Science, Space, Health & Robotics News - Page 144

All the latest Science, Space, Health & Robotics news with plenty of coverage on space launches, discoveries, rockets & plenty more - Page 144.

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First powered aircraft to operate on another world is at risk of dying

Jak Connor | May 10, 2022 2:04 AM CDT

NASA has taken to its blog to announce that there was a communications dropout between its Ingenuity helicopter and the Perseverance Mars rover.

First powered aircraft to operate on another world is at risk of dying

On NASA's website, the space agency states that the Mars helicopter named Ingenuity missed planned communications with the Perseverance rover. Ingenuity uses Perseverance as a base station to receive new commands from Earth. Alerted to the drop in communications, NASA began to perform tests to see what had gone wrong.

According to the space agency, Ingenuity failed to communicate with the rover on May 3, which was due to the helicopter entering a "low-power state" that NASA says may be due to the "seasonal increase in the amount of dust in the Martian atmosphere and lower temperatures as winter approaches". Essentially, the increase in martian dust is reducing the amount of sunlight Ingenuity's solar array can acquire, limiting the total amount of charge the helicopter can contain.

Continue reading: First powered aircraft to operate on another world is at risk of dying (full post)

NASA photographs a fresh crater on Mars that's only a couple years old

Jak Connor | May 9, 2022 2:05 AM CDT

Just like Earth, Mars gets smacked with a nice selection of meteors that vary in size and contents. Some of these space rocks make it to the surface.

NASA photographs a fresh crater on Mars that's only a couple years old

With images and data acquired by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), researchers believe they have discovered a new crater on the martian surface. The above image was taken by MRO on July 24, 2020, and when compared to an image of the same location taken in 2018, the crater isn't there, meaning an impact happened sometime between 2018 and 2020.

The MRO launched in 2005 and has been in operation since 2006, gathering data on Mars. Over this extensive period of data collection, researchers have been able to estimate that Mars gets smacked by about 200 meteors every year. The HiRISE camera used to snap these images has injected the image with "false" color that allows researchers to more easily distinguish between different materials and textures within the image. The crater would look very different if the human viewing it was standing next to it.

Continue reading: NASA photographs a fresh crater on Mars that's only a couple years old (full post)

Elon Musk dragged online for a 9-minute private jet flight

Jak Connor | May 9, 2022 1:32 AM CDT

Elon Musk has copped some criticism online over a short private jet trip that took him just 31 miles, or nine minutes of flight time.

Elon Musk dragged online for a 9-minute private jet flight

The outrage was sparked when the ElonJet Twitter bot account, which Musk has attempted to bribe to be shut down in the past over people using it to meet him at his landing locations, published a post that revealed Musk's jet took off from San Joe, California, US and landed in San Francisco. Many Twitter users were quick to point to the carbon emissions caused by Musk's private jet flight and his overall public message of reducing the reliance on fossil fuels.

Notably, text messages between Musk and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates revealed that Gates holds a $500 million short position against Tesla. Gates was attempting to meet with Musk to discuss climate philanthropy prospects. Musk replied by saying, "Sorry, but I cannot take your philanthropy on climate change seriously when you have a massive short position against Tesla, the company doing the most to solve climate change."

Continue reading: Elon Musk dragged online for a 9-minute private jet flight (full post)

YouTubers shoot bullets through eggs and film it at 1 million FPS

Jak Connor | May 9, 2022 12:04 AM CDT

Have you ever wondered what a bullet from a 9mm would look like flying through an egg? The Slow Motion Guys have captured that in staggering amounts of frames per second.

YouTubers shoot bullets through eggs and film it at 1 million FPS

In a new video released to The Slow Mo Guys YouTube channel, Gav and Dan revisit a video that was uploaded to the channel 11 years ago where Gav demonstrated the difference in frames rates by writing on the mugs and shooting at the respective numbers. The highest frame rate in that 11 year old video was 10,000, and is where the egg shooting video begins with the maximum recorded frame rate being 1 million frames per second (FPS).

The eggs are positioned in the same location and a 9mm bullet is fired. The slow motion camera records the impact and each level of frame rate showed revealed different aspects of the collision. At the higher frame rates the bullets wobble from piercing through the egg can be more clearly seen, and moving into the 100,000's of FPS smaller pieces of shell can be seen as well as the shadow from the shockwave of air.

Continue reading: YouTubers shoot bullets through eggs and film it at 1 million FPS (full post)

Canada will now prosecute those who commit crimes on the moon

Adam Hunt | May 8, 2022 6:43 AM CDT

Canada passed laws on April 28th, 2022, allowing crimes committed on the moon to be prosecuted.

Canada will now prosecute those who commit crimes on the moon

An amendment to Canada's Criminal Code to allow the change passed with members of parliament voting 181 to 144 in favor. The nation had already expanded its jurisdiction to include the International Space Station (ISS), allowing it to prosecute Canadian astronauts who committed crimes aboard it. Consequently, crimes committed on either the ISS or on the moon will be treated the same as those committed in Canada.

