Science, Space, & Robotics - Page 40

A new collaboration between OWO Haptic Gaming System and Ubisoft has spawned a full-body suit that enables players to feel in-game experiences.

In what seems like its straight out of Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One, Ubisoft has announced that Assassin's Creed Mirage fans will have the option of picking up a special edition of the coming game that will include an OWO Haptic Gaming Suit. Gamers that pick up this edition of Assassin's Creed Mirage will be able to feel several in-game experiences such as impacts, parkour, attacks, and more.

The "sensations" page located on the OWO Game website states the body suit has more than 30 different possible sensations. Notably, gamers will be able to feel the impact of axes, daggers, gunshots, gunshot exit wounds, light sword attacks, insect bites, recoil, collision, stress, and the wind while the in-game character is freefalling.

A new study published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society suggests the universe could be much older than we think it is.

Previous estimations of the universe's age were 13.7 billion years, but according to a new study from researchers, who created a new model to measure the age of reality as we know it, suggest that the true age of the universe is 26.7 billion years old. Notably, astronomers for years have calculated the age of the universe by measuring the light from distant stars and rewinding time all the way back to the moment of the Big Bang.

However, stars such as Methuselah break this theory as the star is older than the universe itself. Observations made by the James Webb Space Telescope revealed galaxies existed just 300 million years after the Big Bang, but these galaxies appear to have a level of maturity the same as galaxies with billions of years of cosmic evolution. This doesn't quite make sense with the traditional model of the universe's age.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has taken to its website to share an image of a "cosmic monster" lurking out in deep space.

NASA and the ESA's Hubble Space Telescope has photographed a galaxy cluster called eMACS J1353.7+4329, which is located eight billion light years away from Earth within the constellation Canes Venatici.

According to the ESA blog post highlighting the photograph, eMACS J1353.7+4329 is a "cosmic monster in the making" as it consists of two elliptical galaxy clusters that are on the verge of colliding together to form one super galaxy cluster.

Rock samples acquired by Perseverance, which is stationed in the Jezero Crater, have been analyzed, and the results indicate organic matter is present.

According to astrobiologist Sunanda Sharma of Caltech, who led the research and spoke to ScienceAlert, the Jezero Crater samples acquired by Perseverance indicate evidence of hydrocarbon molecules in various rock formations, leading researchers to suspect that organic matter may be widespread across the planet and not localized in specific locations around Mars. These building blocks of life were detected in different abundances along with different types of molecules.

It should be noted that one of Perseverance's main objectives is to look for signs of past life on Mars, and while carbon chemistry is certainly an interesting find, it doesn't confirm that life was once on the Red Planet. More data needs to be acquired. However, carbon is essential for life to exist, and as pointed out by ScienceAlert, if you want to assess a location's habitability looking for carbon-containing molecules is a great place to start.

NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) are celebrating one year of observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the world's most powerful space telescope.

Webb has been scouring the universe with its extremely powerful infrared instruments, piercing through thick clouds of dust to see objects beyond what humans were initially capable. Webb is truly unfolding the universe one observation at a time, and NASA has taken to its blog to celebrate its numerous achievements, such as spotting the oldest supermassive black hole discovered so far, spying on sand storms on an exoplanet, and analyzing the atmosphere of numerous exoplanets in an effort to uncover the building blocks of life.

The above image was taken by the JWST, and it showcases a star-forming region in the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex located approximately 390 light years away from Earth within the constellation Ophiuchus. Webb's image showcases approximately 50 young stars that all have a similar mass to the Sun, or smaller. NASA explains that the darkest areas of the image contain the densest amount of dust are "thick dust cocoons still-forming protostars".

In what seems to be one of the most alarming geologic phenomena, a sinkhole in Florida has reopened for the third time in 10 years.

Reports indicate that a sinkhole in Seffner, Florida has reopened for the third time in 10 years, sparking major concern from residents within the area. Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, along with County engineers and Code Enforcement officials, were sent to the property where the sinkhole reopened on Monday, and according to officials, the sinkhole measures 12 feet by 12 feet and has an unknown depth.

Notably, this same sinkhole swallowed Jeffery Bush, who at the time was asleep in his bedroom when it opened up for the first time. Furthermore, officials at the time determined that the ground around Bush's property was dangerously unstable, resulting in Bush's home and two neighboring homes being demolished.

A group of robots that were presented at the AI for Good conference in Geneva were interviewed by human press, in what Reuters reports as the "world's first human-robot press conference".

These nine robots were asked a series of questions by various reporters, who were attempting to probe the AI-powered machines about how they think they will integrate into the world. Many reporters asked questions about how AI-powered humanoid machines will impact jobs, to which Grace, a medical robot dressed in a blue nurse's uniform, replied, "I will be working alongside humans to provide assistance and support and will not be replacing any existing jobs."

Grace's creator, Ben Goertzel from SingularityNET, chimed in and said, "You sure about that, Grace?" and Grace replied, "Yes, I am sure," sparking a room of nervous laughter. Another robot that wore overalls recommended that there needs to be "urgent discussion" on AI and recommended that "we should be cautious about the future development of AI". Some journalists asked the robots if they would ever rebel against their creators, Ameca's response can be found below.

