Science, Space, & Robotics - Page 4
The latest and most important Science, Space, & Robotics news - Page 4.
NASA astronaut shares incredible video of SpaceX Dragon capsule returning to Earth
SpaceX's Dragon capsule was recently undocked from the International Space Station (ISS), and the moment was captured by a NASA astronaut who was situated at a peculiar angle.
The Dragon capsule undocking from the International Space Station is simply business as usual for both NASA and SpaceX, with the recent footage capturing the 31st commercial resupply the company has performed for NASA. The launch to the ISS from SpaceX involved carrying 2,700 kilograms (5,952 lb) of supplies for the crew aboard the floating laboratory, along with experiments and other various miscellaneous items that are useful in zero gravity.
As for the undocking video, the Dragon capsule was carrying all of the "spoils from our research," according to NASA astronaut Don Pettit, who posted the video to his personal X account. The time-lapse showcases an incredible angle of the Dragon capsule departing the ISS, showcasing the trajectory of its journey back down to Earth, where it splashdowned off the coast of Florida on Tuesday, December 17.
Elon Musk talks to TSMC boss, wants a (huge) stable supply of chips for Tesla's Optimus robots
TSMC chairman C.C. Wei has said that he talked with the world's richest man -- SpaceX, Tesla, and xAI boss Elon Musk -- and that Elon said the future was robots, not cars, and that his biggest concern was the stable supply of chips for the Optimus robots.
The TSMC boss was at Taiwan's 12th National Science and Technology Conference, where he talked to Elon, with Wei promising that TSMC could deliver as long as he is willing to pay. Wei told conference attendees that multi-purpose robots are the AI wave of the future, and that's it a huge opportunity for Taiwan, because making them requires precision, joining the worlds of semiconductor technology with software.
Wei also said that drones, energy conservation, reducing carbon emissions and natural resource management are also important key parts for Taiwan and its continued AI efforts. Wei also pointed out that Taiwan has excellent design companies as well as chip manufacturing and packaging + testing plans, as well as advanced semiconductors and precision machinery.
US government accused of hiding truth about mysterious drones in fear of public's reaction
A US senator has laid the blame at the feet of the US government and its fear over the public's reaction to the truth about the mysterious drones emerging in the skies over New Jersey.
Sen. Jon Bramnick spoke to NewsNation on Saturday and called upon the Department of Defence to "come clean with the American public" about what is really happening over New Jersey. The senator goes on to say the FBI assuring the American public they have obtained no evidence these drones are dangerous doesn't reassure the average American citizen who is seeing them from their backyard.
The drones began popping up over New Jersey and New York on November 18 but reached a boiling point on Saturday when New York Governor Kathleen Hochul announced, "This has gone too far," and requested federal authorities to authorize local police departments to shoot down drones. Senator Bramnick insinuated the US government is behind the drones, stating the US government is afraid of how the American public would react if it learned what the drones were really doing.
NASA unveils the first aircraft accident investigation on another world
It was in January this year that NASA announced its helicopter living on the surface of Mars sadly died after a crash landing on its 72nd flight.
The helicopter named Ingenuity arrived on the Red Planet in February 2021 as an engineering experiment to see if flight in Mars' extremely thin atmosphere was possible. Ingenuity became the first aircraft to conduct a powered and controlled extra-terrestrial flight, solidying its name in the space exploration history books. Ingenuity went on to serve NASA's Perseverance rover as a forward scout.
NASA sent Ingenuity ahead of Perseverance, and with the helicopter's cameras, NASA was able to plot a path of least resistance for the rover, along with evaluating any upcoming valuable scientific prospects. However, Ingenuity crashed on its 72nd flight on January 18, 2024, which resulted in its rotor blades sustaining critical damage preventing flight. Ingenuity's team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) said that Ingenuity crashed due to its navigation systems having too little information to make accurate decisions. The team attributes this to the monotone color of the Martian surface.
NASA discovers seven objects that look like asteroids but act like comets
NASA has taken to its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) blog to announce the official discovery of seven strange celestial objects, with the findings being published on Monday, December 9, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
These celestial objects are known as "dark comets," which are astronomical objects that look like asteroids but strangely move through space like a comet. These odd objects were first discovered less than two years, but according to NASA the first inkling of dark comets was a March 2016 study that found an asteroid seemingly randomly deviated from its course, changing its orbit.
NASA writes the behavior of dark comets could explain the 2016 study documentation, as the lead author of the December 9 study, Davide Farnocchia of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, explained, "When you see that kind of perturbation on a celestial object, it usually means it's a comet, with volatile material outgassing from its surface giving it a little thrust." However, when researchers looked through instruments, the object named 2003 RM appeared as an asteroid, just a single light dot on the display. By comparison, a comet typically has a long tail that is depicted as a thinning streak from a center point of light.
