Laser-based comms satellites!
Category: space – Page 1,047
In August 2015, astronauts on the International Space Station ate the first vegetables grown in space; earlier this month, they coaxed the first zinnias to bloom.
Though space agricultural technology hasn’t quite reached the level of that seen in The Martian, overcoming the challenges presented by zero-gravity to grow plants was a feat in itself.
Yesterday (Jan. 20), NASA released a video describing the “historic vegetable moment” and explaining the growing process more in-depth. You can watch it here:
China’s improved glass for space.
Chinese scientists developed a method to create a transparent, glass-based material with the power and lifespan to absorb ultraviolet rays. The metal oxide-based special glass is expected to not break down under prolonged UV radiation exposure. (Photo : John T. Clarke (University of Michigan), ESA, NASA | Wikimedia Commons)
Chinese scientists have discovered a special glass that can absorb and block dangerous ultraviolet rays.
UV light can harm living cells, and out in space where radiation from the sun is even greater, sensitive electronics on board a spacecraft can suffer even more damage.
More VR Theme Parks and attractions opening this year. We have the Void opening this summer in Pleasant Grove, UT; a new VR roller coaster in UK’s Alton Towers that opens in April; there is real opportunity for entrepreneurs in the VR space to launch their own portable VR amusement/ entertainment centers for corporate events, parties, etc.
Virtual reality and theme parks may not seem like an obvious match, but these planned attractions may change your mind. Starting this spring we’ll start to see rides that take advantage of VR to offer new and exciting experiences.
Two British theme parks announced VR-powered attractions this month. Alton Towers will turn one of its roller coasters into an outer space adventure using Samsung’s Gear VR, while Thorpe Park is prepping a terrifying new interactive experience powered by the HTC Vive.
At Thorpe Park, the Ghost Train will feature a “13-minute journey through fear,” mixing pre-recorded material, live action and special effects. The HTC Vive makes it possible for each passenger to have their own unique experience, with 12 different journeys and two possible endings to choose from.
Caltech researchers have found evidence of a giant planet tracing a bizarre, highly elongated orbit in the outer solar system. The object, which the researchers have nicknamed Planet Nine, has a mass about 10 times that of Earth and orbits about 20 times farther from the sun on average than does Neptune (which orbits the sun at an average distance of 2.8 billion miles). In fact, it would take this new planet between 10,000 and 20,000 years to make just one full orbit around the sun.
The researchers, Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown, discovered the planet’s existence through mathematical modeling and computer simulations but have not yet observed the object directly.
“This would be a real ninth planet,” says Brown, the Richard and Barbara Rosenberg Professor of Planetary Astronomy. “There have only been two true planets discovered since ancient times, and this would be a third. It’s a pretty substantial chunk of our solar system that’s still out there to be found, which is pretty exciting.”
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The solar system may have a ninth planet after all.
This one is 5,000 times bigger than outcast Pluto and billions of miles farther away, say scientists who presented “good evidence” for a long-hypothesized Planet X on Wednesday.
The gas giant is thought to be almost as big as its nearest planetary neighbor Neptune, quite possibly with rings and moons. It’s so distant that it would take a mind-blowing 10,000 to 20,000 years to circle the sun.
PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 20 (UPI) — Astronomers at Caltech say they’ve discovered significant evidence of a large, hidden body at the edge of the solar system — a 9th planet. The team of researchers have dubbed the body “Planet Nine.”
The scientists haven’t actually seen Planet Nine. No one has. But they’ve inferred its presence by studying the orbits of several icy objects beyond Neptune. Scientists noticed the orbits of these Kuiper belt objects, or KBOs, feature similar anomalies.
The orbital oddities suggested the objects were all being affected by a singular source, the gravity of a large object.
A scrappy but successful startup in the space industry, Masten Space Systems, is making new moves toward opening an office at Cape Canaveral.
Masten recently hired former NASA engineer Jason Hopkins as a business-development scout at Kennedy Space Center.
“I’m basically paving the way to get us set up here and have an office here,” Hopkins said. “Masten is a very small, efficient company, with about 30 people total at the Mojave (Calif.) Air and Space Port. We are considering another office here with the same capabilities.”