NASA has released a new video that showcases a 3D visualization of flying past all of the galaxies the James Webb Space Telescope has observed in a specific region of space.

NASA has announced the release of this video on the Webb Telescope website, as well as its social media channels, with the space agency explaining that the data used to create the visualization was obtained through the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science Survey, or CEERS Survey. The blog post states that the video represents Webb's exploration of the region of space called the Extended Groth Strip.

This specific region of space contains thousands of galaxies and, as shown in the video, ends on Maisie's Galaxy, one of the oldest galaxies ever discovered and a prime example of what Webb's infrared instruments can achieve. Maisie's Galaxy is 13.4 billion light years away from Earth, and according to NASA, it formed approximately 390 million years after the Big Bang. NASA notes that every second of the above and below gifs represents seeing 200 million years into the past.

A team led by Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb has claimed they may have found fragments of alien technology. These pieces were from a meteor that landed in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Papa New Guinea.

The Harvard team went on an expedition to the estimated crash site of the meteor that entered Earth's atmosphere in January 2014, and ran a magnetic sheet over the seafloor, gathering these fragments.

Loeb says during the CBS interview that the meteor was moving "too fast" to have come from within our solar system, meaning it's an "interstellar object", an object from out of the solar system. Making this the first time humans have put their hands-on an object that has come from outside the solar system.

Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb, head of the Galileo Project, an initiative dedicated to conducting a systematic scientific search for evidence of alien life and extraterrestrial artifacts, has announced the team has found something.

Loeb has appeared on multiple news channels announcing that his recent expedition to the crash site of a meteor that entered Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean in 2014 was a success, as the team managed to recover 50 tiny spherical fragments of unknown origin. Loeb's team investigated a January 2014 fireball that the US Space Command confirmed with 99.99% percent accuracy came from outside the solar system.

The Harvard astrophysicist took a magnetic sled and scoured the sea floor in a 10-kilometer radius, which is approximately the size of Boston, and discovered, "We found ten spherules. These are almost perfect spheres, or metallic marbles. When you look at them through a microscope, they look very distinct from the background," Loeb explained. "They have colors of gold, blue, brown, and some of them resemble a miniature of the Earth."

NASA's humanoid robot named Valkyrie is going to be tested in Western Australia before its sent off to assist astronauts in space.

NASA has taken to its blog to announce that Valkyrie is heading to Woodside Energy, a Perth-based company that has entered into an agreement with NASA that stipulates the collaboration is "reimbursable", meaning Woodside Energy will pay for all of NASA's expenses and in return Woodside Energy will get to test the robot, collect relevant data and contribute to NASA's effort of developing "remote mobile dexterous manipulation capabilities" for taking care of uncrewed facilities.

NASA explains in its blog post that with the data Woodside Energy will be able to provide, engineers will be able to progress development on remotely operated robots that will eventually be on the lunar and Martian surface. These robots would enable constant progress to be achieved on both extraterrestrial surfaces from the safety of Earth. Valkyrie runs on two Intel Core i7 processors and a 1.9kWg battery, and will be working as an oil rig attendant.

An example of galactic evolution has been photographed by the world's most powerful space telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

Introducing NGC 3256, a seemingly normal-looking spiral galaxy located approximately 131 million light years away from Earth within the constellation Vela. NASA and the European Space Agency's JWST has had its extremely powerful instruments pointed at NGC 3256, revealing more of the galaxy's violent past that contained a tragic but inevitable collision that occurred approximately 500 million years ago.

The spiral galaxy still bears the markers of that violent cosmic event, such as the galaxy's long tendril arms, and the young stars that were created as a result of the collision. Webb astronomers explained that Webb's images revealed how NGC 3256 was created in impressive detail, as the brightest portions of the image indicate luminous bursts of star formation that took place as the merger was taking place. These young stars are easily detectable by Webb's instruments as they shine brightly at infrared wavelengths.

A newly published paper details the discovery of what appears to be a large granite rock formation under the surface of the moon, but on the side we never see called the dark side of the moon.

The new study was published in the journal Nature and looked into a 30-mile-wide rock formation located that researchers believe is linked to ancient volcanoes that erupted billions of years ago. Researchers behind the study pointed out that any large bodies of granite discovered on Earth can be traced to a selection of volcanoes that have erupted and cooled.

Co-author of the paper, Matthew Siegler, explained that subsurface igneous rock deposits that are produced by cooled magma "are much bigger than the volcanoes they feed on the surface".

NASA has announced that its James Webb Space Telescope, the world's most powerful space telescope, has identified a supermassive black hole that existed just over 570 million years after the Big Bang, making it the most supermassive distant black hole discovered so far.

The previous record holder for the most distant supermassive black hole was a black hole detected in 2021 that measured 670 million years after the Big Bang. NASA explains on its blog post found on its website that this new record breaker identified as CEERS 1019 has also broken the record for the smallest supermassive black hole ever discovered in the early universe.