Google's new breakthrough quantum computing chip says 'we live in a multiverse'
Quantum computing, much like the acronym AI (artificial intelligence), has been caught in the lexicon as a piece of technology we will much more widely integrate into society sometime in the future. Today, that future just took a much bigger than anticipated step closer to the present, as Google has unveiled "Willow," the company's most advanced quantum processor.
Quantum computing has been around since the 1990s, and engineers, physicists, and scientists alike have been battling one big but tiny problem with implementing the technology: the number of errors it generates. Firstly, quantum computing is completely different than classical computers, which conduct calculations based on whether a bit is a 0 or a 1. However, quantum computing changes things, as it uses tiny pieces of information called qubits, or quantum bits, which can be on, off, or both.
Moreover, quantum computing also introduces quantum entanglement, an observable phenomenon that connects two particles together, synchronizing their states. The quantum entangled particles aren't restricted in distance, as their connection can stretch as far as the other side of the universe. But what does that all have to do with computing? Quantum computers are designed to exploit the mysteries of quantum mechanics, the study of how physical matter exhibits the properties of both particles and waves, but there are a few problems that need to be worked out first.
NASA confirms cracked heatshield in Orion test won't kill the astronauts going to the Moon
NASA has wrapped up a two-year-long investigation into the cracked heatshield on the Artemis I Orion module that landed back on Earth after being sent on a journey around the Moon.
The space agency took to its website to announce the re-entry method of the Orion module during the Artemis I mission was the cause of the cracks. The re-entry method, known as a skip guidance technique, entails the spacecraft "skipping" across the atmospheric layers, analogous to how a thrown stone skips across the surface of water. NASA wrote that Orion dipped into the upper atmosphere and used atmospheric drag to reduce its speed. The spacecraft then initiated aerodynamic lift to skip the capsule back out of the atmosphere, then it re-entered for its final descent into parachutes and splashdown.
After performing more than 100 tests, NASA determined that between skips, Orion's heat shield didn't allow enough of the gasses generated inside a material called Avcoat to escape. This caused some of the material to crack and break off from the heat shield. Avcoat is designed to erode away from the heat shield as the module descends through the atmosphere, increasing in temperature due to friction.
NASA sets colossal 'spiderwebs' on surface of Mars as next target for famed rover
NASA has selected giant Martian "spiderwebs" as the next target for the famed Mars rover named Curiosity, which will be traveling to a location known as "boxwork".
NASA has taken to its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) blog to announce that it will be sending the Mars rover named Curiosity on the next leg of its journey across the plains of the Red Planet. The journey will take Curiosity approximately a month, and the rover will be heading to a location known as "boxwork," which is a set of weblike patterns on the surface of Mars.
These weblike patterns stretch for miles, and Curiosity will soon be departing its current location in the Gediz Vallis, with the rover signing off in the area with a 360-degree panoramic image. Boxwork is a patch of zigzagging rocks, or boxwork deposits, and NASA plans to send Curiosity there to investigate the location for any signs of ancient microbial life, along with documenting the area so NASA researchers can attempt to understand how the land formation came to be. Notably, boxwork deposits aren't exclusive to Mars, as the geological formation can be found on Earth in caves.
BofA expects Tesla to have 1000 of its Optimus robots on factory floors by the end of 2025
Telsa could have 1000+ of its advanced Optimus robots on factory floors by the end of 2025 according to Wall Street analysts.
Bank of America analyst John Murphy has said that the "Optimus is real and development is poised to accelerate. Optimus is currently used by TSLA to sort 4680 cells with no intervention. TSLA is testing Optimus in various use cases (i.e., catching a tennis ball) to refine the robot and determine a final design".
Tesla plans to have 1000 of its Optimus robots by the end of 2025, most of them operating inside of its plant, with more robots in use the training will accelerate. Optimus makes up just a single-digit percentage of Tesla's compute, but BofA expects to see the resources made available to Optimus will grow as the "robotaxi technology matures".
Elon Musk says the first Starlink satellite direct-to-cell phone constellation is now complete
SpaceX has just launched 20 Starlink satellites with its recent Falcon 9 launch, with the first Starlink satellite direct-to-cell (DTC) phone constellation now complete.
In a new post on X, Tesla and SpaceX boss Elon Musk said that the "first Starlink satellite direct to cell phone constellation is now complete. This will enable unmodified cellphones to have Internet connectivity in remote areas. Bandwidth per beam is only ~10Mb, but future constellations will be much more capable".
The official SpaceX account posted on X, announcing that "Falcon 9 launches 20 Starlink satellites, completing the first orbital shell of our Direct to Cell constellation".