Science, Space, Health & Robotics News - Page 74

The rollercoaster continues with SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk at the helm of Twitter, as the billionaire has recently given an ultimatum to all employees.

Musk has sent out a company-wide email to all employees of the social media platform that gave employees a choice between accepting that they will be working long hours at high intensity with only "exceptional performance" constituting a "passing grade". The email also outlined what Musk deems as building "Twitter 2.0," and that engineers will have more of a say at the company over Design and Product positions as Musk believes that at its hear, Twitter is a "software and servers company".

The email was sent out on November 15 and states that anyone who doesn't accept these new working conditions by clicking the link provided in the email by 5 pm on November 17 will receive three months of severance. Musk titled the email "A Fork in the Road" and recently announced that Twitter will be relaunching the divisive Twitter Blue subscription service that caused the platform to be littered with accounts appearing official through the new paid-for verification badge, essentially impersonating public figures, celebrities, companies and more.

Only moments ago the Artemis 1 rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, marking the official launch of NASA's milestone effort to get humans back to the Moon.

At the time of reporting, its been six minutes since Artemis 1 lifted off from its launch pad, and so far, NASA has reported nothing but healthy news for Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. Listening to the livestream on NASA's YouTube channel, NASA's commentator is reporting that Artemis 1 is appearing "nominal" with the Space Launch System's core stage main engine cutoff is complete and the core stage has separated from the interim cryogenic propulsion stage as well as the Orion spacecraft.

NASA reports that the next major milestone will be reached 18 minutes after the initial launch, which will be the deployment of Orion's solar arrays. For those that don't know, the Artemis 1 mission will include Orion, which was aboard the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, traveling 280,000 miles from Earth as well as 40,000 miles beyond the far side of the Moon. Artemis 1 is NASA's first mission in its journey to get the US back on the Moon, and the mission is essentially reconnaissance-based and is an overall demonstration that NASA can safely make the journey.

A new article published in Nature has revealed that new models from the United Nations (UN) indicate that on November 15, the world population reached 8 billion people.

The article published on November 15 states that it was just twelve years ago that Earth's population was sitting at 7 billion people, and less than 100 years ago, the population was at just 2 billion people. With the release of the new models, the UN also released its updated predictions for what it thinks Earth's population will be by 2100, and according to its updated chart, as seen above, the UN believes that by 2100 Earth will support 10.4 billion people but around 2075 there will begin a plateau that will eventuate into shrinking.

Notably, officials such as Patrick Gerland, who leads demographic work at the UN Population Division in New York City, have said that while it may be a grim thought or a "crude approximation" that Earth's population growth will begin to slow, it's more a "symbolic finding", while simultaneously admitting that there is no way to know for sure that November 15 was the day that Earth officially passed 8 billion people, as some locations around the world are blind spots the UN struggle to get reliable data from. Those locations are countries such as Somalia, Yemen, and Syria.

NASA has given an update ahead of its highly anticipated Artemis 1 launch that was scheduled in for this week.

It was only a few days ago that NASA gave an update on the scheduled launch date for the Artemis 1 rocket as well as its health status update after it survived the chaotic winds of Hurricane Nicole. The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket along with the Orion capsule were left out on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and according to NASA reports the rocket endured the storm and no significant damage was caused.

NASA determined that its initial two-hour launch window beginning at 1:04 a.m. EST, Wednesday, November 16 was still feasible, and on a November 14 update the space agency remains confidnet with it writing in a new blog post that Artemis 1 managers have convened on Monday and decided to give a "go" ahead to proceed to toward launch on November 16. This updated decision by managers came after engineers scoured the SLS rocket for any damage while other teams tested engines, conducted risk assessment tests, and much more.

Hawaii has fire ant infestations, and now officials are saying that it's becoming so bad that it's changing the way of life for residents.

Fire ants were first detected in Hawaii in 1999, and according to reports from SFGATE, officials on Kauai are asking the public to check their properties as the island suffers through its biggest infestation to date following the discovery of millions of fire ants at Wailua River State Park. According to Heather Forester, who works for Hawaii Ant Lab, "They're changing the way of life for our residents here in Hawaii. You used to be able to go out hiking and go to the beach. They can rain down on people and sting them."