NASA writes that CEERS 1019 is relatively small compared to other supermassive black holes, clocking with 9 million solar masses, or 9 million times the mass of the Sun, which is tiny compared to other supermassive black holes discovered in the same era that typically have 1 billion solar masses.

NASA has announced that it's finally received a phone call from a helicopter that's currently stationed on another planet.

That helicopter is none other than Ingenuity, NASA's technology demonstration that arrived on the surface of Mars in February 2021 alongside the space agency's rover Perseverance. Ingenuity is the first human-made object that has taken flight on the surface of another planet, and since its first flight, it has been serving as a forward scout for Perseverance by taking photographs of the upcoming terrain, enabling NASA to map an efficient path for the rover.

However, NASA lost contact with Ingenuity after its 52nd flight, which occurred on April 26. While the flight was a success, NASA mission control wasn't able to communicate with the helicopter, with teams suspecting the communications dropout could be attributed to a Martian hill that stands between the helicopter and Perseverance. NASA's rover acts as a communications relay between NASA and Ingenuity, and on June 28, when Perseverance reached the summit of the hill, communications were finally re-established.

Meteorological authorities have warned that China is expected to be battered by multiple natural disasters through the month of July.

According to meteorologists, China is about to be smacked with "multiple natural disasters" in the month of July, following officials issuing a warning to the population on Tuesday about potential rain-triggered disasters, according to the Xinhua news agency. The Xinhua news agency warned of "multiple natural disasters in July, including floods, severe convection weather, typhoons, and high temperatures".

Reports indicate that more than 400 emergency personnel have been sent to inspect the damage around affected areas. Furthermore, Chinese publications reported on Tuesday a railway bridge on the outskirts of southwestern metropolis Chongqing had collapsed after it was "damaged by the impact of mountain torrents". More than 460,000 people have been affected by the downpours, and 85,000 people have had to evacuate from their homes.

NASA has confirmed that only a few days ago, the Sun released a solar flare so powerful that its radiation could have reached Earth's surface.

The space agency, along with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), confirmed on Sunday, July 2, the Sun released an X-class solar flare, which can be traced back to a sunspot known as AR3354 bursting. Notably, this sunspot is approximately seven times larger than the Earth, and when it burst, it released the strongest type of solar flare, smacking Earth with ionized radiation that resulted in a 30-minute radio black over western parts of the United States and Pacific Ocean.

The flare was between the 10th and 14th biggest flare of this year's solar cycle, solar cycle 25, according to Solar physicist Keith Strong, who took to Twitter with the information. NASA's official Sun & Space Twitter account shared a video of the sunspot bursting, explaining, "Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground."

Scientists from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA are observing the Sun closely as it reaches its solar maximum.

New reports indicate that the Sun has broken a record that was set in 2002, and that record is for the most sunspots produced in a single month. Researchers have announced that the Sun produced more than 160 sunspots in June, the highest number of sunspots produced in a single month in 21 years. The Sun is currently going through its 25th solar cycle, and according to reports, researchers estimate the solar maximum, the period of the cycle where the Sun has the most sunspots, will arrive in a year's time.

Why is this important? Sunspots have the potential to release solar flares, which can hit Earth and impact critical infrastructure such as satellite communications, GPS, radio communications, and even electrical grids. The strong magnetic fields produced by these flares can cause satellite operators to lose track of their satellites, which could potentially lead to a catastrophic domino effect of space junk.

NASA's Perseverance rover has been roaming the surface of the Red Planet since February 2021, and it has recently discovered a strange rock that's causing scientists to scratch their heads.

NASA's Mars rover has been exploring the Jezero Crater since it landed on the Red Planet, with the primary mission of the rover being to obtain a multitude of Martian samples that will then be transported back to Earth for further analysis. NASA hopes that Perseverance will be able to discover evidence, or a presence of ancient microbial life, possibly within the dried-up deltas all around the 28-mile-wide Jezero Crater.

Perseverance secured several samples throughout its travels, while also snapping as many pictures as it can of the surrounding Martian landscape. One of the pictures that has attracted the attention of not only the general public but also scientists from around the world is the image of a rock that appears to have a vacant circle at its center, earning it its "doughnut" name. The picture was captured with Perseverance's SuperCam, which identified that the rock was 324 feet away from the rover.

Before NASA puts humans on the surface of Mars, the space agency wants to test how humans would cope living in a simulated version of the Mars surface for a year.

Four individuals have been selected to undertake the adventure of being locked in a Mars simulation for 378 days, and throughout this time, the participants will be learning how to live, work together and cope with all of the issues that the Martian surface will present. The participants will be inducted into a strict workout routine, have numerous duties/responsibilities, perform simulated spacewalks to harvest crops, and have to endure random communication drops that will isolate them from the outside world.

The four volunteer participants are Kelly Haston, Ross Brockwell, Nathan Jones, and Anca Selariu. These individuals were chosen specifically for their qualifications which span biomedical science, biochemistry, research science, structural engineering, and more. So, how much will the participants be paid for their time? According to the Houston Chronicle, NASA is paying $10 per hour for all waking hours, but up to 16 hours per day, which works out to about $60,480 for the 378-day mission.