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‘Big Bang’ Fix Puts Voyager Across the ‘One Light-Day’ Mark

An innovative solution helps to put the venerable Voyager 1 spacecraft past a key milestone.

Flashback to 1977. Jimmy Carter was U.S. president, Star Wars was a box office hit, and the two Voyager spacecraft departed on an historic Grand Tour of the solar system. Now, teams at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory are working to keep the missions active, as they push the boundaries of interstellar space beyond the solar system.

NASA recently announced that after a brief bit of drama and loss of communications with Voyager 1, a fix dubbed the ‘Big Bang’ was successful in resuscitating the spacecraft. The Big Bang swap alternated three units (two primary heaters and an old 8-track digital tape recorder) with three low power secondary options. The brief loss of communications occurred on October 20th, and lasted for 48 hours.

IBM, Quantinuum and Intel signal a new phase in the quantum computing race

Announcements from IBM and Quantinuum plus a recent acquisition by Intel show that the race to develop a quantum computer has shifted from focusing just on the qubits to integrating these computers with classical systems and software development platforms.

To start with, IBM, AMD, and the DOE-funded Quantum Science Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are collaborating on a new research platform that pairs IBM’s 120-qubit Nighthawk quantum computer with a classical computer in order to allow researchers to better explore quantum error correction, the organizations announced.

This is a research platform rather than a commercial product, says IDC analyst Heather West.

NASA navigation experiment shows promise for planetary landings

NASA has successfully demonstrated technology designed to help spacecraft autonomously navigate to safe landing sites on the moon and on other planets. An Alta-X drone equipped with the agency’s Safe and Precise Landing—Integrated Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) guidance, navigation and control payload completed simulated lunar descent and landing maneuvers Aug. 27. The flight took place at Rogers Dry Lake near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.

During the tests, the SPLICE payload used an advanced guidance system to map the terrain and assess potential landing areas. If the system determines the targeted landing area is unsafe, the system diverts the drone to a safer location. The system generates high-resolution digital elevation maps from light-detection and sensor data.

Researchers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston developed the SPLICE payload and partnered with specialists at NASA Armstrong to integrate, test and fly it aboard the Alta-X drone in June and July. Those tests verified communications, data handling, telemetry and command-and-control performance between the SPLICE payload and the drone to prepare for a full-scale test at Voyager Technologies in Mojave, California, later this month.

New method detects lung antibodies through non-invasive exhaled breath

For the first time, researchers have succesfully measured antibodies against specific respiratory viruses in exhaled air. This is shown in a new study involving, amongst others, the Karolinska Institutet, published in eBioMedicine. The method may make it easier to study the immune system in the small airways of the lungs.

Antibodies in the mucosal lining of the respiratory tract play an important role in protecting against respiratory viruses such as influenza virus, SARS-CoV-2 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). While antibodies in the upper airways are relatively easy to measure, sampling from the lower airways has previously required invasive procedures such as bronchoscopy.

In the new study, researchers used a non-invasive method called PExA (Particles in Exhaled Air). By breathing into a specially designed instrument, participants generated tiny exhaled particles originating from the respiratory tract lining fluid of the small airways. These particles were collected and analysed for virus-specific antibodies.

Cytokine Signaling in Tumor Progression

Cytokines are molecules that play critical roles in the regulation of a wide range of normal functions leading to cellular proliferation, differentiation and survival, as well as in specialized cellular functions enabling host resistance to pathogens. Cytokines released in response to infection, inflammation or immunity can also inhibit cancer development and progression. The predominant intracellular signaling pathway triggered by cytokines is the JAK-signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) pathway. Knockout mice and clinical human studies have provided evidence that JAK-STAT proteins regulate the immune system, and maintain immune tolerance and tumor surveillance. Moreover, aberrant activation of the JAK-STAT pathways plays an undeniable pathogenic role in several types of human cancers.