The amendment comes alongside increasing space flights year after year and ahead of NASA's crewed Artemis II to the moon, which will see astronauts return to the moon for the first time in over half a century, and that will include a Canadian astronaut on the journey.

Continue reading: Canada will now prosecute those who commit crimes on the moon (full post)

SpaceX president says humanity will be on Mars 'in this decade'

Adam Hunt | May 8, 2022 6:24 AM CDT

SpaceX's President and Chief Operating Officer (COO), Gwynne Shotwell, made the prediction on CNBC in a recent interview.

SpaceX president says humanity will be on Mars 'in this decade'

Shotwell believes that astronauts will land on the surface of Mars before the end of the 2020s, likely by taking SpaceX's Starship, which features heavily in the company's plans for Mars. Starship is currently committed to several moon missions once it becomes operational following its upcoming orbital flight test should it pass the Federal Aviation Administration's environmental assessment.

"We should put people on the surface of Mars within a decade. I think it will be in this decade, yes. People on the moon, sooner. I think we need to get a large delivery to the surface of Mars, and then people will start thinking harder about it. And then, I think within five or six years, people will see that that will be a real place to go," said Shotwell in the interview.

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New DARPA hypersonic missile prototype test flew 5x the speed of sound

Adam Hunt | May 8, 2022 4:11 AM CDT

The hypersonic missile prototype has been developed by Lockheed Martin for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

New DARPA hypersonic missile prototype test flew 5x the speed of sound

The prototype is being developed as part of DARPA's Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) program. Lockheed Martin's prototype's recent free flight test is the second such test conducted for the program. The first test was conducted in September, 2021, by Raytheon Technologies, according to a DARPA press release.

According to DARPA's latest press release, "air-breathing vehicles utilize air captured from the atmosphere to achieve sustained propulsion." Lockheed Martin's test saw the missile prototype reach and maintain a cruising speed of greater than Mach 5, or over five times the speed of sound, "for an extended period of time." It reached altitudes of over 65,000 feet (12.3 miles, 19.8 kilometers) and flew for more than 300 nautical miles (345 miles, 555.6 kilometers).

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Scientists have reversed signs of aging with fecal transplants

Adam Hunt | May 8, 2022 3:48 AM CDT

A study on the reversal of aging hallmarks titled "Fecal microbiota transfer between young and aged mice reverses hallmarks of the aging gut, eye, and brain" has been published in the journal Microbiome.

Scientists have reversed signs of aging with fecal transplants

Researchers transplanted fecal microbes from young mice into old mice and saw the reversal of key aging hallmarks in their guts, eyes, and brains. Conversely, transplanting fecal microbes from older mice into young mice accelerated these hallmarks, increasing inflammation in the brain and reducing the production of key proteins such as those required for vision.

"Our results demonstrate that the age-associated changes in the murine [mice] intestinal microbiota contribute to disrupted gut barrier integrity and systemic and tissue inflammation affecting the retina and the brain, but these changes can be reversed by replacement with young donor microbiota," the researchers wrote.

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Man who received a pig heart transplant dies with animal virus DNA

Jak Connor | May 7, 2022 12:32 AM CDT

In a new report from the New York Times, a man who received a pig heart transplant has died with traces of an animal virus.

Man who received a pig heart transplant dies with animal virus DNA

57-year-old David Bennett Sr lived for two months after receiving his genetically modified pig heart, and according to surgeons who performed the first-of-its-kind procedure, the man's body didn't reject the organ, nor was there any evidence to say that the Bennett developed an active infection with a virus following the completion of the transplant.

Bennett died on March 8, and according to Dr. Bartley Griffith of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, traces of a virus that is known to infect pigs was found in Bennett. Notably, Griffith says that the traces of animal virus may have impacted Bennett's condition, and contributed towards his sudden decline in health.

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Engineers build real life flying motorcycles for a specific purpose

Jak Connor | May 7, 2022 12:03 AM CDT

In a recent interview with David Mayman, the founder of the company behind the flying motorcycle, he explained why the new way of transportation has been created and the goal behind it.

Engineers build real life flying motorcycles for a specific purpose

Mayman sat down for an interview with Futurism, where he was asked several questions about the flying motorcycle named Speeder. Mayman explained that the Speeder isn't for the everyday driver, and isn't technically a flying motorcycle, as he believes the design has pivoted away from the traditional concept of a flying motorcycle. Notably, Mayman said that Speeder is primarily aimed at the emergency response and disaster relief, but that doesn't mean there won't be any recreational use.

The founder of JetPack Aviation explained that a Speeder could be used to provide emergency response relief to an area hit by a hurricane that has caused extreme damage to roads and trails. The Speeder would be able to fly over all of the damaged roads, even in 40-50 mph winds. Furthermore, the Speeder is capable of reaching 15,000 feet in altitude, but Mayman says that the only time that kind of altitude is reached is when the Speeder is already in a location with terrain that has a high altitude.

Continue reading: Engineers build real life flying motorcycles for a specific purpose (full post)