers of land. Researchers looked at the Kolyma and Lena rivers in Siberia and found permafrost is melting along the river banks that were releasing between 10 and 100 times the amount of nitrous oxide (N2O) that typical permafrost thaw would.

The researchers discovered that as the soil melted and thawed out, the population of the N2O-producing microbes in the soil increased, while simultaneously, the population of the N2O-consuming microbes decreased. This process causes more nitrous oxide to be expelled. The researchers write in the study that the examples of excessive greenhouse gases along the rivers aren't limited to Siberia. Suggesting that there are likely other similar places in the world contributing to global warming.

Multiple individuals have spotted more than ten Unidentified Flying Objects in the night sky over New Jersey.

*The video above video contains graphic language*

The individual that captured the above footage posted the video online, which was then picked up by the UFO Sightings Daily YouTube channel. According to iHeartRadio, the video was filmed in Paterson, New Jersey, on December 10, and it showcases multiple bright objects flying in the night sky. These objects are seen traveling at extremely high speeds across the night sky, while also performing turns and maneuvers.

NASA recently achieved a milestone with its Parker Solar probe as it's the first spacecraft to have ever entered the Sun's atmosphere.

NASA announced the news via its blog and social channels, stating that the Parker Solar probe has passed the boundary that marks the edge of the Sun's atmosphere, which is known as the Alfven critical surface. Before the probe passed this boundary, researchers didn't know its exact location, but after the solar probe entered the Sun's atmosphere, NASA can estimate that the boundary is anywhere between 4.3 to 8.6 million miles away from the surface of the Sun.

The Parker Solar probe is flying through the Sun's upper atmosphere, and during its fly-by, it's taking samples of particles and performing readings of the magnetic field throughout the unexplored region. Additionally, video footage of the approach showcases the probe flying past structures called coronal streamers, which were only viewed from afar until now.