Forester spoke to SFGATE and said that the Ant Lab is getting lots of reports of stinging occurring while people sleep are asleep in their beds. "We have a lot of reports of them stinging people while they sleep in their beds," she said. Fire ant stings can cause red, swollen welts that can be extremely itchy and cause a burning sensation. BusinessInsider reports that depending on the severity of the bite, fire ant stings can also cause sore pus-filled lesions that can last "for weeks".

A group of scientists discovered a massive Burmese python had a significant lump in its stomach. This python was euthanized for science and dissected.

The group of five scientists, including Rosie Moore, geoscientists based in Florida, took to social media on November 1 by posting a video to Moore's Instagram account that showcased the massive 18-foot-long python being de-skinned and eventually cut open to reveal it had consumed a 5-foot-long alligator that was mostly still intact. Moore spoke to CNN and said that the researchers were taking breaks during the dissection process just to get away from the smell. Moore said she thought it was "pretty gross too".

It was only last week that the US military's X-37B space plane reached a milestone number of days in orbit while on its mysterious mission.

The X-37B space plane that has captured much attention is called Orbital Test Vehicle 6, or OTV-6, and was launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on May 17, 2020. OTV-6 is the sixth space plane launched under program, with the first being launched in 2010, spending just 224 days in orbit, and the last being OTV-5, which launched in 2017 and spent 780 days in orbit. Now, OTV-6 has broken that record when it touched back down at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, November 12, completing 908 days in orbit.

The mystery behind the space plane is widely known as the majority of its contents, equipment, mission objectives, etc, are classified, with only a few details being given to the public. What is known is that Boeing constructed OVT-6 and that during its time in orbit, it deployed the FalconSat-8 that's developed by the US Air Force Academy, which is carrying its own experimental payloads counting five, as well as the Naval Research Laboratory's photovoltaic radiofrequency antenna module, which is an antenna designed to convert solar power into radio frequency microwave energy.

NASA has taken to its blog to share an image that showcases a beautiful side-by-side comparison between the James Webb Space Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope's Infrared Array Camera.

NASA has posted a new blog where it details images of a dwarf galaxy called WLM, which is quite close to our Milky Way galaxy at approximately 3 million light-years from Earth.

NASA spoke with Kristen McQuinn of Rutgers University, one of the lead scientists on Webb Early Release Science (ERS) program that focusses on stellar populations, who explained that WLM is a prime candidate for scientists to test theory theories of galaxy formation as WLM is believed to be barely influenced by other galaxies.

NASA has taken to its blog and social channels to update the public on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and its Artemis 1 mission.

NASA explains via an update on its website that teams have conducted an assessment of the rocket while it remains upright at Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and according to the agency, it can confirm that was no significant impacts to either the rocket or the Orion capsule from Hurricane Nicole. Notably, Hurricane Nicole made landfall approximately 70 miles from the space center, and NASA"s teams used the launch pads sensors and high-resolution cameras to perform the inspection.

Furthermore, Space Launch System engineers have conducted an analysis of the rocket to determine if the high-speed winds it endured won't impact its overall structural strength, and they found no such effect. NASA notes that all of the recorded peak winds during the height of the storm remained below 75% of the SLS design limitations, hence NASA's prior decision to leave the rocket out on the launch pad before the storm made landfall as it believed the rocket could easily weather it. The space agency does report some minor damage with loose caulk and weather coverings, which are both being repaired.

The US Air Force and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions recently tested the XQ-58A Valkyrie unmanned aircraft. Kratos says the tactical unmanned aerial system (UAS) mixes long-range, high-speed, and maneuverability in a single platform - operating in the low-cost attritable aircraft technology (LCAAT) project.

The unmanned system is 30 ft. in length, with a total wingspan of 27 ft. - and has a dry weight of 2,500 lb. It'll cost $2-$3 million per aircraft, according to Kratos, with the price depending on the number of units ordered.

Kratos said the successful test flight is important as part of the US Air Force Research Laboratory's Autonomous Collaborative Enabling Technologies (ACET) portfolio. It was able to successfully land inside a designated target zone, despite a simulated loss of communications - demonstrating effective autonomous capability.